Seth POV

Sam was pulling himself up from the dirt floor, blood flowing from his split lip. "Cris, I'm sorry. I never meant..."

He didn't get to finish as Cris punched him hard in the face and he fell to the floor once more.

Cris was absolutely livid. As soon as my sister was taken and we realized we couldn't find her, he lost the plot. I couldn't blame him. I loved her too and was just as scared for her safety.

When she had asked me to support her plan at the table, I really had little choice in it. In no way did Embry or I agree with the plan. We were a pack, we were supposed to do things together, but I also understood we had the power to turn the tide in our favor and that she would do it with or without us, she was Leah after all. Now though, everything we had planned was useless and our situation even more desperate. There was so little holding us together. That had always been Leah's job and then, when she needed us the most we had all let her down.

Worse, as her brother, I had let her down.

As Cris punched Sam once more, I couldn't even bring myself to feel sorry for him or intervene. I'd always tried to see the best in everyone, but right now Sam was the scum of the earth. If Leah hadn't been so riled up about his threat to fight everyone, she would never have needed to put herself in danger. It was safe to say Cris agreed with my thinking, which is why each time he put him face down in the dirt, a sick little part of me felt it was justified.

Funnily enough, no one else had tried to intervene either and the remaining wolves had simply formed a circle around the un-phased alpha's unsure of what to do. Leah's kidnapping had hit everyone hard and everything else seemed so insignificant.

Suddenly, Jake came skirting into the clearing pulling his clothes on. He took one look at the situation anger flooding his face. "Cris, enough!" he bellowed.

Cris towered over Sam's bruised regenerating body and turned towards Jake. The alpha's eyes were dark, almost coal black. He wasn't himself and he snarled in warning.

Jake didn't even flinch, he also knew what Cris was feeling. "Cris, we'll find her I promise, but we need all the help we can get to do it. That includes Sam being in one piece. What's done is done; we need to work together now. It's what Leah would do."

Cris's eyes dimmed, his natural blue returning slowly. He growled low once more in Sam's direction before storming off towards the Denali house. Shay followed.

With the Barrow pack gone, Paul and Jared came forward to help their alpha. Sam shrugged them off, spiting blood on to the forest floor.

He looked at Jake, then to me. "I guess I deserved that."

Jake just sighed. "We're having another meeting at the house. If you're ready to work with us this time, you and your pack are invited to join us."

"Thank you." Sam nodded. He then turned to me, "Seth..."

"Don't," I hissed. "It's done, Sam. You better just pray to god she's ok, because if she's not, it's all on you and Cris won't get a look in - I'll kill you myself."

Sam nodded. "If anything happens to her, I'll let you."

"Seth, she'll be ok." Jake put what he thought was a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

One hand clenched to a fist as I kept it tight against my side. I could feel myself start to vibrate. "Fuck off, Jake. You're not much better than Sam right now. If you didn't have your head so far stuck up your Imprint's ass and all of this drama going on, the kid might not have run off in the first place. You made your bed, stop playing these games and stringing everyone along and just lay in it already."

Jake quickly removed his hand and looked at me gob smacked.

Embry nudged me. "Come on, Seth, lets go find Cris and Shay."

I nodded. I'd take their help, but I'd be damned if any of them thought we could go on as if nothing had happened.

Embry and I stormed off, leaving Jake and Sam's pack to sort themselves out. Once we'd made some distance. Embry felt it safe enough to vent.

"This should never have happened," he muttered. "We should never have even let her consider the plan. The minute there was any mention of their interest in her she should have been surrounded, protected. It's always about the imprinting though. I'm sick of us always having to be the moral ones."

"You're telling me." I lowered my voice. "You know we can't trust them, right?"

Embry raised a brow. "Who?"

I sighed. "Jake and Sam. We might all be fighting the same enemy, but I don't care what they say. If push comes to shove and we do find their base, we all know they'll be putting the girls first. They won't even mean to, it will just be instinct to them. I won't let Leah be pushed to the bottom of the pile, not again. I've let it slide too many times. I never should have."

"Agreed. We might be only a small pack, but we're not alone. Cris and Shay will be with us." Embry frowned. "You realize though, by saying we'll prioritize one life over another, we're no better than them?"

I scowled. "So you're saying Leah's not worth it."

"Never. You of all people know how I feel about her. As a beta, I'm just saying the facts. The fallout of any decisions we make has to be weighed." He paused. "If we find them, realistically the chances of saving everyone and getting them out safely is slim. We have to be frank about the fact, if we get Leah out first we may ultimately be leaving someone else to die."

"I'll deal with any fallout if that happens, but it's a price I'm willing to pay. Right now, our first challenge is to find her though." Slightly appeased, I continued our path towards Cris.

We found him not far out, pacing back and forth in wolf form. Shay was sat on a nearby stump, head clasped in his hands.

Embry and I joined him.

"What's he doing?" I asked.

Shay looked up at me, strain evident on his face. "Making a call. The situation has changed."

I nodded.

Around five minutes later, he phased back and pulled on some shorts. He looked at the three of us. "I didn't mean to lose it back there. I can't explain it. My wolf, he's lost Leah too... he's not happy."

"Sam deserved it," Embry snorted. "You just managed to get to him first."

Cris shook his head. "Still, it doesn't make it right. Anyway, I've just spoken with Corey. Barrow's still in bad shape, but there's been no sign of anymore vampires. So, we've made a decision - one we've never been willing to make before. It's clear that the threat of Joham needs to be eliminated and Leah's safety is also imperative. As skin walkers we have a responsibility to both. Therefore, Barrow will be left undefended for the first time since we phased."

I looked at him skeptically.

"In other words, my pack is coming," he explained. "They may be different to you, but they have skills. While we rely on sight and smell as wolves, Jaden has much better eyesight and can cover miles of ground from the air. His arm is healed enough for him to fly. The twins meanwhile, their hearing is excellent and they can pick up different sound vibrations through the ground. Between them they might be able to find something we missed. It's worth a shot and the more force we have the better. They can all fight. Corey especially."

"Are you sure the twins are ready?" Shay asked protectively. "They're still just kids."

Cris looked sad. "If they don't come and we lose, they will still be at risk. We've trained them and kept them out of danger for as long as we could. They're part of the pack though and we can't shelter them forever. It's time we let them join us."

Shay seemed to accept his answer.

Embry looked a little brighter. "This is good news. How long until they're here?"

"A day, maybe a little more. Jaden will arrive soonest; he's flying ahead. Corey will lead the twins across country by foot," Cris explained.

Embry nodded. "Ok, so we have 24 hours to plan and see if we can pick up any new tracks before they arrive. We best get this meeting over and done with then."

He looked at me briefly. I knew he wanted to discuss our earlier conversation.

"Just one thing, before we go, we need to let you know that Embry and I have made a choice." I started to explain.

"Go on..." Shay said curiously.

Cris remained impassive.

"Leah is now our priority. Whatever happens at this meeting we're not letting Sam and Jake drive it. They have made nothing but bad choices and poor decisions and we all know they have their own agendas. So now, we're making ours." I finished.

Shay looked at Cris. "I've no problem with that. Leah's important on many levels."

Cris almost smiled at him. "Thanks, Shay." He then turned to me. "Seth, I love your sister, but I also have respect for your pack. Even if she wasn't involved, I would work with you. I'm glad that we have the same thoughts though. Since we're being open, we also have something I'd like to add to the mix. We want to get Maxi's baby out too. It's important to my pack and my people that she comes home safe."

"Leah first and you have a deal," Embry confirmed.

Cris nodded. "Without a doubt."

With that settled, we all made our way back to the house to face what was likely to be our first battle. With so many emotions, agendas, hate and prejudice flying around, there was no way our alliance would be easily formed. I didn't care though. Behind the scenes we'd formed our plan and I trusted that the guys I was with were all on the same page...

Whatever the cost. We would get my sister back.

AN

Ok, so this was a short filler chapter. I hope you all enjoyed.

I have tried to catch up with all my reviews this week, but if I have somehow missed you I am sorry and thank you for your review just as much.

To my latest guest reviewer, who left no name. I just wanted to say that I appreciate the length of time this story has been going on. I really am trying to bring the end together in a more regular way, but sadly real life does tend to take over quite a lot. I appreciate your still following it and can understand your frustration at the delay in chapters. I hope this little filler makes it up to you and thanks for sticking with me this long! It was good to get the feedback.

Next chapter is almost ready too!

Beta credit to the amazing dontcallmeleelee - she is totally awesome and has also started writing again, which I am really excited about! She has a brilliant story, which you should go check out called The two sides of the moon - it's very original and has its own hot characters and Leah, of course!

Thanks again for reading xxx