I wonder why it always has to hurt

For every lesson that I have to learn

I won't forget what you did to me

How you showed me things I wished I'd never seen

But I was stupid and you broke me down

I'll never be the same again

"Thank You"

-Simple Plan

Chapter 33:

God damn kids

Turns out the phone call was from Alice. She told us we might as well pack up and come back because she didn't see us catching Irina anytime in the near future. Gee, maybe she could have mentioned that before we went running all over hell and half of Washington searching for the blonde.

After we came back without any news of where the vampire had disappeared to, Jacob immediately went back to fearing for Nessie's safety. God, he was getting as bad as Edward was about that over-protective thing.

I opted for running the perimeters. Sometimes I was by myself, and sometimes I ran with one or two members of my pack. I preferred to run with Embry. He was just a lot more easy-going than Quil, and he wasn't as annoying as my kid brother. Plus, I enjoyed talking to him.

Jacob was so nervous about what the vampire might have planned that he went as far as calling Sam in for backup. Yeah, I was thrilled about that. I uttered a string of profanities about two miles long when I had heard about that. As if my conflicting feelings regarding my ex weren't enough to deal with. Now I had to run with him again. Fortunately, Sam and his pack kept their distance from us. They ran the borders very closely.

It had been three days since we had seen Irina on the cliff. Jake had us running patrols nonstop. He was paranoid that something was going to happen to Nessie. Seth and Embry were running parallel to Brady, Collin and Paul. They were apparently training a new wolf. He was lagging behind them, though I could tell he wanted to be ahead of them. He looked like he was a cocky little thing. I bet Sam was having a complete blast with him. That new male wolf testosterone could be a bitch. The new kid; I think his name was Cody, stayed a few steps behind Paul. Paul didn't seem to be paying much attention to the newbie. He was probably to busy gushing about Rachel that he didn't even realize that Cody was steering off-course.

I just shrugged and tried to keep our pack in-line. Quil was spending time with Claire, while Jacob kept a watchful eye over Nessie. So it was just three of us. Embry and Seth weren't very hard to manage. In fact, this whole "second-in-command" thing was pretty easy. Most of the time, the pack ran itself. Very rarely did Jake or I have to step in to give any instructions. We read each other very well.

Dude, Emmett could totally kick Jasper's ass. Seth and Embry were arguing about which one of the Cullens would win in a fight.

Embry disagreed, Jasper's got that quiet rage thing going on. Plus, he was in some war or something before he was turned into a vampire. He's got the fighting skills in the family.

Leah, what do you think? Seth dragged me into their stupid male ritual thing.

I think you're both wrong, I shrugged. I could feel their confusion. I let out a smile, Rosalie would tear both those little boys up. She was the one vampire that, if pushed to her limits, would be a bitch to fight against. So, naturally, I had always wanted to see how I would fare against her. I was constantly antagonizing the hell out of her. But so far, she hadn't tried to attack me. She had more self-control than I realized.

Seth sighed, When did Quil say he was going to be back to take over for me? I haven't had a break in over twelve hours. And it's lunchtime. I'm hungry.

So take a break and get something to eat, I suggested.

Yeah man, don't you remember? Your sister is second in command, Embry said, all proud and loving like.

Yeah, like I don't hear about that every day of my life, Seth muttered sarcastically.

Maybe I'll stop talking about it if you stop hogging the damn bathroom in the morning. Come on, man. I'm a girl, and I don't spend as much time in the bathroom as you do, I laughed. I mean, it's nice that you appreciate your appearance and all, but you don't have to do your hair and make-up every day. I teased him.

Seth grumbled back, Whatever, Leah.

Spoken like a true teenage girl, I laughed.

Seth ignored me and shifted to another subject. Who'd win in a fight? Rosalie or Bella?

Oh God, hands down, Rosalie. That bitch is crazy, Embry laughed.

Yeah, but Bella's still a pretty young newborn. Seth pointed out.

This fun little game was completely stupid and pointless. I broke away from my brother and Embry to run a little on my own. Once I got some miles between us, I slowed to a trot. This really was boring as hell. And stupid, too. Jake was just overreacting, like he always did. I kept a nice slow pace for a while, listening to Embry and Seth argue about which one of the Cullens had the palest ass, or something like that.

I saw some trees across the clearing sway uneasily. Just as I was cursing Jake for having us out here for no good reason, I picked up on a scent. I didn't make a move when the small black-haired, stone face appeared through the trees. What was interesting is the fact that he didn't look like he was hunting, but he looked like he had a mission.

Seth, get Jacob. Now. Tell him to tell Edward we've got a visitor. I leaned forward, careful to not make any sudden movements.

Careful, Leah, Seth warned me. He raced towards the mansion. So far, I had succeeded in keeping this thirsty red-eyed vampire from spotting me. I knew he had to hear my heart beating since I was standing so close. Maybe he just thought the heartbeat belonged to a regular animal. Edward had said once that our blood doesn't smell human to their kind. That we stunk to them. I scoffed; yeah, like they smelled like a bed of roses to us.

I took in the vampire's appearance. He looked a lot like Alice. He was tiny and had the same dark, spiky hair that she had. But the one thing that they didn't share was the bloodlust in his eyes. I had never seen Alice with the savage look that this leech was wearing.

He seemed distracted. I crouched down quietly, waiting to spring into action if he spotted me. But it wasn't me that I should have been concerned about. I raised my head and saw that Cody, Sam's new wolf, was wandering over to the vampire alone.

Embry saw through my eyes that the new kid was racing at the monster, full force.

Holy shit, he's gonna get himself killed. Sam's gonna be pissed, Embry frowned.

Where is Sam's pack? Shouldn't they have more control over this? I grumbled.

I hoped that if something happened to this kid, that Sam would rip Paul a new asshole for not keeping an eye on him like he was supposed to. Young werewolves are stupid. I know. I'd been there. It hadn't been that long ago that I tried to take on a newborn vampire myself and got in over my head. Jacob had bailed me out, and gotten pretty badly hurt in the process. Something told me that this was going to end that way for me, too. Oh well, payback's a bitch.

The vampire crouched down and sprang forward. Cody was about to get it. I watched as all the hackles stood up on his bluish coat. He let out a growl and then a snap.

I knew that I couldn't stay hidden any longer. I lunged forward, barking loudly at the inexperienced moron that was about to get his head ripped off. The vampire growled at him. I could see that this leech was going to be a challenge to take down. Even though he was tiny, he seemed to have excellent fighting skills.

What the hell are you doing? Get out of there you dimwit! I growled at him.

I knew that he understood what I was conveying through my angry barks. But, he ignored my warning. Besides, it was too late for words. Both parties involved apparently wanted to rip each other's throats out.

I'm on my way, Leah. Embry was racing towards where we were. I saw through his eyes that Sam and Jared were with him. Seth had just reached the Cullen's house. He was crying wildly for Jacob to come outside.

The gray-blue wolf bared his teeth and hit the vampire head on. The vampire was easily able to spin around him and grabbed his back leg. Cody squealed out a whimper as he felt the pressure from the vampire's strength.

God damn kids. I rolled my eyes.

He was able to maneuver around and sink his teeth into the leech's arm until he let go of his leg. But instead of running away like he should have, the imbecile lunged at the vampire again. That dumb little shit. He was going to get killed. I couldn't just stand by and do nothing. I felt Embry and Seth tense up at my thoughts.

Wait on us. Don't take him on alone, Embry begged.

Jake's coming out now, Seth agreed. Edward heard my thoughts. He and Emmett are on their way. I watched through Seth's eyes as Jake phased.

Don't do anything stupid. Jake shook his head.

Well, you know me… was all I could say back.

Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of, Jacob mumbled.

He was now rushing with my brother to help me. I had at least six people on their way to help, but none of that was going to do any good if I didn't do something now. If I waited on them, the kid would be dead before they showed up. I had to act. The vampire had the now terrified Cody in his grasp again. I sighed as I raced forward.

Hey shithead, why don't you pick on someone your own size? I'm sure there's a circus in town. I'll see if I can find a midget willing to fight you. Wait, why was I talking to him? He couldn't understand what I was saying. I shrugged. I still got some satisfaction in making fun of him. You're short, dude.

I lunged on top of him. He toppled over and lost his hold on Cody, who went skidding across the grass and into a tree. I glanced over and saw that the impact had shattered the tree. Cody was laying unconscious at the base of what was left.

Oh sure, pick a fight and then take a nap, I snapped.

The vampire quickly got to his feet. I took a defensive position. I had to figure out my next move.

Just hang on, Embry begged. I could feel his concern for my safety more than both Jake and Seth. They were concerned too, but not nearly as worried as Embry. We're almost there. Part of me wanted to listen to him, but the other part of me wanted to knock this stupid bloodsucker's head off of his body and play soccer with it.

Okay, back off, Leah, Jake warned me. Wait on back up.

"Back off?" Sure, that was easy for him to say. Now that the vampire knew I was around, he sure as hell wasn't going to let me get away. Plus, I couldn't leave the snoring wolf a few hundred yards away from me. The vampire would probably eat him as a snack.

The vampire threw his arms out at me angrily. I dodged his strike and grabbed his left arm in my mouth. I sunk my teeth into his marble skin and pulled with all of my might. The arm went flailing across the woods and smacked into Cody's head. God, that kid was going to have brain damage when this was all over.

I snapped at the vampire again, trying to rip off his right arm, but he did some weird-ass maneuver around me and was able to grab me by the back of my neck. As he held me up by my scruff, I snapped my jaw in the air trying to grab whatever piece of this asshole that I could.

He threw me into the ground and kicked my right side. Shit! Shit! Shit! Great, three broken ribs. I instinctively threw my foot up to try and scratch him, but he blocked my jab and slammed his leg into my paw.

I let out a howl as I felt the snap. No doubt that leg was broken. Jesus…ow, ow, ow, mother fucking asshole! I screamed out in pain.

Everyone in my pack cowered at my pain. I felt Embry speed up.

Leah, don't die! I heard my brother beg.

I'm gonna kill him, Jacob snarled. This vampire has just broken the wrong wolf's leg. Even if I didn't survive, my boys were going to rip him to shreds.

I tried to ignore the ache in my leg as I snapped at the vampire's leg. I was able to tear his left foot from his leg. He didn't even seem to notice as he picked me up and slammed me up against a tree.

I saw the rage in his eyes. All I could think about was my shattered bones.

I seriously hope you destroy this shithead slowly. I advised my pack on what to do if I wasn't able to get out of this predicament before they arrived.

Don't give up on the fight now, Leah. Just a few more minutes. Embry wasn't that far from us.

Jake, what if we don't… Seth whimpered. He was worried that they wouldn't reach me in time.

Jacob cut him off, She'll be okay, kid. His voice seemed so far away. The pain was really excruciating. I tried the best I could not to pussy out and lose consciousness.

The vampire had me pinned against a tree. I tried to wiggle free, but he roughly slammed my broken arm against the wood,

Son of bitch! I snarled. That really fucking hurt.

I could see the hatred in his glowing red eyes. I snapped at him and was able to pull off one of his fingers on the hand that he hadn't lost. That pissed him off, so he threw me against the tree roughly again.

Well, I was going to die anyway, so I spit some of my slobber at him. Go to hell, asshole.

He growled angrily at me. So, this was it. I couldn't believe I was really going to go out like this. He opened his mouth, showing me his nasty venom filled teeth. He was going for my neck. All it would take was one puncture wound filled with his nasty-ass juices, and I would be dead.

Strangely, I wasn't as afraid as I thought I would have been. I'm sure the adrenaline pumping through my body was keeping me from feeling too much fear.

Rot in hell, you fucking dickhead, I growled as I closed my eyes. I hope you choke on my blood.

I squeezed my eyes shut tightly and flung my feet forward. Even if I was going to die, there was no way that I was going down without fighting. I felt my broken arm grinding, just bone against bone. It was disgusting. All four of my legs were kicking beneath the vampire's hold. I felt like I was some five-year-old throwing a hissy fit, flinging all four of my feet around like a ragdoll.

I considered opening my eyes, but I decided that I didn't want to see what was coming. I figured I'd stand a better chance of not freezing in fear if I couldn't see what the vampire was getting ready to do to me. As I fought blindly against the vampire's attempts to get his filthy venom into my system, a strange feeling came over me.

I realized that even though I was in the dark, I was not alone. Pictures of my loved ones flashed across my mind. So that whole "life flashing before your eyes" thing wasn't complete bullshit. I watched all the important events from my life play before me like a weird, choppy picture show in less than two minutes. I wasn't surprised that I thought of my mother, my dad, and Seth. I saw Embry, and even Jake. But the last image that flashed across my mind was the one that shocked me. I saw Sam's face. The image of him took my breath away, because I had never been able to see Sam and not be in pain.

So, I tried not to think of him, because as much pain as my broken bones were causing me, they were nothing compared to the heartbreak that I had gone through because of him. Instead, I thought of Embry. But that killed me, too, because my death would tear him apart. I could feel how much he cared about me. I knew that there was no pain worse than a wolf losing his mate.

Well, shit. No matter who I thought about, it was going to hurt. So, I let all my thoughts go. It was time to face the pain…because I was going to die anyway.