Moonlight in Forks

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.

Clemency

A disgruntled whine broke through Jacob's teeth. And then his anger immediately kicked in when he read deeper into Leah's thoughts.

"You went to see Bella!" He snarled. "When you were specifically warned not to. She is only just out of the hospital and trying to recuperate from injuries that you caused!"

"Oh man!" Seth panicked as he moved swiftly in front of his sister to block Jacob's view of her. The russet wolf was literally bristling with resentment, and he became anxious as to what the new Alpha would do. "Go home, Lee Lee. You're aggravating the situation." He whispered to his sibling urgently.

Jacob emitted a warning growl when he got near Seth, head thrown back, ready to strike. "Move, Seth!" He ordered, his voice strong and true, as he unconsciously issued his first ever Alpha command.

"Right. Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!" The sandy wolf whimpered and pawed at the ground as he slowly retreated, scratching deep furrows in the dirt with his claws.

"Here we go." Embry murmured. This was the first test of Jacob's authority and he wondered how it would turn out for his friend. He backed away just like Seth, headbutting the other two young shifters aside to give Jacob and Leah more room.

Leah halted where she was, her small gray body looking miniscule compared to Jacob's huge bulk.

"I can look after myself, Sethy." Leah said to her brother with more confidence than she was actually feeling. She sensed Jacob's dark mood seeping through the pack mind, and it took all the courage that she possessed not to cower away from the ferocity of his anger.

Jacob growled again, his ears flattening against his skull. Leah skipped back a step automatically.

"What do you think you're doing, Leah?"

Leah huffed a heavy sigh. "Its pretty obvious, isn't it? I've decided to join your crappy little renegade pack." She barked out a low, sarcastic laugh.

"No, you're not. Turn around and leave before I rip out one of your hamstrings to teach you a lesson."

"Jake, please, don't hurt her!" Seth whined.

"Be quiet, Seth." Jacob thundered.

Seth whines turned into anxious whimpers as he looked nervously toward his sister.

"Don't worry, Sethy, like Jacob could catch me." Leah grinned and coiled her body for launch. "Want to duke it out in a race, O fearless leader?" She challenged.

Jacob took a deep breath, filling his lungs until his sides bulged. He was incensed by the she-wolfs audacity. Then, when he was sure he wasn't going to scream, he exhaled in a gust.

"You think by challenging me to some pathetic race that it will fix everything that you've done, all the harm that you have caused?" He roared.

Leah whined, she leaned back, the fur on her shoulders rising. She was quailing under the force of Jacob's ire. "I was wrong, okay. I know I was wrong."

"Is that supposed to be an apology?"

Leah just couldn't help herself. "It's the closest you're going to get, most high and mighty Alpha."

Jacob emitted another menacing growl. He stepped forward intimidatingly, all his teeth on show as he fought to hold onto his self-control. His first few minutes of being a leader and he was confronted with this-he was beyond incensed.

"Why the hell are you here?"

Leah cowered down, her ears twitching back and forth agitatedly, her false bravado slowing fading away. "You don't think I could leave my little brother unprotected?"

"Oh, so you've decided you are a protector again now?" Jacob retorted sarcastically. "You certainly seemed to forget about that when you were offering Bella up to leeches like some sort of human sacrifice!"

Leah went flat on her belly, prostrating herself before Jacob, barely able to meet the burning heat of his gaze. She was totally cowed, her shame on show for all of them to see. Her submissive posture showed how sorry she was, even if she still struggled to verbally express it.

"Seth doesn't want or need your protection, Leah. In fact, no one wants you here." Jacob stated coldly.

Leah's ears went back. She turned to glance in her brother's direction, but found that the gangly sandy wolf had his head bowed. She felt the disappointment of rejection flood through her, completely forgetting that Jacob's Alpha order had effectively silenced her sibling from defending her. A pang of loneliness swept over her and she gasped from the sting of it.

"Being unwanted is not a first for me." She confessed dully.

"So, this isn't about Seth at all, is it?" Jacob demanded.

"Of course, it is." Leah affirmed. "He's all I've got left."

Jacob gritted his teeth and tried to get his head straight. He was determined not to feel sorry for the she-wolf. She had brought her condemnation on herself.

"Did Sam send you?"

"If I was here on Sam's errand, you wouldn't be able to hear me. My allegiance is no longer with him."

Jacob studied her carefully, zoning in on her thoughts mixed in with her words. If this was a diversion or a ploy, he had to put his anger to one side long enough to see it. But there was nothing. Leah's declaration was nothing but the truth. Unwilling, almost despairing truth.

"So, after everything you've done, you've suddenly decided that you are loyal to me now?" He asked with deep sarcasm. "You expect me to put my animosity toward you to one side and offer forgiveness?"

"Yes." Leah's response was a slow exhale. Still on her belly in a submissive pose, she still didn't dare to meet Jacob's eyes. "My choices are limited. I'm working with the options I've got. I could have run away. Before I decided to go and see Bella, I was going to do exactly that. It was our conversation that made me change my mind, she said some hurtful things, but I could no longer deny the truth of her words. She called me a coward. I didn't like being called that at all. She demanded that I prove her wrong and go to the meeting to face you all down. So, here I am, at her behest, doing exactly that."

Jacob focused on the she-wolfs thoughts again. What she had just confessed was partially true. Her confrontation with Bella had indeed had a profound effect on her, but there was also an edgy kind of excitement in her mind. She was unhappy about being so self-abasing in front of him, but she was also riding some weird high. He searched her mind further, trying to understand.

Leah bristled when she felt him probe deeply into her most private thoughts, completely resenting the intrusion. Jacob had never done anything like this before, had in fact made it a rule never to invade another's thoughts. But this was a very necessary rare one off. It was vital that he knew, to ascertain her sincerity.

The deeper Jacob delved, the more he saw, and like a pandoras box had been opened, he was suddenly confronted with the shockwaves of the she-wolf's heartbreak- the magnitude of her pain and anguish, the jealousy and bitterness-all threatened to tear him asunder. He quickly pulled back, shutting down his emotions in order to push away hers.

"Are you happy now, Mr Alpha?" Leah whined in defeat. "Now do you understand?"

"There's no point." Jacob said quietly. "You're not staying."

"I have nowhere else to go, Jacob." There was a pleading edge to Leah's response now. "I have to belong to someone, somewhere-and don't think I haven't tried to breaking off on my own, you know how well that doesn't work-I choose this, I choose to be part of your pack."

"Leah, you don't like me. I don't like you. Despite everything, I still cannot find it within myself to forgive you for what you did to Bella. You violated everything that a protector stands for. And you expect me to trust you again?"

"Thanks for pointing it out, Captain Obvious. But you can trust me. I am committed to this alliance. And I'm staying with Seth. We are a two for one deal." Leah finally rose to her feet, she stretched her neck, leaning up on her toes, trying to be as tall as Jacob as she stared into his eyes. "I will not betray my pack." She vowed.

Jacob wanted to throw his head back and howl his annoyance. "This isn't your pack! What is it with you, Leah Clearwater? Why can't you just go and leave me alone?"

Seth trotted up behind him and whined his unhappiness.

Jacob did his best to ignore the youngster. "If you and Seth are a package deal-if the only way to get rid of you for good without force-is for your brother to go home with you…. then so be it!"

Seth whimpered, head hanging low in defeat. He was devastated. He couldn't speak his thoughts because of Jacob's Alpha order, but his feelings infected the pack mind, including his sister's. She felt his blame, that she was ruining things for him again, and it weighed heavy on her heart. Seth really wanted to be part of Jacob's pack, and she was taking it away from him.

Leah hated hurting her little brother. "I'm sorry, Sethy." She whispered; her tone was loaded with the heaviness of her despair.

Jacob felt the pain in the three little words, and it was more than he could have guessed. He didn't want to feel that. He didn't want to feel bad for her. Sure, the pack was rough on her, but she brought it on herself with the bitterness that tainted her every thought and made being in her head a nightmare-and what she had done to Bella, it was unforgivable-how could that ever be justified.

"Speak, Seth." Jacob reneged his original Alpha command so that the young shifter could speak his thoughts.

"Jake, you're not really gonna send me away, are you? Please, Lee Lee's not so bad. She is sorry. Really, with you in charge, I think she'll be better. It will be easier without Sam in her head."

"Its not that simple, Seth." Jacob sighed.

He knew that the reason Leah was fighting so hard to remain as part of his pack was because of her desperation to be free of Sam. She still loved Uley. And it was killing her. This was her one chance of escape.

"It is simple." Seth continued to plead his case. "Jake, I belong here. I do. I'm a good protector."

"You are a good protector, kid, you are. But your sister isn't. She doesn't belong here. And she won't leave unless you do, or I force - "

"Talk to Bella!" Leah cut in suddenly. "Ask her what she wants!"

"What?" Jacob snarled for a long, angry minute. The last thing he wanted to do was bother Bella with more of Leah's bullshit.

"It concerns her more than anyone." Leah argued. "She was the one I did it to. I promise I'll abide by whatever decision she makes. If she feels that I cannot be part of the pack, that I am no longer trustworthy enough to have a place, and cannot be forgiven. Well, then, I'll leave without a fuss. And Sethy…Sethy can stay." She glanced toward her brother as she said this, before turning back to Jacob.

Jacob paced away from her, growling. Once again, the she-wolf had put him in an impossible position. He looked toward Embry and the other youngsters. They had remained quiet throughout the confrontation. But he could tell Leah's little speech had got to Colin and Brady. They were looking at him with hang dog expressions, mirroring Seth's.

Embry's thoughts were hidden. Jacob knew that his friend would back him up whatever he decided to do. He needed to make a decision-involve Bella or not-he didn't want to, he didn't want more pressure piled on her while she was trying to recover-but he also knew she would never forgive him if he didn't. She'd already had a showdown with the she-wolf, she deserved to have her say on the matter.

"Wait here." Jacob ordered everyone irritably. "I am going to see Bella. This could take some time."

A/N-thanks for reading!

Is Jacob making the right choice? Does Leah deserve a second chance? Are you still enjoying the story? So many questions, LOL