AN

Hey all.

Thank you! I have over 100 reviews!

Good job this chapter was twice the normal length. In the end I even changed my mind and decided to split it into two at the change of POV, but it feels appropriate to give it as a thank you. I think I may have sent my poor beta over the edge picking out my typo's in this one though (so thanks to her as always). Anyway, enough from me - back to the wolves.

Cris's POV

My head was reeling from this morning's events:

A skinned wolf on the lawn.

A scentless visitor in the night.

A female, extremely temperamental, shape shifter.

Jake and Sam's fight over the said, extremely temperamental, female shape shifter.

Vampires with special abilities.

I didn't quite know where to start.

Instead, I watched on as Jake dragged Corey off to get an idea of the patrol routes.

To my surprise Leah remained standing in the middle of the kitchen. At first, her expression was angry, but then it changed to a look of tired distress.

I decided that I needed my morning drink - desperately. I would try and figure everything out, but I needed my caffeine fix (out of habit more than anything).

"Coffee?" I gestured, reaching for the kettle. I tried to give her a brief smile to ease the atmosphere.

In return, Leah looked me in the eyes and appeared hesitant, almost as if the world weighed on my question.

"You can say no. I only asked because if you feel anything like I do, it would be welcome." With the intensity of the morning and last night's drinking, I felt like everyone deserved a moment to themselves to think clearly.

Finally there was flicker of an emotion and she answered me abruptly, "Fine…black, no sugar."

The pot didn't take long to boil; it was this posh expensive thing which I was in love with. I had no idea how I would revert back to our old kettle at home. Living in the lap of luxury and then returning to our shack was going to be a shock to the system. Amused at my own thoughts, I handed her the steaming drink in a Dracula mug.

"What's so funny?" she snapped while cautiously taking the mug.

I wasn't entirely sure of her mood, but I carried on as normal and responded with a small smirk. "The kettle."

She looked at me as if I were a mad man. Fair enough; there was a dead wolf on the lawn and I was laughing at a kettle. Unfortunately, once the alpha gene kicked into play it always took a while for me to come down. A result of this was that my emotions were sometimes a little messed up. It's weird to know that, but still be unable to control them.

After a while Leah started to inspect the Dracula picture on her mug with her own bemused expression. "Why do I get the feeling the Cullen's didn't buy these?"

"Yeah, Seth brought them this week. My pack got one each," I said, remembering his 'pack warming' present before sitting down on the nearest stool.

"Sounds like Seth!" She smirked for the briefest moment and blew on her drink before taking a tiny sip.

I watched in fascination as I tried to figure her out. Not the wolf part so much - that was something else. Right now I was trying to understand her. She wasn't normal. Anyone I knew would have been crying like a baby, but she was standing here strong and irritable. It was sort of admirable, that or she was completely crazy.

Mimicking me, Leah eventually planted herself on a nearby stool. She didn't say anything more and we sat in a semi-comfortable silence. I looked down at myself and suddenly became self-conscious. I was half dressed, but she didn't seem bothered. I guessed she must have been used to it.

"So, aren't you going to ask?" Leah questioned impatiently after some time.

I was confused. "Ask what?"

"Am I ok?" she sneered as she spoke.

"Do you want me to?" I got the impression everyone else asked her often enough.

"Not really," she said sharply and took another sip. She seemed to relax slightly. "So, you're an alpha, huh?"

"So, you're a beta, huh?" I mimicked.

She nodded. "And you take the form of…a white wolf?"

She clearly knew more about me than I did her.

"Yup, and I'm guessing you're a wolf too? I have to say, I never saw that one coming." Finding out there was a female shape-shifter was surprising at the very least.

"Yeah, no one did." Her voice dropped away as she spoke and her eyes drifted away to the window.

"Do you want to talk about anything?" I offered, unsure of what caused her to break away.

Leah laughed bitterly, "Like what exactly?"

"I don't know. It's been a pretty intense morning," I answered calmly.

"Thought you weren't going to ask me how I was?" she snapped back.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I'm not. That's your business; you made that very clear in the meeting."

Leah didn't look impressed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

I sighed because it was clear she intended to twist everything I said. "Nothing, except that you are a wolf. I don't know what that entails for you, but I'm pretty sure you're made of stronger stuff than most people. And, from the meeting, I get that you don't like people in your face."

I kept my voice level the whole time. Corey sometimes did things like this and I had quickly learnt the way to say things to avoid confrontation.

Leah gave me a cold stare, before returning her gaze to the window. After another minute, however, she turned back to me. "What do you think about this morning, then?"

"Honestly, I don't know… I feel like I'm still playing catch up when it comes to information and experience. I think… I am angry with myself and the alphas." It was the truth; it wasn't an aggressive anger, more one laced with disappointment.

Leah spoke out strongly, her voice defensive and unwavering. "It's not the guys fault. They didn't do this! If you're talking about patrols, then maybe, ok, someone should have been out there. You don't live here though. You have no idea of our history. It's not like it used to be. The Cullen's have left and there haven't been any nomads for ages. I'm not saying it's right, because this morning proves there is still some danger. However, we all deserve a life. Those boys are just that, boys! They deserve some fun. You should know that. Jake has never done anything, except look after his family and friends."

I was pleased that her loyalty was to Jake and she defended him with passion. It was what a beta should do.

I still however, stood by my own opinion. "I get all that, but at the end of the day, whoever's fault it is or isn't, seven years ago half the vampire world was focused on this place. The god damned leeches live for eternity, so their memories will always hold the events of that day. La Push is on the supernatural map and that is why patrols should be maintained. Vampires do not forget…or easily forgive." I had thought about these things a lot and was a quick learner. "Besides, the two alphas are totally unfocused. Jake's torn up inside because of Nessie's absence and Sam is only concerned about Emily. That's fine. I get that they are their so called 'soul mates', but then they can't have it both ways. They either step up and lead, or step down and have a life. I haven't even touched on their constant bickering! They have my complete respect, but, being an outsider, I can see the holes. Any enemy would be able to see them too."

Leah flinched as I said the last part about the alphas, and her voice surprisingly softened. "Are things really that bad?"

"I don't know. This might be how things have always been. I'm not perfect myself; we all make mistakes. It's just that, in the last week there have been real fights, play fights, broken tables, hysterical imprints and constant drama. Today just topped it."

I let out a low chuckle at how crazy this had become. What would we sound like to the outside world?

"What are you laughing at this time?" Leah was looking at me with her big brown eyes and a confused expression.

"Nothing really. This is all crazy, right?" I chuckled again.

To my surprise, Leah's stern face faltered and she actually smiled. "You have no idea. Imagine the last week as the last decade and you might be able to understand what I deal with daily."

"Well, power to you then. How's your head by the way? I don't know what Seth and Embry put in that shit last night, but I have never felt the effects of a hangover until today." My headache was ebbing gradually.

"Getting there. It's more the state of my clothes that bothers me." She looked down at her dress, the sneer returning.

Admittedly, the dress was ruined.

"What the hell did you get up to after I left?" I raised my eyebrows.

She gave me a humorous look in return. "I wish I knew. Anyway, where did you go? Don't tell me you couldn't handle your booze?"

"What's worse, admitting defeat or lying?" I had fallen up the stairs after all.

"Definitely lying." As she said that her smile faded and she glanced at the wall clock. We both knew reality was unavoidable.

"I've got to go. I need to get changed before meeting Jake."

With that she pushed her stool back, scraping it along the floor awkwardly, and headed for the door.

A part of me knew she shouldn't be heading out alone, but I had to trust that decision to her alpha and he had not said anything on the subject. Plus, with all the patrols now being run, it would be highly unlikely for her to get into any more trouble.

My attention returned to see Leah look back briefly, "Hey Cris…"

By the way she said it she seemed to be struggling again.

"Yeah?" I questioned.

"Err… Thanks for the coffee."

Her face was completely guarded again and before I could analyse anything more she was gone.