In the same moment that Leah yelled for him, Emily screamed his name again and begged for help. He phased out of the pack mind in order to open the passenger door. He had to get her out before he did anything else, though he wanted only to phase back and plant himself between Leah and the vampire. But Emily was terrified, and he worried that she might be injured as well. He yanked open the door and leaned over her, reassuring her that he would help her while tears of fury and desperation streaked down his face. Where was Leah? He had to help her, but he simply could not. The buckle was jammed, so he told her to hold still and simply ripped it out, and then he swept her up into his arms and bore her away. The mark on his clavicle burned as he ran in the wrong direction.
He heard Leah's faint voice behind him, and Sam's heart dropped into his stomach in terror. What was she doing? He shouldn't be able to hear her voice now that he was human. Why wasn't she phased? He glanced back and saw her far down the road. She had changed tactics. Seeing that she was alone, she knew that as a wolf, she would stand in stalemate against the vampire with Kim held between them as a bargaining chip. She yelled at the retreating vampire, who paused at her human voice, then stopped, stunned. She was nude and bleeding, but she talked. She was either trying to reason with him or distract him until their brothers arrived.
"Put her down. It's all over," she was saying. "You know we've killed all of them, and the rest of my pack will be here any second. Let her go and leave while you still can."
He laughed at her incredulously while tears streamed down Kim's cheeks as she hung two feet off the ground. "You think I'm going to fall for that? I'm supposed to believe you're just going to let me walk away?"
Leah grinned darkly at him. "Maybe not, but if you drop her, you stand a chance at getting away."
He shook Kim like she was a rag doll, and Sam feared that both girls would be lost if he did not return. The vampire snarled, "Once I drain her, she'll be a lot lighter."
Emily made a frightened, wordless noise, and his attention snapped back to her. She was shaking like a leaf and clutching at him with both arms.
"Emily, I need to..." Sam nodded behind him. He marveled at Leah's bravery, but she should not have to face the threat alone. He tried to tell Emily that he had to return for Leah and Kim, but the imprint strangled off his words. "I have to help… It's not safe!"
"Then let's go!" she hissed.
"Please..." was all he managed in protest. He despised himself for leaving Leah by herself, but the imprint gave him no choice. Emily wasn't just its top priority; she was its only one.
She tried to twist around. "Let's get out of here!"
He tried to keep his mouth closed, tried to set her down and run to Leah, but instead he whispered, "I'm going to phase. I'm a lot faster that way. I want you to climb onto my back." He tried to take back the words, but they had already escaped.
As Sam lost his battle against the imprint, Leah yelled, "If you harm her, you can bet that you'll be torn apart slowly and painfully. You think it hurt to lose your hand? That was nothing compared to what I'll do to you now! I don't need the rest of my pack. You're a coward. I'm stronger than you and you know it. That's why you abandoned your friends back there. You knew you didn't have a chance against me, so you ran away. Coward!"
The vampire trembled with rage. "You don't know anything, you mongrel whore!"
Sam dropped to his hands and knees, choking back sobs of grief and horror, and Emily backed away from him warily. "Leah…" he managed.
"You're terrified!" Leah taunted. "You're pathetic! You're hiding behind a little human girl because you're too much of a pussy to fight me!"
"You fucking bitch!" The vampire finally lost his temper, and he flung Kim aside. She scrambled backward as Leah phased. Sam rejoined the pack mind at the same moment, and he heard a cacophony.
Jacob was screaming, What the hell are you people doing?
Where's Leah? Where's the vampire? Paul and yelled. Jared was frantic over Kim.
Sam didn't glance back; the imprint wouldn't let him. He lowered himself down, and Emily scrambled onto his back. He took off in the opposite direction, carrying her to safety, but Leah's name was a mantra in his mind. Help Leah! Please! She's all alone, and I can't get back! Please!
His brothers screamed as they felt the impact of the vampire's charge against Leah. Her left clavicle snapped, and she howled. Get the fuck back here and help me! Sam! Goddammit, Sam!
LeeLee! No! No! God, you're hurt! Sam's heart broke, but he kept running. Emily's safety trumped all else. I'm sorry! I can't help it. I'm so sorry! Shit, watch out!
The vampire grabbed at her front leg with his hand, intending to crush the bone in his fist. She flung herself backward before he could get a grip, so instead of sustaining a fracture, his nails raked through her flesh and left five long lacerations in their wake. Sam was horrified, and he tried to turn around to help her. I'm so sorry! Oh, god!
Your fucking apology is worthless! she screamed. He couldn't believe what he was doing, what the imprint was making him do. He wanted to throw himself at the vampire's feet and beg it to put him out of his misery.
Leah's heart broke as he ran away, and he felt a physical sensation of emptiness spread through his chest. LeeLee! LeeLee! He was already too far away to see her, and in his true heart, he panicked. But still he ran. He wanted to ask her not to forget about them, to remember what they had, who they were, but he knew he was distracting her. The vampire was coming for her again. Watch out!
It kicked her in the muzzle, sending her reeling. She landed in the ditch, her head smashing against a large rock, her right shoulder dislocating on impact, gravel digging into her wounds. She lay dazed, and underneath her pain, confusion, and anger, he felt her wondering if there was any point in getting up. She panted and didn't move.
Get up! Get up! Move! Baby, please! Get up! Sam begged. Her brothers begged. The vampire grinned and approached her. Still she didn't move. Her pack screamed her name. She closed her eyes. Her head pounded with pain. She panted shallow breaths. No! Sam screamed. LeeLee! Damn it, LeeLee! He was too distraught to order her to do anything.
But she didn't need an order. She didn't need him at all. She lay motionless until the vampire was only inches from her, and when he reached down to wrap his arm around her to snap her neck, she lunged forward and bit his left leg off at the knee. He shrieked as he lost his balance, and he fell. She screamed at him even though he couldn't hear her. Asshole! You think you can take me? She was on him in an instant, channeling her rage at the monster. He slammed his stump into her throat and tore gashes across her chest, but she ignored the pain and ripped off his right leg. You think I need my fucking pack? Fuck that! I don't need anybody! He tried frantically to punch her in the muzzle, but she opened wounds in his shoulder with her claw. Call me a bitch? Say it again! Beg me for mercy! But all he did was scream until she ripped out his throat with her jaws while her brothers cheered her on. She didn't hear any of them. Moments later there was nothing left of the creature except a squirming pile of limbs. You think I need you, Sam? You think you're anything to me now? I don't need you. I don't need anyone! Kim backed away as Leah reduced the pieces into unrecognizable chunks. When there was nothing left to destroy, she collapsed to the ground.
Sam slowed to a stop, pleading for Leah's forgiveness in the pack mind. She refused to answer him. She was watching Victoria through Jacob's and Paul's eyes. Their dismayed foe had leapt directly from a pine tree off a cliff and into the ocean below, and she disappeared beneath the waves. She was gone.
Sam dropped to the ground, and Emily stumbled off him. "Is it over?" she asked. "Is everything okay?" He found himself nodding, but he was certain that nothing would ever be right, never again.
He repeated Leah's name over and over. He told her how much he loved her, how he was not in control of any of his actions, and how he would do anything if only she wouldn't give up on him. He told her she was the bravest person he had ever met, that he wasn't worthy of her, that Emily was nothing to him, and that she was everything. Still she was silent.
Paul finally snapped at him to shut up, to leave with his imprint since she was obviously more important to him, and not to bother coming back. He fell silent, but he watched in the pack mind. He saw when Jared reached Kim, cradling her gently and reassuring her that she was safe. He felt Leah phase out, and the loss was worse than when Harry had died, worse than when his father had walked out. She hadn't said another word to him, so he walked back toward her.
Emily followed him, trying to check him over for wounds or injuries. He saw Jacob approach Leah's bloodied, naked form lying in the grass. She was covered in deep lacerations, blood, red welts, and dirt. Her face was a rictus of pain, but he knew that her physical injuries were overwhelmed by her emotional devastation. Jacob disappeared from the pack mind as he phased out, but Sam could still see through Paul's eyes. His heart ached when he saw tears run out of her eyes, when he heard a single, hitching sob from her chest. But when Jacob put his hand on her uninjured shoulder and asked her if she was all right, she opened her eyes and looked blankly at the sky. She didn't make eye contact with any of her brothers, or with Kim, who was thanking her profusely. Flatly, she answered, "I'm fine."
Jared ran back to Kim's car to retrieve a blanket from her trunk, avoiding Sam, and Leah began to walk home, leaning on Jacob's arm. Sam phased back before the group passed him where he waited with Emily, and he tugged on his shorts. Leah refused to look at them when he asked if she was all right. She had a terrifyingly blank expression on her face. He would have preferred rage, sorrow, or anger if he could not see her love. "LeeLee?"
She didn't answer.
But when Emily asked her how she was, very softly, Leah looked at her cousin, and she finally glanced at Sam. Her silence struck him like a blow to the chest. She refused to let him examine her injuries, and Emily finally registered how badly Leah had been hurt when Paul made an amateur attempt at shoving her shoulder back in place. At the jarring movement, Emily became concerned about Leah, and Sam's throat was suddenly open again. He tried to touch her, but she jerked away from his hand. The blood streaking down the gashes in her skin sickened him, though they were already closing. He wanted to take her back to the cabin and take care of her, but she refused to go back there or even to let him walk her back to her mother's house. He wasn't sure if her anger was aimed more at him or more at Emily. He offered to give her any assistance she needed, as did Emily, but she refused them both, saying, "It isn't just that I can't trust you with my heart. I can't even trust you to watch my back. So I don't think there's much point in you coming around. Either of you."
Sam knew his world had come apart at the seams. He would be lost. "Please, LeeLee. Please."
She looked at Emily, then she looked at him, and then she looked at the ground. She tried to pull the blanket more tightly around her, but couldn't due to her broken collarbone and dislocated shoulder. Softly, she murmured, "I think I finally understand."
Leah wouldn't tell him what she meant. In fact, she stopped talking to him altogether. The meaning would nag at him for days, since they were the last words she spoke to him for a very long time.
Jacob told her that she should see a doctor, but she shook her head and answered that since Dr. Cullen was gone, there was no physician she could trust to keep their secret. Her mother would take care of her, or no one at all. Sam knew she was referring to his abandonment and felt ashamed. Jacob glared at him as he helped Leah away, and Paul roughly shoved his shoulder against him as he walked by, sneering at him unapologetically. He wanted to ignore Leah's rejection, to run after her and refuse to leave her side again, to prove his loyalty even if she didn't want him anymore. He wanted to show his love in any way he was able, by helping her bathe, brushing her hair, and feeding her meals. He wanted to take care of her, but he knew he had no right. He would settle for by sleeping in the woods outside her window again.
Instead, Emily clung to him like a barnacle after the attack. What little sympathy his brothers had for him vanished when he didn't show up for his next scheduled patrol. She was terrified, especially after she found out that Victoria had escaped, and he ended up standing sentry in her apartment. He was a failure and a fraud. He was a worthless fiancé, a terrible Alpha, and he could hardly call himself a protector. The only person he was protecting was Emily. During her waking hours, he was consumed with the need to keep her safe, but after she slept each night, he knew he was no better than a slave. His will was chained. His only rebellion against the imprint came late at night. He would stare at the ceiling thinking about his LeeLee, wondering how she was, what she was doing, if she missed him as much as he missed her, and trying to figure out what she had meant when she said she understood. He thought of little else until Emily fell asleep, and then he would leave Emily's home to climb up to Leah's window, just as he did when they were small and she was his refuge. But now the window was locked and the shades drawn, and she did not answer when he knocked. He knew she was on the other side, just inches away, but the distance might as well have been miles. Sometimes he apologized. Sometimes he begged forgiveness. She said nothing. He would hear a hitch in her breath from time to time, or the rustle of slight movement, and he thought that at any moment, she would part the curtains and open the latch. She never did, so he simply listened to her breathe.
He was surprised when Emily did not immediately initiate a romantic relationship with him. He was uncertain why, because he knew that she had very strong feelings for him. Maybe she saw the way Leah's mark on his clavicle was raw and open in her presence. Every second he spent with Emily, it burned, and the closer he got, the worse the pain became. He held onto it desperately. He willed her to ask exactly what it was, but she never did, and he was unable to tell her. The only time she had asked, the night that he had gone to comfort her when she broke up with Mark, he only managed to tell her that it was Leah's, but she had asked for no further explanation. Since she did not want to know, he could not tell her.
Sometimes the mark burned when Emily was nowhere near. His stomach would turn with nausea, anxiety would make his heart race, and his wolf would become restless. He managed to catch sight of Leah once when the pain became too disruptive to ignore, and he found Jacob in her kitchen, seated behind her wrapping an ace bandage around her shoulder. After that he became paranoid. Could he feel it anytime another man touched her?
He wanted Leah more desperately than anything, while his primary goal for Emily was to keep her safe. He felt her desire for him, but he steadfastly refused to give in to any other urges. Emily longed for physical displays of affection, although she didn't demand them, and he limited himself to taking her hand or giving her brief hugs. She seemed to be waiting for him to make the first move. He did nothing of the sort. When he tried to leave her, though, the imprint held him in place. And when he finally managed to slip away to see Leah, one of her brothers warned him away. She probably thought the worst of him, knowing he was staying with Emily. He couldn't figure out how to leave her, but in this way he stayed loyal to Leah. He held Emily when she required comfort, focusing on the sting of his clavicle every time, but he didn't kiss her goodnight when she went to bed, nor did he follow her into her bedroom though he saw in her gaze that she wanted him to. If he slept, it was on the couch or the floor, and he dreamed of Leah. The past blended with the present and the future. He saw her lips curl into a smile, gazed at her deep brown eyes through her thick lashes, watched the pretty dimple appear in her cheek, and he reached out to touch each precious part of her. In his sleep, her skin was soft and warm, and she opened her arms to welcome him. He would hold her until he realized his arms were actually empty, and then he would wake with tears rolling out of the corners of his eyes. Or he would run his fingertips along her waist, her hips, her breasts, and he would inhale her spicy, sweet smell. In his memory, he would peel off each piece of clothing, one by one, until she was bare to his eyes, and he would roll her beneath him and lose himself in her taste, her warmth, her body, her love, her soul. But he always woke aching, hard, and alone. If Emily was still asleep, he would throw one arm over his eyes and slide his other hand down, holding onto fading memories, trying in futility to replicate the sensation of Leah's body with his right hand. If Emily was awake, he would escape to her bathroom, lock the door behind him, and shower in frigid water until he was numb.
Sam silently hoped Emily would tell Leah that nothing inappropriate was going on between them, but she was too ashamed to reach out. Leah, in turn, was so angry that she feared she might actually hurt her cousin if they came in contact, and went out of her way to avoid them both. When he was phased, he made certain to show his pack brothers that nothing had happened between them. He knew he looked pitiful, but he didn't care. He begged them to tell Leah that he loved only her, that he wanted no one else, and that he wasn't sleeping with Emily. They refused, saying that she didn't want to hear any news about him, good or bad. Paul actually laughed at him when he made the request. Jared said that she wasn't speaking to him either. Embry was busy with the newest wolf, Quil, who had become feverish on the day of the battle. And Sam was convinced that Jacob convinced Leah to leave him.
The young shifter quickly took control. His father told him that he was meant to be Alpha, and while he had no desire to take the position, he saw how useless Sam had become when forced to choose between protecting his imprint and doing what was best for the pack. He didn't feel as if he had any choice.
Several days after the debacle, Emily still had no realistic idea what was going on among the pack, because the only other people who regularly communicated with her were Kim and Old Quil, who at least told her that Sam needed to be available for his patrols. Sam hadn't attempted to visit Leah in the past two days, because Emily had nightmares when he was gone. She asked him to stay the night, so had not been able to go to the Clearwater house. He had tried to talk to Leah on the phone, but she was screening her calls. When he tried from Emily's house, she wouldn't pick up at all. The only time he heard her voice was when he called from the community center, but as soon as he said her name and began to beg for forgiveness, he heard a click and a dial tone on the other end. He was miserable, but he couldn't blame her at all. He couldn't remember the last time he had gone so long without talking to her. It was as if a vital organ was missing from his body. Nothing felt right, and he did not know how to go on. But he did, for the memory of what he shared with Leah. If nothing else, he would continue his role as protector, even if he only protected one woman, until he figured out how to regain control.
Sam continued to phase into wolf form for patrols until one day he phased in to see only a dim blur of forest and brown fur. He felt someone's excitement. It had the quality of Jacob's thoughts, but as soon as he reached out, it was gone. The pack mind went silent and black. He was alone. Initially he panicked. Had something happened to Jacob? Where was everyone else? They had been on high alert since the attack, so multiple wolves should have been on patrol. The last time he had entered the pack mind, it had actually been overrun by everyone except Leah. He had heard an excited new voice: Quil. But now it was empty. Was no one guarding the reservation? Were his brothers hurt? Unconscious? Even dead? Leah hadn't phased during her recovery. Was she safe? He raced to find them.
He heard them before he saw them, and his mark ached dully. There was laughter ringing out from the woods near the cabin. He recognized Paul's human voice, but he knew Paul wasn't alone. He heard barking, snarling, and noisy commotion. Someone must be in wolf form, but why couldn't he hear them through their psychic bond?
Through the trees, he saw Paul clutching at his belly, doubled over with laughter. A flash of chocolate colored fur startled him, and then Jacob's russet wolf rolled into view. Jacob and Quil were tumbling together on the ground. Quil seemed to be trying to wrestle the larger wolf, but he wasn't doing a very good job of it, and the rest of the pack was playfully taunting him. Embry and Jared were off to the side, also in wolf form, and when Sam made his way into the clearing, he spotted Leah sitting on the ground, still human, leaning against Seth. She had a pretty smile on her face until she spotted him.
The laughter faded. Jacob straightened up, but Quil didn't notice what was going on and tried to bite his ear. Paul folded his arms over his chest and snapped, "Cut it out, Quil."
Quil turned around in confusion, tilting his head quizzically at Sam. Sam stared at him, trying to hear him, but there was nothing. Guys? What's going on?
Jacob's voice was the only reply. Sam, hey. He was hiding something. Sam was certain. He just couldn't figure out what it was. He tried to probe, but Jacob's thoughts were hidden from him.
Everyone's okay? It was a foolish question; he could see perfectly well that no one was hurt. But he didn't know what else to do.
Seth stood abruptly and held his hand out to his sister. "Let's go." He wouldn't look at Sam. Neither would Leah. She avoided his gaze as Seth pulled her up, and she brushed leaves from her legs. The siblings turned and walked away.
Sam instinctively went after her. LeeLee? He asked even though he knew she couldn't hear him.
Jacob stepped in his path. Now's not the time. I think we need to talk.
What is this? Why can't I hear anyone but you?
Jacob looked at the others, who had lined up behind him. I didn't mean for it to happen this way.
Sam started to pace nervously. What? For what to happen?
Jacob looked over his shoulder at Leah's retreating form, and then he turned back to Sam. I broke away. I left your pack.
Excuse me? Sam was incredulous. He knew that Jacob would probably eventually become Alpha, but he didn't expect for it to happen so soon, and it still didn't explain why he couldn't hear anyone else.
I didn't actually mean to, at least, not this way. I was talking to Leah, thinking about it, and it happened.
There was more to it than that. There had to be. So you're your own pack now?
I... Yeah. I am. Jacob involuntarily let a memory slip. Sam saw an angry Leah ranting about getting away from him before Jacob locked it away.
Leah? LeeLee went with you?
She did. Now Jacob couldn't look him in the eye.
And understanding dawned. He looked at his brothers. Paul was glaring at him. Embry and Jared were looking at the ground. Quil was glancing back and forth between them. She's not the only one, is she?
I'm sorry, Jacob answered. Paul's pretty pissed at you, you know.
No kidding. And Embry's your best friend. He had to phase back to human to ask, "Jared?" This one surprised him. He considered Jared to be a friend, and he was the only one who understood what imprinting was like.
Jared phased addressed him. "Sam, you left Kim behind. That monster had her by the throat, and Emily was just sitting in the car, totally fine, but you got her out of there without stopping for anyone else." Sam's mind reeled. He hadn't ever felt so alone. "I'm sorry, man. I get that you had no control over it, believe me. I might have done the same thing if I'd been you and Kim was in the car, but..." Jared shook his head.
Jacob phased back too. Sam had briefly seen a snippet of conversation in Jacob's brain between Jacob and Billy, who had urged his son to take the reins. "I'm sorry, but your priorities are screwed up. You're not thinking straight right now, and you shouldn't be in charge."
"So you're my Alpha now?" he asked.
Jacob looked around at his brothers uncomfortably. "Actually, no."
Now Sam was completely perplexed, although it explained why he couldn't hear anyone else. Did he need to do something to join the pack? And why could he hear Jacob telepathically at all? He was angry, confused, and frustrated. But he knew that he wasn't an effective protector, let alone a good leader, and it was a bit of a relief to let someone else take responsibility. Maybe he could even ask Jacob to Alpha order him away from Emily. "What do you mean? How does this work?"
Paul, who had been staring daggers at him, finally blurted out, "You think Leah wants you in her brain right now? You think we're going to let you hurt her anymore? You think she wants to see whatever the fuck is going on with you and Emily? You think we're going to let you torture her that way?"
Jacob shushed Paul. "Shut up, dude." He turned back to Sam. "I'm sorry, I really am, but I can't do that to her."
"Hell." Paul refused to stop talking. "Getting Leah away from you? That's how this all started."
"What do you mean?"
Paul snidely answered, "Jake broke away from you for her. So that she could go with him. He didn't ask the rest of us to come. We just all figured out how to switch over on our own. Because you didn't just hurt her once, or twice, but you're doing it over and over again, and you're going to get her killed. You're going to get every single one of us killed." Paul was serious, and he was ready to fight. He stood toe to toe with Sam and kept yelling. "And for what? For that selfish bitch? Fucker, you have been over there nonstop. You couldn't wait at least a couple days after you broke Leah's heart? You really had to stick your dick into that dumb cunt and then rub it in Leah's face? She's better off without you. You don't deserve her, and you never did."
Sam couldn't believe Paul hadn't yet phased, and Jared pulled Paul back bodily. "Lighten up. You know it isn't his fault. "
Paul's yanked his arm free. "No? So nobody hurt Leah, huh? It's just her problem, and nobody's responsible?"
Sam choked out, "No, you're right. It is my fault. I can't stand what I've done to her. But I haven't slept with Emily. You have to tell her. She can't think I'm cheating on her, because I'm not!"
"Bullshit. You haven't left her house in days, and we all know what Emily wants. And apparently, what she wants, she gets."
And that was the crux of the matter. Emily wasn't trying to be cruel to Leah, just as Sam didn't want to leave her and didn't love her any less, but they hurt her all the same. "I want to fix it, don't you understand? Why do you think I've been going over there? She won't talk to me. She won't open her window. She won't even look at me."
Jacob looked between Paul and Sam and knew he needed to separate them. He told Sam to walk with him away from the group and asked, "Can you blame her?"
Sam could not. But he also wouldn't let her believe that he had given up on her, given up on them, given up on the future they dreamed of. "I need to see her. I need to phase with her. I can't say what I need to out loud, and the only way to do it is with my mind. So you have to let me in the pack. It's the only way." He sounded desperate and pathetic, but he didn't care. He would crawl on broken glass to get back to her.
Jacob shook his head. "She'll see you when she's ready. I can't force her to talk to you. It's not for me to say."
Sam felt like he was tumbling through space again, only this time, he didn't even have Leah to cling to. The universe was a vast and indifferent place. He was falling into orbit around Emily's sun, but she burned too brightly, and the heat would consume him. "Please," he begged. "You don't understand."
Jacob was obviously torn, but he held firm. "It doesn't matter what you have to say to her. She said that actions speak louder than words, and that you've never been good with words, and now you're not good with actions either. And she's right. Plus it's not just about her. It's about the pack, it's about the reservation, and keeping everybody safe. I'm sorry."
Sam's heart was breaking, and he didn't think he would ever recover. Without her he was lost. He choked, "She said something, the last thing she said to me after the vamps came through. Do you know what she meant?" A flash of recognition crossed Jacob's face, and the new Alpha wouldn't meet his eyes. "She said she understood. What did she understand?"
"It's not my business," Jacob frowned.
But Sam's desperation was too raw, his pride shattered. He begged, "It's important. I know it is. I don't know what she was talking about, but I know her better than I know myself, and… I need to know."
Jacob was silent for a long time, and when he spoke, he still wouldn't look at Sam. "She thinks she knows why you didn't imprint on her. Why none of us have."
Sam felt nauseous with baseless jealousy. It hadn't occurred to him that someone else might imprint on his LeeLee, but now that Jacob mentioned it, it was probably only a matter of time if other wolves kept shifting. He didn't know if he could stop himself from harming the faceless other man. Leah was his and no one else's. "Why?" His voice cracked.
Jacob was visibly uncomfortable. "So I guess she lost track of her birth control? Got behind, you know, with everything that's happened, plus she can't really go to the doctor for her shot. And, uh, I guess she's, well, she hasn't had, you know…"
Sam's heart leapt. Could it be? This wasn't how or when he wanted it to happen, but he had always dreamed of it. He wanted her to be his family in a permanent and irreversible way. "Is she pregnant?" he blurted out.
Jacob's head snapped up. "No, no, man. That's not it. It's, like, the opposite. She hasn't had her cycle since she phased, and she thinks she probably can't get pregnant. That she's infertile. That, and she thinks she's going to die before she even gets the chance to try."
"What?"
"You heard me. She thinks a leech is going to kill her, and that you imprinted on Emily so you'd have somebody to take care of, somebody to take care of you."
"That's awful! And ridiculous! How could she think that I'd let that happen to her?"
Jacob exploded, "Because you almost did! It's no thanks to you that she's alive; that's why I had to get her away from you!"
Jacob stormed off without another word, and Sam was alone. He walked until he stood beneath Leah's window, but she never came home, and neither did Seth. When the imprint finally dragged him back to Emily's apartment, an envelope was stuffed between the door and the jamb. It bore his name in her handwriting, and inside it was her engagement ring.
X-x-x-x-X
A/N: Thanks again to Babs81410, who made this readable. Apologies that I didn't respond to all the reviews from the last chapter. I do appreciate all of them. With limited time, I thought it was better to get the chapter out rather than send out PMs.