Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight

AUTHOR'S NOTE: (MUST READ THIS!) Leah's a bit weird at the start of this chapter because she's been a wolf for so long that she's kind of forgotten who she is.

I woke up to the sunrise.

Need to eat. I told myself. I bounded forward, sniffing the air until I found what I was looking for.
Prey.
The prey was crawling along happily, unaware that I, king of wolves, was about to kill it. I sunk into a crouch, silently, then sprung forward. The prey was dead before it could fight back. I tore the meat off happily. It was good prey- it filled me up well.

Others came.

Weaklings.

They wanted my prey. I snarled at them and they cowered back. Yes! I am the leader! My pack will not disobey me! I threw back my head and howled as they ran away, defeated. Triumph! I finished my prey and gnawed at the bones happily until every trace of meat was gone.

Good. Nothing like a good, big meal.

I ran away happily. I was the dominant one! No one could take me down! Hah!
I howled again, showing off my victory. King of wolves. Their leader.
There was a strange word coming up in my head. Alpha. It corrected me. Not leader, Alpha.
I snarled. Stupid voice, correcting me, king of wolves.
Alpha!
How dare this voice defy me? I turned around. I would stalk this strange voice, use it as my prey. However, the voice was nowhere. Maybe it had gone. I growled. How dare it leave me! It was my prey! Come back and face me!
Oh, please.
This word was strange, foreign. I had never heard it before. How dare this voice defy me? What was it, the leader of an enemy pack, trespassing on my territory? I had to kill it. The others depended on me. Me, in my position of power as King of the wolves….
You're NOT King of the wolves! You're not even male!
I snarled. Of course I was male. All the females wanted my pups but wouldn't get them. I'm the leader. The King of the wolves.
Stop saying that.
How dare it! This voice must be pure evil, I decided. I had always been the leader. Ever since my…
Well, I couldn't remember my birth. But I must have been born to the former leader. Otherwise how would I be King?
You're not king. And you're not male! You're not even a wolf.
The pieces came together then. The voice must be blind! Of course I was a wolf.
No, you're not! You're a shape-shifter.
Such things did not exist! That word didn't even exist!
Ugh. Yes it does. Look, if you'll just listen to me, Leah…
Leah. That word definitely existed.
In fact, I liked that word.
Leah, Leah, Leah, Leah, Leah. What a nice word.
The word made me think of a pretty human with dark skin, long black hair and a gorgeous face. Suddenly, though, the hair shrunk into her scalp until it was chin length, the pretty clothes shriveled up into boring clothes and the exquisite face turned into a scowl.
Oh my God.
This image broke through the carefully preserved wolf-y wall in my head. It brought back years of happiness and beauty, followed by years of pain and torment.
Leah.
Not King wolf. Not the leader. Not the best wolf there ever was, son of the former King.
Leah Clearwater, unloved, unwanted, a washed up werewolf…
Not werewolf, shape-shifter. The voice I now recognized as Quil corrected.
Quil! I yelled in my head. What the hell are you doing here?
Bringing you back.
I don't want to go back! I was happy here!
No you weren't.
Shut up! I snarled. Where are you, anyway?
 A few paces ahead of me, a chocolate brown wolf emerged. Suddenly, a loud barking laugh emerged in his chest.
What? I snarled. I was not pleased at having my false sense of security taken away.
Your fur! He snorted.
I looked down.
Oh. My. God.
My fur had grown until I now looked like a hairball. Great.
Hairball. You got that right.
Shut up, Quil. How long have I been here?
 I was expecting months, maybe even a few years. His answer shocked me.
Almost 15 years.
Woah.
Fifteen years.
FIFTEEN YEARS.
FIFTEEN years of being King wolf the weird. Fifteen years since I left. Fifteen years since Renesmee, Bella Cullen, Jacob, Sam, Emily…
Fifteen years without a brain.
You're joking.
Nope.
Oh my God. I repeated. I looked down for a moment, pain washing through me. Fifteen years, no imprint.
Ahem.
 I looked up sourly. What?
Are you coming home.
OK, keep your fur on. Home. La Push. Maybe I'd find an imprint there.
I hoped.
Hang on. I just need to get this bag of clothes I left somewhere…
 Another laugh. Ah, Leah, it's tied to your leg.

I rolled my eyes, looking down, then started to take off. I had to admit, It felt good to be me again.
Good… and also agonizing.

Quil and I ran so fast we made it back to La Push by nightfall.
"Where is everyone?" I asked, once I had phased, changed into clean clothes, and accepted bone crushing hugs followed by "Never do that again!" Lectures from my mother. I could barely believe it, but now she was Mrs. Charlie Swan.
Bella was my stepsister.
Ugh.
To my delight, my hair had grown back, long and luscious again. Since the need to be in wolf form was not necessary at the moment, I was wearing pretty clothes and, for the first time in 16 years, I felt like…
Like me.
Quil grinned when I asked him this.
"With Jacob. Nessie's in labor with her third child."
I froze, my jaw dropping.
The little girl, the baby half-vampire from a few years ago…
In labor.
With her third child.
So much had changed since I was away.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Oooooh! Cliffhanger! Dun Dun Dun Duuuuuun! Sorry about the late update but school is a harsh captor. Did you like it? The next chapter will be even better! Hopefully! Glad the chapter was a bit longer because looking over at my former chapters of this fic, I realized just how short they were.
Ta Ta!