A/N: I swear I totally remembered to post today. No one had to remind me, my life was just insane. Always loving the reviews and support, you peeps are awesome.

Chapter 9

"Leah, come on, you have to get up eventually," Seth said as he sat down next to his sister, putting a hand on her shoulder. Leah only let out a grumble and buried her head deeper into her arms. It honestly hurt Seth to see her like this. While he struggled to know what to do to help her, he knew he had to do something. It hadn't been even two weeks since their dad had died, and they weren't anywhere close to over it; they never would be. However, in the beginning, Leah had put her own emotions on the backburner so that she could be strong for Seth and their mom. She hadn't been properly grieving for their sake, and then after the incident with Riley, things had become too much for his sister and she crumbled.

Ever since Seth could remember, Leah had always been there for him, supporting him. Now, he was doing the same for her in regards to Riley. Well, trying to; snapping at that like Riley, and then the aftermath, had made Leah hit a low that seemed to be impossible to bring her up from. It was insane how much one incident involving Riley was now affecting her. Despite Riley not being Leah's imprint, the two had an insanely strong bond between the two of them that Seth had never seen before. He also suspected Leah's huge crush on Riley that Leah insisted didn't exist might have something to do with the strong reaction.

"You know, if you just try to talk to her, everything will work out. She knows what place you're in, I bet she'll completely understand."

"You didn't see her face," Leah muttered. "Yeah, she knew why I snapped, but I still hurt her. She's been through so much in her life, had to deal with so many shitty people, and then I just had to go and say those things."

Seth was relieved Leah still had her face buried in her bed; that way she couldn't see how Seth grimaced. What Leah said had been over the top. She had said something knowing it would hurt because she was hurting, and it didn't matter that hse regretted it the second she had said it. Those words had still come out of her mouth, and Leah couldn't take them back.

"You really should just try to talk to her," Seth said. He sat next to Leah, but his sister didn't so much as twitch. "You could just be punishing yourself for nothing."

"Did you forget that she's avoiding me?" Leah grumbled. She still remembered the next time she saw Riley. The way Riley had done a sudden one eighty turn and ran away like a monster was chasing her. Leah didn't even have a chance to say a single word of the apology she had been working on for hours before Riley was gone.

Ironic how Riley embraced the wolf part of her, yet now ran at the sight of Leah because of her human side.

"She's not avoiding you, I'm sure of it," Seth said, trying his best to be encouraging. "I mean it's been a while since she first ran away. Maybe she just needed time alone for a bit? If you care about her, you'll try again. Or are you just going to avoid Riley until she finishes paying off her debts and leaves Forks? Are you really okay with not talking to Riley ever again?"

Leah let out a shuddering sigh and nodded. Then, she actually got up, reaching for her phone for a moment. She hesitated, her thumb hovering over Riley's name in the contact list. But then she steeled herself and hit the button, calling...Paul.

"What's up, Clearwater?" Paul answered on the second ring, his voice strangely gentle. It had been since Harry passed, got only more gentle after the fight. Seth appreciated it, but he couldn't get over how weird it sounded coming from the biggest asshole in the pack. Well, he had been, but again, he had met Riley and developed a strong bond. That bond had changed Paul, too.

Leah struggled to try and figure out what to say, aware that Riley was most likely able to hear what she said from the other side. Damn it, she should have texted.

"Riley isn't here if that's what you're worried about," Paul said after the silence stretched.

"What? Why not?" Leah demanded. She realized how angry she sounded, and tried to pull it back. She couldn't explode at Paul too. "I just mean-"

"It's cool, I get it." Paul sounded grumpy, but it wasn't directed at Leah. It kind of threw Leah for a loop. "She and Bella are having some kind of human weekend thing. Riley insisted they be left alone."

The "no shifters allowed" that was implied was like a slap to the face. Could it be another way that Riley was trying to avoid her? No, Leah, don't think like that. Bella needed time away from Jacob too after the shit he pulled, so maybe she was doing it for Bella's sake?

"Wait, but it's Monday," Seth said, a sheepish look appearing on his face when Leah looked over at him. "I didn't mean to interrupt, sorry."

"No, don't say sorry. You're right." Leah turned back to the phone. "It's Monday, Paul. That means their weekend thing is over." That meant Leah could still go over to the Cullen house and talk with Riley, before the she-wolf lost her nerves completely.

"Nope it's not. Riley texted me earlier to tell me their human only time was extended indefinitely. She didn't even take any work from anyone today. Just stopped by to pick up some groceries and Emily's muffins."

"What the fuck? But she's so determined to get her dumbass debt bullshit cleared." Deep down, Leah felt like something was off. Wrong. Anxiety had her heart in a vice grip and wouldn't let go.

"Yeah." Paul didn't say anything more, but Leah knew he was thinking the same thing; something weird was definitely going on. Was Riley in trouble? Hiding something from them? Maybe just trying to avoid the shifters altogether?

"Keep me updated," Leah said.

Paul saw right through her. "Just don't do anything too stupid. I'd hate for things to get worse between you guys."

"Thank you for the shitty reminder, Lahote."

"Anytime, Clearwater."

"Uh...what are you doing?" Seth asked anxiously. He could tell by the look on Leah's face that she really might end up doing something stupid.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to go over to Bella's place, find Riley, and wring the answers I need out of her." Leah paused at the look on Seth's face. "I'll apologize after," she added, as if that was enough to make her plan better.

"You already need to get her to accept one apology from you. I don't think you assaulting her and demanding to know why she's spending so much alone time with Bella is the way to go about it."

At Seth's words, Leah flinched. In her need to make sure that Riley really was okay, she had almost forgotten why she had decided to try and meet Riley in the first place. "What do you suggest I do then?"

"How about you call Bella? See if maybe she knows what's up with Riley first and why they're spending so much time away from you guys?" Seth said.

"Seth, you're a genius," Leah said, throwing her arms around him in a strong hug that might have actually hurt him were he still human himself.

"Nah, I just actually take a moment to think," Seth said teasingly, grinning at how much his sister had come alive in just the last few minutes.

What the hell are you two doing? Leah texted Bella as fast as her fingers could. How long are you going to avoid the pack?

Leah waited a few seconds, then texted again; Hurry up and answer.

Again, there was no response after a few moments, and Leah felt her anxiety rising. This is important. Answer please.

Still nothing. Leah was about to text again when her phone finally buzzed.

Holy crap I'm in class! Is this something that can wait?

Oh. Right. It was in the middle of the school day; the only reason Seth was home was because the school let him take time off to grieve. Had Leah been anyone else, she would have apologized. Thankfully she was her, so she got right to the point.

How long is Riley planning to stay at your place?

The wait was agonizing, but Leah knew she couldn't rush it. If Bella wasn't careful, she could get her phone taken away, and then it would be hours until Bella could answer her. Leah definitely wouldn't be able to handle hours.

After what felt like an eternity, there was a reply; I haven't seen Riley since Friday.

That was all Leah needed to read. Something was definitely wrong. Riley could need help, need Leah.

"Leah? What's wrong?" Seth asked, seeing the look on his sister's face, the tenseness of her body.

"Riley might need help." Leah didn't say anything else. She didn't want to waste another second when it could be used getting to Riley faster. Without even putting her shoes on, Leah took off out of the house, Seth right on her heels. Nearby, Leah heard a wolf howl, recognized it as Sam. It wasn't a howl of danger or warning, it was the howl he used to call a pack meeting. All of the wolves were supposed to head over to him immediately.

Sam would just have to get pissed at her later, because she couldn't stop for a meeting when Riley might be in danger. She would have run right by them and across the border, had the arms of a familiar shifter not wrapped around her. When she snarled and twisted, trying to break out of the hold, the person tightened their grip.

"Easy," Paul grunted as she kicked him in the stomach. "I know you want to make up with Riley and all, but you can't cross the border."

"Why the hell not?" Leah demanded. She whirled on him and shoved him back, but didn't continue her mad dash across the border. Even as her wolf urged her to go to Riley, to find her missing packmate, her friend, she stayed where she was as Sam shifted back to human in the forest, thankfully out of view. Trembling and barely in control, she moved her glare from Paul to Sam and back, ignoring the other wolves who slowly trickled in to join them. "You better have a damn good reason for stopping me."

"The Cullens are back," Sam announced to the pack, who all reacted with snarls and growls, a mix of fury and displeasure. Leah, however, felt her stomach drop for a much more concerning reason. "The head leech called me to let me know. They're already back in Forks, which means the treaty is back in effect. We can no longer cross the border."

"Shit!" Leah snarled. "Shit, shit, shit, shit!" She slammed her fist into a nearby tree, causing it to crack and fall. Quil let out a yelp and had to scramble out of the way to avoid getting crushed.

"Leah, I know you need to make up with Riley, but you'll have plenty of chances even with the Cullens back. She'll definitely come onto our side of the border," Jacob said.

"No, you don't get it!" Leah snapped at him. "It's not the border that's the problem!"

Paul grimaced in understanding. "Yeah, we're gonna have some explaining to do, huh? There's no use hiding it now, our scent is everywhere."

Sam frowned. "What are you talking about? Paul? Leah?"

"Paul, Riley isn't with Bella." Leah struggled to hold back her snarl. "She hasn't been for days. She's probably at..."

Paul's eyes widened. First realization hit him, then fear, fear for Riley and fear that he won't be able to get to her in time. His body shook violently, but he couldn't shift, he knew it wouldn't help.

It didn't matter. His wolf needed out, and it was going to get out. He had just enough time to rip his pants off before he shifted. The second he was wolf, he lunged for the border, ruled by the need to protect his packmate. Before he could cross, Jared and Embry tackled him, both in their wolf forms. Paul turned on them immediately, attacking them for daring to get in his way. They didn't want to hurt them, only subdue him, and it put them at a huge disadvantage.

"I want an explanation once Paul calms down, understand?" Sam told Leah but Leah didn't show any sign of hearing him. Despite this, Sam shifted so he could use his alpha status to calm Paul down.

Leah didn't care that Riley was mad at her. All she cared about was Riley being safe. That was why she was calling Riley's phone over and over again, begging for Riley to pick up under her breath. She had to have called over a dozen times when Riley finally picked up the phone.

"Riley, I know you're upset, but please listen to me! If you're at home, you need to get out of there, the Cullens are back!" Leah was shouting out of desperation, but she didn't even realize it. She just needed Riley to understand how dangerous of a situation she was in.

On the other side of the phone, Riley bit her lip as she brought the phone to her ear. "Yeah, Leah, about that…" Slowly, she met one pair of golden eyes after another with her own. Irritation, confusion, anger, curiosity, such a variety of emotions given the situation. "...I think they already know I'm here."