Part One:

Chapter Eight

Just her luck.

Leah carefully retrieved her 9mm Glock from her holster, positioning it between her knees as she crouched behind the brick wall. About a foot away from her was an opening that once housed a door. Around her were mounds of wooden and steel pallets, and rusted machinery, typical for an abandoned, cold, and dark warehouse out near Midway Airport.

Just her luck.

It had only been one week, and she already found herself in the middle of a shootout. She should've seen this coming; after all, she was now with Paul's unit. Unit Five – If she were smarter, if she had any hindsight, she could've (should've) put up a better fight during that meeting a couple of weeks back, when Captain Morris and Lahote informed her and Jacob that they would be more or less loaned to another unit for the time being.

All to get to the bottom of the Dahlia murder.

So, the two captains had claimed.

It wasn't that Leah wanted nothing to do with Paul; she liked the captain, always had. But the thought of being in his unit, even for a temporary stay? No. She had heard too many stories, too many rumors, some believable and others not.

For goodness' sake, it had only been one week.

Without revealing herself, Leah searched through the poorly lit area for her partner. She soon found him behind a steel pallet on the opposite side of the large room with his weapon drawn. His eyebrows furrowed in concentration while he listened out for any sudden movements, and patiently waited for an adversary's head to appear in the clearing.

When they locked eyes, Jacob motioned Leah to stay put.

They were only here to follow up on a lead. Earlier, they had received a tip from one of Paul's men about Jessica visiting this very warehouse two weeks before her demise to meet up with a couple of guys. The detectives figured they should check out the warehouse. Do a little sweep and hope for clues that could point the detectives in the right direction.

That had been the plan.

Until the plan had decided to sucker-punched both detectives square in the face.

Just her luck.

"How many?" Leah mouthed.

Jacob held up one finger, then two.

Leah cursed under her breath.

This shit right here? This was an aspect of her job she could never get used to. These tense moments were more suited for people like Sam and Paul, the thrill-seekers. It gave them an adrenaline rush while it gave Leah anxiety.

Sounds of creaking and shuffling pulled Leah from her thoughts. Using a faded mirror that was conveniently hanging from the dilapidated door frame, she was able to see an outline of a person holding a gun, a Springfield XD-S, Leah presumed at a glance. Without checking with her partner, she briefly moved from her position and fired two more shots.

She missed.

Damn, the man was fast.

She could feel Jacob's eyes on her as she retreated. With a leveled breath, she checked the gun's magazine and muttered a string of expletives. She only had two bullets left, none of which she could afford to waste on concrete flooring and rotting wooden pallets.

She remained in place as Jacob inched forward and then took a couple of giant steps. He was in the clearing, using a steel pallet as his shield. Leah wanted to warn him, but deep inside, she knew he wouldn't listen. His eyes narrowed in concentration as he raised the gun in his hands, aiming it right in front of him. He took a couple of noticeably deep breaths before pulling the trigger.

Another shot was fired, but it wasn't from Jacob.

"Ja – " Leah snapped her mouth shut, not wanting to attract any more unwanted attention.

After determining the coast as clear, she made a break for it. However, before she was able to reach Jacob, she noticed a man slowly appearing from behind the shadows. The dim lighting mostly obscured his profile, but Leah figured he roughly was six-foot-tall, pale and skinny with light brown hair, dressed in a dirtied black suit. He had a gun loosely hanging in one hand and a smirk playing on his lips.

"Freeze!" Jacob ordered, staggering a bit before finding a spot against a pallet. He leaned against the steel wall, breathing labored as he lowered his weapon. After a couple of more breaths, he placed his gun in his holster and grabbed his left arm. "Fuck."

With her aim still directed at the shooter, Leah quickly rushed to Jacob's side. One look caused her to draw in a sharp breath. There was red on his hand. Shit. He had been shot. Didn't look fatal, but he needed to be tended to.

But the shooter was still here.

"Police!" Leah shouted, her finger grazing the trigger. "Drop your weapon!"

The man continued to approach the detectives, but then abruptly stopped. He focused on Leah, deeply inhaling and exhaling with his nostrils flaring, eyes shifting from amber to red. "You smell mighty delicious..."

"Back off," Jacob snarled.

Leah took a step back. "Don't move!"

The man cackled. "Your bullets won't do a damn thing to me," he taunted, looking from one detective to the other. Although he wasn't paying Leah much mind, he did seem more concerned about Jacob. Leah couldn't understand why. She was the one aiming for a fatal shot.

She glanced at Jacob, who hadn't moved from his place. The red on his hands was becoming more pronounced, and yet, he wasn't making any effort to call for extra help – She did remember Jacob mentioning in passing about his abilities to heal at an incredible rate. But still, he was bleeding rather profusely and somehow, appeared less concerned than expected.

The man's amber eyes flickered past Leah. "The dog's finally been put down."

Dog. The man had called Jacob a dog. Was he referencing his wolf? Did this man know? How did this man know about Jacob? And why was he talking about the way she smelled?

Her eyes widened.

Alistair.

He had made a similar comment about her scent.

Shit.

"You should work on your aim," Jacob taunted. "Can't believe you'd waste a silver bullet on an arm. Missed opportunity."

While the Jacob and the perp continued to exchange insults, Leah knew she had to act. With a gulp, she dropped one hand from the weapon of her gun and reached for her radio. Jacob needed medical attention. Pressing down on the call button, she began to call in for help until Jacob told her to stand down.

She immediately released the button. "What?"

"Don't call anyone. For help or backup," Jacob commanded. "Don't."

Leah didn't understand. Someone had just shot a cop, and Jacob was refusing outside help. This went against everything she had been taught; that was what they both had been taught. "You can't be – "

No, wait. She had bigger problems. Like the man standing merely ten feet away, still armed, still a vampire.

At the corner of her eye, she could see Jacob retrieving a glowing object from his pants pocket. He tossed it to her with his good arm. She caught it. Holy, this was it. An ultraviolet. She studied the notorious bullet in her hand; it was glowing, and it was hot to the touch. So hot that she could feel the heat even through her leather gloves.

Without much thought, Leah loaded her Glock with UV, pleasantly surprised it was a perfect fit.

"You see that?" Jacob shouted at the man. He darkly chuckled at the sudden look of concern on the man's face. "You know what that is. You know what it can do to you."

Leah stared at her gun. There was an ultraviolet in her weapon, and she was standing only yards away from a vampire. Fuck. She immediately aimed the gun at the man, not because of Jacob's plan – whatever it was, but for her safety. Because this very bullet was the reason why the vampire wasn't charging at her, ripping her into shreds.

"If you move, my partner's gonna shoot you," Jacob threatened, "and considering that you're only a newborn and not that fast, you're going to survive that shot."

Leah's pulse quickened.

Newborn?

The assailment stood up tall, and with stiff shoulders, his now-amber eyes zeroed onto Leah's gun. "Are you threatening me?"

"Yes," Jacob said, point-blank. "So, talk."

Despite being utterly bewildered by the situation, Leah followed along and aimed the assailment. "You heard him," she said, positioning her arm so that the shot was aimed right between the man's eyes. "Drop the weapon!"

With one hand raised, the man slowly placed his own weapon on the ground. "You have some balls," he said as he stood up; his eyes remained on the firearm in Leah's hand. "You don't know who you're messing with, lady."

"Both hands up!"

"We can't subdue him."

Leah stole a quick glance. "What?"

"You should listen to your partner, lady – "

"Don't call me lady!"

"Please don't call her – "

"What do you want – "

Leah's eyes narrowed. "What's your name?"

"Riley."

The name didn't ring a bell, not that it mattered. The vampire, Riley, much to Leah's pleasant surprise, was now talking. Even if it he had only offered a name. "Attempted murder is a felony," she informed the man, "and you shot a cop."

Riley didn't seem too concerned. "Your human rules don't apply to me. Your weapons are useless against me."

"Yeah, but the ultraviolet I got in this gun isn't," Leah retorted; she could almost feel Jacob's smug smirking behind her. "This isn't the time for any snarky comments. Why are you after us?"

"You're making a big mistake, lady."

"Black – "

"No, not yet," Jacob advised, inching closer to the action while fighting through the pain in his arm. He looked at Riley. "Who do you work for?"

"Victoria." Riley surprisingly admitted; his eyes remained in on Leah's gun. He was more concerned than he tried to let on. "Victoria," he sharply said, glancing at his compatriot, who laid motionless a few feet behind him. "We are guards. We patrol our property."

Leah lifted an eyebrow. "Property?"

"This warehouse, these grounds. It all belongs to Victoria. And you are trespassing it."

"This warehouse belongs to the city," Leah corrected him. "It's public land."

Riley made a surprised noise but quickly gained back his resolve. "Doesn't change things."

"Oh, I beg to differ," Leah said. "I can think of a few things that can send you away, including attempted murder, assault, loitering. Maybe squeeze in a gun charge..." She tilted her head. "You want me to continue?"

"The quicker you comply, the better off you'll be," Jacob said, and then before giving the vampire a chance to retort, "How long have you been with the James Gang?" He sucked his teeth when Riley attempted to reach down for his weapon. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"If you were me, you'd understand," Riley bit back.

"Understand what?" Leah asked.

"That you, pigs, need to learn how to stay out of our goddamn business."

"Are you talking about your little vampire turf war?" Jacob asked.

Riley smirked. "Who says only vampires are involved? Your kind ain't saints either."

"Never said we were," Jacob retorted. "What happened here about a month ago? Involving a human woman?"

"The only reason why we interact with humans is for dinner." Riley gave Leah a pointed look, then turned his attention back onto Jacob, "but I'm sure you already knew that."

"She came out of this place alive," Leah pointed out, ignoring the hungry look on the vampire's face. His eyes were flashing red again. "A young woman. Brown, wavy hair. About 5-1, 5-2. Her name was Jessica. She was here with two men."

"She was – " Riley stopped. "I'm no snitch."

"You're not going to be anything if you don't answer the question," Leah threatened, though she didn't actually want to end him. He had potential; he could be a good informant if he played his cards right. He seemed inexperienced in the game, so making an offer shouldn't be too hard. Especially once Paul got a hold of him.

Paul.

Of course.

She couldn't let Riley get away.

"I'm no snitch."

"You have until I count to three to answer him," Leah warned, becoming increasingly tired of the man's game. But she was going to hold on because she had a plan: Riley, the man standing in front of her, was going to spend the night in jail. Alive (or whatever). And he would become an asset because the police department needed as much help as they could get. "One."

"I'm no – "

"Two."

"You – "

"Three."

"She was having a meeting with one our guys about the fucking UVs!"

Jacob drew in a sharp breath.

"Who was she meeting?" Leah asked because – What the Hell? Jessica was linked to the Olympic, who never operated with the James Crew. They had it out for each other since St. Patrick's, when James had been reportedly knocked off by a Cullen. Unless things had changed over within the past couple of years? But then again, Victoria didn't seem the type to overlook a grudge, especially when there was money to be made.

But then again, James was her husband, and it was common knowledge that Victoria didn't take his demise well.

"I don't know."

Not a good answer.

"Riley."

The vampire moved his hand to his right side, resting inches away from another weapon secured at his waistband. "I don't know! I swear to fucking – "

A shot rang.

The vampire recoiled before collapsing onto the ground, holding onto his knee as he cried out in agony.

She did that.

She just did that.

With Jacob stunned into silence, Leah slowly approached the fallen vampire. He wasn't going to expire. She made sure to give Riley a wound that wouldn't kill him, a graze to the knee. No embedded UV. It was going to hurt like Hell, but no major artery had been hit. He'd be essentially brand-knew a few hours.

"Fuck!" The vampire exclaimed, writhing on the floor. "You, bitch! I told you everything!"

"Which is why didn't put one between your eyes."

Leah peeked at her partner, who didn't seem to know how he should react. He wouldn't be able to do much, considering he was wounded. "I know what I'm doing," she mouthed to him before returning her attention to the injured vampire. "Trust me on this."

Leah would be the first to admit that this might've been one of her more reckless (and perhaps, illegal) moves, but she had a plan. And she was going to stick to it, damn it.

She glanced at her partner once again; the shock on Jacob's face wore off. Okay. Three minutes, she gave herself. Three minutes was all she had to get out of the damn warehouse without the worry of an army of vampires chasing after her. Because if she didn't kill Riley or subdue him, he would most likely run back to his employer, and all Hell might break loose.

So, she had a plan. It had been stupid then, and it was probably stupid now. But Riley was no longer acting confident, not with one of his knees taken out. If she played her cards right, she'd be able to call all the shots.

Leah aimed her weapon once again at Riley, but this time at his head. She had no intention of pulling the trigger again, but he didn't have to know that.

"Okay, this is what's going to happen," she said, voice made of steel. Her victim shuddered. Yes. "You are going to stand on your good leg, and you're going to put your hands up high." She ignored Jacob when he called her name. No, she was committed. "And we're going to drop you off at a station where you will be booked and charged for assaulting two cops and trespassing. Notice that I didn't say attempted murder. And if you cooperate, we can work something out."

"What if I don't?"

Leah appreciated the vampire's defiance, even if it wouldn't do him any good. "You don't want to know," she said, pulling out a pair of handcuffs with one hand while Glock remained steady in the other. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Jacob carefully approaching her. "After all, as you said, human laws don't apply to you."

Riley's eyes widened. "You can't make me a rat!"

"I have news for you: you already are," Jacob said, still holding his arm. He stood next to his partner, leering down at the reeling Riley. Jacob was catching onto the plan. Wonderful. "It's the best offer you're gonna get considering you and your friend tried to kill us. Because here's the thing: if you go back to your boss, with an ultra-violet in your knee and one partner down, they're going to assume that you ran away, and I know for a fact that Victoria ain't gonna like that."

"You know nothing!"

"What I do know is that your boss doesn't give a shit about a mere newborn. So, get up, and let my partner put some handcuffs on you while we read you your rights." Jacob turned to Leah. "You got this?"

"I got this," Leah assured him. She picked up the used bullet and its casing, pocketing them. "Call Paul. Tell him we're dropping a gift off for him and send someone to fetch the other body."

As she drove down the road, bypassing any traffic lights in a manner that wouldn't result in an accident, Leah tried to make sense of recent events: There was a shooting. One vampire was dead. The other, who was still reeling from the effects of the UV, was incapacitated across the backstreet with only a grill separating him from the detectives. And there was Jacob, who was currently in the front passenger seat, face twisted in pain as he tried to stop the bleeding with his jacket and tourniquet.

He didn't want to call for backup. He didn't want an ambulance, and despite Leah's spirited protests, he refused to seek medical attention until they delivered Riley to Paul.

It made no sense.

But then again, Leah mused as she ran yet another red light, nothing seemed to make sense anymore, including her decision to go against everything she had been taught at the Academy.

They weren't in trouble, Jacob insisted, things were different when the supernatural was involved. Not different enough to completely break the law without impunity, but, you know, different. And if anyone asked, it was all done in self-defense. Which was not necessarily a lie.

Leah had to take Jacob's word for it.

It wasn't like she had any other choice.

No, she did have a choice.

After all, she had been the one who put the bullet in Riley's knee – Well, not exactly; said-bullet was currently burning inside her coat pocket.

When the detectives arrived at the police station about ten minutes later, Paul quickly ordered his men to bring in the out-cold Riley. He reassured both Leah and Jacob that Riley was in good hands and that a team was heading to the warehouse as they spoke. The captain noticed Jacob's wound, but he didn't appear to be too concerned.

All he requested was that Jacob didn't bleed to death.

Of course, Leah hoped for the same thing, and that was why she fully intended to personally deliver Jacob to the emergency room. Unfortunately, it would take Jacob all of two minutes into the drive from Uptown to realize Leah's intended destination. "Just drop me off at my place," he said, using his free hand to tighten the tourniquet. "I'm fine."

Leah gawked at the man. The blood loss must be affecting his rationality. "Like Hell you are!"

With his good arm, Jacob fished his phone out of his pants pocket and quickly dialed a number. Balancing the device between his shoulder and cheek, he said in a gravelly voice, "Yo, Em, my place twenty."

Leah's eyes widened. This man couldn't be serious. "We're not – "

"Leah."

"For fuck's sake, you can't play around with a wound like that." She slammed on the steering wheel. "You can bleed to death. You can die. You know, die."

"I'll be fine," Jacob insisted, wincing as he sat up further in his seat, looking certainly not fine. He lightly groaned and pressed down his coat hard against the wound. Blood began to seep through his fingers. The tourniquet and coat weren't doing enough. "By the way, good job back there."

Leah's mouth slightly curved at the praise, but it was almost immediately dropped. "It was stupid."

She couldn't believe what she had done. She had literally put a bullet in another's knee. Granted, Riley kind of had it coming, but still. Protocol had certainly not been followed. And if Internal – No, she couldn't go down there that road.

"And illegal."

But it worked, Leah's traitorous mind pointed out.

"Nah, it was smart. In a roundabout way, we kinda did our blood-sucking friend a favor. No one wants to be slapped with an attempted murder charge, especially when a cop is the victim." Jacob paused to readjust his bloodied jacket over his wound. "And Paul's happy. He finally has one of Victoria's minions in his custody." He let out a dry laugh. "Hey, you never know: he may end up talking Morris into transferring you to the Unit-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named. For good."

Leah doubted that. Morris was notoriously stingy with his personnel and – Despite her frustration at the bleeding man next to her, she couldn't help but snicker at the Harry Potter reference. "Aw," she said rather dramatically, placing a free hand over her chest, "but then that would mean you'd have to get another partner."

That wasn't a prospect Leah was looking forward to. This partnership was working, and based on the look on Jacob's face, he agreed with her. "Right, wouldn't want that happen," he said, and then with a wide smile, despite the thinly veiled distress on his face, "Wanna try to make it last for a few years. At least."

"At least." Leah stole a glance and let out a sigh at the sight of Jacob's smile returning to a grimace. "Are you sure you're gonna be okay?"

"Trust me, I've been through much worse." Jacob's grin reappeared, though a still bit strained. "I'll be fine. Silver bullets are annoying to deal with, but I'll live."

Though Leah still had her reservations, she ended up dropping Jacob off at his West Ridge apartment, where she would stay until Officer Call arrived with a massive First-Aid kit, a box of Benadryl (interesting), and a couple of pieces of raw steak.

After threatening the poor cop with every inch of his life if Jacob did not recover and after being promised the world, Leah left the still-bleeding Jacob's side. She considered staying behind but decided to give her partner some space. He and Embry had known each other for years; Jacob should be in good hands.

Leah, wanted to make sure her partner was still alive and well, decided to stop by Jacob's place the following morning after stop by a spot to fetch Jacob the monstrosity that was Jacob's quadruple bacon, steak egg, and cheese on a roll and coffee (Dark and sweet like him, he had once joked).

Before Leah could convince herself to turn back around, she knocked on Jacob's front door.

"Who is it?"

The voice belonged to a woman.

For a hot second, Leah panicked; she hadn't remembered Jacob mentioning anything about a girlfriend or… She just didn't want to interrupt anything. She was tired of awkward encounters. She took a deep breath; Perhaps, she was overreacting a bit. "Good morning, my name is Leah," she said to the door. "I'm looking for Jacob Black." She paused. "I'm his partner. From work."

The door soon opened, revealing a young woman dressed in an old T-shirt and overalls; her clothes and arms were covered with specks of paint. From her vantage point, Leah noticed a half-painted canvass lying against the living room wall.

"Good morning." The woman gave Leah a canvasonce-over. Her expression immediately brightened. "Wait. Leah?" She gasped. "As in Leah Uley?" and when Leah confirmed that it was indeed her, "Wow! It's so nice to finally meet you. I'm Rebecca. Jake's sister."

Yes, of course. Leah recalled Jacob talking about his two sisters. This was Rebecca; she could see the resemblance. And the paint; yes, she remembered Jacob saying something about his sister presenting at an art gallery in the spring.

"Nice to meet you, as well."

Jacob's sister grinned. "Oh! I'm sorry. I should invite you in – Please, come inside," she insisted, opening the door wider and stepping aside. She was practically giddy as Leah walked past week. "I'm assuming you're here to check up on my idiot of a brother."

Leah lifted both shoulders. "I really wanted to take him to the…"

"To go to the hospital, I know," Rebecca finished, rolling her eyes in a good-natured manner. "I wouldn't worry about it. He's super paranoid about hospitals and doctors, in general, but somehow, he's – was – head over heels with a medical examiner." She let out a snicker. "Isn't that funny?"

Leah raised an eyebrow. "Was?"

Sure, Jacob's personal life wasn't Leah's business, and the only reason why she was here was to make sure the man hadn't bled to death… but she'd only be lying if she found Rebecca's words interesting. Everyone and their mother knew Jacob had eyes for Bella.

Rebecca only responded with a shrug and then she offered Leah a seat. She thanked the detective when handed over the brown paper bag containing the food. She opened it, peered inside, and laughed. "You got him the heart-attack-on-a-roll special." She folded over the top of the bag. "You're sweet."

"Yeah, he's obsessed with it." Leah gave a half-shrug. "It seems he's not all that concerned about his cholesterol."

"Rach would throw a fit if she saw this," Rebecca laughed. "Nothing against you, of course, but she's been lecturing him about adopting a healthier lifestyle for years. If only we all had his metabolism – Oh, sorry. I'm rambling. Do you want anything? Water? Orange juice? Coffee? Toast? And I'm not taking 'no' for an answer."

Persistent, just like her brother, Leah thought fondly as she rubbed her hands together; she quickly looked around the living room to the first-floor apartment. It was a nice place. "Orange juice and piece of toast would be fine. Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Rebecca said. "Be right back."

As the other woman rushed to the kitchen, Leah took the time to roam around the living room. It wasn't very large, roughly the size of her bedroom, but it was decorated with pictures and abstract paintings. Tons of them. She stopped at the picture of what she assumed was the Black family taken quite some years back; with a fond smile, she picked up the picture frame. It was –

An unexpected noise interrupted her thoughts. And it wasn't coming from Rebecca. It – it sounded more like a … growl?

No.

Leah quickly turned around, then froze, nearing dropping the family picture.

Holy shit.

She closed eyes, then opened them.

It was still there, at the same place from the other side of the room, alert and staring right at her. Perhaps, she was hallucinating, but it seemed that the dog appeared just as confused and startled as she was.

No, it couldn't be a dog. It was far too big. No, it was huge. Had to be about ten feet long and four feet tall. A wolf, maybe? But they can get that big? Well, whatever it was, it was obviously too big to be alive and breathing in the middle of the living room of a rather small apartment. But goodness, what a sight it was with its reddish-brown fur and dark eyes –

Leah tilted her head to the side, and the… did the same.

She drew in a sharp breath. There was a possibility that she might be losing it. Perhaps, the sight before her was simply an apparition caused by her lack of proper sleep. Perhaps – No, it was him. Somehow, she knew it was him. It was Jacob. Somehow, the six-foot-something man she knew was now a ten-foot-long wolf.

Wolf.

Of course.

Not knowing what else to do and perhaps against her better judgment, Leah returned the picture and carefully approached the animal. Jacob. As she inched closer, she held her hand out, watching signs of aggressiveness. There was none, thank goodness, but even with that, the fact that she had this urge to pet it... him? It was as if her lack of self-preservation was on par with Bella's.

But then again, this wasn't just some oversized wolf. No, this was Jacob Black. Her partner. Her friend. A six-foot-seven tall man, who had somehow morphed into a ten-foot-long wolf.

Holy shit, she thought as she tentatively rested on a flat hand on his pelt. This is him. She released the breath she didn't realize she had been holding in as his deep brown eyes looked up at her. She thought about pulling her hand and hail-tailing out of the apartment, but the wolf's guarded gaze yet kind, almost fond held her in place.

Feeling a bit confident and a bit more reckless, Leah gently moved her hand across the top of Jacob's head and down his side, her heartrate speeding up as she felt him leaning against her touch. He quietly whined when Leah jerked her hand back.

She wasn't afraid, at least not anymore, but she didn't want to –

What was she doing?

She placed her hand against Jacob's pelt once again and without lifting it, walked around the wolf. After doing a 360, she stopped in front of Jacob and knelt on the hardwood floor, running her fingers along the wolf's cheek, amazed as she moved to the back of his neck. In a way, he reminded Leah of Selena, her precious lab given as a birthday gift from her father weeks before his untimely death.

Mesmerized, she continued her ministrations; she stopped for a hot second when she heard and felt Jacob's rumbling under her hands, but then grinned. He was enjoying it. "Goodness," she breathed. "Oh, my… God."

"Sorry, it seems that the toaster isn't cooperating with me today, so – "

With her hands still buried in the fur, Leah turned her attention to Rebecca, who was standing under the entrance to the kitchen in absolute, utter shock. Leah released her hands. "Rebecca, I – I was… "

What was there to say?

Rebecca carefully placed the glass of water on top of the faux fireplace. "Jake – " She stopped; she looked at the wolf, and then at Leah, seemingly not knowing how to proceed. After a moment of awkward, tense silence, she blinked a couple of times. "Wait," she gasped, "Hold on. No, it can't be… You recognize him?"

Leah glanced at Jacob, whose attention was now on his sister. "The eyes," she quietly said. "He has his eyes."

"How…?" Rubbing both of her arms, Rebecca began pacing around the living room. She stopped and then faced Leah. "You know about … this?" and when Leah nodded, "Who told you?"

Rebecca's tone was harsh and accusatory. Leah could've made up a story or maybe - Oh, goodness, she didn't know. But she figured she might as well be upfront about it for she hadn't done anything wrong.

"He did," she quietly confessed; she noticed how Jacob's eyes turned her, how his entire body tensed. Had she said something wrong? "He, uh… yeah, he did. Actually, he did."

"He told you?" Rebecca muttered in disbelief, gaze shifting from her brother to Leah and back. Taking a couple of steps back, she brought a hand to her mouth. "He told you."

Leah took a deep breath. Yes, he had. Unprompted, mind you. He barely had known her when he decided to spill the beans. Beans, Leah could tell from Rebecca's reaction, that should've remained in the pot, securely sealed by a cover and gorilla glue. Leah understood why it had to be secret, but she still couldn't understand why Jacob had decided to tell her. Especially at that time, back in December.

"It must've slipped," Leah said, not believing her own words because that admission had most certainly not been a slip up. "Or something."

"It never just slips," Rebecca said; her face was covered with utter amazement. "My goodness, this explains so much." Her eyes managed to grow even wider. "He does trust you."

"I mean…" Leah honestly didn't know what else to say. All she had wanted to do was check up on Jacob and give him some breakfast. Not this. "I am his partner."

For what it seemed to be the umpteenth time, Leah squeezed her CRV's steering wheel and took a deep breath as she released her hold. She leaned back in her seat. Yeah, that did happen, and Leah still couldn't wrap her mind around it.

She wasn't frightened. She wasn't disturbed. She wasn't five seconds away from calling in the government to whisk away her "freak" of a partner. If anything, she was in absolute awe. Sure, she had heard stories of men being another to transform into wolf-like creatures, but never in a million years she did think she would see such a thing, know someone who could actually –

He let her pet him.

She looked out the window and up at Jacob, who was standing on the curb, almost leaning against Leah's Honda CRV. He was dressed in only sweats and a T-shirt despite the low temperatures. He was guarded but wasn't ready to run away. Just like how he had been in the living room.

"Yeah, I – Well yeah…"

She was in a loss for words.

Jacob dragged a hand down his face.

Leah didn't want the man to think she held any negative feelings towards him. it was quite the opposite. Leah thought about asking Jacob if he wanted to get inside and come along for a drive. For what? She had no idea.

In an effort to break the tension and let him know that no, she didn't think that he was some freak and basically regretted the past month and a half, she tried to lighten up with, "I didn't know you liked neck rubs so much."

Jacob locked eyes with Leah, a little taken a bit back, then he chuckled, somewhat sheepishly. Then consciously or not, he rubbed the back of his neck, causing Leah's smile to expand. He looked adorable. "So, I like neck rubs. Sue me."

"No, I like to avoid lawyers at all costs," Leah joked, relieved when Jacob's snickering transformed into a fit of laughter. She was relieved. "Your sister, Rebecca, seems really nice," she said, "seemed surprised about…"

Jacob straightened up his stance as the laughter died down. "Yeah." He glanced at his apartment building behind him. He then turned back around, looking down at his partner. "I thought she was expecting something worse… from you." He cleared his throat. "Especially when you realized it was me."

Leah gave a nod.

"Yeah, but she's nice. Great, honestly," Jacob said. "Can be annoying at times, but I guess she comes with the position, hunh?" He ended with an affectionate snicker.

"Siblings," Leah said, thinking about Seth. He was wonderful as well, but he was her little brother, and he liked to do 'little brother' things. "Gotta love them."

"Yeah."

A brief moment of silence fell between the two.

"I never thought I'd see you like that," Leah whispered. She rubbed her hands together before returning to them to their rightful place on the steering wheel. She peeked at her partner, who was staring down at her with a mix of curiosity and apprehension.

Jacob ran both hands down his face. It was a habit, a nervous tick. "And?"

"Your fur is soft," Leah tried, unable to come up with something else, something more profond. Not that she was lying; Jacob's pelt felt so lush and thick under Leah's hand. She could still feel the sensation at her fingertips. "The fact you can… do that? My God, that's incredible."

Relief washed over Jacob's face. He had expected the absolute worst, Leah realized; she hated that he had to feel this way. "Well, it's very much believable," Jacob said. "Soft, hunh?" He chuckled quietly. "Can't be a bad thing, I guess."

Leah shook her head.

"Do you turn every time you're injured?"

"It depends." Jacob lifted his shoulder in a half-shrug. "It helps. I still don't know how, but it does. I don't do it very often, but I got shot, so…"

"That's why you didn't want to go to the hospital?"

Jacob answered with a nod.

Leah returned the gesture. Despite still being dumbstruck and understandably so, the most important thing was that Jacob appeared to be in full health. "So…" She gave him a once-over. "You're good?"

"Never been better."

Leah nodded again. "I'll see you on Monday, then?"

"Bet on it," Jacob vowed. He tapped the roof of the car a couple of times before taking a step back as Leah turned the key in the ignition. "I'll see you on Monday, and, uh, thanks."

"For what?"

"For last night. For this morning. For everything."

Leah didn't think she had necessarily done anything out of the ordinary. She only did what had made sense. For goodness' sake, the man had just gotten shot. "I'm your partner," she reminded Jacob as if it was the most obvious explanation in the world. As it should be.

"And?"

And? Looking after each other was what partners did; what they were supposed to do. They had to have each other's back. They were a tandem. Ride and die until the end.

"It wasn't a hassle," Leah told Jacob with all the sincerity in the world. "It wasn't a hassle, at all."

It's not a hassle, Leah texted to Jacob once again. It had been days since the wolf-revealing incident, and the man (and occasionally, Paul and Embry) was still thanking her for… whatever she had done. It wasn't that big of a deal, she wanted to say. I had only brought you breakfast. She didn't add anything else because she already knew what the response would be.

Jacob was fine.

She was fine with him being fine.

"He still refuses to go to the hospital?" Aisha laughed. "Not even visit Urgent Care?"

Leah gave a light snort as she relaxed into the rather uncomfortable seat. "He claims to be a fast healer with experience. Whatever that means," she responded with another snort. She didn't know if Aisha knew of Jacob's ability. "I told him that if he ended up catching an infection or losing an arm, I'd shoot him myself."

Her comment was met with a hearty laugh.

"It could've been worse."

"I suppose you're right."

"Well, onto happier things: Happy Galentine's Day."

With a small, rueful smile, Leah accepted the glass of red wine. She was never big on the romantic holiday; it was just a cute little thing. Another day dedicated to celebrating love, besides, of course, an anniversary. But she had always celebrated it, and –

This would be the first time in almost a decade that Leah would be spending this holiday alone.

Well, that wasn't actually true. She was just not with the man she had expected. She was far from alone; in fact, she was sitting right across from her dear friend, Aisha.

The pair was having an early dinner inside a restaurant off Michigan Avenue, not from LaPush. Coming out tonight hadn't initially been in Leah's plan; she had fully intended to spend several hours of this godforsaken holiday binge-watching reality television and nursing an entire tub of ice cream (so clichéd, but Leah couldn't have cared less). But then Aisha had called right after work, declaring that she refused to have her friend mope around; Leah couldn't reject the offer.

She needed to get out of the house, and they both needed the company.

This Valentine's Day, both ladies would be without their respective significant others, but at least Aisha's was overseas for work. Leah had no idea where Sam was –

Probably at Emily's.

Leah mentally shook the unpleasant thought of her mind as she brought the rim of the glass to her lips. Her eyes flickered across the table, and her smile turned genuine.

"Happy Galentine's Day to you, too."