Cris's POV

As I ran home from the beach, phased, I tried to digest my conversation with Leah. I had learnt several things in a very short amount of time.

I can't say I woke up in a particularly nice way this morning. The soothing lullaby of the ocean had just about managed to push my worries from my mind while I slept, that was until something heavy fell inches from my head and ruined my calm.

Instinctually, I had stood up ready to fight, but thank God I looked before I leapt - Leah was standing in front of me unphased and could have easily got hurt. I think she had realised this too because for one brief minute her eyes were uncertain.

Once the animal in me relaxed, I became agitated as to why she was out here. Well, actually, she was in some swimsuit type thing and her hair was wet, so I figured she had been in the water, but I didn't like the fact that she was out here alone – hypercritical, huh? That wasn't normally one of my traits, but then what in La Push was normal?

I reminded myself again that it wasn't my business to interfere with the other packs. Instead, I waited for her to leave the cave; frustratingly, she had remained staring at me. It was only when I finally gave an irritated bark that she realised why I didn't just disappear and phase back. Leah was highly amused, however I was grateful when she disappeared and then returned with a towel.

Once I was alone again I phased; I could feel my human cheeks blushing at the thought of shredding my clothes and being in this position. I was normally so controlled; I could swear this place was making me crazy. In the end, I just had to suck it up and swallow my embarrassment.

After checking one last time that the towel was secure, I had joined Leah on the beach. She was waiting for me, and I sat down next to her on the sand, unintentionally greeting her with a yawn.

I was curious as to how she knew it was me and when I asked, she only pointed at her own eyes as if it was obvious.

I figured it was still early morning and Leah confirmed this for me. My body was still waking up and so I stretched out lazily, playfully asking if she brought coffee.

If people gave me a chance, I often surprised them. I wasn't shy, or quiet like everyone imagined; I was actually quite capable of having a laugh. The difference being, I was just extremely careful about when I could be Cris and when I should be alpha. Unfortunately I didn't get much Cris time, but when I did, I was quite a relaxed person as my pack well knew. Granted, I never had been the boisterous, or fidgety, type like Corey. Instead, I preferred to take my time and savour things, but that didn't mean I couldn't be spontaneous either. I just knew that I viewed the world a hell of a lot differently to most people and I think it often worked against me.

To my surprise, Leah was amused by my 'coffee' comment and we both played on it. It was nice; so far I had only really seen her temper and sarcasm, but I was glad to find she had a lighter side as well.

In the end we had sat on the beach for some time and talked. Admittedly it felt nice to have a proper conversation. So far, everyone I had met didn't want to sit still long enough to speak about anything in depth. The La Push wolves were always on the go, but Leah seemed to prefer the peace and quiet like me. I could be completely wrong of course, but that was my observation so far.

Our conversation had finally led to the reason I was out here and I ended up telling her about Corey. She listened to everything I said patiently, and a weight seemed to lift off my shoulders just by unloading to someone outside of my pack. I was genuinely grateful, that even through her brash nature, Leah was still was understanding and tried to help me with my problems.

A while later, the topic had moved on to her family. When I realised Seth was her brother, his attitude towards her last night started to make sense. I figured that I hit a nerve though, when I joked about how chipper Seth was in comparison. Although her reaction was off, she didn't shy away as expected; instead she opened herself up and told me about their relationship. I was surprised by how trusting she was, but also flattered.

It became clear, that in comparison Leah and Seth were blatantly different to me and Corey. In Leah's world, she had always been in charge and that had never been questioned.

Eventually we discussed her being an alpha and working together. It was somewhat weird to consider that one day she might be in my head. I wasn't sure how comfortable I would be having a woman in there. I wasn't sexist or anything like that, but it would be something to adjust to.

Regardless of my thoughts, I hid my concerns and Leah started asking me what I liked about this place compared to Corey. She told me in so many words how morbid and ugly this place was to her, and she was clearly confused by my response.

I told her that beauty was all about perception, and that Corey had never seen things the way I did. It was simple to me - I never looked at things in black and white, beauty was all about your take on it. Like people, the world was full of different shapes and sizes, each unique with their own key traits. I therefore strived to never judge anything on a whim. I smirked as I realised that I would sound completely wet if I tried to explain this and had ended up blushing.

As I looked away, I noticed an old box sitting between us and couldn't help but ask about its contents.

It became apparent that my interest was unwanted. Leah's face drained and she looked to be fighting with herself. I tried to stop her worrying; like my offer of coffee yesterday, she was totally over thinking the question. Besides, saying no wouldn't offend me - Corey was my brother after all, so my tolerance level was somewhat higher than the average Joe's.

I pointed out how much of a big deal she was making out of my small question. She apologized, telling me it was 'complicated'. It was a word I didn't particularly like; things were easily simplified if someone wanted them to be.

I twisted her words to make her see how silly they really were; "Coffee's complicated?" I tried not to smile at the situation she was putting herself in.

Unexpectedly, Leah actually showed a more fragile side. "You just surprise me. People and me, we don't tend to get along too well."

Compelled by her honesty, the pain laced under her words, and the advice she had given me on Corey, it took all of two seconds for me to decide that I wanted to repay the favour and help her. I wasn't sure with what, or how, but I would.

Despite my sudden decision, I felt like it was my cue to leave, and using the temporary break in her fiery mood, I said in my own way that I was around if she needed me. I even pointed out that we had some stuff in common; it would be just as nice for me to have someone to talk to.

As I was leaving, I embarrassedly realised the towel was still attached and offered to leave it by the forest. At the same time, my alpha gene finally took over and made me point out she too should head home.

It was bad enough that when I first joined her she was out here alone. I had initially held my tongue though; essentially it was her alpha's business. Plus, I really was being quite hypercritical. I did however draw the line at leaving her on the beach. I wasn't scared of Jake, but I would expect the same if it was one of my pack. I waited for her to kick my ass for suggesting it, but she actually agreed with me.

I left satisfied she was good to her word, which brings me back to the present, and running through the forest towards the Cullen's house and my pack.

My mind still wandered over our conversation as I contemplated how casual she seemed to be about everything. I wouldn't even have known anything happened yesterday if I hadn't been there. I didn't buy it; underneath everything I felt sure she wasn't as hard faced as she appeared. The one thing I knew for certain and understood though, was that sympathy wasn't the approach she needed, or wanted.

I also considered all the things the other packs had said about her yesterday; it wasn't very positive, but I just didn't know why. It didn't really matter, either way I was determined to form my own opinions about the she-wolf.

Maybe it was an alpha thing, or it could even just be in my nature, but I respected what I had seen of her so far. Leah was different to everyone else; she seemed to rein herself back for her own reasons, but equally we had some sort of understanding.

Bit by bit, I was also making sense of the packs. Leah was another reason why things were more complicated here; La Push had a lot of different elements to deal with, unlike Barrow. Overall I had been lucky with the hand I was dealt.

Saying this, it was totally understandable why the alphas were so protective over Leah; she was the only she-wolf, yet I still had a feeling there was more to it than just that. I was determined to try and learn everything I could before I went home; in my mind I hoped to start a record for any future generations of my pack. Leah, being the first of her kind, was like a whole new chapter.

My mind wandered away from the La Push wolves, on to how Corey was this morning. I noted that the further I got from the beach the heavier my worries became again. I had no idea what the mood would be like back at the house and was still unsure that I had done the right thing with him. I finally got back and found Jaden sitting on the front step; he was looking longingly at the forest. I phased back, grabbed some spare shorts I had stashed near a tree and joined him.

"They just left." He dipped his head towards the forest.

"Figures, I didn't think Corey would speak to me yet. Can't blame him." I was hurt, but had been expecting as much.

Jaden stood and turned back to me. "Don't you dare start wallowing; it's just us now and this place. We just have to make the most of it. At least Shay said goodbye."

I looked back at the house over my shoulder; it seemed so empty. "When's the first shift?"

"Tonight; Sam called and I said we would take a twelve hour shift at midnight. He wants another get together tomorrow afternoon as well. I said it was ok to hold it here. Think he wants to continue the practice sessions; he's really geared up about everything." Jaden's tone was at least more enthusiastic than mine; he always was work focused.

"Cool, so what d'you want to do today?" I wanted to avoid phasing as much as possible while Corey continued his sulking.

Jaden relented and gave me a cheeky look. "Playstation?"

I couldn't help but chuckle - my ass was about to be kicked. "Sure, why not?"

Some hours later, after failing to win even one game, catching forty winks and stuffing myself with leftovers, it was time to head out.

The night's patrolling went well, and I even paused briefly to watch the sunrise before continuing our circuit. We finally got back home around lunchtime and threw ourselves down to sleep before the training started.

By the time people were turning up, we were fairly refreshed and quickly settled into our normal routine. It was much like a tournament; to mix things up we picked out random names and they would fight. The winner went on to the next round and so on. It was a good method; everyone was competitive, so they gave 100% and we all tried to improve and out do each other. It also helped us understand different tactics and strengths with each fight being completely different and unpredictable. Whatever had caused the skinned wolf had at least renewed the wolves vigour.

As usual we kept to the back of the house; the grass area was huge and perfectly fenced in by the surrounding forest. Currently Paul was fighting me and he was holding his own. He was a good fighter, but I moved slightly differently to what he was used to. For one, I was fast as well as strong, but despite my size, I was light on my feet. My advantage though, was that I had also learnt to attack in different ways due to the ever changing terrain at home along with the snow and ice.

I was currently alone in my thoughts (except for Sam through the alpha link - yeah, that was another odd adjustment). Shay and Corey were travelling tonight to avoid any conflict as my brother was still ignoring me, and the pack in Barrow were in the middle of eating one of their many meals. Finally, Jaden was watching unphased from the side lines.

I swiftly dodged Paul's next attack; he was powered by frustration and wasn't thinking defensively. As he missed, I kicked into him using my back legs and he went flying across the lawn and into a tree. Pieces of bark flew off in every direction as the tree groaned under the impact. Paul was stunned temporarily and clearly injured, yet he still got up, holding the weight off his left flank. I gave him his dues; he was coming back for more and wasn't going to back down.

I circled him growling in response. We may be practicing but this wasn't a game. This was another reason for the audience; we needed someone to split us up if things became too heated.

I could appreciate that it may seem a barbaric way to work on our skills, but nothing gave you as much as an incentive to get better than an ass kicking and a little pain. Besides, it was better to be beat down by one of the packs and see your weakness, than get in an actual fight and have your enemy do it. After all, only one of them you will walk away from!

Refocusing on the fight, I threw myself at Paul's injured back which was clearly his Achilles heel at the moment. I was trying to incapacitate him and he went to dodge my attack - to his dismay I had feigned. As he turned to face me, I threw him down putting my teeth to his jugular. I had won; in real life he would now be dead.

I couldn't hear his thoughts, but his vocabulary was no doubt being censored by Sam who was interpreting. "Paul says good game; he'll have you next time."

I stepped back to let him up and he shook himself down. He phased and put some shorts on that Sam was holding out ready and made his way towards the house, wincing.

In the meantime, I waited for the next contender.

AN

Hey people,

Sorry for the delay, I'm giving you this and the next chapter in one go, but here's the catch… I've had a horrible few days and need some loving up, therefore 201 reviews before I post chapter 24 would at least go some way towards cheering me up… pretty pretty please with sugar on top? (I know I'm being over hopeful!)

xxxx