Bella slept in on Wednesday, so comfortable on Leah. Leah didn't want to wake her and held her pee until Bella needed to get up to get ready for work.

"Baby, why did you let me sleep?" Bella asked.

"Because you needed it. The last few days were stressful."

"Hardly. But thank you. Wanna shower together?"

"Ok, but we don't have time for hanky panky."

Bella smiled, "ok, but I still want to wash you."

o.~*~.o

When they got to the library, Jake and Embry were waiting for them. Embry had asked old Quil for a book to read while he watched Jacob. Embry looked unimpressed by the whole situation, having Jacob teach Bella. Even though Jacob was one of his oldest friends, he did not trust him. He set himself up at the table next to them, giving Jacob no leeway to mess this up.

Leah gave Bella a kiss and Embry a pat on the back on the way out. She had to trust Embry and Bella to take care of Jacob themselves.

Jacob made a commitment to stay at least one foot away from Bella during the lesson and he stuck to that. He wanted to be good, to not let Leah down and impress Bella. However, he was not particularly good. He had severe mood swings, being overly friendly and flirty one minute, then distant and almost cruel with his harsh tone of voice the next. Embry glared at him throughout and let out some growls and verbal warnings. He never felt the need to step in physically, though, since Jake kept his distance from Bella.

Seth brought lunch for Bella and Embry, then stayed to talk to Old Quil.

While Seth was in the pack room, Leah drove up in the truck. She had a bunch of Bella's boxes and bags from Charlie's. She also had tons of groceries in the cab. When she came in with the first load, Embry jumped up, "Let me help you. Is everything in the truck coming in?"

"Yeah, thanks, it all goes upstairs." She and Embry moved everything with incredible speed. Seth joined them for the last load.

"This place is pretty nice, good light, plenty of room." Embry commented.

"So you'll come and hang out when I have to go to Forks?"

"For you, absolutely." Embry confirmed.

"Me too, sis." Seth added.

"Is there anything that we can help with now, Leah?" Embry asked.

"No, you two can both go."

"Seth, wanna go play Smash Bros?" Embry asked.

"Yes!" Seth looked genuinely happy to have the company.

Leah curled up in wolf form when they were gone. She liked the sunlight in the living room of the apartment. She sat under it and savored her life.

o.~*~.o

Paul and Rachel came to the library a little while later. Paul walked Rachel to the pack room, then decided to pop up to the apartment. Leah slipped on her clothes when she heard him start up the stairs.

"Leah, how is it going?"

"Pretty good." Leah answered brightly, in a good mood after meditating.

"So how are things going with Jake?" Paul asked, getting to the real reason for his visit.

"Arg. He says he's not over Bella because his wolf keeps suppressing thoughts of her so they bubble up intensely and he can't move on."

"Big yikes. What's the plan for that?"

"I'm having him teach her Quileute."

"What? I don't like that. No disrespect, but why the fuck are doing that?"

"I don't like it either, but it's like exposure therapy. He said it was better after spending some time with her on Sunday. So I figure the more time with her, the better it gets. And I'm keeping the situation under watch when I'm not here."

"You let him do that when you're not here!?"

"Yeah, I have to work when she does her Quileute." Leah said a little defensively.

"Well, could Old Quil reschedule it? Who was here today? Who's going to be here next time? I could just always be here for Quileute lessons. My Quileute is shit so maybe I could pick up a thing or two."

"It was Embry today, me tomorrow, Quil on Friday."

"Eeeh. I'll be here on Friday too. I don't trust Quil to pay enough attention to be useful."

"You don't have to, but I'd love it if you would. I'm going to try to change the lesson times tomorrow anyway. I think that's the simplest solution."

"Leah, you don't have to try to change the times. You just tell Jacob and Old Quil that is what's going to happen from now on. No Quileute lessons without you present."

"Thank you, Paul. Honestly, I don't know when I'm being too protective or not protective enough. It's a constant fight between Bella and me so hearing a second opinion helps."

"Anytime, Leah. You two are fighting?"

"Only about her safety and my anxiety over it."

"How's your wolf doing with that?"

"Eh, the more time she spends with Bella, the easier it is for her. And Bella is so good with her."

"What do you mean? Like, they're in the same room together? Does Bella touch the wolf?"

Leah nodded, "We snuggled all night a few nights ago like that. The wolf loved it and Bella did too. It was relaxing and it made Bella feel safe. And I've figured out that when I get panicky, instead of holding my wolf back, I bring her forward and let Bella calm her down. All she has to do is sit with her, stroke her ears and I get days of peace from the wolf."

"Is anyone else in the pack doing that with their imprint?" Paul asked.

"I don't know."

"Let's go ask Old Quil."

"Uh, ok. Do you think there is something wrong with that?"

"No, I just want to know what he has to say."

When they got downstairs, Rachel was still in the pack room with Old Quil. They had a few books out.

"Baby, can you give us the room?" Paul asked Rachel. "We've got to talk to Old Quil really quick, ok? Here, I'll move your books, babe." Paul carried all of Rachel's books to a nearby table and gave her a quick but intentional kiss on her way out. "Thank you." He whispered to her.

"Ok, Quil, when Leah is anxious about Bella's safety and shit, Leah turns into her wolf and snuggles with Bella. She's figured out that it is the wolf that is anxious and needs to be soothed. Any precedent for that?"

"Hmmm. My mother did sit with the wolf sometimes but I don't remember there being a specific reason attached. And I pet my father's wolf a couple times. I don't think there is any harm in it."

"They did it for a whole night."

"Ok, that's, um, honestly, I don't know. But I don't see a problem or a risk."

"There is no risk." Leah insisted.

"I'm not trying to suggest that there is. I just don't want anything to happen like with Sam."

"I would never!" Leah spat.

"I just wanted a second opinion, Leah. If this is something that is safe and well documented, it sounds really great and I kind of want to try it with Rachel. But if there are risks, I don't know."

"Has Rachel petted your wolf?"

"No, but she's seen it."

"Why don't you start there? Rachel is a marked imprint. The risk is low even if there were an accident."

"Have you and Bella had an accident?" Paul asked, suddenly concerned.

"God, no! I get in wolf form, get comfortable and let her come to me. I don't hardly move."

"Ok, ok, Leah, I just want to know more so maybe I can try it, maybe."

"Paul, you're so relaxed. What do you even need it for?"

Paul looked embarrassed. "Rachel's really hot and sometimes guys are looking at her and I, the man, can handle it because I know my woman is mine. But the wolf isn't always so chill about it. And we're bros. I want him to be comfortable and confident, ya know?"

"That is kind of romantic, kind of. It's sweet. Suggest it to Rachel. She can ask Bella about it if she's not comfortable. Hell, if it works out well, we can tell Jared about it."

"Ok, thanks Leah. I'm sorry if that came off accusatory in the beginning. I just needed to know more."

"It's ok. Quil, one more thing. I'm not comfortable with Jacob teaching Bella when I'm not here. After tomorrow, I want to change the lessons to 3pm."

"Ah, ok, if that's what you really want." Old Quil agreed.

"I'll go tell Bella. Paul, you can bring Rachel back in here if she wants."

Leah stopped at Rachel's table. "Paul will fill you in on our conversation. I appreciate you giving us the room for a minute."

Rachel nodded, a little confused but happy to help.

Leah went and sat with Bella. "Bella, I was not comfortable with you being with Jacob this morning without me present. After tomorrow, your Quileute lessons will be moved to 3pm so that I can always be there for it, ok?"

"Good," Bella said. "It's so weird. Jake used to be my best friend and I could trust him with anything. And now being around him gives me the creeps."

"Yeah, me too, baby. I mean, not the best friend part, but the creeps part." She smiled at Bella.

Rachel went back to the pack room and Paul went to visit Seth. Leah went back upstairs to meditate until 4:45. When she went down to wait for Bella, Rachel was still there.

"Rachel, let's all walk together. Paul's at my mom's, right?"

"That's where he said he was going."

o.~*~.o

When the three girls entered the Clearwater home, Paul, Embry and Seth were all in the kitchen. Paul was teaching the guys how to pan fry the chicken they were making for supper. They each took turns in front of the stove. They had a rice mixture going on another burner, and they were steaming vegetables. Paul kept stirring a sauce that smelled divine.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my three favorite wolves." Leah announced their presence.

Paul turned around and blushed when he saw Rachel. He ran to her. "You look so beautiful baby." He pulled her close for a kiss.

"You're not looking half bad yourself, Paul Lahote." Rachel said, looking up and down his body.

"Baby, let's finish that thought later, right now I'm trying to teach the pups."

"Paul, I'm six weeks older than you." Embry clarified.

"Shhh. Keep turning that chicken and don't let the sauce stick." Paul turned back to Rachel, "Baby, can we have supper here? I left food in the fridge for Billy."

"Of course, as long as it's alright?" Rachel looked at Leah.

"It's barely my home anymore, but I'd love to have you. Seth?"

"Yeah I want them to stay. Paul showed us how to make Old Quil's meatloaf so you don't have to, Leah. Paul's been teaching us all sorts of stuff and he used a recipe from Old Quil's mom's book for the rice."

Paul smiled. "Alright guys, let's get everything off the burners. It should be done now. Embry, can you get plates and set the table, Seth, you get drinks, and I'll take care of the ladies." Paul winked at Rachel. Then Paul brought all the food to the table.

After supper, the four wolves played Smash Bros while Rachel and Bella chatted.

"How are things going with Jake at home?" Bella started.

"Ugh. Sometimes he's his old self, cheerful and fun, and sometimes he is so broody and moody. It's just like when Jen was here but without Jen. Each day is a surprise."

"That's too bad. Hopefully with time it'll get better."

"It's not so bad though, because he goes to the library and spends a lot of time as a wolf in the woods. How is it at the library when he's there?"

"Weird. We didn't really talk until today when he started teaching me Quileute."

"Why the fuck is he teaching you Quileute?" Rachel asked, truly shocked. "My Quileute is better than his and so is Leah's."

"It's supposed to help him get through this turmoil with his wolf, which will help the pack as a whole, that's what Leah said. It was super awkward. His moods were very hot and cold, never warm. Sometimes, he was rude, barely saying anything and having a nasty tone. Other times he was looking at me like he was in love with me or something and being goofy and flirty. It was bizarre."

Leah looked at Embry. Embry nodded, agreeing that was what happened. Bella and Rachel kept talking.

"Jeez, Bella, you shouldn't have to go through that."

"Yeah, Leah's rescheduling it so that she's always there during the lesson."

"She wasn't even there?!"

"It's ok. Embry was there today. I feel very safe with Embry."

"Yeah, but that's so messed up. Leah, why are you making her do this?"

"I'm not. I asked her if she would and she agreed." Leah defended herself.

"But why is this being asked of her?" Rachel demanded.

"It's to help Jacob's recovery." Leah said.

"Leah, is that all you told Bella? That it was to help his recovery and help the pack?" Paul asked, lowering his controller to look at Leah. Seth was destroying the other players in Smash Bros, somewhat oblivious to the conversation around him.

"Yes." Leah said.

"Fuck, Leah!" Paul felt compelled to explain everything to Bella, even if he got in trouble with his alpha. He knew it was the right thing to do. "Bella, he's trying to get over you but his wolf keeps suppressing his thoughts about you, so he still has intense but sporadic feelings for you. This is like exposure therapy for him, to help even out those feelings. So yes, it is to help Jake's issues with his wolf, but it's a little more, erm, personal than that."

Bella felt like she had been punched in the gut, learning that Leah had withheld such key details from her. Even in this room full of people, Leah felt Bella's strong emotions through their connection.

Leah dropped her controller on the coffee table and knelt in front of Bella. "Baby, the way he described it, the sporadic feelings were more rare. The way he described it, I didn't think he'd be trying to flirt with you and be rude and shit."

Bella stood and stepped away from Leah. She was overwhelmed. She needed space. "I… I need to go for a walk."

"I'll go with her." Embry piped up.

"Thank you, Embry." Bella said and she hurried to the door.

After they shut the door, Leah paced for a while, then shouted, "Agh! I fucked this all up!"

Paul replied. "You fucked up, yes, but she just needs time to think alone. That's healthy. She'll come back."

Leah paced a bit more, then asked, "What if she doesn't?"

Paul suggested. "Feel her through your connection."

Leah sat down, closed her eyes and everyone was quiet. Seth turned off the game. "She's hurt and sad and feels… rejected." Leah dropped her head into her hands.

Paul rubbed her back soothingly. "She'll come back."

o.~*~.o

Embry and Bella walked up the main street of La Push village, then back, then up and back again. Neither said anything.

Finally, Bella said, "How could she withhold that? I thought she cared about me."

"You know that she cares about you." Embry said.

"Then why didn't she give me all the facts and then let me decide?"

"I don't know. You'd have to ask her."

"I'm not ready to talk to her." Bella said, picking up her pace for a few strides.

"That's fine. Take your time."

So they kept walking. When they turned around at the end again, Bella saw a brown wolf in the woods. "Is that Jacob?" She asked Embry.

"Yeah, he's been there for a while."

"Watching us?"

"Yeah."

"That's creepy."

"Yeah." Embry agreed. Jacob was being creepy.

Jacob transformed, pulled up his shorts and started jogging toward them. Bella just stood there in disbelief.

"Bella!" He called.

Bella took a few steps back.

"Bells, wait!"

Bella turned to go back to the Clearwaters and Embry joined her.

Jacob caught up to them. Embry stood between Bella and Jacob, arms out wide so he had more coverage.

Jacob swiftly reached around and grabbed Bella's elbow. As soon as Jake touched Bella, the only thing Embry could consider was her safety. Jake pulled her under Embry's outstretched arm. Jake clutched Bella to himself, forcing her into a kiss. Embry couldn't pull her away because Jake might hold her too tight and hurt her. Embry started wailing on Jacob's head. Punch after punch landed behind Jacob's ear, but Jake wouldn't let her go.

Very suddenly, Jacob's feet were off the ground. He released Bella. He was gasping for breath but couldn't pull any air into his lungs. Below him, he saw the beautiful, furious face of Leah Clearwater. He was petrified. She had her hands around his throat and she was squeezing.

She spoke in her double alpha timber. "When I release you, you will trot back to the woods, phase, and remain a wolf for three days." Leah had one final squeeze on his neck and dropped him so that he crumpled to the ground. She could see the fresh bruises on his neck beginning to fade.

Leah looked down at her Isabella, who was crying and shaking. "I'm so sorry, Bella."

"Please take me home," Bella said.

Leah walked behind her, dejected. She wondered if Bella would let her stay with her when she went home to Charlie's. She decided she would sleep outside if she didn't. She just couldn't bear to be separated. Instead of climbing into the truck, Bella went into Sue's house. Leah thought maybe she had to get something before heading to Charlie's. Instead, she went right into Leah's bedroom, stripped naked and got into the bed.

Leah stood next to the door, confused. Bella looked so sad, so beautiful, but so sad.

"Do… Do you want me to get in bed with you?" Leah asked.

"Of course, Leah, we need to talk, and I need you with me, like, now."

Leah undressed faster than she ever had in her life and launched herself into that bed, landing with a graceful plop. Bella smiled at her enthusiasm. They lay on their sides facing each other.

Bella thought for a moment, wondering why Leah had hesitated to get into bed. "Did you think I didn't want you anymore?"

"I didn't know." Leah's eyes were watering.

"Oh my God, baby, no, no, no." She stroked Leah's cheek and kissed her soft plump lips.

"I'm so sorry, Bella. I'm so sorry."

Bella kissed her eyes. "Shh. Shh. Well get there, ok baby?"

Leah nodded.

"When I found out, all that… that this was exposure therapy for him, I felt like you didn't care how he treated me," Bella considered her words carefully, "like you didn't care when he dumped me, and you don't care now, like you were opening the door for him to treat me like dirt again."

"I do care," Leah insisted, "but I didn't know how it would be. He said that when we had the meeting at Billy's, he started out being attracted to you at the beginning but as the meeting went on, he started viewing you more as a sister. So I thought if he spent time with you, he'd start to view you as a sister. And he didn't try to flirt with you at the meeting and he wasn't mean to you, so I didn't think he would do that during the lesson. I definitely didn't expect him to assault you in the street. I'm so sorry I wasn't there sooner."

"Ok, back up. But why didn't you tell me all of this before you asked me to do it?"

"I don't have a good reason. Best I can think of was Jacob was in the library and I didn't want to embarrass him, which is a shit reason, obviously."

"Yeah, it is." Bella was rubbing her face on Leah's boobs. "How did you get there so quickly? Did you draw attention to yourself, moving inhumanly fast?"

"No, no, I would have if I needed to but I was already coming down the street. Paul had me paying attention to the marked connection, to reassure myself that you still wanted me. And I felt this eerie dread from you. That's when I went to you."

"So, you thought I didn't want you anymore, what? When I went for a walk? Or when I wanted to go home? Or what?" Bella asked. She was gently palming and squeezing Leah's breast.

"All of the above." Leah said, trying to maintain focus on the conversation.

Bella sternly commanded, "don't you ever, ever think that again, future Mrs. Swan." Then she pushed on Leah's shoulder so she was flat on her back.

Bella put one knee between Leah's legs and fondled Leah's breast with her tongue, kneading and squeezing the other with her hand. With her knee, Bella gently rubbed against Leah's center. She caressed and rubbed, squeezed and suckled until Leah couldn't hold her pleasure in any longer. "Bella!" she screamed.

Bella climbed onto Leah into her favorite position, laying on Leah's chest, legs on either side of Leah's torso. Leah started to roll them over.

"No." Bella commanded. "You can't."

"What do you mean I can't?"

"I mean, I don't want you to get me off tonight."

"What? Why?" Leah was confused.

"It just doesn't feel right. I love you like crazy, Leah, but it just doesn't feel right."

"But you got me off. Now it's my turn. I want to bring you pleasure too."

"I know you do. But I just want to snuggle and play with your boobs, and maybe get you off again. It's my night to decide, understand?"

"Yeah, baby, I do." And Leah did understand. She had done too much of the deciding for Bella. Now she had to let Bella have a turn, even if she didn't like it.

o.~*~.o

Jake felt so stupid. He couldn't figure this out. Why did he do this to Bella? As soon as he grabbed her, he felt her try to pull away, then try to push him off. Why did he do that? His head swam with memories, trying to understand his motive.

o.~*~.o

When Billy got home, Paul came out of Rachel's bedroom and sat down at the table with him while he ate.

Billy could read the somber expression on Paul's face. "What happened now, Paul?"

"Jake assaulted Bella."

Billy's eyes went wide. "Is she ok?"

"Physically, yeah."

"And is he ok?"

"I think so. Leah had him by the throat but he walked away fine."

"And where are they both?"

"Bella is at the Clearwater's, Jake is in the woods. Leah ordered him to stay a wolf for three days in the woods."

"I can't say I blame her."

"No, certainly not. He grabbed her and kissed her and wouldn't let her go even though she was trying to push him off and Embry was punching him in the head to make him let her go."

Billy looked shocked. What the hell had happened to his boy?

Paul continued, "There is something seriously wrong with that boy. And now I'm not sure breaking the imprint is a good idea because then he'll go after Bella even harder."

"Tell Old Quil that."

"I'm worried that Old Quil has shared enough with him that he can break the imprint himself."

"Is that possible?"

"I don't know. I'll talk to Old Quil about it tomorrow." Paul stood. "I just wanted you to know everything, as chief and as his father."

"Thank you, son." Paul smiled, then went back to Rachel's bed where she was waiting for him.