Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyers owns Twilight. I do not. I do however, own my 'gang'.

A/N: Unfortunately my Blueboarderchick has a life, so you can thank Dirtychicken, the dirtiest chicken around, for editing this chapter.

Thank you to my reviewers.

Chapter 52

Leah's POV

The tension filled silence stretched out between us. The two men stood staring at each other, no doubt sizing each other up.

"Who's your friend, Leah?" Sam was the first one to break the silence, and I snorted softly at his question. As if he didn't already know who Zach was.

"I'm Zach and you are…?" Zach trailed off inquisitively, his firm muscles stiffening as he strolled over slowly to stand beside me.

"Sam Uley." He extended his hand and after a beat Zach shook his hand.

He winced slightly when Sam exerted some pressure in his grip. Asshole. I bit back a growl of warning. Sam was really pushing his luck. How would he like it if I went over to his place and stabbed Emily in the arm with my finger?

Zach yanked his hand out of Sam's, opening and closing it in a bid to relax the cramp in his muscles. Sam's self-satisfied smirk was wiped off his face when Zach quipped, "Dude, word of advice, lay off the steroids."

The attempt would've been useless, so I didn't bother with trying to hold back my snicker. Zach thought Sam was on the juice. That shit was just too funny.

Zach wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me close, and I relaxed into his embrace.

"So how do you know, Lee?" One strong hand rested on my hip and squeezed possessively. You could bet your ass Sam noticed that.

Sam's jaw clenched when he heard my nickname. "Oh, Lee-Lee and me go way back. Don't we, Lee-Lee?" Lee-Lee? That fucker. He knew he wasn't allowed to call me that anymore.

"Lee-Lee?" Zach's mouth tightened ever so slightly at the corners.

All right, I'd had enough. "What are you doing here, Sam?" I asked trying to keep the civility in my tone for Zach's benefit.

"I came to personally invite you to my New Year's Eve party tomorrow night." Sam pasted on his asshole smile.

"Sorry, Zach and I already have plans." At this, Zach raised a brow in silent inquiry. I didn't mention that those plans included getting shit-faced and letting Zach wear me like a hat.

"You might want to reconsider. The invitation's from Jacob too."

Shit. That meant it was an order. So I couldn't exactly refuse, not without having a good excuse. Gee being in a pack is such fun!

Why would Jacob order me to bring Zach around the pack? Jacob never threw his weight around. The injunction against communicating with Bella was the one and only time he'd forced me to do something. Jacob Black could be grade A jackass sometimes but, for the most part, he was fair.

Zach's eyebrows furrowed together. "Jacob as in Jacob Black?"

"You've heard of him?"

"You can say that." I gave Zach a sidelong glance filled with curiosity. By his grim expression, it appeared that Zach wasn't a Jacob fan.

"Fine, we'll be there," I reluctantly conceded with the excitement equivalent to that of a man agreeing to a prostate exam.

"I'm looking forward to it. We're all looking forward to it." The ass smiled and I wanted to break his nose.

Great, just great. Now the entire pack wanted to meet Zach. Was it everybody gang up and railroad Leah day?

With his shitty news/orders delivered, Sam bounded down the stairs and toward his car with a newfound pep in his step. Fucker. I slammed the door, wishing it was him I was slamming.

Did he think that the pack would scare Zach off or something? If that was his plan, then he had another thing coming. Damn it! Why couldn't I have a little peace? All I wanted to do was spend some much needed, uninterrupted time with Zach. Was that too much to ask? Leave it to the pack to try and piss in my cereal.

"So we have plans for tomorrow night." And tonight but I'll tell him that later. Zach kissed my neck, his arm wrapping tightly around my waist, pulling me close. I turned in Zach's embrace, looping my arms around his neck before burying my face in his throat. The feel of his skin against mine, his scent, and the very sound of his voice sent my canine senses into overdrive. Zach had no idea what he did to me. Or maybe he did, the crafty bastard.

"Looks like it," I murmured, enjoying the feel of his arms around me, determined to not questioning why it felt so right.

"Just admit it. You couldn't wait to show me off to all your friends," Zach chuckled when I groaned, imagining the reactions of wolf girls.

"You conniving bastard. You're enjoying this, aren't you?" I pulled away from him just enough to look at his face. And sure enough, he was smiling.

"I'm looking forward to it. Because the sooner I meet and charm all of your friends, the sooner you'll have to admit that I belong in your life, Lee."

"Oh God. Not this again," I groaned, lowering my face in his neck again.

"It's too late to back out, baby. I've already crawled inside you and set up shop. You'll never get rid of me now." The cocky bastard didn't have to sound so smug.

"That sounds like something a tapeworm would say."

"Whatever gets me in your pants, Lee." Zach grinned and pulled me toward my breakfast.

If Zach was curious about why I didn't invite my friend in, he didn't ask.

Hours later, I pulled up in front of Charlie's house with Zach in tow.

On the inside I was freaking out about introducing Zach to my mother. It was becoming increasingly difficult keeping things casual and carefree between me and Zach. Meeting ones parents was the opposite of casual.

I tossed, what I hoped was, an irritated look at the man sitting next to me. "Could you try not to be so… you?"

"Don't worry, Lee. I promise not to say anything about the midnight rape." His wry grin was accompanied by wriggling eyebrows.

My mouth fell open. "Rape? I didn't hear you complaining."

"A guy could hardly complain when he's still asleep, Lee."

"You know what? Just get out of the damn car." I shoved lightly at his shoulder,

"I love it when you rough me up." He pulled me into a heated kiss. But I put an end to it before we got too carried away. I was mindful of the fact that we were parked in a car, making out in front of the police chief's house.

We climbed out of the car and I saw the curtain quickly drop back in place. I was willing to bet anything that my mother had seen us fogging up the windows. Great!

The door opened before I had the chance to knock, revealing my mother and a grinning Seth.

After giving me a hello hug, mom turned to Zach. "You must be Zach. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"And you must be Lee's sister. The pleasure is all mine." He leaned down, kissed her hand and I swore I saw my mom blush. Zach really was a silver tongued devil.

"Has my daughter been treating you well?" My mother asked with a raised eyebrow, and I wanted to crawl into a hole when Seth snickered behind her.

I glared at Seth with a threat to his balls on the tip of my tongue, but one glance at my mother told me that would be a bad idea. She was a firm believer in pretending to be civilized in front of guests, even if she had to kick your ass to make it happen. Seth's smile crawled away pathetically under her glare.

Jeez, what a pair we made, two ferocious werewolves and we were still afraid of our mother.

The dinner at Charlie's house was weird and just plain old ridiculous. The night started off with my mom dragging me into the kitchen to ask embarrassing questions about my sex life. Then Charlie showed up uncharacteristically late, still wearing his uniform and carrying a shotgun in his hand. With a stern face, Charlie sat down at the dinner table before proceeding to grill a decidedly paler Zach about his family and career goals. Poor Zach seemed a little intimidated by the police chief, calling him Mr. Chief Swan Sir. I thought that he would pass out when Charlie started talking about how often people went missing, and were never seen or heard from again.

Seth almost choked on his food a few times because he was laughing so much. The little punk had grown immune to all my under the table kicking. And I began to wonder if my mother would mind if I just went ahead and murdered her only son. Really, I mean, how attached could she be to him? She was still young. As gross as it sounded, she and Charlie could still have more kids if they wanted. Between Charlie's cryptic threats, my mother's enigmatic smiles and Seth's snickering, I found myself hoping for a vampire attack. Just so I could have a reason to run off into the night. Jeez, only family could embarrass a person this much.

I kept throwing questioning glances at my mom; trying to figure out what the hell Charlie was doing interrogating Zach.

Once Charlie found out that Zach was majoring in Environmental Studies and worked as a seasonal park ranger, he warmed up to him, retiring his heavy scowl that I'd suspected was more for show than anything else. Zach even regained some of his color and reverted back to his charming self.

When dinner was over, Seth went to hang out (patrol) with Colin and Brady, Charlie took Zach into the living room to have a discussion while mom cornered me in the kitchen.

"So, he seems nice." My mother began to clear the table and I gave her a hand.

"Yeah, he is." I replied cautiously.

"How long's he staying for?"

"Just a couple of days."

"Are you thinking about telling him that you're…?"

"You know the rules, Mom. We can't tell anyone about us, only mates."

"So if he's not a potential mate, what is he then? A one night stand?"

"Mom, he's… it's complicated." I began to look around for an escape route.

"Then let me make it simple for you. Zach seems like a great guy; he found out about the Cullens and didn't go running his mouth off to the papers. Not to mention that he's got one hell of a body on him."

"Mom!" My head snapped up in surprise.

"What? I was young once too, you know. And it's not like I'm lying. He's a very attractive young man." Her voice lowered conspiratorially. My mom was in teenager mode again. Damn, I blamed Charlie for this.

"I want us to be able to talk about private stuff, Leah. I don't know… I just feel like maybe you're ready for us to be adult friends." She finished with a hopeful smile on her face.

Although I didn't think I would ever be able to talk about sex with my mother, I smiled and nodded anyway. It was worth a try.

"Zach seems like a lot of fun. You need that in your life, Leah, someone to make you laugh. You're too serious. I never told you this, but I always thought that Sam was a little uptight..." she continued talking but I was barely paying attention. I was too busy, trying to listening in to what Charlie was saying to Zach in the next room.

"…I care about her a lot, Mr. Swan." I had to admit how much it thrilled me to hear him say that.

"I'm glad you feel that way because Leah's a very special young woman. I'm sure you already know she's been through some hard stuff in the past so… that's why I wanted to know what your intentions were." Charlie ended, clearing his throat awkwardly.

I couldn't believe it. Charlie invited Zach over to give him the talk. I didn't think Charlie cared that much about me. Maybe he figured that with my dad gone, he would be the next best person to threaten my boyfriends.

I turned away from the living room to discover my mom watching me cautiously. "I have a pretty good idea what Charlie's telling Zach right now and I hope you're not mad."

"Why would I be mad?" I was a little confused but not mad.

"Because ever since… Sam… It changed you, sweetie. You've always been independent but after what happened with Sam and your father… you pulled away from everyone. I know you felt betrayed about what happened after Sam imprinted…" Her voice trailed off, allowing my recollection to fill in the missing words.

I remembered how much it hurt after Sam and Emily stabbed me in the heart. But that pain was only amplified when my father tried to defend their actions, saying that what happened to me wasn't their fault. At that time, I knew nothing about the existence of werewolves and the curse known as imprinting, so no one could blame me for adding my father to my list of betrayers. Although I loved my mother, my dad and I had always been closer and when it seemed like he was taking Sam's side over mine, our relationship took a blow. Up until his death, things were never the same between us.

My mother continued in a subdued tone of voice. "Charlie and your dad had an argument over it. Charlie couldn't understand why your dad seemed so accepting of Sam after he broke your heart, and your father couldn't tell him the real reason behind his acceptance. So of course, to Charlie, it looked like no one was trying to protect you. It was the only time I ever heard them argue." Her eyes momentarily flickered with sadness before lighting up again. "I know you like to think you have a heart of stone, and don't need anyone's protection anymore, but Charlie's just trying to make sure that have someone looking out for you this time around."

It felt like I gained a little insight into why Charlie disliked Cullen so much, and never warmed up to him even after he came back. It also explained why Charlie was giving Zach the third degree earlier. Protecting people was not just Charlie's job, it defined who he was. I guess I fell under his jurisdiction now.

Oddly enough, the revelation didn't piss me off. It sort of felt, I don't know… nice. Everyone thought that I had a heart of stone, but people tended to forget that even stone hearts had the ability for break.

I decided to change the topic. "What was the council's ruling on finally letting Charlie in on our secret?"

"It was a tie. Jacob, Billy and I were for it but Old Quil, Trevor and Jolon voted against the idea."

"Screw 'em. You should tell Charlie anyway."

"Language, young lady," She admonished before her expression softened. "You know I can't go against the will of the council. I just have to hope that they'll change their minds about him in time." I noted the tension in her slim shoulders as her eyes drifted over my shoulder in the direction of the living room.

In the next room, the conversation had taken an interesting turn as Charlie asked Zach a loaded question. "What can you tell me about the green-eyed fella who's always staring at my daughter in all those pictures she sends me?"

Oh snap! I knew exactly what picture Charlie was talking about too. Bella had sent me a copy of the group photo we took together in front of the lake house last summer. In the picture, Bella was smiling for the camera while Taylor had his arms wrapped around her from behind. Their positions might have been construed as innocent if Taylor didn't have his face buried in her hair. They looked like a couple. I wasn't surprised that the image struck up a note of curiosity in Charlie.

As I listened to Zach spilling his guts, an evil smile blossomed on my face. Bella would definitely have some questions to answer the next time she spoke with Charlie. Karma's a bitch.

Ever so slowly, I applied some eyeliner then finished off with a little lipstick. I was out of practice. My vacation in Hanover was the first and last time I'd worn any makeup, since my breakup with Sam. In recent times, I didn't bother to pay any kind of special attention to what I wore because there'd never been a reason to. The female part of me had been rudely shoved aside when I became a werewolf. But tonight was different. Tonight, I would begin to reclaim the lost fragments of my femininity.

With a critical eye, I took one last look in the mirror. Dressed in form-fitting jeans that clung to the curves of my hips and thighs, I looked more feminine than I had in years. My black, knee-high leather boots made my legs appear even longer. My inspection was interrupted when a hand appeared around my waist, caressing the red fabric of my spaghetti strap tank as it crawled its way toward my right breast.

"You know, we could stay home. I'm sure no one will miss us," I tried to persuade. I moaned when the hand began to tease my nipple until it hardened.

"Nice try, Lee." He purred in my ear and my knees almost buckled. I was disappointed when he moved his hand away.

"I got you something. Sort of a late Christmas gift." He pulled me toward the bed.

After digging around in his bag, Zach handed me, what appeared to be, a small jewelry box. The card attached to it read from Zach and Suzie Q. After setting the card aside, I flipped open the lid to reveal a beautiful, silver necklace. In silent awe, I reached a finger out, lightly tracing the twisted snake pendant.

I actually felt my eyes start to tear up a little. Shit, I'm turning into a girl.

My mouth opened and closed a few times before I was able to fully complete a sentence. "Zach, I don't know what to say. I didn't get you anything."

"The only gift I want is to see that pendant nestled between those perfect pair of tits you've got there."

I rolled my eyes. What a poet?

Zach took the box and carefully removed the chain from its padding. He walked around to stand behind me before easing the chain around my neck. There was a soft click as he fastened the tiny clasp.

"God, why do you always have to be so… you?" I hated how he made me feel so giddy and unsettled all the time. It was annoying.

Zach spun me around to face him. He wore a serious expression on his face. "I don't run, hide or play games, Lee. With me, what you see is what you get."

Life was funny sometimes. Although my rage was as much a part of me as the hair on my head, I hadn't always been that way. I was once an ordinary girl, who drank at parties and snuck out at night to have sex with her boyfriend. My biggest worry used to be whether or not I would get my period that month. Now I exploded into a furry bitch every time I broke a nail. A development that was so stunning, it caused my dad to drop dead right in front of me. If that wasn't shitty enough, I also got to have a front row mental view of my ex-fiancé giving it to my cousin on a regular basis. And then to add insult to a fucked-up injury, I became a member of the my plumbing doesn't work anymore club.

Maybe, just maybe life wasn't some evil, coked-up bitch that was dead set on screwing me over. Maybe my luck was beginning to change.

As we drove down the street that led to Sam's house, I could hear the loud music echoing in the cold night air. I opened the door and climbed out. Zach walked around the car, pulled me close, resting his hand on my ass as we walked toward the house. I noticed some of the less sociable wolves among the people hanging out outside.

With Zach following closely behind me, I entered the living room where the party was in full swing. The majority of the furniture in the living room had been cleared to provide space for people to dance and mingle. Lots of people from the reservation came out to attend, and every member of the pack was already present, except for the ones that were on patrol duty.

Our entrance drew stares from pack, but Emily was the first one to approach and welcome us. Sam stood off to the side, looking like a sour puss.

"Glad you could make it, Leah." She aimed a smile at Zach, holding out her hand. "Hi, I'm Leah's cousin, Emily."

"A pleasure to meet you, Emily. I'm Zach." Zach didn't miss a beat as he turned on the charm, reaching out to shake her hand. I was relieved when Zach showed no reaction to her scars. Although we would never be as close as we once were, I didn't want Emily's feelings to get hurt.

Emily looked as if she wanted to drag me to the corner where Rachel and Kim were impatiently waiting to drill me. But she knew that Jacob was waiting for me to introduce Zach to the pack first so she held herself in check.

I grabbed Zach's hand and started to maneuver through the crowd to the side of the room where Jacob stood with other members of the pack. The older members instinctively drew closer to their Alpha while the younger ones huddled behind them, eyeing me curiously. Many of them had never seen me dressed up before, and couldn't stop staring. I assumed they would have already been warned not to come too close to Zach since some of them were still new to phasing, and therefore prone to bursting into a werewolf over the slightest upset. But just in case they hadn't been warned, I stared each of them down until they looked away timidly. Message received.

"Zach, I'd like you to meet my ah… friends." I almost choked on the word and Quil's smirk told me that he'd noticed. I went about introducing each pack member by name, saving Jacob's for last.

"And this is Jacob Black," I said with a bit of trepidation.

"Hey." Jacob extended his hand and Zach frowned at it, his lips tightening in irritation.

For a moment, I sure that Zach wouldn't accept it but he surprised me when he finally did. Jacob seemed taken aback at Zach's reluctance and threw a questioning glance in my direction.

The awkward moment was broken when Carmen returned from the kitchen with a beer for Jacob. Her eyes lit up in surprise when they land on me.

"Wow, Leah. Not only do you clean up nicely, but you even managed to dig up a date. Miracles do happen after all." Carmen's words were wrapped in sugary sweetness, but I caught the thinly veiled insult.

How Jacob could not see how evil she was, was beyond my understanding. Or maybe it wasn't. The pussy has whipped many a man. Why should our great Alpha be any different?

Confronting Carmen wouldn't have done me one bit of good. Not when Jacob was standing right there, ready to jump in and protect her from any threat, namely me, the big bad bitch. I thought about just walking away and letting her have the last laugh, but that wasn't my style. And to be honest, that bitch just got on my nerves with her whole Queen of La Push attitude.

I growled, "Very funny, Nurse Ratched. How about you give your two brain cells a rest and go suck Jacob's-"

Zach clamped a hand over my mouth and said, "Okay! We're going over there now." He began to drag me over to where Emily, Kim and Rachel stood, pretending they weren't watching us. Jacob glared at me, protectively wrapping a visibly upset Carmen in his arms.

Not so funny now, huh bitch?

Zach moved his hand and pulled me off to the side. "What the hell was that, Leah?" Zach was clearly agitated.

Leah? I raised an eyebrow. "Carmen just gets on my nerves."

"That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about Jacob. Why did you introduce me to that guy, knowing how I feel about him?"

If Jacob was an ordinary guy, the noise of the party and music would've been enough to keep our conversation private. But he could still hear everything Zach said.

"The guy hurt Izzy so bad that she almost destroyed herself. If it hadn't been for Taylor-" Zach suddenly broke off and ran a hand through his thick hair in frustration. Over his shoulder, I scrutinized Jacob's reaction to Zach's words.

The indulgent smile he'd had on display for Carmen's benefit had vanished, his jaw clenched in anger as he kept his eyes focused on the ground. Jacob's altered mood had Sam and the older wolves listening in as well. Carmen was too busy gossiping with Tess and Mel to notice the change in Jacob's demeanor. Luckily for him.

"You know what? I'm not gonna let him ruin this party for us. If Izzy could let it go then so can I." Zach's gorgeous lips broke into a smile and I felt my heart flutter. What the hell is up with the heart palpitations? Maybe I should lay off the red meat. "Come on. I want you to introduce me to those girls who have been eye-fucking me all night."

He pointed in Kim and Rachel's direction and they quickly averted their eyes. I was surprised Rachel hadn't pounced on us as soon as we walked through the door. I'd been dodging her calls all day. Claire's mom, Amy, was looking after JJ, Kim and Jared's little rug rat, so Kim could have a night off from parenthood. And she was damn near starving for adult conversation or gossip, whichever came first.

Sam scowled when Zach placed a hand on my ass to guide me to where the wolf girls stood. And for the next hour or so, Rachel embarrassed the hell out of me, telling Zach stories about my wild teenaged years. When that got old, Rachel moved on to a topic that was guaranteed to piss off her little brother.

"So, Zach. You're close friends with Bella, right? How's she doing?" Rachel's face took on an inquisitive glow and all the way across the room, I felt Jacob stiffen.

Everyone knew not to bring up Bella's name, especially when Jacob was within earshot. Rachel had been told about everything that went down between Bella and Jacob. But what she wanted to gauge his reaction to hearing about Bella for herself.

She wasn't a fan of Carmen's. Not after they almost came to blows a few months ago, forcing Jacob to create a zero tolerance rule. Any wolf girl who physically assaulted another would be exiled, thrown off the res, no exceptions. With Emily, Rachel and Kim on one side and Carmen, Mel and Tess on the other, Jacob hadn't been left with any other alternative. The wolf girls were constantly at each other's throats and something had to be done about it.

"She's doing all right but still in a little pain from the fall." Zach supplied after taking a swig from his beer bottle.

"Fall? What fall?" Emily asked. The unscarred part of her face frowned in confusion.

Shit! I was the only one Bella told about her most recent brush with death. If Bella had wanted Emily and the other girls to know about her accident she would've told them herself.

"A couple of days before Christmas, Izzy fell off a cliff and almost died. Leah didn't tell you?" Zach queried and everyone turned to me for answers.

"Sorry. Bella didn't want to scare you guys. Besides it wasn't a big deal." I tried to downplay the whole incident.

Zach looked at me like I just grew two horns on my head. "Not a big deal? She fell off a cliff and got mauled by a wolf. Then she had to wait out a blizzard in a cave with Taylor."

By that point, Jacob had given up all pretenses and was openly burning a hole in my head from across the room. The previously jovial atmosphere had been replaced with the throbbing, almost palpable rage of the Alpha. Only the wolves sensed the change, everyone else was blissfully ignorant. Jared and Paul looked like they wanted throw Kim and Rachel over their respective shoulders, and make a break for it.

The older wolves observed Jacob anxiously, searching for any telltale signs that he was close to phasing. The younger wolves, sensing Jacob's fury, intuitively moved away, trembling with fear. They'd all heard the story of Bella, the girl that fell in love with a vampire then later, with a werewolf. She was also the girl that left them both in the end. To younger wolf generation, Bella Swan was a fucking legend and the girl that started it all.

"Who's Taylor?" Kim's face lit up with mischievousness. She was just as big an instigator as Rachel was. Whenever those two teamed up, it usually meant trouble for the person on the receiving end. And right now, that person was Jacob.

"Oh, he's nobody. Just the guy who's been in love with Izzy since the day they met," Zach relayed like he was revealing one of Bella's dirty little secrets.

After hearing Zach's admission, it felt like none of us wolves could breathe properly. Even in human form, we were all linked. Not to each other, but to Jacob. We could sense whenever he was upset, angry or calm. Although I loved Zach's in your face personality, right now I wanted nothing more than for him to shut up. There were times when I actually liked pissing off Jacob, but now wasn't one of them.

Zach stared to tell stories about Taylor and Bella's relationship, like the time Bella and Taylor got drunk and ended up in bed together. Then there was the time when Taylor kicked Bella's ex-boyfriend's cheating ass. And of course, he didn't forget to tell them about that other time they spent an entire night in a cave, with only their warm bodies to keep each other from freezing to death. He made it sound as if Taylor and Bella were sexing each other's brains out. And Rachel, Kim and Emily were eating all of his stories up with a spoon.

Jacob's eyes moved from Zach to pin me where I stood, and I struggled to keep my composure. His eyes communicated that he would want to speak with me later on. God, why didn't I just stay home?

Jacob blinked and just like that, the look was gone, his temper centered and he was calm once more. He smiled and the younger wolves began to edge back to his circle, realizing that the crisis had been averted.

Unbeknownst to Jacob, Carmen and her friends had been watching his near meltdown and she didn't look pleased. She knew that there was only one person who still held the power to make him lose it. The only person she still felt threatened by. Bella.

Zach's words pulled my attention back. "Damn, Lee really doesn't tell you girls anything." On cue, the three wolf girls turned to look at me. Rachel had an accusatory gleam in her eyes while Emily's held traces of disappointment. They were all a little hurt and annoyed that I'd keep so much from them but that was too damn bad.

"Look, there are things that Bella tells me in confidence… I can't say anything, I'm sorry." I ended with an apology that wasn't much of one. Bella was my friend, and she had to be able to trust that I wouldn't go around blabbing her business to the entire reservation. That was just the way things were.

Following an awkward silence, Kim tried to lighten the mood with stories about JJ's latest antics. It was all that I could do not to set myself on fire. Seriously, why did all parents think that their rug rats were the funniest kids in the world? For the love of God, who cares if JJ found a pea in his poop and ate it? That's just fucking gross. People shouldn't be laughing; they should be calling Child Protective Services.

But I couldn't say that stuff out loud, so I glued on my pretend I give a shit smile as we listened to a few more boring ass baby stories. Fortunately, Zach came to my rescue and asked me to dance. Bless his perverted little heart.

It wasn't long before Zach's hand began to make its ill-fated journey down my back, and I was forced to stop him. Pretty soon, it turned into a game between us to see how long Zach would get to keep his hand on my ass before I pinched or threatened to break his hand. It was safe to say that we were both enjoying ourselves until Jacob interrupted us.

"Can I talk to you, Leah?" Jacob's deceptively innocent request stopped just short of a command. I guess it was too much to hope that he would wait until after the party to interrogate me about Bella.

I turned back to Zach. "Will you be okay?"

"Are you kidding? Those women over there love me." He pointed to the wolf girls.

"I'll be right back." I told Zach before following Jacob into the kitchen and out the backdoor. We'd barely made it a few steps from the house before Jacob turned on me.

"Why didn't you tell me that Bella was in trouble?" Jacob's voice was low, bitter sounding as he pushed for answers.

"When is Bella not in trouble?" I snorted, trying for humor even if the attempt failed.

"Damn it, Leah. I'm not kidding around. Why didn't you tell me?" He demanded forcefully.

"Well, ever since I was banned from thinking about Bella, I was under the impression that I wasn't allowed to talk about her anymore. And when exactly did you start giving a shit about Bella again?" My voice was hard as my anger flared up at Jacob. He had some set of balls to start demanding answers when he'd practically banished Bella from his life.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jacob's eyes narrowed on me, his body rife with fury. This was a clear sign that his anger was once again nearing its limits. A wise wolf, particularly a wolf interested in self preservation, would've backed off immediately. But I was always too ballsy for my own good.

Jacob had been living in a denial for too long. I was pissed off, at Jacob and at myself. Because of him, I had to lie to Bella every time we spoke. I felt no small amount of guilt over the part I played, and still continued to play in the way things were now. If Bella ever found out the truth, would she blame me? After all, I was the one who convinced her to leave and then later, convinced her that she was doing the right thing by staying away.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. You threw her away, Jake. You threw her away because she was scared. Because she didn't want to wait around for you to break her heart. And now here you stand, all tingly and hurt because you were the last to know about Bella's accident. What the hell did you expect?" I sneered, much too furious to heed the warning signals of an Alpha that had reached his limit.

Apparently my words struck deeper than I expected. Jacob's mouth tightened as his rage bubbled just beneath the surface, threatening to explode. I should have stopped then, but I was too far gone.

"Take a bow, Jakey-boy. This is all your doing. You had your chance and you blew it. If you had gone after her the second you found out about claiming, you two would still be together today. Now you're stuck with a pathetic excuse for an Alpha female, while Bella's in Boston meeting her boyfriend's family. Hmm… what do you think is gonna come next, Jake? Maybe a proposal. Maybe he's asking her to marry him right now."

Too far.

Jacob growled, a low, menacing sound intended to warn of an upcoming attack. I quickly stepped back, and my demeanor immediately changed into a nonthreatening, almost submissive stance. My head was bent, eyes lowered to stare at the ground as my inner wolf intuitively deferred to the power of the Alpha. The dynamics of our pack was similar to that of a pack of wolves living in the wild and it sucked balls.

The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and my skin began its familiar itching tingle that would soon become a burning sensation. My body tensed for the fight that was sure to follow. An Alpha wouldn't allow me to get away with being disrespectful. Although the odds of me winning this brawl were futile, I would fight back nonetheless.

Another snarl rang out before Jacob phased, shredding his clothes. His fur was nothing more than a blur as he quickly disappeared into the trees, leaving behind the tattered scraps of his clothes.

Why didn't he attack?

I stood motionless, staring into the darkness of the woods until Sam spoke up from behind me. "First you insult Carmen… again, and then you bring up Bella. Are you trying to get yourself killed?" He walked around to stand in front of me.

"I know your mind is still foggy from all the sex, but you really should try to think about self preservation." I detected judgment in his tone and snapped.

"Don't you dare judge me, Sam Uley. How I choose to live my life is nobody's business, least of all yours." With all my might, I was trying to move on. But Sam acting like a jealous dick only made things harder. You would think he would be happy for me…

There were times when I would look at Sam and wonder if there was anything left of the man I used to love. But now I saw the truth. He wasn't my Sam anymore and if I was completely honest with myself, he'd stopped being my Sam the first moment he phased. He was Emily's Sam and all there was left for him to do now was accept it.

His mouth twisted into a grim smile. "I'm just saying that you might wanna slow down. That guy you slept with, what was his name? Oh right Tony. Now, you're with Zach. I mean, at the rate you're going you could start charging a fee."

His words sliced through my heart, and I was surprised at how much Sam was still able to hurt me. On top of everything he put me through; he was now calling me a whore.

As always, my pain gave way to rage and I snarled, "Fuck you, Sam. You left me, remember? You never even tried to fight the imprint. And now you're mad because I'm done pining for you. Go to hell."

For the millionth time, Sam tried to apologize to me for imprinting. "I said I was sorry, Leah."

"I don't want your sorry. I want you to stay the fuck out of my life." I was so sick of this. Sam was making me wish I'd stayed in Hanover with Bella.

"Is everything okay out here, Lee?" I spun around and found Zach standing in the doorway.

"Everything's fine," Sam answered when it seemed like I wouldn't.

"I didn't ask you." Zach searched my face closely as he took a slow step in our direction.

"This isn't any of your business, Zach." Sam was redirecting his frustration toward Zach and I began to watch him carefully.

"See, that's where you're wrong, because Leah's my business." Zach finally shifted his eyes to stare at Sam with a severity that shocked me. His easygoing personality had been replaced with a hardened edge I didn't know Zach possessed.

"You know what? You're starting to piss me off." Sam took a couple of steps in Zach's direction, and the tight rein I had on my temper almost snapped.

Without even thinking about it, I placed myself between them with Zach safely behind my back. My lips were barred in silent warning and I was on the verge of phasing. The rage surged as the wolf struggled to be set free. The words protect and remove threat screamed in my brain over and over.

Shock registered on Sam's face as he began to understand what was happening. I had the same reaction that he would've had if Emily had been threatened. The wolf viewed Sam as a threat to its mate, and warned him to back the fuck up.

When the fuck did Zach go from being a one night stand to a potential mate? Damn him for making me feel shit and want crap!

Almost as if he sensed how volatile our situation was becoming, Zach attempted to make a joke. "Damn, Lee. Don't kick his ass," he laughed weakly, but I heard the underlying tremors of anxiousness in his voice, and willed myself to calm down.

He placed his hands on my shoulders and squeezed, attempting to knead the tension away. My aggression ebbed away under his administrations and I gradually began to relax my defensive stance.

Sam wore a look that was a mixture of sadness and defeat on his face as he looked away from us.

"How about we move the party back to your house? Huh, Lee?" Zach suggested and I nodded my acceptance.

On our way out, I locked eyes with Emily's pained ones and in that instant, I actually felt sorry for her. She hadn't been close enough to hear my argument with Sam, but the look on her face said that she had guessed what our fight had been about. It must have been hell for Emily to live with the knowledge that Sam didn't chose her. And that things would've been so different if he'd never laid eyes on her. We all had to live with her decision to stab me in the back because everyone knew that even though Sam didn't have a choice, Emily did.

In the end, I hoped the elders were correct in their assumption that I would never imprint due to my infertility. I didn't want to be brainwashed into loving someone. For me, that was a fate worse than death.

Although the wolf had decided on Zach, we still had some way to go before he could be accepted here. He would have to move to the res, something that would have to wait until he finished college. Then there was that pesky matter of getting the approval of the elders. So I still had to wait two more years before I had to tell Zach the truth about myself.

As we made our way toward the car, I looked toward the forest where Jacob was probably smashing trees as he ran through it, and hoped that Bella would never come back here. That she would grab on to whatever happiness she had with Taylor and never let go. Because the second Bella returned, I knew she would get dragged into the shit that we all had to live with, ever since the day Jacob laid eyes on Carmen.

Back to the story

What do you think about Sam and Zach's first meeting?

Poor Zach was afraid of Charlie. What do you think about Charlie's protectiveness of Leah?

Zach seems to be very serious about Leah.

What do you think about what Leah said to Jacob? I think she was too hard on him.

What secret could Leah be forced to keep from Bella?

Leah and Sam's argument... Things were pretty tense for a moment.

Zach exposed Bella's business in front of Jacob... was he jealous?

Do you agree with Leah that Carmen is evil.

JJ, Amy, Mel and Tess. I introduced some new character that will feature after Bella's return home.

Do you agree with Leah? Should Bella stay happy with Taylor?

A/N: Just a few things.

I'm glad to be done being Leah's voice. Although Leah is easier and funnier to write than Bella, switching POV's always gives me a headache.

Someone told me that my story is getting too long and I'd like to know if you guys agree. I always thought that details were what what made a story but now I'm not so sure. My chapters used to be around 3000-4000 words but have now ballooned up to 6000-8000 words. This has lead to longer wait period between updates. What do you guys think? Should I cut down on details or keep the story as is?

Review and receive your teasers people!