Leah

I hate men! I hate myself! I hate Jake! Oh no . . .

I was now staring in shock at my little brother. This wasn't good; he'd just knocked out his alpha. I didn't even realise that was possible!

My mind was frantic; I actually thought, just for one minute, that me and Jake were having a serious conversation. Now he had ruined everything. Ok, so I was partly to blame. I shouldn't have even gotten that close to him. The minute I saw him leaning in I should have just punched him and run away.

Could I really lie though, and say it was something I'd never imagined?

God this was a mess!

What about Nessie?

Did it count as cheating if they weren't a couple yet?

As much as I hated imprinting, I didn't want to be the one who got in the way of it. Besides, I didn't mind Nessie so much, and I would never be the Emily in their relationship, that's for sure (not that I could ever have that kind of hold over Jake).

It was all so stupid; I kicked the wall and hissed as pain shot through my toes. Seth watched me silently, unsure of what to do next.

I knew I could never truly be in love with a person so bound to someone else. It was the Sam thing all over again; Jake could only ever be my best friend.

Silently, Seth and I lifted our alpha onto the coach, and I made my way to the kitchen. I stood with my back to the room staring into the sink, trying to fight back the tears and anger. I heard Seth moving cautiously behind me.

"You did want me to hit him right?" Seth was nervous.

I couldn't help it; I chuckled as his little voice broke the silence and relieved some of my tension. "Yeah, you did alright, but you're going to be in big trouble."

"Nope, this wasn't wolf related; it was a kissing my sister incident. Besides, from what Jake said you're my alpha now."

I could hear the pride in his voice, and turned to face him.

"You think I'm still Jake's choice?" I nodded towards the sofa.

"Course sis. Like I said, this isn't pack related!" Seth was always so sure about things. Although, I sometimes thought he was just naïve. I reminded myself he wasn't fourteen anymore; he was twenty-four. Seth continued, "Look, you haven't been in Jake's head lately. It's almost as messed up as yours. I'm not surprised about today."

"What, you expected him to do that?" I looked to the sofa again; Jake's huge feet were hanging limply over the end. I grabbed a glass of water and washed it round my mouth before spitting it down the sink. I wanted his taste out of my mouth; I wanted to forget.

Seth rolled his eyes (I lost count of how often people did that at me). "Don't be so dramatic! You care about each other; it's easy to get caught up in things. Anyway, it's a sex thing."

"What do you mean sex?" I spluttered.

Sure, I wasn't a prude, but seriously talking to my little brother about my non-existent sex life - that was off topic.

He was laughing. "No perve! Not that kind! I mean gender. It's human nature … men and women being friends often leads to conflicting emotions."

"Since when did you become Freud?" He had obviously been reading mum's old self help books again.

Seth drew a deep breath and paused before taking a serious tone.

Oh god, the man of the house was making an appearance!

Since mum and dad died, Seth had these little moments every so often when he would try to fix the world. I had a feeling this was one of those times.

"Leah, I say this because I love you right? I love you the most and it's unconditional… I can't see you hurt again! I can't live through you being that hurt again. You're all I've got."

I immediately felt guilty; I wasn't expecting something quite as emotional from him - I should have though. Seth was so much more loving and open than I was. He was fearless in a way I never could be. My little brother would never hesitate to put his feelings out there for all to see, and he wasn't scared to tell someone he loved them, even me. I, on the other hand, was an uber bitch, always thinking negatively. I purposely stayed my tongue, giving him the courage to continue.

"You do know… you and Jake… you'll only ever be friends right? It doesn't matter what his feelings are for you, he'll never leave Ness. You do know that, right?" Seth's face was grave and for the slightest moment he looked older than I felt.

"I know that Seth." It was a sad truth. "I wouldn't want Jake to leave Nessie; it's wrong for so many reasons." My fingers grasped on to the counter edge as I thought over them all.

Nessie, Jake, destiny, imprinting, reproduction, the packs, Sam, the Cullen's, Seth, me - there were so many complications screaming it was wrong. Jake and I had seven years together when the relationship with his imprint was purely brotherly. During that time, we had come to care for each other. In turn, I had set myself up for another Sam without even realising. I was a filler, a convenience, until destiny supplied someone better.

"Seth, I think … sometimes … the shit just has to hit the fan first. Jake's ship set sail a long time ago; the dumb fuck just wasn't on it."

I showed him a small smile, and his bounce slowly returned. Regardless of what was happening, we were a unit and his mood was often annoyingly contagious.

"Aw, that's almost poetic!" Seth replied.

"Almost!" I stuck my tongue out and punched him lightly.

I suddenly realised, I only had Quil left to kiss and I'd have the pack set; it was a ridiculous notion. Enough was enough now; I pulled in my heartstrings and held on to the bitch in me.

Just then, the phone rang and I grabbed it. "What?" I snapped into the receiver.

I was surprised to hear Edward's voice.

AN

Apologies for the shortness – Chapter 20 which is much longer will be up this weekend. I thought I would give you this little one for now though rather than make you wait for both.

Thanks again to my beta and all the reviews. I'm so glad that the last chapter went down well.

I hope you liked the little Seth and Leah moment.

xxx