I feel like I'm living the worst day

Over and over again

I feel like the summer is leaving again

I feel like I'm living the worst day

I feel like you're gone

And every day is the worst day ever

"Worst Day Ever"

-Simple Plan

Chapter 37:

This might get interesting…

Just because Seth, Embry, and Quil were freaking out about why Alice and Jasper were running so close to being outside their land, I decided to backtrack and follow their scent. I was completely baffled. The trails they were leaving didn't make any sense at all. In fact, it seemed that they were going in circles. But why? Were they running from something?

The only time I found that the scent had strayed off-course was when I followed Alice's scent to Edward and Bella's little cottage in the woods. The weird thing is that only Alice had gone there. I didn't find Jasper's trail anywhere near the house. I glared at the cottage. I knew no one was home. So why would Alice go there?

Any sign of them? I questioned as I ran away from Edward and Bella's little fairytale home.

It's like she's purposely trying to confuse us. Seth didn't understand. I got to the border and her scent continues over the line.

Why would Alice be that suicidal? She had never struck me as the type to purposely put herself and her husband in danger for no particular reason. I felt my heart sink a little. There must be a reason.

Quil, you still at the border? I questioned.

He whimpered, It's really eerie here. Paul and Jared are just staring at me from the trees. I can feel it.

Is Sam around?

I haven't seen him, Quil shook his head. I could see through Quil's eyes that Embry was sitting next to him.

Embry added quietly, It's like Paul and Jared are warning us to stay back. Like they don't want us to know something.

If they killed Alice and Jasper, Jacob is going to be livid, I said the first thing that popped into my head.

He wouldn't, Embry frowned.

No, I guess not. I took back my overreaction. After all, Jacob had just spoken with Sam earlier today. I had to guess that part of that conversation had been about keeping his new family safe. And even though Sam hated the fact that Jake had imprinted on Nessie, he had to accept that the Cullens were part of Jacob's life now.

And I wanted to believe that Sam was good enough that he wouldn't do anything to hurt Jacob. But I just wasn't sure. I groaned a little. How had I come from hating the vampires so damn much to actually caring about whether or not they were alive?

Should we phase to talk to them? Quil questioned.

No. If they are hiding something, we shouldn't push them. Let's just talk to Jacob. I was out of ideas. This is something that he needed to deal with. I let out a low howl.

We waited, but Jacob never phased. What the hell was going on?

Okay, everyone to the Cullen's place. Now. I ordered as I raced to the mansion. The others followed. Something really bad was going on.

We were outside the house within minutes. I felt relief wash over my body when I glanced through the window and saw Jacob sitting on the couch, completely unharmed. The rest of the Cullens, sans Alice and Jasper, were with him.

They look really upset, Seth noticed.

Edward glanced out the window. He knew that we were here. He didn't say anything, but his stone face looked hard and broken. I recalled the last time I saw him look that way. It was when Bella was on her deathbed. What could possibly have him so depressed again? I grinned a little. Maybe Bella was dying again.

"I don't understand," Jacob said breathlessly as he looked at Carlisle. "The Volturi wants you all dead?" He glanced at Nessie, sleeping in Bella's arms. "Why?"

I growled when I heard him mention the Volturi. Now there was a group I would like to rip to shreds. As if being a vampire wouldn't suck enough without their stupid tyrannical rule.

Carlisle looked pained as he answered. I frowned. I didn't like the look he had on his face.

"Alice had a vision." I saw him look down and sigh. "Irina drew the incorrect assumptions when she came here and saw Nessie."

I suddenly wished that we had caught the blonde that day she was hovering above everyone on the cliff. Because something told me she was behind all this.

Carlisle confirmed it seconds later, "Irina went to the Volturi. She showed Aro her thoughts."

Wow, there were a hell of a lot of vampires out there with extra abilities. And from what I'd heard about the Volturi, they were filled with vampires who had special skills.

"So, they assumed that Nessie was an immortal child?" Jacob questioned.

I listened as Carlisle explained to Jacob about immortal children. I didn't like hearing it, because it involved vampires turning small children into monsters. I felt bad for the kids involved. The Volturi had ordered them to be destroyed because the immortal children didn't have control over themselves and went on a killing spree. Since that time, any vampire who dared to turn a child was automatically sentenced to death.

I finally got what Alice was running from. The day that Irina had seen Nessie with Bella and Jacob, she figured that she was looking at an immortal child. And now, anyone associating with the Cullens would be killed.

So, I don't get what the big deal is, Quil frowned. They come, meet Nessie, see she's got a heartbeat, and go about their business.

Edward took over the explanation from Carlisle, probably so he could answer Quil's question.

"The Volturi aren't a force to be reasoned with. They won't give us any time to explain. They don't ask questions. They just attack."

Oh, well, that could be a problem, Quil nodded.

Yes, it certainly could.

Carlisle continued to explain the situation to Jacob, "We think that you might be in danger too, Jacob."

Jacob forced out a laugh, "When am I not?"

"Irina saw you that day as well, and the Volturi is aware of your existence."

"Good. So they'll know who's kicking their ass when they come to town." Jacob let out a growl.

Here, here! I agreed. It was about time that we got to rip some vampires to pieces.

"Doc, I'm sure my pack won't have a problem standing beside you when they come." Jacob tried to reassure Carlisle that they weren't alone in this fight.

Hell, yeah! We got your back, Jake! Embry barked out an approval to let him know we were here. He glanced out the window and nodded at us.

"And Sam's pack will fight, too." He seemed pretty confident about that. "We spoke about a great deal of things today. He knows what Nessie and your family mean to me. Plus, I highly doubt that he's going to willingly let a pack of moronic, fascist vampires waltz into town without a fight."

"I'm not sure I can allow you to risk your lives," Carlisle sighed.

"It's not like we haven't done it before." Jacob stood up from the couch. "My mind's made up, Carlisle." I drew my head back in shock. I had never heard Jacob address Carlisle by his name with such respect before.

"Jacob…" I saw Bella bite down on her lip. It was interesting that she had carried such a human trait over into her vampire lifestyle.

"It's no use, Bells. I will not let something happen to you. To her…" He placed his hand gently on Nessie's soft little cheeks and then walked over to the window.

"I'm sure you overheard everything?" he asked.

We all nodded.

Jacob drew in a breath. "Anyone have any objections?" he questioned. "Because you guys don't have to fight if you don't want to."

I stand behind you all the way. I looked into his eyes. He knew what I was trying to say.

"Thanks, Leah." He forced out a sad smile. "Everyone else okay with this?"

Let's kick some vampire ass! Quil riled himself up.

We're with you, man! Embry agreed.

Whatever you say, Jake, Seth nodded eagerly.

"Good," Jacob nodded. "Glad to have you on board." He looked at me. "I need you to explain this to Sam's pack." He glanced back to his sleeping beauty. "I can't leave her. Especially not now…"

I nodded. I understood.

"Once they are aware of the situation, just do a quick sweep of the perimeter, and then come back here," Jacob instructed.

I wasn't even thinking about the fact that I might have to talk to Sam after all as I dashed forward towards the border.

Seth, Quil, run the line while I update Sam's pack.

Leah, are you sure you want to do the talking? Embry questioned. I could tell he was concerned about how I was going to handle talking with Sam. I mean, just less than an hour ago, I spit at the idea of having to talk to him.

This is nothing but business. I can handle that, I assured Embry.

He didn't say anything back as he followed me out to the border. Once I got there, I realized that Sam's scent wasn't anywhere around. I could smell Paul and Brady, and I could smell the newbie, too.

The line's clear, Seth assured me. Wow, he had gotten that done quicker than I thought he would. Guess speed ran in the family. I could see that he and Quil were running up behind Embry and I.

I stared across the border. I could see Paul staring back at me through the trees.

I quickly phased and threw on some clothes.

"Alright Paul, get your ass out here!" I crossed the border and started to walk towards the woods. Almost immediately after I came off of the Cullen's land, Paul was walking towards me on two feet with Brady and Cody behind him as wolves.

"Oh, for crying out loud," I snorted as I met him half-way. "Did you really have to bring the troops? It's me, not an army of vampires."

"All the more reason to have them come with me." Paul looked at me warily.

I couldn't help but laugh. Was he that afraid of me? I could hear an uneasy whine coming from the trees behind me. Seth.

I turned around and rolled my eyes. "Fine, if it makes you feel better, then come on." I waved for my pack to come stand behind me. I really wasn't nervous about anything happening. If it did, I could totally take Paul. Brady couldn't fight worth shit, and I had also seen Cody in action. I'm pretty sure I could take down all three of them by myself. But if it made the pack feel better, I didn't mind having them by my side. Seth came up on my right, and Embry on my left. Quil paced back and forth behind all of us, watching Paul nervously.

"Sam's still letting you babysit the new kid after that thing with the vampire earlier?" I couldn't believe that Sam had put Paul in charge of Cody again after Paul had let the kid slip away from him before.

"It's not like we have a choice. If you hadn't noticed, we're spread pretty thin these days," Paul growled.

I really didn't want to have this conversation with Paul. As much as it pained me to ask, I wanted to talk to Sam. "Is Sam around?"

He looked surprised by my request. "He's busy."

"Doing what?"

"What Sam does is none of your business anymore, Leah. You aren't part of this pack." He spit at me.

That didn't bother me as much as it should have.

"You're right," I shrugged. "I guess I'll just tell you, then." Bitter bastard. I added in thought.

"Tell me what?" There was a certain tone in his voice that told me that he knew what I was about to tell him. But he didn't act like he wanted to tell me how he knew it.

"There is an army of vampires coming here," I explained. I watched Paul's reaction carefully. He furrowed his brow, tightened his lips, and then nodded for me to continue. "Long story short, there was a misunderstanding about Nessie, so they're coming here to destroy the Cullens."

Paul nodded silently, "I see." His lack of emotion was beginning to annoy me. Even if he didn't care about the Cullens well being, I thought at least he would've shown a little excitement about the possibility of fighting some evil leeches. Paul had always loved to fight.

"We're going to fight with them. Jake can't stand the thought of losing Nessie. And he's asking for the pack's help. We know Sam won't ignore a vampire invasion. So we're asking you to stand with us." Though, if you decide not to, that would be fine by me. I still don't like you guys. I was doing exceptionally well keeping my smart-ass remarks to myself. I guess this "second in command" thing had really forced me to grow up a bit.

"I'm sure that Sam would agree that keeping the town safe from vampires is still the first priority. I can't see why he wouldn't want to be involved," Paul finally said after deliberating over his thoughts.

"Great. Yeah, so, we'll keep you updated." I guess that was it. Paul really didn't have the authority in the pack to make the decisions. I'm sure once Sam saw this conversation in Paul's thoughts, he would come to his own decision. As I turned to walk away, I got the sudden urge to ask Paul something. "You haven't by chance seen Alice and Jasper lately, have you?"

I noticed Brady glance away. Paul looked at the ground. I knew it. They knew something! What were they hiding from us?

Seth let out a soft whimper, and nudged me with his nose.

"Yeah, I know, kid," I said under my breath. I faced Paul again. "If you see them, just tell them to come back to the mansion."

I heard Paul stifle a hard laugh, and then he looked at me seriously again.

"Yeah. Sure thing…" I could hear the sarcasm in his tone.

"Fucking dick." Well, I hadn't managed to suppress that thought.

Paul just rolled his eyes at my hostility. "Oh yeah, Leah, that really hurts my feelings, coming from such a screwed up bitch as yourself."

Embry let out a growl from beside me and snapped at Paul. Paul just laughed at the warning. Seth and Quil inched forward, echoing Embry's growls with their own snarls.

"Guys, back off." I glanced at them. Not that I didn't appreciate the gesture, but there were more important things to deal with than having to worry about a dog fight. Against my better judgment, I didn't call Paul the list of names that I had for him racked up in my brain. Instead, I just took a deep breath to keep myself calm. "Look Paul, we haven't always gotten along, but something tells me that we're going to have to work together in the coming weeks, so I'll lay off of the hostility if you do."

Paul looked surprised by my gesture. I smiled to myself. I had caught the asshole completely off-guard. "Uh, yeah. Okay."

"Good." Suck it, jerkwad. "Well, I guess we're done here," I nodded. As I turned to leave, I heard a soft bark from behind me. It wasn't Brady, so I assumed that it was Cody.

"What does he want?" I questioned.

Paul snapped at Cody, "It never would have happened if you hadn't disobeyed the orders."

Cody whined, and Paul huffed, "Fine," he grumbled and then faced me. "He wants me to thank you for saving him from that vampire." Paul looked over at Cody, who nodded his giant head and swished his tail from side to side.

I looked at Cody. "No problem." Just stop being such an idiot. Damn, I was getting good at this suppression thing.

I turned to leave, but again, was stopped by Paul.

"Hey, Leah?" he asked softly. I was surprised by his change in tone. It sounded almost hesitant now.

"Yes?" I tried my best not to sound annoyed.

"Sam does want to talk to you," Paul said. "Maybe you should stick around until he gets back."

If I stuck around here any longer, I couldn't guarantee that I wouldn't rip Paul's nuts off. He was really starting to irritate the hell out of me. Plus, the more I heard that Sam wanted to talk to me, the more I didn't want to talk to him.

"Another time maybe," I shrugged. "I've got other things I need to be doing." I left out the part where that "other thing" was protecting vampires, again.

"Just figured I'd ask." I could see that even though he sounded sad, he was relieved that I didn't want to stick around.

I didn't bother to say goodbye to them as I turned my back and headed towards the woods to phase back. When I did, I was stunned to hear the praise from the others about how well I had done.

Good talk. I thought for sure you were going to go for his throat, Quil nodded. I sure wanted to.

Yeah. It wasn't easy. The entire time I was talking to him, I was fantasizing about tearing his arms off of his body, I admitted with a grin.

That would have been fun to see, Embry laughed.

Let's just run the border one more time. Then we'll head back to the Cullen's like Jacob asked us to, I suggested.

It didn't take us long to sweep the land. Less than half an hour later, we were heading back to the mansion.

You think Sam will agree to fight, too? Seth questioned.

Probably. Sam had never been one to ignore danger.

You really did a good job talking to Paul. I'm proud that you were able to maintain your composure.

Thanks. It wasn't easy, I laughed. In fact, I would rather fight a hundred vampires than to talk to him again.

At least the hard part's over, Seth said.

But he was wrong. The hard part was just getting started.