You don't own me, don't try to change me in any way

You don't own me, don't tie me down cuz I'll never stay

I don't tell you what to say, I don't tell you what to do

So just let me be myself, that's all I ask of you

"You Don't Own Me"

-Lesley Gore

Chapter 10:

To hell with everyone

I watched curiously as Jacob pushed himself out of Sam's Alpha lock. I had never seen any one of the wolves do that. But it made sense. After all, Jacob had inherited the Alpha gene from Ephraim Black. It was his birthright.

Did he just…Seth couldn't believe what he had just witnessed.

He did. I was stunned.

I will not follow you, Sam. Ephraim Black's son was not born to follow Levi Uley's, Jacob quickly let Sam know that he was no longer following his command.

Sam backed away from Jacob with a yelp. I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing at that. I had never seen Sam Uley go belly up. Oh, this was going to be fun to watch! Better than a daytime soap opera. I sat down and waited for the show to start. I'm sure there was a big, fat grin on my face. And I didn't care who saw it.

Sam didn't seem to know what to do. For once, he looked lost. Jacob had accepted his heritage as an Alpha and there was nothing that Sam could do about it. Watching him squirm was giving me so much satisfaction. Maybe having Jacob lead wouldn't be so bad. He could be annoying, but he was better than Sam.

Whoa…good for you man, Embry praised Jacob.

He got mixed feelings from the rest of the pack. Seth, Collin, and I were the only wolves who watched in silence.

Paul was furious. What the hell are you doing, Jacob?

Jared was as well. Have you forgotten all Sam has done for you?

Dude, now is not the time, Quil said disapprovingly. I know you're upset, Jake, but this is crossing a line.

I had to scoff, Pansy.

Quil didn't even hear me. They had bigger concerns than dealing with me and my smart mouth.

Brady whined, I'm confused; what's going on here?

What's going on is I am no longer following Sam's rule, Jacob had no problem answering Brady's question. Jacob then let out a snarl at Sam. He snarled back.

Sam seemed to have regained his confidence as he stood up to Jacob. They were literally nose to nose, snapping at one another. Sam was pissed that Jacob would betray the pack. I personally didn't see it that way. Sam was just angry that he couldn't control all of us anymore.

Jacob explained again that he wasn't born to follow Sam. Sam wasn't the true Alpha. He was just some…second-hand reject. My words, of course, not Jacob's.

Jacob continued to stand up for himself and his beliefs. He told Sam that his days of yanking the choke chain around his neck were done. Right on, Jacob! I rooted for him. When Sam challenged him to a fight for who would be controlling Alpha, Jacob looked surprised.

Cool, if they fought and killed each other, it would be to each their own. Hell, I could be Alpha. I sat up with pride and laughed, Queen Alpha Leah.

Sounds like a bad College Sorority, Embry joked.

My short lived excitement disappeared after I realized that Jacob did not intend to fight Sam for his spot as Alpha. He was simply going to quit. To run and be with the vampires and protect them. Be their little guard dog. I growled. Why would he subject himself to that?

Oh right, the heartbreaker. I saw an image of a very frail Bella in Jacob's thoughts. He quickly let Sam know that he would protect the little vampire lover until he was dead or dying. Sam snapped at Jacob again

Holy crap…they're going to kill each other, Seth gasped.

Jake stayed calm as Sam snarled in his face. It didn't look like Jacob really wanted to fight. And that's exactly what he told Sam. He wasn't going to fight; he was just simply going to quit. My ears perked up. Could he do that?

Jake…Sam croaked out. But it was too late, Jacob was already on the run. He was fading from us fast. It was an odd sensation. Not anything like when we phased. Phasing in and out was like a quick buzz in and then a quick buzz out. But this was slower, more permanent. I didn't like it. Was Jacob really going to be gone from the pack forever? His thoughts faded out slowly as Embry and Quil cried out after their best friend.

Before anyone had a chance to react, Jacob was gone. For a moment, no one said anything. Then I caught a glimpse of what my brother was thinking. Would he have the guts to do it? I lifted my brows at him. I would support him no matter what path he chose; he was my brother.

Seth glanced to where Jacob had disappeared to. He thought about his friendship with the Cullens. I saw a flash of Sam using his Alpha command earlier. And I understood why Seth chose what he was about to do. The entire pack had picked up on it. It's not like he'd made it a secret.

Seth…don't, Sam said with a warning tone in his voice.

But it was no use, Seth had made his decision. And while I couldn't agree with the reasons he had decided this, I knew it's what he wanted. So I supported him. I didn't argue for him to stay.

Goodbye, Sam. Seth stood up and lunged forward.

Come on, kid, seriously? Sam couldn't believe it. His pack was falling apart.

I watched as my brother turned tail and ran away. I listened closely as Seth's thoughts faded just as Jacob's had. As I felt my brother fading out of my head, I started to wonder…could anyone follow Jacob's lead? Did you have to want to follow him, or was it enough to just want to be out from under Sam's command?

I pondered what my next move should be. Seth had truly wanted to follow Jacob's lead. I, on the other hand, just wanted to be away from Sam. God, I hope I knew what I was doing.

Fortunately, the others were in such a state of shock that no one seemed to be listening to what I was thinking. They were too busy howling and carrying on to notice that I, too, was plotting an escape. I just wouldn't make it as dramatic as Jacob.

It seems as if the plans have once again changed. Sam tried to form another plan in his head. This is a first. I think I'll consult with the Elders before we proceed. He paused. Until then, we are just going to patrol normally and meet back here tomorrow morning.

Was he kidding? Patrol normally? After everything that had just happened, he expected us to go about like nothing had happened?

That really ticked me off. Can I go home, Sam?

He looked at me curiously. After the run.

Come on, my brother took off. I need to tell my mom what's going on.

I'll make sure everyone is aware of the situation. That's my job. Stop trying to control everything and just do what I say.

Asshole.

Sam split everyone up. He took Quil. He put together Collin and Jared, Brady and Paul, and Embry and I. We stayed pretty close to each other. I could hear Paul's soft footpads hitting the ground a few yards away from where Embry and I were running.

The pack stayed quiet for the duration of the run. Even though he didn't say anything aloud, Sam was in excruciating pain. He had lost two members of his pack tonight. And he was getting ready to lose me, too. I tried to occupy my thoughts with anything other than turning traitor and running to Jacob and Seth. Of course, I wasn't the only one thinking about our two missing members.

How could they just take off like that? Quil questioned.

They've lost sight of what's important. Jacob is so blinded by rage right now that all he can think about is protecting Bella. And Seth has befriended the vampires. He can't see how dangerous they are. Sam came up with excuses.

That was the best he could manage? I thought he would come up with something far less generic than that. But with Sam, it was always vampire equals bad.

How dangerous are they? I mean, really? I frowned.

Yes, I hated vampires. Yes, I wanted to kill them. It was in my blood. But in all honesty, the Cullens had never done anything to warrant an attack from their…allies. It was hard for me to think of us in that respect. But so far, the treaty had not been breached. No one had been bitten. No one had died.

Guess someone's a little chicken, Paul snapped at me.

Why don't you come over here and say that to my face? I felt the rage boiling.

We will not fight amongst ourselves, Sam ordered.

Well, now was as good a time as any to test whether or not I could fight back. I fought every urge in my body from listening to Sam, and I let out another snarl at Paul.

Well, what are you waiting for you sissy? I urged Paul to continue fighting with me. Paul's jaw was locked. He'd given in to Sam.

Leah, that's enough, Sam snapped at me.

I fought back harder. Hmm, this wasn't so hard. It didn't take him long to figure out that he had lost control of me. He quickly tried to gain it back.

I said knock it off. Don't make me…

Don't make you what? Put me in my place? I snorted, Are you going to attack me, Sam? Put me in a throat hold? Take away my will? I shook my head, If that's the case, then you might as well just kill me, because I'm done. I am done taking orders from you. I'm not going to let you command my life anymore.

Well, so much for my exit not being dramatic.

Leah… Sam eyed me. He knew what I was thinking.

Sorry, Sam, I shrugged. But really, I wasn't sorry. I think he probably knew that.

Don't do this to us. Don't do this to me, he begged.

To him? Seriously? He was the one who left me; imprinted on Emily. And he was begging me not to leave him? No, he didn't get to control me like that. He couldn't have us both.

You had your chance with me. I had to get out while I still could. Before he could guilt me into staying with the pack.

Do you really want to follow Jacob?

It's better than following you.

Sam continued to scold me, How do you know it will be any better?

Because it has to be. I had never been optimistic before. But anything had to be better than following Sam's rule. It was worth a shot. Sam pushed, and I pushed back. I could feel his hold over me loosening. I continued to push forward, thinking of protecting my brother and being away from Sam and his thoughts.

That was the only motivation I needed to break away from the pack and take off in a different direction. I could hear howling as I disappeared. I could tell by the pitch and tone that it was Embry. He was the only one in the pack I could even remotely stand.

And I knew that he was stuck. He wouldn't pull away from Sam. He couldn't. I let out a sigh. First his best friend had abandoned him and had taken Seth with him, and now I was leaving. He was the only one stuck in a losing battle. He didn't want to fight the vampires any more than Jacob did. He just put on a tough show for the rest of the wolves.

Come on, you can't leave me, Embry begged.

So then come with us.

You know I can't do that, Embry didn't have the guts to push past Sam. He wasn't as dedicated to the vampires as Jacob and Seth were. And he didn't hate Sam as much as I did.

It's really not that hard…

Stop it, Sam was furious.

You're just mad. You'll cool down and get over it. Embry didn't seem willing to let me go. I huffed. He hadn't caused this much of a fuss when Jacob and Seth took off, and they were the two people he actually cared about.

I won't. Sorry, Call. This time I meant it when I said I was sorry.

Sam shouted at me, one last time to try and change my mind, You won't be happy, Leah.

I was never happy, Sam. The faster I ran, the more I felt Sam and the pack fading away, but not completely. I had gotten about three-fourths of the way home before I phased back. I had taken the first step. I wasn't completely separated from them yet, but I was on my way.

I jogged the rest of the way home on two legs. I tried to start forming a plan. I was part of Jacob's pack now. Whether or not he knew it, I'm not sure. My first order of business would be to grab a change of clothes or two and then make my way out to the Cullen's place. I don't know how long we would be out there, so I needed to choose something comfortable and durable.

When I arrived home, I took a deep breath before going through my front door. I hadn't thought about what I was going to say to my mother. No doubt Sam had called to tattle on all his little runaways. I opened the door and found no one home.

"Sweet." That was a run of good luck. It would be much easier now that I didn't have to explain what was going on to my mother. I'm sure she would have a lot to say about Seth and I leaving the pack to be with Jacob and protecting our enemies.

I dashed into my room and started tearing through my drawers, trying to find clothes that I could easily roll up against my leg and the bungee cord.

I glanced at the clock. Two? When had 2 AM rolled around? I guess I had been out longer than I realized.

I quickly scribbled a note to my mother explaining what was going on. If Sam hadn't already called her with the dilemma, she deserved to know where her kids were at.

As I was rushing out the front door, I collided with something twisted and hard. I smacked my shins against a cold bar of some kind.

"Son of bitch!" Even though the bruise was already healing, it still hurt.

I looked at the unidentified object. My heart nearly leaped into my chest when I saw a dark figure illuminated in the moonlight. The object that I had hit was a wheelchair. As my eyes quickly adjusted, I felt relief wash over me.

Billy. So Sam had gotten in touch with the Elders already.

I knew why Billy was here. For the longest time, I just stared into the darkness, waiting for him to say something.

This was not going to be a fun conversation.