AN

So here is the next chapter a day earlier than intended. I hope you like it. I'm not totally happy with it, but if I don't post it, I will start tearing it to shreds and there will be nothing left. So here it goes... deep breath...

As always reviews... love them, need them, want them, am grateful for all I have so far! if I can hit 100 pretty soon, I'll be well chuffed!

Jacob's POV

That was a noise I NEVER EVER wanted to hear again.

My eyes flew open and my heart beat tripled because Leah was not easily scared. In fact, I had never heard her emit that sound before, but I would have known her voice anywhere. My body moved quicker than my brain to get to her.

I had been asleep on the couch at the time and threw myself over the back. I landed on all fours like a cat and rushed forward. Sam's pack were long gone, but mine and Cris's had crashed here; I was met in the hallway by everyone coming from different directions. Embry glanced at me anxiously. I knew where his thoughts were. "Leah!" I confirmed as we both legged it outside.

I sensed someone phase, but could only take in the scene. I didn't understand what Leah was still doing here. Then I saw her chucking up in her clothes from last night and realised she couldn't have gone home. I immediately walked over to her and rubbed her back while she dry heaved. Seth moved to do the same, but I motioned for him to stay back. Leah was always unpredictable and I could still smell the alcohol on her from last night. I felt Leah brush my hands off her and my attention went to the bloodied bit of ground in front of her.

What the hell?

I automatically moved her away and stepped closer to look at the shape on the ground. It was the body of a female wolf and it had been completely skinned. Its coat lay a few metres away in one piece. Whoever did this knew what they were doing; I hadn't seen a hunter in the reservation ever do as neat a job.

Within seconds, I had assessed the situation and seen that no one was hurt. Leah was understandably spooked, but she was ok. I, on the other hand, was frantic.

If we were a normal group of people, we'd take this as a sick joke, but it was too precise. It had to be someone who knew about us, and was depraved enough to do this to a poor animal. They also had to be able to catch a wolf in the first place.

My stomach turned. Why a female wolf?

It felt personal and I wanted to sort things out immediately. "Someone call Sam. Now!"

I saw Quil back track to the house.

"Cris, what do you reckon?"

He was by my side in an instant.

I could see him thinking it over. "It's a fresh kill for sure, but there's nothing that stands out."

I saw Leah shrinking into the house. Once she had gone, everyone crowded around and examined the remains for themselves. Quil joined us again. He said Sam would be here as soon as he and Jared had dropped the girls off at my dad's.

Cris and I used the opportunity to ask if anyone present had any involvement. I wouldn't ever believe one of us would do this, but I had to be sure - Leah didn't always bring out the best in people. Seth in particular was hurt by my alpha tone, but I didn't have time to worry. I was satisfied with the packs answers, so Cris and I decided that everyone, except the alphas and betas, would go out on patrol immediately. Whoever did this couldn't have gotten far, so there had to be a trail.

Once they phased and left, I made my way inside to the kitchen. Corey had gone upstairs to throw some clothes on. I found Cris already stooped over some maps in the lounge learning patrol routes and boundaries.

A short time after, I heard a car pull into the drive and two doors slammed shut. It took a minute for the new arrivals to join us. I assumed it was Sam and Jared and that they went to inspect the carcass first.

I was right, and by the time Sam was finally standing in front of me, he was wearing an extremely worried expression. Jared was also accompanying him and he seemed just as concerned. I noted that they didn't take long to get here, so I knew that they must have been speeding.

"Where is she? Is she ok?" Sam's voice was frantic.

I checked that Leah was out of hearing and proceeded to verbally abuse him. It led to a massive row. I was positive Leah wouldn't have been out there if he had just left her alone like I'd said. It made my skin crawl that some sicko got that close to her.

Sam was incredulous. He wanted to blame me for not taking her home safely. I pointed out that, apart from taking away her free will, there wasn't much chance she'd have gone willingly. He said he didn't care and that it was my responsibility to protect her. According to him, I was a shit alpha.

I lost control at that point and punched him hard in the face. Sam staggered back before he started to tremble all over. Jared automatically threw his arms around him and Cris and Corey, who had just appeared from the lounge, quickly held me back. Neither of us could retaliate without hurting them.

I didn't know how he could dare accuse me of not protecting Leah. All I ever did was pick up the broken pieces he'd left behind. The guys had started to release their grip on me, but I was still seeing red.

Before I could do anything, however, Cris stepped between us and started yelling.

"What the hell are you two doing? Please, let me know when you've finished this little pissing contest!" He was pointing angrily at both of us for emphasis.

I had to hand it to him. Sam and I were so confounded by his sudden outburst that we both paused. Cris was normally so calm and collected.

He used the moment to continue. "I don't know what's gone on here; quite frankly, I don't care! What I do care about, is that one of your pack members was put in danger because of your incompetence and self obsessed attitudes!"

Whoa, who the hell did Cris think he was talking to?

Sam was biting back. "Hang on there mate! You've only been here a week and you want to start judging? You've hardly got the experience to know what you're talking about."

"That's right Sam, you guys have got the experience. That's my point! You're acting like complete fools right now. You are all so worried about your testosterone levels that you've completely neglected your patrols. In one week, I've already seen how little time you spend on them!"

It became clear, that when Cris wanted to say something he didn't mince his words.

"Well, if we are doing such a bad job here, why have you stuck around?" Sam stabbed back.

"Well, we were here as your guests!" Cris sniggered.

It was my turn to intervene because I could see where this was going. I didn't want Cris to leave and Sam was being a jack ass.

"Guys stop it. Cris, you aren't a guest." He looked shocked by my words, but I continued, "As far as I'm concerned, you're a pack brother… and, as much as I hate to admit it, because you are a total dick, so are you Sam."

Sam had his dumb face on and just gawped at me. Well, it was rare when I was nice to him, (this was me being nice), and it normally only lasted a short time.

Sam's posture finally deflated and he sighed. "It's Leah…. anyone else and I wouldn't be like this. You know?"

I knew that feeling. Leah was my beta and best friend and, despite public opinion, she was breakable.

Cris also collected himself. "Look the point is that things have gotten lax. First the wolf rumours and now this. You haven't even explained everything properly. You keep dropping things on us. Only today, did Corey and I find out that there's a female wolf!"

Corey put his hand up like a nervous school kid in class and said, "Err, actually… I knew yesterday."

I personally wouldn't have chosen that moment to speak, and unsurprisingly when Cris scowled at his beta, he dropped his hand immediately and looked at the floor.

Cris looked disappointed as he continued. "Look, I had no idea the whole pack was off duty last night. Crikey, I'd have been out there if I had known."

"Well, this is a wakeup call for sure," I agreed. The fact that something worse could have happened to Leah scared me. She may be a pain, but that wasn't the point.

"We need to set up shared patrols again so she's safe," Sam said.

"Sure… sure..." I mumbled. I needed to work this out with my pack; I needed my beta.

"Well there's enough of us," Cris said, nodding, "but I think you're still missing the point. This shouldn't be about the girl; it shouldn't matter who it was. You should be this worried anyway."

His words sunk in. He was right. I hated to admit it, but when had this become all about Leah and who did the best job protecting her? It was still an issue, but I suddenly realised that our packs had become so self involved that we stopped watching the outside world.

Corey decided to join in again, "More so, shouldn't we be worrying about who did it? I mean, if it was a person, what did they witness last night?"

"If it was a person, they must be pretty sick!" Jared said disgusted.

I decided to rule out some options. "Well, I've already confirmed it wasn't any of my pack."

Cris nodded, "Mine checked out."

"Mine weren't involved either; I checked the minute Quil called," Sam added.

"So who?" Corey repeated.

"Or what?" Sam raised his eyebrows.

Just then I heard the stairs creak.

Leah's POV

Once my stomach was still I stood, shaking Jake's hands off of me. In my eyes, I'd just lost any credibility I'd built up by screaming like a little girl.

I was going to kill the sick mutt that thought it was funny to do this, but I couldn't think of which one it could have been. I knew Sam's pack weren't fond of me, but this was taking things to an extreme.

It was hard not to feel over dramatic, I wasn't new to blood and guts. It was a knee jerk reaction to scream though. Wolves were sacred, and while I wasn't easily scared, I was more disturbed at how close the culprit got without me waking up. I had never purposely put myself in harm's way before, but I realised that I had to get a grip.

The boys surrounding me looked shocked. Meanwhile, Jake shoved me away from the carcass before he stepped forward to examine it. I let him because I was quickly becoming the centre of attention.

I felt even more embarrassed, when I heard Jake command, "Someone call Sam. Now!" This was really being blown out of proportion.

The next words out of Jake's mouth cleared up a few things though.

"Cris, what do you reckon?" he asked, looking at the guy from last night.

The man had the same azure eyes that stood out so clearly in the dark. So this was 'Cris the alpha', and he was standing in only his boxers. Dragging my eyes away from him, it suddenly dawned on me that hardly anyone was dressed; I must have woken them all up.

I watched as Cris approached the remains. He held himself in the same manner as Jake. I compared them further as they peered at the body. I'd seen enough of the guys to be able to judge physiques and he was certainly carrying the alpha gene. Cris's facial features also looked more mature than the others. Even Jake, although manly, had never quite lost all of his baby face.

Cris's deep authoritative voice broke the silence. "It's a fresh kill for sure, but there's nothing that stands out."

"You ok Leah?"

The gentle voice beside me was a distraction. It was Embry who was standing next to me with a worried expression. Seth caught my eye in the background, his face just as alarmed. I forced a weak smile at my brother and looked back to Embry. I was glad that he still cared. After his remark last night, I'd thought he might hate me, but his genuine smile was reassuring, even in my current state.

"Yeah, it just caught me off guard." Suddenly I became overwhelmed with the need to get away.

Unfortunately, there were too many shape shifters between me and my car for a quiet exit. I turned and headed back into the house, really needing to wash away the last twelve hours.

I used the main bathroom this time. Wandering through the house, I realised every room smelt of shape shifters. I shut the bathroom door and pushed the lock shut, sealing myself in. Leaning back against the door, I closed my eyes, trying to escape the image of the wolf carcass.

Taking a deep breath and glancing around the room, I pushed myself forward. I was pleased to remember there was a shower. Stripping immediately and turning the water to hot, I stepped in. I felt soothed as I stood under the shower head with my face tilted upwards into the stream. With the water gradually running all over me, the banging in my head dulled to a low throb.

It was a running joke with the packs how often I washed. Maybe it was a woman thing, but because of being a wolf, I took every opportunity I had to shower and bathe. There was always a chance I would have to go for days phased, and I hated being dirty.

Reluctantly, I got out and grabbed a towel from the nearby cupboard. I looked down at my disgusting dress discarded on the floor, but having no other clothes it would have to do.

I had been in here for ages and with any luck, I would have a clear exit by now. I slowly started to descend the stairs and could hear voices below.

"Hey Leah, we're in the kitchen. Can you join us?"

Damn Jake's ears.

I had barely touched the top steps and he was calling me. I braced myself and wandered down to join them. I reached the kitchen, and judging by the serious atmosphere and people present, there was a meeting already in progress. I guessed as beta, I was expected to stick around; I looked down at my dress again. Oh the shame!

I must have looked worse than I thought. As soon as I entered the kitchen, Sam eyed my dress with a look of concern.

"Leah, are you alright?" Sam was next to me in an instant, holding my arms much like last night. He shook me, scrutinising my body at the same time. "Please… Please! Tell me they didn't touch you?"

"Ugh! God no Sam!" I pushed him away.

He looked like he wanted to move towards me again, but his feet stayed securely glued to the floor.

I ignored him. "So which one of us did it?"

The shock on the surrounding faces was plain to see.

"You can't think it was a wolf?" Jared spoke out.

I shrugged; why wouldn't it be? They all liked to play pranks and I was hardly popular.

"It's fine! I'm a bitch they want to flay. I get the metaphor," I said, thinking about how much I really must be despised.

Sam's voice was angry as he spat at me, "Do you honestly think, that's how we feel about you? That's sick Leah."

"It wasn't a shape shifter who did it," Cris interjected, addressing me for the first time today. He looked at me with an expression I couldn't gauge.

"How can you be so sure?" I didn't want to think anyone would do this. I doubted even Paul hated me that much, but nothing else made sense.

Cris's answer was confident. "We've used an alpha command and asked them. It's not one of us."

As if to confirm his words, the other guys were also nodding.

"So who did it?" I couldn't process anything today and my head was banging again. So much for the relaxing shower!

"We don't know, there's no scent or trail, but whoever it was wanted to get our attention," Cris proposed.

"Well they got it!" Sam grunted. "They should never have gotten that close to her." He pointed at me.

"Yeah well, I was kind of wasted," I added in defence for my pathetic lapse in awareness. I was too tired to fight just yet.

"Leah, this isn't your fault. As I pointed out before you joined us, there should have been a patrol out. If I knew they had called everyone in, I'd have gone out myself."

I couldn't believe he was actually blaming Sam and Jake! I immediately wanted to defend my alpha.

"Well how were they supposed to know someone was going to go all bunny boiler?" That had definitely sounded better in my head.

Jake surprised me by suddenly coming to life and agreeing with Cris. "He's right. We've completely lost sight and have gotten sloppy." He looked guilty.

"That's going to change. We'll go back to the old patrol schedules; minimum of two wolves out at all times," Sam threw in for good measure.

"Oh great, the good old days," I replied sarcastically.

"What about Leah going out alone?" Sam questioned the room. He was blatantly speaking about me as if I wasn't present.

"Err, hi Sam! Still standing right here!" I waved at him sarcastically. "And, you can fuck right off if you think someone's babysitting me." I was not going to be treated like a defenceless moron.

Suddenly, I realised something about this whole thing didn't feel right. "Hang on… what do you mean there was no trail?"

The guys all looked worried, but Jake spoke out. "That's just it. There was nothing, not even on the body."

This didn't make sense. "Could it be leech?" I questioned.

Corey, who had been silent, started laughing. "I think we would have smelt that for sure!"

No one else found this funny and Cris elbowed him.

"Not if they're like the Cullens," Jake said in almost a whisper.

"What?" Cris's booming shout made me flinch. It was both deafening and commanding. Anger was coming off him in waves which, considering the calmness he had conveyed so far, was unexpected; "What do you mean like the Cullens?"

Corey looked just as surprised by Jake's comment. It was clear that this was new information.

Jake glanced at me for support, and I nodded, knowing he was anxious. He took it as a sign to continue and answered, the now irate, Cris.

"Err… some vamp's, like the Cullens, are gifted… telepaths, seers, projectors, shields, that sort of thing. It's pretty rare for them to have such extreme talents actually, but each one of them brings something over from their human life. There's no theoretical reason why there couldn't be one who's untraceable. Hell, I'm beginning to think anything's possible."

"Yeah well, for once I'd like to meet a fairytale creature, not a monster." My voice came out bitter and I caught Jake's eye again.

The corner of Jake's mouth twitched, trying to suppress a smirk. "Yeah, I could imagine you right at home with the fairies and wood nymphs."

I snickered back at his sarcasm. No one else seemed amused, and I noticed that Cris had returned to his previous passive manner, now deep in thought.

"How can you guys make jokes, like this is all normal?" Corey was unnerved.

Cris finally snapped out of his trance. "Right, is there anything else you've left out?" No one spoke, and the alpha ran his hand through his short choppy hair frustrated. "Ok, so let's summarise: Whatever, or whoever did this may be untraceable! It puts us at an immediate disadvantage. That means anything out of the ordinary must be reported. We'll have to rely on our eyes and ears if our noses are of no use."

"Look, it really could all just be a prank gone wrong." I felt bad for causing such a stir.

Jake was giving me an irritated look. "You know as well as I do, there aren't coincidences around here. We were lucky last night. They clearly didn't want to hurt you, or they would have. I think…"

"What the hell were you doing out there anyway?" Sam snapped at me, cutting Jake off.

I was now losing my patience with Sam. He was pushing all the wrong buttons. "Screw you Uley! Why don't you go and shove your head back up Emily's arse?"

As I finished shouting, I noticed the various looks of concern that everyone was giving me. "Argh! I wish you'd all stop making such a big deal of this! I am fine!" I screeched and threw my hands up exasperated.

Sam grabbed his car keys angrily and motioned to Jared that they were leaving. "I'm going to speak with my pack and the elders. We'll take patrols today and change over tomorrow."

"Fine," Jake grunted.

Sam glared at me briefly before addressing the alphas again. "I'll be in touch; this discussion isn't over."

Jared looked awkward, but still managed to be polite to me as he left. "Glad your ok Leah. I'll see you all later!"

I gave him a false smile as he left.

Sam paused for a minute and as he walked past me he growled, "Whether you like it or not, we all care and this is a big deal."

He was unbelievable.

"Are we done?" I said sharply to the remaining men.

Jake responded gruffly, "Sure the meeting is, but we aren't. I've got some stuff to do, but I'll be over at your house by lunchtime. We need to talk." He paused, "Cris, can I borrow Corey? I want to show him our patrol routes."

Cris nodded and Jake and Corey left. That left just me and the newest alpha alone in the kitchen.

Cris gave me a tiny smile. "Coffee?" he offered and flicked the kettle on.