Author's Note: This is not an anti-Bella story but Sam and Bella do not always get along in this story.

Sam's Point of View

Life went on in newlywed bliss most of the time. Leah and I got simple wedding band tattoos about a week after our wedding. I wanted to get her a proper engagement ring and wedding band but she said she wanted our rings to match. There was no way I could wear a traditional wedding band. I'd destroy it if I had to phase quickly. So we both got simple tattoos from an artist on the rez.

Although we were happy, Leah and I had our disagreements. We fought about housework and cooking the most. It was something we could never agree on. When I was busy, she did my chores. When she was busy, I did her chores. It should have been harmonious, proof that we were made for each other. Instead we always got mad about it. I knew in my mind that she did it out of love, but I still got mad at her and she got mad at me. And we continued to do it! Out of love.

Work on the house progressed slowly after I got the easy stuff out of the way. I put a metal roof on it first, just to prevent any further damage from the old roof which was worn down and mossy in places. Then I started on drywall, which allowed me to see the problem with insulation. I had to tear everything out and replace it before winter or else our heating bill would be insane. The renovations were keeping me busy. However, with my wolf speeds, I was able to accomplish a lot.

Leah bought her first car, a used, navy blue Toyota Camry. It was perfect for her. It meant we didn't have to borrow Paul's truck for grocery runs. I wasn't on the insurance. It would have cost three times as much to add me and it definitely wasn't worth it. With my wolf speed, I never needed to drive anyway, and Paul would usually pick me up for work in his truck, just so it wouldn't look suspicious, me entering the work site from the woods. Leah's car was for Leah. We used it to go shopping together but otherwise, it was just hers. She drove it to school and work. It gave her peace of mind that she could get around easily. It eased my concern that she would feel trapped in our house.

A few weeks after our wedding, the Cullens left out of the blue.

For some reason, they abandoned the Swan girl alone in the woods. It was September, so it was not too cold during the day, but it was raining. The nights were cold enough for hypothermia, especially in the rain.

There were search parties for the girl but no one could find her. After hours of being lost somewhere in the vast forest, Billy finally asked for our help. He wanted the protectors, the wolves, to track her down. He knew we could find her fast. He should have asked us when they first discovered she was missing. I had a hunch that it was Harry Clearwater that had convinced him to wait.

I found her in the woods. It was luck, mostly, based on how Jared, Paul and I split up the territory to search. Even though the search parties had muddled the scents, the leech trail was strong enough for me to follow. So I followed the leech trail from her house, then followed Bella's trail when it split off from the leech's. It took me less than ten minutes. We were all in wolf form so Paul and Jared saw that I had found her. They could go home.

I had to carry her out of the woods at human speed because she was somewhat conscious. It took ages and she stank of leech. Chief Swan was both grateful and intimidated at the sight of me emerging from the woods with his daughter in my arms. I handed her over and held the door open for Charlie. Harry Clearwater watched the whole thing and didn't say a word to me, not even a thank you. It was the first time I had seen him since Leah moved out of his house. It was the last time I'd see him alive.

During this time, Jared had become one of us in every way. Paul, Jared and I got together at least once a week just to hang out. We told each other about what we saw on patrols. We had expanded the border to go around Forks since the Cullens were gone. We made a run into the national forest at least once a week too, since that was the only other place we had sniffed out a vamp.

Even though the Cullens were gone, I didn't feel settled about the vampire threat at all. I was sure that we were not done protecting. Life went on, though, with no new vampire activity.

By Christmas, all the house renovations were done. I had inspected every rafter and replaced every beam that had even a hint of a soft spot. Leah picked out new paint colors for all the rooms. She chose a soft blue for the bedroom, a pale yellow for the living room and kitchen, and an aqua for the bathroom. We painted together. It made Leah feel like a part of the renovations, which I had left her out of for the most part. She also chose new lighting fixtures. I had tried to clean up the old ones, but she said they were just ugly. It truly felt like our place now.

In February, Embry Call phased into a wolf becoming the fourth member of the pack. He was a great guy, truly an asset to the pack. Embry was even headed, insightful and agreeable. I caught him glancing at Leah a few times but I let it slide. I couldn't pick a fight with everyone who noticed that my smokin' hot wife was smokin' hot. I'd get nothing done in a day!

Embry was a mystery though. No one knew what threat made him phase or how he even had the shapeshifter gene. His mom was Makah. No one knew who his dad was. We guessed that his father must have been Quileute, probably a descendant of the previous pack. All we could do was guess.

Around that time, the Swan girl was hanging around with Jacob Black. She was on the rez a lot and it made me uncomfortable. Even though the Cullens were gone, even though they left her to die in the woods, there was just something about her that I didn't trust.

Jacob Black was getting big like Jared did before he phased. His friend Quil was getting big too. We wondered if they would turn into wolves next. If they did, it could become a problem with that Bella Swan girl.

Outside of our little bubble on the rez, a local guy from Forks went missing. His name was Riley Biers. It was a huge story for weeks. Billy came to us for help. Charlie had been hounding him to get me to help again. Apparently he thought I was some master boy scout or something since I had found his precious daughter, Bella Swan.

This Riley guy had gone hiking in the national forest and never come back. Of course, by the time we were enlisted, any chance of finding Riley's scent trail had been trampled by the search parties. We asked Billy if we could have anything with his scent on it. Reluctantly, Charlie agreed to get some clothing for us.

We were able to find a fairly fresh vampire trail that met up with a human trail. The human trail smelled like Riley. Blood had been spilled and it smelled like it was Riley's. The human trail did not go any further than the blood spill. Instead, the vampire trail went back east toward Seattle. We followed it a good way, looking to see if the vampire had abandoned a drained body along the way. There was no discarded body. We told Billy everything that we found.

"Can you show Charlie where the blood was spilled?" Billy asked. "That might give the family closure."

"Billy, it's twenty miles in, miles away from any marked trail. The kid was lost. How will we explain how we found it to Charlie?"

So we decided not to tell Charlie what we found. Instead Billy gave him some line about the forest being too big. Charlie was grateful for our efforts, and I think even more grateful that we were able to get his Bella before she came to the same fate.

After that, Paul and I alternated between running the border around Forks and running a partial border around the national forest. This was stressful for Leah, having me run borders all the time. She worried about my safety, which I found adorable.

Thankfully, it didn't impact my job or Paul's. We were the best workers by far. Uncle Frank would give us leeway on the construction site. He knew that we did work for Billy Black on the side, or at least that's what we had Billy tell him. That gave us a pass as long as the construction work got done.

If we were behind on a project, Paul and I would convince him to let us stay late, just the two of us, and we'd be caught up within a few hours. But most of the time, we were forced to work at near human speed to avoid suspicion.

The day I had been dreading finally arrived. It was a Saturday in March. Jacob Black phased into a wolf. I had to order him to stay away from Bella Swan. She was a leech lover. I couldn't have him telling her all of our secrets. One day on a pack run in the national forest, we caught Bella Swan's scent. We were all curious what she was doing so far out, especially with leech activity in the forest. We followed her trail.

Bella Swan was chatting with a leech in a large clearing! It wasn't Forks and the leech wasn't a Cullen so we chased him down and killed him. It was our first vampire kill and it was glorious! We all delighted in the purple smoke that rose from his burning corpse.

Then the Swan girl showed up on the rez, breaking my order for Jacob to stay away. So I ordered him not to tell her anything about us.

He fucking snuck into her bedroom window and reminded her of the legends he had already told her. He said he told her the legends before she even started dating the Cullen leech. I was livid. We all were.

Then Jake didn't show up for one of our pack meets so we all went to him to make him come. Jake didn't do anything unless it was an alpha order and even then he'd try to find some loophole to weasel out of it. When we got to Jake's house, Bella Swan was pulling into the driveway. She ran up to us, yelling about how we had scared Jake and she was insulting all of us. Paul was so mad that he phased. He hadn't lost control like that in a long time but the leech lover really got under his skin.

Jacob phased too and they fought. After a beat, Paul bowed out. He didn't actually want to hurt the kid,

I told Embry and Jared to take Bella to see Leah. Paul and I tried to talk some sense into Jake.

In a way, Leah and Bella were kindred, learning about the wolf pack from the legends that they already knew. In most ways, they were nothing alike. Leah was strong and vibrant. This Swan girl, she was already half dead. I had no idea what Jacob saw in the mousy meek girl. But he was obsessed with her and it was annoying. It was worse than Jared and his imprint. Jared thought about Kim constantly but at least she was a person with interests and a personality. This Swan girl's only interest was the fucking leeches!

By the time I brought Paul and Jake to the house, Leah had the Swan girl giggling. Jake was smitten by Bella's laughter but he was clearly blind. Leah was the real treasure here, bringing the lifeless to life.

Jake told Embry he won the fight against Paul. "No he didn't," I clarified. "Paul refused to fight him but he still took a swipe at Paul. That's not an honorable win in my book." Jake was such an ass hole. If he weren't the chief's son, I'd beat the shit out of him myself.

We all spent some time making fun of Jacob, which lifted our spirits and Bella's as well.

Quil phased the next week and he was so happy that it was weird. I guess it was lonely for him before. His only two friends had been in the pack without him. He seemed like a good kid. So far, Jake was the only problem member of the pack.

Leah's Point of View

For months now, Mondays were my favorite day of the week. It was Seth Day. Both of my parents worked on Mondays so I went and hung out with my favorite brother. We usually played board games or video games or card games. This particular Monday in March, I was teaching him poker. He was destroying me with his beginner's luck but we were having fun.

After drinking too much soda all afternoon, I went to the bathroom. When I got out, Daddy ambushed me in the living room

"Honey, it's time to come home and start caring about your future again," Daddy said. "It's not too late for college. You've tried out life with that boy. We all do foolish things when we're young. You don't need to waste your life with him anymore. Just come home."

I was livid.

My whole world changed in an instant. Seth was screaming and I was howling. Then Seth was howling and Daddy was on the ground.