CHAPTER 27

Raised by Wolves – Geoffroy

"The histories that we always thought were legends. The stories of how we came to be. The first is the story of the spirit warriors." – Jacob Black

Lunch with the vampires were always er… interesting, Leah thought. They sit there pretending to eat. They make the chewing motions without putting anything in their mouths. They leave grand tips at the restaurants (which the waiters are happy about), but never actually eat anything (which the chefs are sad about).

Leah finally got her anxiety under control after the conversation (confrontation?) with Rosalie, but her nerves were still hypersensitive and vigilant. She was tracing one hand with the finger of another. She's chewing ice chips. She's doing all her distraction and grounding techniques as discreetly as possible. Demetri's eyes dart to her, but he says nothing. To the others, she's just having habitual tics.

Good.

But this is why it was the wrong time to annoy her.

The likelihood of her doing something impulsive and reckless in this state was very high.

Lunch wrapped up, and Seth (bless his heart) felt bad that so much food was going to waste. What does a person do when they don't want to waste the food?

"Can we ask for this to go?" he asked, innocently.

"You mean like a doggy bag?" this was one of the Volturi members. A 'new' one, whose name the Cullens or Leah don't know. But right then, she didn't care to know. They were laughing at her brother. Seth turned beet red.

Leah ground her teeth, and covered her eyes with her sunglasses.

Demetri didn't laugh. Neither did Felix or the Cullens. Leah didn't care. Her nerves were shot to hell and she was mad at all of them.

The goddamn vamps were still laughing when they walked out of the restaurant.

Jacob was losing his temper.

Leah pushed her brother to pass under a shade.

Demetri was immediately aware of her movement.

The birds were gathering. A large number of them. Which was strange because animals always vacated the vicinity whenever a vampire was near.

Crows. Pigeons. Sparrows.

They were gathering. Quietly.

In the blink of an eye, they flew overhead, then away from the scene.

Angry curses rose up in multiple languages. The vampires were covered in vampire droppings. Only Leah and Seth were untouched under an awning.

"Well. That sucks." Leah's voice was flat. Demetri narrowed his eyes at her. He can't tell if the pupils of her eyes had changed or if that was just a reflection of the sun. Her dark sunglasses concealed her eyes well enough.

That wasn't the only strange thing to happen. Somehow, Leon, one of the new idiots in the Guard got hold of a war bonnet and decided to put on a show later that day while the wolves were eating dinner with a rendition of a rain dance with war cries.

Jacob and Seth were shaking with rage. All the Cullens could do was groan, stay still and watch in horror, or chuckle uncomfortably. Demetri was angry. He rationalized it in his mind that they were making him and Felix, their commanders and superiors look like they couldn't get their squad under control. The fact that it was insulting to Leah and her culture was not his motivation, he's convinced himself.

He rose from the table to put a stop to it, but Santiago touched his arm. Of course, he would be behind this. His animosity towards the Spaniard was well-placed.

Turning to where Santiago was looking, Leah had donned her sunglasses again without anyone else noticing. It was nighttime, and she would have no reason to.

There was a cry of fear as a feather in the war bonnet began smoking before a flame burst to life out of nowhere. The idiot Leon frantically pulled off the headgear, tossing it to the ground, right before it was completely engulfed.

Demetri suddenly remembered how Leah lit a cigarette without a lighter in sight. A sleight of hand, he had thought.

There were gasps of surprise and terror.

Leah's face remained stony.

Santiago looked delighted.

Oh, yes. Bad decisions were made that day.

NOTE: According to canon, when a tribe from the north attacked, the Quileute fought back using astral projection, by controlling animals, and by sending gusts of wind. It's unknown why they stopped using their other powers after they began phasing. That's the part I want to re-imagine, Leah finding a way back to their original powers to survive on her own after leaving the pack.

Also, I kind of disliked how powered up the vampires were compared to the wolf pack. I think they should be equal, so the wolves are genuinely threatening.

Please stay with me, even if it gets a bit weird LOL

Thank you for your reviews. I may not respond to them, but I am grateful for them and they keep me going. It's funny how some of you are guessing plot points I've outlined or close to them.