Title: Legendary Travesty

Fandom: Twilight

Pairing: Leah/Esme, established Bella/Alice (Bellice)

Author: Mirandyscrow

Rating: R

Summary: AU Leah imprints in Eclipse. We follow her as she deals with denial, acceptance and the consequences that this extraordinary event causes. This story take place about two months before the beginning of Eclipse and will be a femslash pairing. If you don't like it then don't read it. Thanks!

Spoilers: Let's say everything up until Eclipse is fair game, but I'm twisting a lot of facts and timelines to suit my story.

Archive: Sure if you really want it. Lol, it would be a surprise to me, just ask my permission first. (It's nice when people ask)

Disclaimer: Did Bella and Alice hook up in New Moon? No? Well I guess that means Twilight isn't mine. Twilight belongs to Stephanie Meyer. Any and all other brand names belong to their respective owners. I do not make any money on this story. Please don't sue; I only have a box of Easy Mac as collateral. BTW Easy Mac is the property of Kraft. :P

Author's Note: I don't have a clue where this idea came from. I was actually focusing on going to sleep and this plus five other prompts popped into my head and played around in my skull until I wrote them down and attempted to give them a fair shot at being written. Now here we are.

Big thanks to faithlessfate for being an awesome beta and making this story worth reading! All careless mistakes are my own.

Chapter 11: Kiss With A Fist

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Leah slouched against the headboard while she threw a small, multicolored ball at wall. She caught the ball and squeezed it in her hand ever so slightly. Grumbling a curse for the tenth time she tossed the object mercilessly at the wall in anger. It bounced and ricocheted back across the room quickly, landing somewhere near the closet. The wolf didn't move from her spot to retrieve it.

Esme was on a date with Dr. Bleach tonight and she didn't have anything to distract from her increasingly destructive thoughts.

"I love her so much…" A hauntingly depressing voice suddenly sighed in her head. Leah sat up straight with interest, listening intently.

"It's not fair that mind reading leech gets to kiss her and I don't. Maybe if I did, she'd see."

Leah's eyes widened as she heard Jake's final thought as it became lost in the muddle of the rest of the pack. She hoped he wasn't really about to follow through with his train of thought or Alice would probably attempt to break his jaw. She jumped up quickly and pulled on her jacket and yanked on her shoes and headed out.

Entering the hotel room a couple of seconds later, she sheepishly grabbed her car keys from the bedside table. "These may be just the tiniest bit helpful," she muttered to herself.

-x-

Jacob pulled in front of Bella's house and cut off the engine. "I'm sorry." he told her for what seemed like the fiftieth time in the last thirty minutes.

Bella sighed, pressing at the stubborn button on the door handle. She was getting more and more annoyed as Jacob made no move to help her out of the truck. "It's fine, Jake."

"No, its not!" he snapped.

"You're right. It's not." Bella agreed and got out, having successfully maneuvered herself of the truck with her left hand. She saw the familiar canary yellow Porsche come to a stop beside her dad's police cruiser with dread. She prayed silently that Alice didn't come over but as the vampire happily exited her car and danced over, Bella realized her prayers were most definitely going unanswered.

"Bella, your hand," Alice said quietly, touching it gingerly. She whirled around to glare at Jacob. "What happened!?"

"Calm down, Tinkerbell. It was just a tiny misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding!?" Alice shrieked, not even bothering to disguise her outrage. Somewhere in the back of her mind she recognized Charlie's heavy footfalls coming down walkway. "What kind of misunderstanding could possibly end with Bella having a broken hand?"

"One when Bella tries to stupidly punch a thick werewolf skull." Bella muttered under her breath, forgetting for a split second that Alice could hear her loud and clear.

"Why did she need to hit you, Jacob?" Alice growled. Her obsidian orbs now glittering dangerously as she invaded his personal space.

Charlie walked to the group, having heard the last statement. "Why indeed?" he looked at the boy fiercely.

Jacob averted their accusing eyes for a split second. He looked back up, looking over Alice's head and locking eyes with Charlie as he spoke apologetically. "I kissed Bella. She pushed me away and punched me, breaking her hand." He felt his back hitting the road before he felt Alice's punch. The rush of pain from her blow only served to flare his anger. He held his hands up, fending her off as she tried to claw at his face, calling him every name in the book and warning him away from her girlfriend.

Girlfriend?

Jake paused at the word as it penetrated his consciousness and a haze of red clouded his vision. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he realized Alice was only using half her strength because she could have easily shattered his jaw with that punch.

The rage helped him abruptly shake off his stupor and Jake easily gained the upper hand. Unfortunately, he forgot about the frozen and shocked Charlie looking on. He pinned Alice beneath him. Alice bucked and struggled, trying to gain leverage without giving out her secret. Suddenly, she froze.

Bella was the only one to see the telltale signs of a vision. It always left Alice vulnerable to attacks both friendly and unfriendly. Although, she was highly confused as to what Alice could be having a forewarning about right at this moment, Bella could not ponder it further as she noticed Jake lifting his right hand with absolute purpose.

"Jake, no!" Bella screamed just a second too late.

His fist impacted Alice's eye with a solid smack in the night air.

At the sound, Charlie finally broke from his stupor. He rushed forward and struggled to pull a heavily panting Jake off Alice. When he finally managed, Charlie slammed the young man against Bella's truck, holding him in place with a forearm against the neck. He looked as though he was not in his right state of mind almost like a threatened animal.

"Bella, you and Alice go in the house. Get some ice for her eye to keep the swelling down and I'll call her parents to let them know what happened," he said in a no nonsense tone.

Charlie kept a tight hold on Jake as he watched Bella collect Alice from the ground. The smaller girl kept a hand to her face, sobbing in pain. The officer cringed not wanting to think about the mess Alice's eye could look like right now. Once the girls were safe inside the house, he let the Jake go. "I want you to leave and never come back," he said evenly.

Jake blinked rapidly like he'd just awakened from a dream and the gravity of the situation dawned on him. "Charlie…I'm sorry. You have to let me talk to B-" he sputtered out.

"Why? So you can hit her too?"

Jake squawked indignantly. "I'd never…"

"I just watched you punch Alice Cullen so hard the sound echoed off the trees. What the hell were you thinking, Jacob Black?" Charlie yelled.

"She hit me first!" the wolf snapped. He was too annoyed that Charlie was taking the vampire's side over his to come up with a response more mature.

Charlie leveled him a glare that made him feel two inches tall. "I don't condone hitting women on my property. Pound for pound you're much bigger and stronger than Alice. You had her subdued long before you gave another blow." He grabbed Jacob by the shoulder and pushed him harshly toward the direction of La Push. "Go home and hope to everything you hold dear that the Cullens don't decide to press charges."

Jake bowed his head, trudging away with a heavy heart. He barely even flinched as a sleek Rolls Royce barreled down the street. It swerved at the last second to avoid hitting him as he crossed the street. There was no crash so he continued on his trek back home.

-x-

Leah shut off her truck, throwing open the door before the engine had even stopped sputtering. She halted briefly, seeing the expensive Rolls Royce and Porsche parked in the Swan's driveway. She wasn't sure if she could stand to be in the same room as Carlisle right now let alone the fact that he'd just taken her mate out on a date. She sighed and moved forward, noting Jake's scent was strong next to the ground near Bella's truck.

She bounded up the stairs, knocking on the door firmly. "Who could that be this late?" she heard Charlie ask as he came closer to the door.

His eyes widened a little in surprise when he opened the door. "Leah? Is everything okay?" he asked immediately.

"I'm not sure." She admitted. "I'm looking for Jake." She glanced around the man in the doorway, hoping to catch a glimpse of her friend or at the very least her imprint.

"He's no longer welcome here." Charlie's eyes hardened as his hand tightened on the frame of the door.

"What happened?" Leah asked taken aback at Charlie's cold tone.

"Jacob lost his temper when he found out Bella and Alice are dating. There was a fight." Charlie sighed and shook his head. "I've never seen him act like that before."

Leah clenched her hand, squeezing her keys tightly in her hands. "Damn it, Jake."

Charlie cleared his throat pointedly.

"I'm sorry," Leah said a little contrite. "I'm sorry that happened. I have to go find him before he does anything else stupid," she said turning to leave.

-x-

The smell of salt water greeted and calmed Leah as she made her way onto the beach. She saw Jake just where she suspected he would be sitting on one the dead logs strewn across the shore. He stared into the darkness, his mouth set in a firm line as he skipped stones half-heartedly.

"I knew I'd find you here," Leah said softly by way of greeting.

Jake didn't pause as he tossed a larger rock across the waters surface. "Go away," He said after a beat.

Leah ignored the order and plopped down on the log next to him. "You want to talk about it?"

He froze. His arm posed mid-throw. "I'd rather not."

"Okay," Leah said. She proceeded to sit in silence, looking out over the ocean. "I'm sorry you had to find out that way, Jake." She picked up a handful of sand, letting the granules spill through her fingers.

Jake sucked in a deep breath before letting it out slowly. "Yeah, me too." He slammed his hand against the ground. "How could I have been so stupid?"

"Don't blame yourself."

"Who is to blame? And don't say Bella," He warned her.

"Even after that you're taking up for her?" Leah asked him incredulously.

Jake shook his head at her stiffly. "Don't," he said, pointing a finger at her. "I can't handle that right now, okay?" He looked across the sand, listening to the soft splash. He knew Alice's devotion to Bella was tremendous before, but he knew now that they were girlfri-…together she'd be even more protective. He supposed the pixie was much better than Edward in any case. He nodded at his thoughts and glanced at Leah. "That's what you were trying to tell me, wasn't it? You were warning me that Bella was with Alice?"

"Yeah, I was trying to spare you…well this." Leah made a weak gesture at him. Her eyes glancing at the dark bruising across his face rapidly fading.

"Thanks I guess," Jake said. "I can't be here right now." He exhaled, looking away.

"What are you going to do?" Leah asked with a small amount of dread in her tone.

Jake smoothed a hand through his short hair. "I want to go into the mountains for a bit while I get things straight in my head."

"Wait, Jake. You can't leave your post or it's up for grabs and you know it will automatically go to Sam again.

Jake grimaced, suddenly remembering why he didn't want to be Alpha in the first place. It came with too much responsibility and not a whole lot of free time for yourself. "Fine. I'll just leave for a night." He acquiesced.

"Okay." Leah nodded, relieved at his response.

"I know I haven't officially named a Beta yet but I'd like it to be you," Jake said sincerely.

"Jake," Leah shook her head and sighed. "I don't want it. I'm already the enemy of the pack, I can't take that on with everything I've got going on as well."

"Yes you can, Leah. You're a real wolverine when you want to be and I have no doubt you'll keep everyone in line while I'm gone," Jake said, managing a small smile and a shrug. "What could really happen in a day?"

"Okay." Leah sighed again. "Okay, I'll do it but if you've just jinxed me I'm going to kick your ass as soon as you get back." She warned good-naturedly.

Jake nodded and turned to look at Leah with a serious expression. "There's one more thing I want from you."

Leah groaned loudly. "What now?"

He stood and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small wooden charm on a clip. "Do me a favor and give this to Bella when she graduates." He dropped the jewelry into Leah's hand and walked away slowly.

"If you're going to be gone for just a day why can't you do it?" Leah stood as well, that feeling of dread returning tenfold as she rubbed her thumb over the tiny wolf charm.

He shook his head in the negative. "I just can't." he said, looking out beyond the ocean before turning his eyes back to Leah. "It'll hurt too much." He suddenly turned and took off in a dead run. Halfway up the beach he phased, continuing deep into the forest toward the mountains.

"Jake!" Leah screamed after his rapidly disappearing form. She looked at the delicately carved wolf in her hand and put it carefully in her front pocket. "I'm sorry, Jake," she whispered and a loud, anguish filled howl answered her apology.

-x-

By the time Leah got back to the Swan's house, she was furious. Perhaps furious was a poor adjective that described what the wolf felt in that moment. Incensed and rageful were more likely better words. She drove like a madwoman with her foot pressed unforgiving on the pedal all the way back. She didn't let up even when the truck bucked and jerked in response to the harsh treatment.

Once there, she threw open the door, leaving the keys in the parked truck before stomping up to the porch. She turned the doorknob in her hand, now even more enraged when she got a muted click for her troubles.

"You're not getting off that easy," She growled, pounding on the door with her fist so hard the wood had begun to splinter after just a few knocks. "Where the fuck are you, Swan?" she hissed annoyed.

"Bella's at the house comforting Alice," Edward said softly, appearing next to her.

"Where's Charlie?" Leah would have jumped out of her skin if it weren't for the fact that she smelled him before she saw him.

"He was called into Seattle to help the local police with the mass disappearances."

"We all know that's due to the fire crotch leech. How could you let him go?" Leah asked in outrage.

"He'll be fine," Edward assured her. "Alice has already seen it," He finished plainly.

Leah narrowed her eyes for a second. "I'm going to your house. Bella needs to know that Jake got a busted lip and heart from her secrets." She moved toward her truck.

"If you come into my family's home to verbally abuse Bella about secrets then I'm going to have to insist you come clean about your imprint." Edward said, blurring in front of her. "Esme told Carlisle that it was over. That she didn't love him anymore. Just one more push and it will all be out."

"I don't have to do a damn thing!" Leah shouted, moving to the side and finding herself frustrated at being blocked again. "Get out of my way. It's not even the same situation."

"Isn't it? Two women in love, while the man watches from afar, wondering why he suddenly can't obtain someone that was perfect for him just the day before. How is it any different?"

"Is this striking a nerve for you, Eddie?" Leah harped mockingly.

"This is about you. If you come into our home, the truth will out," Edward said with a slight hint of threat hanging in the air as he departed. His final words were being carried on the wind.

Leah turned her head away from the slight breeze that carried his spoiled syrup scent. "She needs to know," she whispered to herself before running to her truck and speeding all the way to the Cullen's house.

Edward stood casually leaning against the doorframe waiting for her.

"Move." Leah shoved past him, storming into the living room with a burning gaze.

Her eyes immediately spotted Bella lounged comfortably against Alice with a bandaged hand. "You!" she spat in disgust. "I warned you, Bella. I told you this could happen and now look what it's gotten Jake. He's heartbroken."

Bella looked away shamefully. "Is he okay?" she asked softly.

"What do you think?"

"Leah, I believe now may not be the best time for you to talk to Bella. You're very agitated," Carlisle said gently though his tone was one of firm suggestion as he eyed the direction of the door.

"I just want to know what kind of sick pleasure you got out of it, Bella?" Leah asked, completely dismissing the fact that Carlisle had even spoken.

Alice stood, her body shielding Bella. "I think you should listen to Carlisle and leave, Leah."

"Relax, pixie stick," Leah said with a roll of her eyes. "I'm not going to hurt your precious human, even though…" Her voice trailed off as she saw Esme come downstairs and her brain short circuited as she completely lost her train of thought. Her imprint was obviously in the outfit she wore on her date with Carlisle. Leah's libido quickly overrode her anger at the other vampire getting to see her mate in that outfit before her. She cleared her suddenly dry throat.

"Now that the family's all here." She said as sarcastically as she could manage while eye-fucking her mate. She could feel Edward's eyes piercing the side of her head in disapproval but valiantly ignored it and missed the look that was exchanged between him and Jasper.

She had to get out of the house soon or her lust would be too great to ignore. Suddenly, she was hit with enough lust to make her knees buckle. It was like her own feelings were being amplified and shot back at her tenfold. Her eyes fluttered shut as wetness pooled at her center.

Glancing around the room, she wasn't the only one taken off guard. She glanced at the confused vampires and Bella.

"Sorry," Jasper drawled quietly, pulling back the lust.

"Where did that come from?" Bella choked out before her face erupted in crimson.

"I'm wondering that as well," Carlisle said, looking toward his son. "Jasper, you usually have exceptional control over your powers."

"It just caught me off-guard with the sheer power of it."

Everyone directed their attention to Rosalie and Emmett, looking at them for an explanation expectantly.

"It wasn't us for once," Emmett said with a helpless shrug of his shoulders.

"It wasn't them," Edward confirmed.

"Don't you dare!" Leah screamed in her head at him. She didn't miss the way Jasper flinched at her anger.

Edward looked at her apologetically before he spoke. "It was Leah's lust." He revealed to the family. He turned just in time to catch Leah mid-air as she lunged for him.

"You bastard!"

"It's for the best," He whispered

"Best for who!?" she nearly screeched.

Rosalie snorted. "As long as she's not looking at me or my hubby. I couldn't care less."

"Don't flatter yourself vampire Barbie. Neither of you are my type."

"I am a little interested to know who is though to cause that kind of reaction," Alice said coyly from her place next to Bella.

Leah's eyes zeroed the pixie. She shifted quickly but Edward was already restraining her. "It's no one's business who," She spat "We all have fantasies, so let's just move on." She grumbled, hugging herself self-consciously. She was tired of having her secrets laid bare for the world to see. Her eyes locked with Esme quickly before looking to the floor.

Of course being vampires they all saw the move, unfortunately Emmett was the first to react to it. "She-wolf likes a little MILF action!" his voice boomed.

"Emmett!" Esme scolded automatically.

"It's not like that!" Leah growled at him. Her eyes swirled with just a hint of gold, bleeding through at the edges of her irises.

Emmett shot his hands up in surrender and had the decency to look a little ashamed. Rosalie hissed at Leah in response to her hostility but didn't comment.

"It's perfectly natural to have a crush on an older woman. I certainly can't blame you." Carlisle acknowledged with a smile, hoping to lighten the mood as Jasper quickly calmed the room.

"It's not a crush!" Leah blurted angrily, whirling around to glare at him.

"Esme is Leah's imprint," Edward stated before Leah had a chance to come up with another lie. He held her gaze, daring her to deny his statement.

Quiet continued to rein in the living room until-

"What the hell is an imprint?" Rosalie asked, confused.

"It's a soul mate," said a soft, tired voice.

Leah turned to the left with so much force there was an audible crack in the room from her neck. "Esme..." she said breathlessly, a confused frown marring her forehead. She crossed the room quickly, taking the vampire's hands in her own.

"You don't have to do this." She pleaded to the vampire. Her brow was further furrowed from the effort she was exerting to talk to her imprint mentally.

"Aren't you tired of lying?" Esme sent back.

Leah inclined her head. "You already have some big news to impart and you may lose your family due to this. I couldn't bear to live with myself knowing I was the cause of that."

The vampires knew there was more happening than just the loaded look being passed between the two women. They looked to Edward who just continued to look beyond them in silence, offering no explanation.

"I'm not ashamed of us…are you?"

A growled bubbled out of Leah's throat. "Never!" She said firmly. She pressed a loving kiss to Esme's forehead and walked to the middle of the room strutting with the confidence she didn't feel as all eyes were on her. "When Quileute wolves see their soul mate for the first time, they are bonded for life through a connection called imprinting. Esme is my soul mate." she looked at the group of vampires waiting for the information to sink in and the confrontation to start.

"Well, what about friendship? Jake said not all imprints were romantic," Bella's voice cut through the silence that once again reigned.

"Yes, some are," Leah said noncommittally with a shrug.

"That tone really gives us a vote of confidence." Rosalie scoffed.

"No one has ever imprinted on a vampire before," Leah said with an impatient snarl. She pointed sharply in Esme's direction. "Look at her! Have you met her? Talked to her? If you were suddenly struck with a powerful connection running through your system every second of the day could you honestly say that you wouldn't do your best to make her everything to you?" the wolf dropped her head. "I can't just be her friend." She looked deep into Esme's eyes. "That's not what the bond wants."

"So what does this mean exactly?" Jasper asked quietly. "What happens now?" He looked between Carlisle and Esme though each of his parents were refusing to look at the other.

The coven shifted uncomfortably, each unable to come up with an answer.

"How long?" Rosalie asked suddenly. Her eyes bore into her mother as she walked up to Esme, surprised to see Leah moving her body to protect Esme from her of all things.

"Two months." Esme's head bowed as she answered.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Rosalie demanded. "This is a decision that affects all of us! How could you be so selfish and keep this to yourself!?"

Leah was in Edward's hold before she even thought of launching herself at Rosalie. She successfully broke away only to be restrained by Jasper just scant inches from hitting Rosalie. "Watch your mouth, bitch!" she roared, spit flying from her mouth. She went limp as Jasper hit her with strong waves of calm.

Venom tears gathered in Esme's eyes as her heart broke. "I didn't want anyone to find out like this. I just wasn't sure how to tell any of you." She turned to her husband…ex-husband with sad eyes. "I especially didn't know how to tell you."

"I knew," He said quietly, still avoiding his wife's eyes.

"You knew?" Leah snapped at Carlisle, breaking free of Jasper's hold. "You knew and you never said anything!?" she growled in his face.

"Yes." he stated as calmly as he could, holding a hand up to keep his sons at bay. The only thing betraying his warring emotions was the rapidly disappearing golden irises.

The female wolf's nostrils flared in anger as she stared him down. "How long?" she demanded.

"Does it matter?" he said with a little anger in his tone.

Jasper attempted to calm the room.

"No," Leah said, feeling the fight being pulled from her body. "No, I guess it doesn't." she acquiesced.

"I just want to know how and why can you do this?" Carlisle asked with imploring eyes. "How can you be so heartless as to break up our family in such a way?"

"Didn't you hear me?" Leah snorted with a roll of her eyes. "I can't control an imprint. I don't know what you want from me now. What do you want me to say? 'I so sorry, Carlisle. I didn't mean for this to happen, Carlisle,'" she stated in a whiny voice. "I'm not going to apologize for imprinting on her, for caring for her."

"I wouldn't ask you to." Carlisle shook his head, turning away. "But I will ask you what makes you think you're good enough?"

The Beta's head snapped up as her eyes narrowed to slits. "What was that?"

"I said what makes you think you're good enough for Esme?" Carlisle stated calmly, facing her. "You're still a child, Leah. You know nothing of the world or Esme. One hundred years from now you'll still know nothing."

Leah began to quiver while she stared at Carlisle with hate in her eyes. She wasn't thinking rationally. With every unsuccessful 'calming' breath, her inner wolf pushed and commanded her to prove her worth to her mate and destroy the one who stood in the way. No one had time to register her hand even moving as she slapped Carlisle with all her strength. She smirked seeing the dark bruise around his face as well as a few small fissures of cracks across his cheek.

"Fuck you," she growled, feeling her hand throb in sympathy. "She is destined to be with me and you need someone to be mad at. I get that but I'm not going to lie down and take it. I'm young, that's right but I'm willing to learn and I will try my very best to be a worthy mate." The wolf punctuated her statement with a kick, sending Carlisle crashing into the large screen television. Emmett, Jasper, and Edward moved forward at once.

"Stay right there," Carlisle said, standing up from the frame out of the destroyed appliance. "Do you see? Do you see how immature you are? How you let your emotions rule over you without thinking about how it affects everyone else? This will only end in you hurting Esme."

Leah came forward holding him by the throat holding him high above her head. "I will not hurt her!" she screamed. Her strength was quickly draining from her. In a desperate move, Leah used the last of her strength to move behind Carlisle. She clasped her right hand behind the blonde vampire's head and began to tug when suddenly she was airborne.

"No!" Esme shouted. "Stop!"

Leah crashed through the window and slid across the dirt coming to a stop right onto the street. In an instant, Carlisle was standing before her. Leah leaped to her feet with renewed rage.

They rushed forward when Esme appeared between them. "Both of you stop!" She clutched the two combatants by the scruff of their necks. They each looked as though they would ignore her command and she squeezed slightly in warning. "You're acting like I'm a prize to be won. I'm not an object," She said and released their necks with a look of disgust.

"Mé,-"

"Of course you're not my love," Carlisle said with soft caring eyes.

Leah growled at the term of endearment and stepped forward, tightly clenched fists at her side.

"Leah, no." Esme stood firmly in her path. "Go home. We'll talk in the morning."

The wolf glared over her imprint's shoulder at Carlisle before Esme grabbed her hand and forced her to look into her eyes.

"Please," The vampire whispered in earnest.

"Okay." Leah nodded and stepped forward, kissing her mate's lips gently. "This isn't over," She spat at Carlisle.

"I should say not," He agreed with a stern hateful glare in return.

Leah finally glanced around, looking at the damage she'd done to the Cullen's home. "I'm sorry," she said for Esme's ears only and walked past her truck toward La Push, leaving the coven with a broken home and fractured family.

-x-

The sky opened up and thick sheets of rain fell from the sky to compliment the heavy heart Leah held in her chest as she trudged home. She needed to walk and knew that her thoughts would only serve to distract her during the drive home. This would not be a safe instance for anyone involved.

If it were anyone else dealing with this situation she supposed they would just come out of the whole situation relieved. The imprinting was finally completely public to all parties that may possibly be involved or have their lives changed by it. She could finally stop pretending or worrying about helping Esme come up with a thousand and one excuses to her random bouts of disappearing during the night so neither of them would have to deal with imprint withdrawal.

Leah sighed and continued the walk to her mother's house. She paused, looking at her childhood home with dread while sending a small plea to the Powers That Be that she would be greeted by silence on the other side of the threshold.

She curled her hand over the keys in an attempt to quiet her entrance into the house. It was just plain common courtesy. Seth would have patrol first thing tomorrow evening so he'd need as much rest as he could get. It certainly wasn't because she was avoiding a lecture from her mother.

Certainly not.

The Beta slipped her feet out of her shoes and grasped them in her left hand while opening the door was slowly as she could. As soon as she was inside, the living room was bathed in light.

"Leah Clearwater!" Her mother scolded.

"Jeez, ma!" Leah jumped, dropping her keys and shoes simultaneously. "Give me a heart attack why don't you?"

"Why are you sneaking into the house and without any kind of a phone call?"

"I didn't think I needed to call ahead to visit my mother."

"No you don't but I know something's happened. I can see it painted all over your face.

"It's been a long night. I just want some sleep and I'll discuss it all in the morning.

"The morning? You mean when I have to work so you can sneak off again?" Sue shook her head disapprovingly before point to the couch. "Sit."

"Ma, please."

"Sit!" Sue nearly shouted, losing her patience."

Leah moved slowly as her legs would allow making a show of coming to the seat.

"What happened tonight?"

"Where do I even start?" Leah laughed bitterly. "How about Carlisle and Esme going on a date? Alice giving Jake a mean right hook for kissing Bella? Or how I was just outed in front of the Cullen's, or maybe how I'm suddenly the pack's Alpha for the day." She gripped her hair in tight fists, pulling in frustration.

"Okay," Sue said, tugging her daughter to rest against her chest. She rubbed her hair in soothing motions like she did when Leah was a young girl. "Start over at the beginning."

And Leah did.

"I'm not going to sit here and scold you about not taking care of yourself." Sue told her once she was finished. "Okay, I am because you're pursuing Esme in the oddest fashion I've ever seen. Leah, you can't keep pushing yourself." her mother scolded. "You're lucky Dr. Cullen didn't hurt you more than this. You know from the pack stories that it's not enough to just accept the imprint. You also have to consummate it or you'll once again become weak and dependent on your mate's company. Besides that you'll grow more and more possessive."

Leah ducked her head at the word 'consummate' barely hearing the end of her mother's speech. "I really don't want to talk about that with you."

"What?" said Sue confused until it dawned on her. "Oh! No…no. We covered that talk seven years ago and we are not revisiting." she looked a little panicked.

"Good," Leah said highly relieved and sat up. "What do I do now?" she asked, looking so much younger and confused than her years. "Esme could lose her family because of me."

"It will all work out," Sue said, tucking some of Leah's hair behind her ears.

"How can you be so sure?" Leah's eyes shone with fear and uncertainty.

Sue shrugged. "Mother's intuition," She answered simply and stood. "Now, you're going to go to bed and in the morning you're going to tackle your day. Jake obviously sees something in you that you don't so prove him right and hold down the fort. As for Esme, just follow your heart and be the best wife you can be to her."

Leah's eyes bulged as she choked on air. "Wife?" she squeaked.

"Leah, I did not raise you to be some kind of disrespectful woman. Of course you're going to make an honest woman out of Esme and she out of you," Sue said sternly. "Right?"

Leah nodded, letting the thought of being married to Esme sink in. "Esme Clearwater." She murmured to herself before a wide grin spread across her face.

"Yes, now off to bed with you," Sue said, tugging her daydreaming daughter from the couch. "Everything will make more sense in the morning," She said and watched Leah ascend the stairs in a joyful daze. "I hope," she added softly to herself.

-End of Chapter Eleven-

Well, there's the big reveal. How'd you like it? Were there any surprises? Did your predictions on Alice's big emergency ring true? What do you think will happen now? Tell me in a review or PM!

I'm so very, very amazed how many new people read, review, and favorite this story each and every chapter. Thank you all! Big thanks to anons and lurkers alike.

~MC