AN

Hey!

Here's another chapter that I split at the POV, so you get to have this one and chapter 18 at the same time.

Thanks again for the feedback. I know I never really comment on anyone's reviews, but it is mainly out of fear of giving away the plot - I have to make myself keep quiet!

So here's the next chapter…

Leah's POV

Jake was on the phone for some time so I plonked myself into the armchair.

After crossing my legs and getting comfy, I grabbed a pile of nearby newspapers. I intended to look for any other strange incidents and deliberately blocked out Jake's conversation so he had some privacy.

When Jake finally came back in, he slumped on the sofa and said Edward couldn't shed any light on things. It certainly wasn't the usual vamp attack, but the leech said he'd look into it and see if Carlisle could get hold of any more details through the hospital. Jake looked troubled nonetheless.

"And there haven't been any new scents in the area?" I questioned. There had to be some clues somewhere.

"Nothing - unless Sam's lot finds something today, but we already checked this morning. Anything in the news?" Jake nodded at the pile of papers around my feet.

I shrugged. "Nope! No missing reports, no strange deaths, nothing out of the ordinary. I think we need to get everyone together tonight, and really get them to think if there's been anything else out of the norm."

"Yeah, ok. I'll call Sam and Cris and set it up. Can I ask a favour though…?"

Jake was nervous. You'd think he would have known me well enough by now to cut it out.

"Depends," I replied cautiously.

"I need you to promise to hear me out. Ok?"

I didn't like any conversation that required the words 'promise' and 'hear me out' to precede it. I didn't say anything, so he continued, "I want you to lead the meeting."

I did a double take. "Say what?"

"I want you to lead tonight. I mentioned it to Edward, and if you meant it earlier; about me going to see Ness, then I need to know you can handle the packs." He was deadly serious.

"Don't be ridiculous. You can still be in charge wherever you are!" What was Jake thinking?

"No Leah! I can't expect people to follow me if I'm not even here. Besides, I'm too unfocused, and however much I want to be on the ball, I'm distracted. I've put my pack at risk." Jake looked angry. I knew he was still beating himself up about me being so close to danger.

"You're going to hate me for this decision and I don't want that… God knows how much I don't want to even be saying this, but it's unavoidable. What if I don't want to be in charge anymore? What if you're right and I want out? Nessie can't come back here for decades and I can't wait that long. The distance is killing me; I can't even think straight. At some point, I need to hand the reins over, so think of tonight as training." Jake's tone left little room for argument.

A wave of pain ran through me; it was finally the day when the pack was no longer enough for Jake.

What could I say though? I could obviously refuse the position. I had no idea if I wanted to be a leader and take on all the extra responsibility.

The thing was, if I did refuse then Jake would be bound here and I couldn't stand that either. But, if I took that path I would be accepting the wolf in me. It would mean putting aside my pain and embracing this life. As it was I could still walk away from being a beta, but I could never stop being an alpha. It would change something inside me forever.

There was once a time when I would have welcomed the idea of being an alpha. When Jacob split off from Sam, I tried to break off on my own as well. I didn't have the power though, and back then it was only because I wanted to be alone.

In the end my choice had been between staying with my ex or joining Jacob. It was a tough decision; neither wanted me around and we all hated each other. Jake only won because I hated Sam more. Also, there was no way my little brother was going anywhere near blood sucker mansion without me watching his back.

Years later, I was now being officially offered the same opportunity although it came with lotsof baggage.

Was it something I really wanted?

I certainly didn't know if I had the kind of strength needed to lead. And then there was Sam; I hadn't been in his head for years and I didn't want to regress.

I realised I still hadn't said a word either way, and, as if Jake knew what I was thinking, he was off again. "No one else can do it Leah. You're the best person I know for the job."

"Your options must be poor then." I must be the best of a bad choice.

"Hardly. I wouldn't trust anyone else, I'm serious. If you really say no, then I won't force it on you, but I know you can do it. I've already put it to the pack and they more than agree." He wasn't lying. It was pointless; I would see the truth when we phased together anyway.

"I need to think about it. Set up the meeting tonight either way. I'm going to take a nap." Pack meetings were always tiring, and I'd hardly got a restful night's sleep.

"Sure. I'm just going to hang around if that's ok?"

"No problem, mi casa es tu casa! Oh, and if Seth comes back, tell him to do some proper shopping." I went to the mantle piece and picked out some notes from a jar, throwing them at Jake. "Not just beer either."

AN

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