AN

Ok, so I'm giving you this chapter early - I've been holding it back because I'm no where near ready to post the next one, but I also want to share it with you because deserve it having read this far. Plus, your reviews really are what keeps me going and give me such a boost whenever I'm stuck on where to go with my writing. So my lovelies, here you go.

xxx

Leah POV

"Get off me, you retarded fur ball!" I mentally yelled at Seth, who had me pinned to the ground.

"Leah, Seth is right. This is not the time to go after them. We are outnumbered and unprepared." Embry said, defending my brother's actions.

"Ok, already. Just get off me." I snapped up at the sandy wolf above me.

Seth seemed to accept the fact that I wasn't going to chase the leeches any further and let up. I quickly found my feet and roughly shoved him with my shoulder. Embry, meanwhile, was already making his way back to Quil's house.

"Quil phased out?" I asked, noticing the absence of his mind.

"Yeah, Claire was quite upset and he couldn't really do much as a wolf." Seth confirmed before nuzzling me cautiously. "You're hurt?"

I looked over my own body, I had a gash under my stomach from the bathroom window, but apart from that, I was just a little bruised and sore. "I'm fine. Let's just get Quil and Claire safely back to our house and then we can regroup. I've not heard anything from Jared or Jake. We need to tell them what's happened."

"And Cris," Seth added.

"Cris has enough on his plate right now." I made it clear that was the end of the conversation and focused on the fact that we were back at Quil's backyard already. "I'm phasing back. I'd like you both to stay wolf and follow me in Quil's car. Ok? Just in case."

Both Embry and Seth agreed.

However, my brother still seemed troubled. "Leah, what did the vampire mean about you being a candidate? Why didn't she just try to kill you?"

"I don't know, Seth. I doubt it's nothing – the bitch is clearly crazy." I was trying to ignore the menacing words she had breathed over me. "I'm phasing out. Keep a lookout."

With that I phased out, picked up a shirt from Quil's washing line, and made my way in through the back door. The house looked like a bomb had hit it. All of the furniture was upturned, barely anything was undamaged, and only a few items were still intact. I followed the trail of debris up the stairs and paused when I reached ground zero.

What used to be the small, quaint bathroom was now wide open. The once white walls that held it together had collapsed inwards and instead, opened into the hall and what I guessed was a bedroom. The tiled floor inside was also crimson red where the half breeds had bled out in the bathroom.

I moved further along the hall, but Quil and Claire were nowhere to be seen. Carefully, minding my bare feet of the broken glass and debris around me, I turned and looked at the only other door on the landing. This one looked untouched and was the closest to the stairs. Smelling Quil behind it, I lightly knocked on the door.

"Quil, it's Leah," I waited for an answer.

"It's ok. Come in," Quil replied in a whisper.

I slowly swung the door open, hearing it creak as I did. Quil was sitting on a single bed with Claire on his lap. She was wrapped in a blanket and looked to be asleep. I immediately noticed Quil's leg was bent out at an odd angle and counted all the cuts and scratches over his body. The right side of his face was black and blue and his eye looked inflamed.

"She just cried herself to sleep." He nodded down at the little girl.

"Let's hope she thinks this is one big nightmare then." I offered him a gentle smile. "We have to get you guys out of here."

Quil looked unconvinced. "Where?"

"Mine?" It was the best option I could think of for the moment.

He shook his head. "And then what? She wasn't safe here. Why would she be any safer at yours?"

Seth and Embry appeared at the top of the stairs, listening to our conversation. They were obviously unable to follow my simple instructions.

"It's a start. We'll plan our next move once she's away from this house." I paused, thinking how I was going to break the next bit to him. "Quil, I don't know if you've been downstairs, but there's not much left. Also, we need to deal with the dead half-breeds in the bathroom. There's blood everywhere. What would the authorities say? Someone must have heard something? I'm surprised the cops aren't here already."

"We could bury the bodies deep in the forest." He suggested. "If anyone found them it would hopefully look like a wolf mauling."

"We'll do it," Embry said as he nudged Seth. "It won't take long, and then we'll be back here to follow you to home."

"Ok, but do it phased and don't leave anything that can be traced back to you." I waved towards the bathroom, and they took off towards the dead bodies.

"In the meantime, you rest here and I'll clean up." I nodded at Quil.

"Thanks, but don't worry about the broken stuff and the damage. If you could just clear up the blood that would be great. The only thing that really matters is Claire. Everything else is just an object that can be replaced or fixed." He looked down at her once more. "She can't be."

I left him to rest and quickly grabbed some towels, rags and a mop. After what felt like forever, I'd managed to get the blood off the floor using the water from the dented bath to rinse everything down. Unfortunately, by the time I had finished, I was then covered in the red liquid myself. Disgusted, I jumped in what was left of the bath and turned the shower on. I didn't care that I was standing in nothing but Quil's shirt and let the cold water soak through me. It was then that I realized how much thicker the half-breeds' blood seemed and it really dawned on me that what I was actually covered in. It was an unwelcome realization as part of me had been methodically going through the chore of cleaning without thinking. Now, however, as I watched the red water spiral down the plughole, I felt sick. Shamefully, I retched, bringing up bile in my mouth which I quickly spat out. After rinsing my mouth with water from the shower, I then grabbed some soap that was lying by the old sink and jumped back in. I started to scrub myself vigorously, but my skin still remained red. Eventually, I started to scrub harder and harder and felt the tears falling from my eyes at the sight of the death that covered my russet arms. I was supposed to be a vampire hunter. I wasn't supposed to be killing living creatures. This wasn't what I signed up for. Hell, I never even signed up!

"Wow, wow, wow. Leah, it's ok."

I was suddenly being lifted from the shower by Seth. I held out my arms to him as I spoke, "It won't come off. They're stained by blood."

"Leah," Seth calmly said, "your arms are red from where you've scrubbed them raw, not the blood." He pulled me into a hug, his scent calming me. "You do get yourself in some states," he chuckled lightly.

His kindness made me sober up and realize how stupid I was being. "I don't know what came over me," I stuttered and stepped away from him, ashamed.

"Don't worry, Embry and I just buried our first bodies. I think we are all a little out of our depth." He nudged me.

I smiled sadly and wiped my eyes. "There's not much else we can do tonight, I guess." I gestured at the house.

"No. I'll wait for you outside. Embry and I will then follow you like agreed." He left me alone then and headed back down the stairs.

Embarrassed by my pathetic mini breakdown, I made my way back to Quil. "Let's get you both in the car. Do you want me to grab you some stuff?" I offered.

"No. Will you get Claire settled? I'll pack a few things and be down in a minute." He carefully stood, avoiding any weight on his broken leg, and passed Claire to me gently. She didn't even stir at the transfer.

"Quil, you can barely walk. Let me see to your leg first." I tried to touch his arm, but he flinched away.

"Later. Please just get Claire in the car," he snapped, which was unlike him.

I was trying to be sensitive to his situation, all of us were having a hard time, and hell, even the bitch in me was worried about my friend. So as instructed, I made my way downstairs and to his car. I grabbed the keys from the hook on the way and looked around at the wreckage once more. I felt so bad for Quil. I didn't have an imprint, but I loved Claire and she was family. I couldn't imagine how I would have felt in his situation. I desperately needed to get Claire settled so I could find out exactly what had happened. In all of my years, I had never heard of such a direct attack on La Push land before.

Claire stirred as I eventually made it outside and to the car. Her big, brown eyes opened wide in horror when she realised she wasn't with Quil and she started to whimper.

"Hush now, it's ok. Quil's coming. You're safe." I reassured her.

She seemed to calm down, but her small hands clung to my shirt as I settled her into the back seat. I didn't know if it was a good thing that she was being so quiet, or if she was in shock. Part of me wished she would bawl and have a little fit so she could let it all out.

"It's ok, baby girl. We are going to go back to my place, and your uncle Seth will be there, and we are going to have a sleepover." I put on a smile as I buckled her in.

"It's getting dark, Aunty Lee. What about the monsters?" Claire started to cry again, but still quietly.

I hadn't even realised it was early evening. "The monsters are gone, baby."

"And no one will ever let them hurt you," Quil added, throwing a massive suitcase in the trunk before lifting himself in next to Claire and swinging his legs in.

"You should have let me help you," I scolded, but he ignored me.

Claire was already clawing at him and burying her head into his chest to hide from the world. Quil put his arm around her reassuringly in return. His leg was still set at an unnatural angle and I noticed he was flinching every time Claire moved.

"Let's go, then," he said looking at me with a stern expression.

I immediately stopped staring and made my way to the driver's seat. I quickly adjusted the seat and started the engine. Checking my rear view mirror, I caught sight of a two wolves sinking back into the bushes. They were flanking me like I asked.

The drive to my place was going to take a while, seeing as we were at different ends of the reservation. As soon as we were on the road though, an anxious silence fell around us. I flicked on the headlights as dusk settled into night and kept my eyes wide open. Occasionally, my eyes would look in the mirror and check Quil, however each time I did this, I became more and more concerned. His gaze was fixed out the window as he clutched Claire, but his expression was fierce and foreign to me.

Unable to stand it any longer, I finally broke the silence. "How's the leg? It looked pretty bad earlier. We need to make sure it's set right and I need to see to your cuts as soon as we are back."

He only grunted in response.

"Is Claire injured?" I tried again.

"I saw to her arm earlier." His gaze did not move from the window. "Embry and Seth are following us, right?"

"Yeah." I returned my eyes to the road ahead. "It's going to be ok, Quil."

"Sure it is," he muttered.

I stopped talking and left him alone while I concentrated on getting home, and after about ten more minutes we pulled into my drive. I hopped out and opened the back door helping Quil out of the cab. I heard him grunt as he stood up fully. At the same time, we both heard movement in the woods nearby. Taking a defensive stance, we waited.

Thankfully, Seth emerged only a few minutes later. "Embry's going to keep looping the house. There's no vampire smell anywhere near, though."

I nodded. "Thank you, but that doesn't mean anything, unfortunately. I need to check the house."

Seth put his hand up, stopping me. "I'll go. You help Quil and Claire."

I let him go and turned to get Claire out. Quil took it as an opportunity to lean against the car for support. Eventually Seth came back out and gave us the all clear. He helped Quil, while I carried Claire and the suitcase. As soon as we were inside, we locked the door and set Claire down on the sofa. Quil, meanwhile, hobbled off towards the kitchen.

"The back door is locked, and I grabbed a blanket." Seth said, passing it to me.

I laid Claire down and placed the blanket over her, brushing her hair from her eyes. "You're safe, ok? Seth is going to stay with you for a while because I need to help Quil."

Seth had already set himself on the floor by her head and was taking her hand. She nodded quietly at me and I left her in his safe hands. Making my way to the kitchen, Quil had already sat down on a chair and was downing a bottle of whiskey.

"A little early, isn't it?" I raised my eyebrow.

"You need to reset my leg and it's going to hurt," he said gruffly. "Something is better than nothing."

I knelt down immediately and felt for the break. I found it and based on the training from Mom and Carlisle, I figured it was a clean break that had just healed out of place. I quickly set about fixing it up. Quil cursed like a bitch when the re-breaking happened, but after that, he seemed to relax a little more. I cleaned the rest of his wounds in silence, but he wouldn't let me touch his tender face. Finally, I checked over the gash on my own stomach and dressed that. Once done, I cleaned up the mess I made and thoroughly washed my hands. It was then that I realised I was still in one of Quil's long shirts and it was damp, having never dried off from the shower. I quickly grabbed some shorts and a shirt out of the dryer and slipped them on out of view.

Finally settled, I pulled up a chair by Quil. "You want to tell me what happened from the start?"

Unfortunately, it turned out to be much like we had seen. Quil had been watching TV with Claire when he picked up the scent of a leech outside. Not wanting to leave her alone, he moved them upstairs to the bathroom and that's when they broke into the house. Naturally, he had phased and that's how Embry and Seth got involved and called me. It was an unprovoked and unexpected attack.

I was trying to work everything out, including what the leech had said to me. I didn't like to admit that it bothered me, but I wanted to know what exactly I was a candidate for. Suddenly however, the phone started ringing and I walked over to pick it up. I noticed the answering machine on the base unit was flashing with 10 messages - that was the maximum it could take. Panicked, I quickly picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Leah?" a woman's musical voice spoke to me.

"Rose? Rose, you won't believe what..."

She cut me off. "Leah, you have to find Sam. Rachel, Emily and Kim are all missing. They were attacked."

My stomach dropped. "What? How do you know?"

"There's been an incident here."

I felt sick as I thought of Jake. "What kind of..."

Rose maintained her usual calm. "That doesn't matter right now. Jake called Emily to warn her, but he was too late."

"Where's Jake?" I stuttered. Rachel was his sister so I knew he would be in a state.

"He's been trying to get hold of the other alphas. Where have you been? He said no one was phased in La Push and Cris blocked him out."

"Quil and Claire were attacked, and I've been dealing with the aftermath." I was trying to get my head around everything and not become overwhelmed. I also had to force myself to not think about Cris. He had shot off from our conversation following a howl and now he was blocking Jake out. That meant he could be in trouble, too.

"Are they ok?" Rose asked.

"Yeah."

"Good. Are you ok?" she said with a hint of concern.

"Been better. How long ago were the girls taken?"

"Just over an hour, so Jake is going mad. Leah, I don't mean to be cruel, but vampires don't normally take people. You need to brace yourself for what you are likely to find at that house."

"I can't think like that. Just... just tell Jake I'm going to Emily's now and I will find them." I refused to admit the girls were dead. It would break all of us.

"Ok, oh and Leah?"

"What?" I snapped, desperate to get moving.

"Be careful. You're the only dog I actually like." Rose sounded sincere this time and more like my friend of the past as she hung up.

Without hesitation, I shouted for everyone. Within seconds, Embry was bursting through the back door rendering the lock useless. I looked away because he was still pulling his pants on having phased back mid flight. Seth came through just as quickly, clutching Claire. Quil, meanwhile, looked even more stressed.

"Emily, Rachel and Kim are missing." I stated as calmly as possible.

"All of the imprints have been attacked?" Quil's head perked up.

"Yes, it looks that way, and I have to find them." I was already heading for the back door.

"I'm coming." Seth said, handing Claire to Quil.

"Me, too. You're not going alone." Embry added.

"No. Someone needs to stay with Quil." I snapped.

"It's fine. We are going, too." Quil said sternly.

"Don't be stupid. It's too risky." I scolded.

"I didn't mean with you. I'm leaving La Push. Whatever is happening, I'm not putting Claire in the middle of it. I'll get her mom on the way and we will disappear for a while."

"What? Quil, you can't. It's not safe for you on your own." I pleaded.

"It's not safe for us here either. You know I can't put her at risk, and we are a liability and distraction to the pack."

"Quil, we can protect you." Embry stepped forward looking upset by his friend's words.

"Guys, it's not up for discussion." He stood up, shifting Claire to one hip. "My leg is healing already, so it will be fine."

"Quil, I really don't have time to argue. I have to go, but you shouldn't leave," I was pulling on my hair as I spoke. I may have said a lot of bad things about Emily and the other imprints in the past, but they were still important to me, and Emily was about 32 weeks into her pregnancy. At the same time, I wouldn't just abandon Quil.

"I'm going," he said firmly.

"Let him," Seth suddenly said.

I looked at him confused.

"It's his decision and we have to respect that," he continued. "I'll make sure they get away ok and run behind the car until they reach the highway. Then I'll come back and join you." My little brother looked at me pleadingly.

I let out a deep sigh, knowing I didn't have time to waste. "Fine. Will you do me one favor then?"

Quil nodded.

"Someone needs to tell Billy about Rachel. Will you please stop by and speak with him. Maybe even convince him to go with you? He's been like a father to all of us, he should be safe and I'd feel better knowing you were all together." I looked at him earnestly.

"Of course, but you know he will never leave," Quil stated.

"I know, but try." I quickly kissed Claire on the cheek and looked Quil in the eye. "Now, you both take care. Ok? That's an order."

He smiled sadly. "Yes, boss."

I turned away and looked to Embry. "You're with me, I take it?"

He nodded before shaking Quil's hand. "Good luck, bro."

"You too," he answered, tears glistening his eyes.

"We have to go this instant." I broke up their moment, reminding them of the time and with that said, Embry and I flew out the door and towards Sam and Emily's house.

As soon as I phased, I was bombarded by Jake's thoughts and emotions. "Leah, thank god you're ok."

He immediately felt through my thoughts and memories, tracing back the last few hours. I did the same and understood that there was someone after Nessie.

"Edward isn't back yet, but I can't leave Nessie. Please, will you find my sister?"

"We're already on the way," I assured him.

"Thank you."

"Any word from Cris?" I showed Jake our last conversation.

"No, I think he phased out, but he never spoke to me. He'll be ok." It was Jake's turn to reassure me.

"Sure, just like all of us are?" I muttered sarcastically.

"Leah, listen, you need to be careful." Jake's mind became dark. "I know Edward didn't tell me everything, but if this Joham is interested in you, too, then you need to take it seriously. He's already killed his own son and if the sick fuck is doing breeding experiments..."

"Don't be stupid, Jake, I can't have... you know." I had accepted the fact I was barren, but it still hurt to mention it.

"I don't care what you think. Please just stick with the pack – I can't lose you as well. God, I hate that I can't be there. I've already lost my sister because of this screwed up situation. I love Nessie to bits, but I hate imprinting – bit by bit it's taken me away from everything that ever mattered, and now I have no choice but to stand by and watch you all in danger. I should be there with you, by your side. I was supposed to be your alpha. I was supposed to protect my sister. This should never have happened. I'm so sorry."

"Jesus Christ. Will you pull yourself together? I don't need you self pitying yourself right now. Yes, maybe you should have been here, maybe things would have been different, but you've made your choices, so now you need to follow them through. Go to Nessie and leave Rachel to me. I'll find her – that's a promise. I'll call as soon as I have news."

"Leah, I love my sister... I can't lose her."

"I know. I'll find her. Now go, so I can focus."

I felt him phase out and Embry and Seth absorbed what we had just found out.

"Leah, I don't like it. If they are after you, then..." Seth was vibrating with worry.

"Nothing will happen. There are plenty of us. We just need to find the girls." I snapped, hating that all of the guys' focus were now fixed on me. I admit that I was unsettled by the prospect of being a target, but the pack focusing on the fact didn't help and I wouldn't let it stop me from doing anything.

Embry was the next to speak. "Leah, we are already one down. We need to be careful."

I ignored him and directed my mind at Seth. "How are Quil and Billy?"

"Quil's gone, but Billy went mental about Rachel and refused to leave. We had no choice but to leave him there. He's ok, though. After that, I waited for Quil to get Claire's mom and get on the highway. I'm now heading back. Do you think they will be ok?"

"They can't be any worse off than us, I guess," I said.

"Aren't you angry Quil left?" Embry surprised me by asking.

"Not really. Even without the imprint, Claire's just a little girl. She didn't make a choice like the other imprints did to be a part of this world." I was glad in some ways Quil had taken her away. I just hoped they stayed safe.

We left Seth to catch us up, but by the time Embry and I reached the Uleys, we were both on edge because everywhere reeked of leech. We found both the front and back doors ripped off the hinges and the house in complete darkness. I flipped the light switch and cursed when they didn't come on. Embry quickly ran around the back and checked the fuse box. After flicking the trip switch, they all came back on. We entered cautiously, immediately noticing a few items knocked from their places. The most noticeable damage was a broken vase in the lounge and a telephone ripped from the socket in the kitchen. Embry, meanwhile, checked upstairs, but as I made my way through the ground floor and into the sunroom, I could already sense they had been gone some time. Embry joined me, but remained silent.

"This could have been Claire," I said and gestured at the empty house.

"I can't think about it, and what worries me even more is where is Sam and the guys?" Embry whispered.

I shrugged, unsure of the answer myself, but didn't speak. It was eerily quiet in the house and neither of us wanted to raise our voices or break the silence unnecessarily - it felt disrespectful somehow. Instead, I moved further into the room and went to a banner that had been half ripped from the ceiling. As I gently lifted it up, my breath caught. The word 'baby shower' was written across it in big, pink, glittery letters. In distress, I stepped back and jumped when something squeaked. Lifting my foot up, I leant over and picked up the offending item, a small cuddly wolf that had 'Mom' embroidered across its chest. My body suddenly seemed too heavy for me and my knees gave way, gripping the innocent soft toy in my hand. I felt my eyes start to water, as I feared for my cousin and her unborn baby. I had been so horrible to her. She may have wronged me and I may have hated her for years, but only because I cared about her.

"Easy there!" Embry cried out as he caught me. "Leah, maybe you might want to rest a minute."

I fought back the pain and instead gave him a scowl as I shook him off. "That's not an option."

Standing up again, I carefully placed the wolf on the nearby rocking chair. It felt wrong to leave it lying discarded on the floor.

Embry seemed to understand. "Ok. Well, there's no sign of any disturbance upstairs. It smells cleaner up there, which makes me think the leeches didn't go that far."

"Thanks, Em." I smiled weakly. "There's no bodies either, which I guess is a good sign and no blood."

All of the sudden, I heard an almighty crash out front and both Embry and I ran through to the front of the house. We found an angry looking Sam, followed by Jared, Paul and the cubs. Sam saw me as soon I entered the room, and was in my face before I could blink.

"What happened?" He bellowed at me, his body inches from mine as it trembled violently. "Leah, tell me where my wife is?"

"Sam, I..." I tried to get the words out, but they wouldn't come. I could already see the pain he was in. How could I tell her he was missing? I looked over his shoulder and saw Paul and Jared watching on with mirrored concern, the hairs on their necks bristled from the scent of the leeches. How could I tell any of them that their partners were possibly dead? I had hurt them in the past, but I couldn't be responsible for that kind of pain.

Embry was by my side and placed a firm hand on Sam's shoulder. "Sam, why don't you back away from Leah. You're not in control, man."

Sam only growled at him before returning his stare to me. "What did you do?"

My mouth dropped. "What? Sam! You can't seriously think that I did this?"

"You let the leeches past La Push and into Makah? Where's my wife?" his eyes were turning black like his wolf.

Without thinking, and worried he was about to phase, I nimbly slipped out from between his body and the wall. Moving towards the middle of the room, his gaze followed me.

"Jake called here ok, and the girls were attacked. He heard some leeches take Rachel, Kim and Emily."

Snarls erupted all around me, and Jared and Paul flew out the door without a word. Seconds later, two haunting howls filled the forests around the house. The cubs in Jared's pack trailed after them on the hunt.

Sam started to head towards the door, too.

"Wait! You quit phasing. What are you doing?" I hauled him back.

"You really think that matters anymore?" He snarled.

"No, I guess not." I felt awful knowing that Emily was his reason for quitting. He started to walk away again, but I stopped him once more. "Sam?"

"What?" he snapped angrily.

I looked him in the eye and, despite his aggression, touched his arm lightly. "We'll find her." I said reassuringly.

I couldn't help it. Just like with Emily, he used to be an important part of my life and I used to love him. We may have had our differences over the years, but Sam was my first love and would always mean something to me in some way. Even after all these years it hurt me seeing him so torn up, especially when I felt it inside too.

My words at least seemed to calm him and as he looked at my hand his hardened stare faltered for a minute. "Thank you and I'm sorry about before. I know that you would never hurt her. You'll tell me everything you know, won't you?"

I nodded and smiled weakly as Sam took off, and I felt Embry come up behind me.

"I don't like this," he muttered. "It's too well planned. It could be a trap."

I looked at him. "Rose reminded me that vampires don't take prisoners. How do we know what is a trap and what isn't? We still have to find them."

"I know..." Embry moved and stood in front of me with a worried expression. "Are you really ok about this Joham threat?"

Why did they have to keep making such a big deal about it? One stupid comment by a leech was going to be the bane of my life. I would be ok if everyone just stopped making a fuss. I snorted at him in response and turned my head away.

"You know I won't let anything happen to you, Leah, and neither will Seth." He lightly brushed a stray piece of hair behind my ear and stroked my cheek.

The action felt far to intimate for my liking and I flinched. "Embry, don't."

His face fell. "I'm sorry. We were close once and that doesn't just go away. I'm still allowed to care about you, and I mean it. We won't let anything hurt you."

"It's not me I'm worried about," I muttered.

"Then who?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We are wasting time," I snapped and tried to push past, but he blocked me.

"Who?" he repeated sternly. "If not as your friend, then as your beta, you need to talk to me."

I huffed, knowing he was right. "Fine! If, for some crazy fucked up reason, I am a target, then I'm worried about who would get hurt. If this shit is so well planned, then they know us."

"So?" Embry looked confused.

"So, what about Seth?"

He looked at me uncertainly. "You've lost me."

"You really think that if someone comes after me, Seth won't fight them? I've no doubt the little dipshit would get himself killed trying to do something stupid." I huffed again in disgust.

"You worry too much. We would all be there with him." He smiled, amused by my concern.

I shoved him lightly. "That's exactly my point. You think I want to see my friends and family injured or dead?"

"Leah, you really don't have to worry," he said, raising an arm in defense.

I paused. "You're right, Call because you are going to make me a promise!"

"Oh, no." he was shaking his head vigorously. "I've seen that expression before."

"Embry, I'm serious. If something happens, and they do come after me, if there's no chance of us winning, then I want you to do whatever it takes to get Seth and leave. My life is nothing if anything happens to him... or any of you."

He continued to shake his head, his expression becoming angry.

I sighed, before looking at him earnestly. "I will order you if I have to."

I knew the threat of a command would show him how serious I was being. I had never used one fully before or against their will, but in this case, I knew I would not hesitate if it came down to it.

Embry looked like a beaten puppy. "Leah, what makes you think I could even stop him?"

"You would find a way." I prodded him in the chest.

He stepped away from me like I had burnt him. "It doesn't even matter anyway because nothing will happen!"

"Then you will have no problem agreeing," I said dryly.

There was silence between us for a minute.

"I can't promise you what you are asking, but I will try." Embry relented sadly.

"Thank you. I trust you enough to take your word." I stepped up and hugged him in gratitude. "You guys are the only real family I have left."

He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed me quickly before releasing me. "Come on, let's go."

We ran outside together and phased once more. Seth had almost caught up and so Embry and I blocked our last conversation out. I felt for the alpha link and found Sam and Jared. There was still no Cris, and I guessed Jake was handling things at his end like I told him to. Part of me couldn't help but feel bitter towards him because, once again, the leeches had dragged us into their shit.

I tried to focus on something else and concentrated on the smells around me, trying to pick up any scent of the girls, but with the wolves and leeches running all over the place everything was mixed in together. I sighed sadly, knowing it was going to be a long night.