Resurrection.
Chapter Six: The Imprint Conversation.
Leah waited for Alcide to take his teeth out of her neck, knowing that even though she'd heal the scar would most likely remain there forever. According to legend (and what other weres she had seen on her journey) a mark between two mated wolves stayed forever as a clear sign to all that they were taken. Once Alcide's teeth were out of her neck she had no problem phasing back to her human form. After all she had just done (and would do) something more exposing then baring her naked body so she found no reason to be shy of it now. He'd probably see it eventually anyway even if she hadn't phased back now.
"Fine. I'll tell you what you want to know."
She muttered, and watched a few seconds later as Alcide shifted back from wolf to human as well.
"Mmm, good."
He responded huskily as his green eyed gaze examined every inch of her from head to toe. To her embarrassment Leah found herself blushing at his intense gaze. She couldn't remember the last time she blushed! Maybe with Sam... Maybe. Not that she'd ever admit it.
"Hopefully it'll explain the bite I gave you seems to be staying."
Of course Alcide had bitten her to prove his dominance, however since Leah had imprinted on him that bite had ended up as a claiming mark from a mate hence why it remained as a visable scar. Leah nodded quietly, watching Alcide carefully for any sign of what his reaction would be. However he was not revealing anything and so she didn't even know if he found her attractive let alone perhaps being interested in dating her at least.
She sighed as Alcide got up onto his knees before standing up, certainly not shy about his own body and honestly he had no reason to be so. He was a god and Leah found herself rather transfixed. She knew she should look away, begged her body to do so, but all she could do was stare at him and hope to god she wasn't drooling or had her mouth gaping open or that he'd see her expression. Fortunately even though she did have a gaping mouth, Alcide didn't notice as he began walking back the way they had come. Leah turned her head to watch his world class backside flexing with each stride and found herself wanting to not only touch it but give it a good firm bite and smack. She could even imagine clutching it as he...
Suddenly Alcide's voice interrupted her day dream which had made her drool.
"I'll get you some clothes cher. You just stay where you are."
With that, Alcide disappeared from Leah's view. She had a bad feeling he'd seen her staring at him. That could not be good in any way. With a frown Leah sat up and turned to face the direction Alcide had gone with her knees pulled up to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin on the tops of her knees. Before too long Alcide had returned although to her surprise he was dressed in only a pair of jeans that clung to his figure shamelessly and a pair of work boots that she couldn't help but find so very manly. Damn him and her pull to him. She bet he was a builder with a hard hat and everything. God, she was getting herself excited over a pair of boots and a manly body! What was wrong with her? She hadn't felt hot for anyone in years yet right now she felt if Alcide just touched her once anywhere she'd explode.
Leah noticed he had returned with one of his shirt's which since he was so large it would probably cover her to her knees. She wasn't sure if him giving her his shirt meant anything to him but a large part of her was rather excited. His t-shirt had his scent on it, and with both his scent covering her as well as his mate mark (not that he had meant to do that) everyone would know she was his. She knew he hadn't really claimed her yet nor said he wanted her but just the thought of everyone knowing she was his made her want to squeal in happiness - and Leah Clearwater had never squealed nor done anything girly in her life.
Leah forced herself to look nonchalant as she took the t-shirt and put it on, not wanting him to know she was anything near desperate or that she wanted to squeal happily because it appeared to everyone else she was taken by him. Once the t-shirt was on she stood up and walked alongside Alcide as they made their way back to his house.
Each step they took closer to his house Leah found herself feeling more and more apprehensive. So much so she didn't even notice Seth sneaking ahead to get back inside the house before the other two did. Of course Alcide noticed, but since Leah was so distracted she didn't and Alcide decided not to tell her. It may just upset her to know someone had seen whatever that moment had been so he decided to save her that embarrassment and distress.
All too soon they were all inside and sat down where they had been before. All were silent as they waited for Leah to start talking but it had been so long since she had really talked with anyone let alone let anyone know something so private she just didn't know where to begin. That and she felt very hesitant as well as anxious. She knew she had to tell him, that she probably should, but she was scared that Alcide would still reject her in the end. After all she didn't have a good history with men. She had loved Sam, he left her for her cousin and best friend Emily. She had started to fall in love with Jacob, and he had left her for a vampire/human hybrid. She seriously had very bad luck with men and the defenses around her heart told her to cut her losses and run for it.
Unfortunately it didn't seem running for it was an option any more.
Besides, if her mother ever found out she had found her imprint and ran away from him she'd never hear the end of it when her mother eventually found her.
"Well, I suppose you know Seth and I are slightly different then your kind of Weres. Well, despite being extremely large, we have this thing we do..."
Leah began only to fall silent as she got to the 'Imprint' part. She had hated it for so long...
"We come from a tribe. The Quilettes in La Push, Washington. Anyway we have stories... legends... that actually turned out to be real. You see only men, the strongest men, were meant to be Spirit Warriors as they call it. They had the ability to turn into wolves. The gene we have hadn't been activated for three generations. It had been so long we didn't think it was real. Then the cold ones, vampires, came near to our reservation and the gene activated again. S-sam... he was first. He took up the title of Alpha temporarily... Anyway, I'm the only female of my kind."
She continued, editing parts she did not want to mention like she had been in love with Sam and he had left her for her cousin & best friend because he imprinted, tearing her heart apart or that everyone called her a freak as well as worse. How they hated her, cursed her name, thought ill of her even when she was around, and if it came down to it she knew none of them would ever risk themselves to save her. Jacob had been so young and naive when he had done so, not even a wolf long, so that didn't count. Her mother turned from her to be with oh-so-damn-perfect Emily whilst her father died from a heart attack he had suffered when she phased for the first time. She still believed it was her fault. She still hated being a wolf. She still hated imprinting and yet her imprint was right infront of her, and god she was still terrified he'd reject her.
"Anyway, one of the legends is that the Spirit Warriors for fighting and killing the cold ones were rewarded with an Imprint. Imprinting..."
She paused for a moment not even sure she could describe it any good light so she copied what Jacob had said.
"Imprinting, well, it's not like love at first sight, really. It's more like... gravity moves... suddenly. It's not the earth holding you here anymore, she does... You become whatever she needs you to be, whether that's a protector, or a lover, or a friend. At least thats what your sister is to Seth. He'll be anything she needs."
The last sentence was said with bitterness she couldn't hide. It was what she hated. Everyone said Sam and Emily didn't have a choice. It wasn't true! They even said it when they described imprinting. Sam didn't have a choice but that backstabbing bitch Emily had. She could have asked Sam to be a friend, she could have asked him to be the big brother she ever had but no, she had taken the love of Leah's life away just because she could. Feeling tears start to prick at the corners of her eyes, she growled in fustration, rubbing her face with her hands as she tried to regain control of herself.
"And us, Leah?"
Alcide asked gently as he gently cupped her hands and pulled them away from her tear stained face, having walked over when she lost control so he was now crouching infront of her.
Leah wanted to snarl, she watched to curse, she wanted to tear someone's skin from their body with teeth and claws, but she could do neither in that moment. She felt trapped in every way and she knew the only way out was to tell him. She didn't want to. She didn't want to say it. If she said it then it would be true and he'd reject her just like every other man in her life had. She couldn't survive one more rejection. She just couldn't and she wasn't sure she was strong enough to risk her heart again no matter what her inner wolf had to say about it.
"God damn it!"
She growled, shoving Alcide away from her before stalking over to Seth and Janice.
"Yo, blondie, where's the nearest bar? I need a drink."
She snapped, but before she could walk out a hand had grabbed her arm, swung her around and slammed up against a wall before a pair of lips pressed against hers. Leah was so surprised she found herself blinking a few times as Alcide's hands cupped her cheeks, his fingertips brushing against her stray strands of black hair, and his beautiful green eyes were closed. He was so good that Leah found her tense body relaxing as her eyes slowly closed. She made a half hearted attempt at saying 'no' but Alcide took the opportunity to plunge his tongue into her mouth and she was lost. He was the best kisser in the world although with her inexperience she supposed her declaration probably meant nothing.
Her heart was racing, she was pretty much breathless, gripping his bulging biceps as she had to hang on for the ride. Before long she found herself moaning, her body softening probably for the first time in years as slowly inch by inch her shields began to fall away under his masterful caress. He pulled away, smirking a little at her swollen lips and dazed look in her eyes before rubbing a thumb against her wet lips.
"And us Leah?"
Alcide spoke softly, his expression gentle and encouraging. She could only look at him with a increasingly hardened gaze, a subtle shaking of her head from side to side showing more then she knew. He understood, he really did. She had told him all he needed to know without even knowing it. The way she spoke in a monotone when speaking about Imprinting, the way her voice broke when she said the name Sam, it was all very clear as to what happened.
She had met imprinting before. Sam was probably her first and only love. They had probably been together for years. She looked young so maybe since high school. High school sweethearts that made the distance... Yes, it would have to be something like that. Something so precious she thought it was forever. After all the few high school sweethearts that made the distance did usually end up with that happy ever after. However, then the gene activated and from the sounds of it Sam was stolen away. He had probably imprinted on someone close to Leah, a best friend or close relative maybe, and considering the way imprinting was described the bitch had probably taken the first chance she got to steal Sam away. She could have told Sam she just wanted a friend, or a protector, or a brother, but she knowingly took Leah's love of her life and had a party doing it. From the sounds of it she had no support afterwards either. It wouldn't surprise him if the whole tribe had probably turned on her. After all, if she had any support she wouldn't have so many hardened defenses as she did, and she wouldn't be on a self destruct button either.
She was loosing her grip on this world. He could see it. He could see the girl that was slowly withering away to the harshness of the outside world. There was a hell of a lot of grief there so it wouldn't surprise him if there had been one person who had supported her but died just before the whole wolf thing started. She was fustrated. Clearly she hadn't felt any kind touches, let alone one from a man, in years. She was lonely. A part of her wanted companions, she didn't want to be alone, but with her history with her tribe and Sam she didn't want to take the risk anymore. There was fear in her eyes, so strong that he could barely stand it. A wolf was meant to be in a pack, a woman like her, hell a female wolf like her was born to be worshipped. She was born to be an Alpha female in her own right. However she was stifled. She clearly had very little room to progress, to escape, to do anything she wanted to do that she the grief, fear, fustration, and starvation was increasing to an unstable, unbridled anger that threatened to destroy her. She also, clearly, hadn't felt like a woman in a long time either. From the way she had reacted to his kiss she had been so fiercely neglected and abused, he knew it would probably take everything that was in him to fix it. How could he just let her go like this? He couldn't. All her issues aside, there was a fierce, passionate, and fun-loving woman underneath who just needed comfort, love, affection, and a chance to be everything she had ever wanted to be.
She wanted an imprint. She wanted to be imprinted on. She was just terrified of rejection, and Alcide could see it all so very clearly.
He had always been able to see through to the core of people. Right now, he believed it was a gift. Maybe it was even fate.
"I know what you want to say Leah, but I need to hear you say it. Infact, I think you desperately need to say it yourself for your own benefit."
Alcide told her huskily, softly, looking straight into her eyes as he tried to give her the confidence she so clearly lacked.
Clearly he was her imprint, and she was terrified she would not have him. He would fix her, not just because he could or some kind of tribal god deemed he should, but because a woman like her only came once in a lifetime and she bloody well deserved it.
Author's Note: And here's the next chapter! I knew what I wanted down, but at the start it wouldn't go onto paper (not literally of course, haha!). However once I got started I couldn't stop so its ended up being extra long. Enjoy and keep all these awesome reviews coming, they really make my day.
Ibterismith50 - I'm glad you like it, and obviously, he is more!
Apocolypse owner - Yes she did! I'm so happy for her, and she's god damn lucky too. Alcide is smokin'. The actor that plays him... yum, yum, yum.
All my favouriters and followers; I'd really appreciate a review so I know where I'm going right and wrong. Thanks!
