hosieL: Her witch powers will eventually be replaced with Veela ones, but the magic, like her magical core, will never truly leave because the point of Veela procreating with human men (apart from having no available males) was to inject fresh, strong blood and magic into their comparatively small gene pool. While Gabrielle would eventually transform into a full-blooded Veela, with no trace of her father and grandfather's humanity in her genes, she'll bring something new and essential to their species, re-energise and strengthen their magic.
"A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others."
Douglas MacArthur
Leah's plan involved not so much as breaking the news, the idea, into Sam's mind and the others' that their imprints were not fail-safe, but was more like sowing the seeds of doubt and other ideas in everyone's heads, including the imprints'. To do that, though, they had to use Jacob as an example, humiliating and treacherous as it seemed, it was necessary. Jacob was not in a good place. He was not mentally or emotionally healthy. Which was why he and Renesmee's volatile imprint-bond was the one which would prove that the whole thing might not necessarily work with everyone for every time.
Leah felt a strong squirming of guilt within her gut, but Gabriel's words echoed in her head. She had to put the pack first. Their species, their people, their entire future, the ones who had yet to phase or haven't even been born yet, even the humans who ever came into contact with any of them, were all at risk. Now, as it turned out Rachel wanted out as well. But the danger was, Leah and everybody else was certain Paul wasn't going to let her go or back down quietly, and the other Wolves would join him, mostly because they had imprints of their own, but for the majority because their Alpha expected them to do so.
That was Sam's pack. Out of Jacob's, only two Wolves imprinted: Quil and Jake himself. And Quil already had his bond severed. But Jake was even less likely to listen than Sam. This gave Leah a problem, she thought as she marched towards the beach where they council of elders had summoned a meeting, in front of a bonfire- again. A shame it wasn't going to be fun, Leah thought grimly.
They needed the imprints, imprinters and the Wolves who hadn't imprinted, to doubt everything. To see that Rachel and Paul, Renesmee and Jacob, things weren't working out for them. They needed to see that Quil was okay, that he could be okay in the future, and so was Claire.
Not to mention, Sam and the others were undoubtedly had questions that needed answering: what the hell happened with Jacob? Now that they couldn't see or hear his thoughts, none of them had a single damned clue what in hell was going on with Jake. All they knew was that the tribal council was in hysterics and deep debates. Now it was time for the meeting.
Leah thought that someday, if she ever started her own business, one of the first things she would do was to build a pack-house with its own training grounds, the way the Vermont Wolves had and which the Appalachians Wolves were said to have. They couldn't just keep meeting at any of the tribal council's houses or when they were having bonfires at the beach. Luckily, she already had a cabin in preparation for her heat. She shuddered just to think about it.
As Luna it would probably be a good idea to start one. Maybe, another idea grew in her head, she could buy back the land that their tribe had exchanged in return for fishing rights. Houses were becoming easily flooded these days. They needed to get to higher ground, especially with Global Warming.
Would everyone be welcome to that? Could she do it? First things first, Leah thought grimly. Plot to convince everyone.
That wasn't going to be easy. As acting Beta, Leah was going to have to step in. Only an Alpha or a Luna could swear the other Wolves into secrecy, so apart from Quil, Embry and her brother, none of the others in their own pack knew. The council of elders were keeping a tight lid on things.
Leah approached, flanked by Seth, Embry and Quil. Sam watched them, frowning. Emily and Rachel looked like they were in deep discussion with Kim, but all three looked up when she approached. The Wolves of Sam's pack turned their heads to watch them.
"Where's Jacob?" Sam questioned. Leah shook her head, sighing. She looked to her mother. Sue nodded.
"Jake's... in his house." Leah said hesitantly. "He's had an... episode."
"An episode?" Jared blurted incredulously. Leah nodded grimly.
They all looked at each other, before turning to Billy- and Rachel. Rachel winced.
"It's true," Rachel said softly. "He's been confined there under the council's orders." Billy said sternly. He wheeled himself forwards. "Jake... we're getting him help as soon as possible."
Astonished gasps and whispers broke out. Everybody looked incredulous, like they couldn't believe what was happening. "He wasn't... thinking coherently during the... episode." Quil said reluctantly. "He... he had a breakdown, man. He's not well."
Sam took a step back. Everyone looked completely taken aback in fact. Shock and whispers permeated the entire area as to what could be happening with Jacob, and how this could've happened.
Leah winced and rubbed her eyes, before steeling and straightening herself. "Jacob needs some time-out and some treatment." She declared to everyone. Then, she shrugged helplessly. "For what it's worth... I'm sorry. I wish it didn't have to happen."
Sam looked worried. His brows furrowed in concern. "Leah," he said slowly. Emily spoke for him. "What's happened?"
Leah sighed. "In truth, guys, I don't even know where to begin." Beside her, her mother pursed her lips and went to take her place by Billy and Old Quil's sides. Slowly, everybody took this as a cue and took their seats. But their eyes never left Leah.
"It's Charlie," Leah said flatly as soon as they've all sat down. "He knows."
Silence except for the fire crackling. Leah picked up a couple of twigs, snapped them in half and tossed them into the flames.
Jared was the first to break the silence. "What?"
"He knows," Leah repeated. She looked at Jared, Paul and Sam in the eyes. "Jacob had an idea last September. When he returned, he showed up out of the blue at Charlie's house after months of being missing and living out in the wild, then phased in front of him." Jared's jaw dropped in shock. "He knew that Charlie hadn't been allowed to see Bella after she returned with her 'tropical disease', and he couldn't find out now without him asking questions. So, the plan was to fake Bella's death, and the Cullens would move away. Far away, taking Renesmee with them. Jake didn't want that," Leah's face darkened. "So, naturally..."
Sam exploded, "What was he thinking?!"
"He never does," Paul muttered. Leah nodded grimly. Usually, Paul wasn't one to talk, given his temper, but even he would never go as far as this. "Charlie then asked to know as little about everything as possible. He was still dealing with the revelation that the supernatural existed and that Jacob- a boy he'd known all his life- was connected to it, and judging by the looks of things, Bella too, somehow. But now that he's had time to think about and deal with things, he's started asking questions. Like, why is Jacob hanging around Renesmee?"
Everyone shifted uneasily. Only Leah stood calm and composed. "He thought it was suspicious that Jacob, who'd been so heartbroken about Bella marrying Edward that he'd went missing for months, suddenly rushed back and was happy. He didn't care too much about the fact that Jacob could turn into a giant wolf, that wasn't what made him suspicious." They all shifted again. "It was that Jake who'd been so mad, depressed and unhappy suddenly came back and was genuinely happy. Too happy. So happy he wasn't just able to, he wanted to hang around his one-time almost-girlfriend and her new husband, whom he'd hated, and seemed to take an interest in their beautiful new baby. Too much interest." Again, everyone shifted. Jared traded uneasy glances with Paul. Sam was frozen. Quil sighed.
"He suspected that either Jacob was trying to get close, act all charming to make the Cullens drop their guard and trust him, only to hurt Renesmee out of revenge against Edward for taking Bella away and against Bella for breaking his heart," Leah continued. "Or he was grooming the daughter to be her mother's replacement. It was easy. She has her eyes."
Everyone started shifting and mumbling amongst themselves. Leah waited until everyone had settled down before continuing. "Charlie confided this to Mom, who couldn't exactly say anything to refute or deny his claim, any more than she could confirm them. But Seth overheard them talking and he warned Jacob after we'd phased. Jacob..." Leah hesitated, for a brief moment. "Jacob froze. He remembered something. Something that happened the night Renesmee was born, and Jacob imprinted."
For a long moment, everyone was silent. Then, Collin spoke. "What?" He whispered the word which was in everyone's heads, no doubt.
Leah sighed. "His thoughts throughout the pregnancy, along with Edward's. What they were planning to do. Their discussions to knock Bella out with drugs and force an abortion without her consent." Emily nearly dropped the plate she was holding. Rachel and Kim gasped. Even Rachel who'd seen her brother lose control never thought he could go that far. "All their discussions. And then there was the fact that Jake was planning to, as soon as the baby emerged, to tear its throat out if they couldn't manage to sneak around Rosalie and Esme- and Emmett- and convince Carlisle to knock Bella out and perform an abortion." Everybody reeled in shock and horror. Leah didn't think it had so much to do with the fact that one of them had been planning to kill a newborn baby as opposed to the fact that one of their own was planning to kill his imprint, had hated her that much. That steeled her resolve. Leah narrowed her eyes.
If she ever had any doubt, this would completely erase it. Leah thought grimly that none of them had the right to be uneasy or disturbed considering what they were all planning to do, with little protest. It was only until Jacob realised that Bella was going to be sacrificed and killed that he'd stepped in.
"Frankly," she said slowly. "I don't think you guys have the right to be shocked about this. None of us do, Sam. Except for maybe Seth." She looked towards her brother.
Seth shook his head. "I only broke away when Jacob did."
"But you stood up for what was right, even when no one else did," Leah pointed. She couldn't have been prouder of him and she said so. Seth's ears turned pink. Leah turned back towards the others.
"Should we really be surprised that Jacob is not mentally stable?" She questioned calmly. Leah remembered Gabriel the Alpha and Gabrielle the diplomat-slash-scientist who warned her to keep her cool at all times if they wanted to see anything she said as reasonable. It was hard not to lash out, she reflected. But Leah was also tired of trying to get these hardheads to listen. Quite frankly, they would either take it or leave her advice and warnings from now on, she decided. But they couldn't say that she didn't warn them.
"He ran away because the first girl who ever showed an interest in him broke his heart, and went to live in the wild for months," Leah summarised slowly. "He once sexually assaulted her by forcing a kiss." Everyone looked taken aback once more at Leah's description of events. She nodded to Sam. "You knew." Her eyes narrowed. "You told him to apologise. You should've disciplined and ordered him to stay away." She said dangerously. "Instead you let him get off for sexual assault with a slap on the wrist."
Sam shifted. "Leah..."
"What?" Leah asked coldly. "What were you going to say to excuse him? To justify his behaviour?"
"Jacob didn't mean-" Leah shook her head at Jared's attempt to excuse Jacob. "It doesn't matter what Jacob meant or intended. Or even that Bella forgave him. Even Charlie blames himself for not slapping Jake in handcuffs and taking him down to the station, and banning him from their house. That's why he's so scared what Jacob might do next with Renesmee. What Jacob did was classified as a Class A felony. It's illegal." Leah insisted, leaning forwards. "He shouldn't have ever been allowed near Bella after that. He couldn't be trusted. I don't even think he can trust himself. And he didn't." She looked back at Seth. "Remember when Jacob worried that he might not listen to reason if Bella didn't make it? You told him you'd remind him and stop him from killing anyone who didn't do anything, but Jake was worried that he wouldn't want to listen." She insisted. "Isn't that right?"
Seth softened. "Yeah. That's true." He admitted.
"You let him near Bella," Leah said, sounding appalled as she turned back to Sam. "Even after that..." she shook her head. "Even after Bella had made her choice clear... You should've put a stop to it. As Alpha, as leader, as brother or father-figure to the pack, Sam, you should've put your foot down and told Jacob to respect Bella the way you did." She pointed. "Jacob doesn't know any boundaries. After he imprinted..." Leah hesitated.
"That's why Charlie's more than worried about Jacob's interest and constant close proximity to Renesmee." she stated. "He knows Jacob's capable of being forceful when he's desperate to get what he wants. And look what he did! He phased in front of Charlie, knowing full well that my dad had a heart attack when he first saw me phase," Leah insisted "and he already knew we existed. Charlie didn't, not until that point. He put Charlie's life in danger. Even though Charlie was in better shape than my dad, he'd been worried sick, anxious and going with barely any sleep or food because of Bella's 'illness'." She emphasised. Everybody winced, but Leah wasn't finished. "He was willing to put the life of somebody he cared about, who looked out for him since he was born, and went out of his way to search and look for Jacob when he thought he'd gone missing, even though no one else did." She said more slowly, watching everybody's faces as she did so. "And all because he thought that his one imprint, a baby he barely knew, whom he'd wanted to kill just three days before, was probably going to move away- or not." Leah sighed.
"Ever since Quileutes started phasing and imprinting, has anyone ever done something like this?" She asked sharply. "Putting someone else's life on the line, betraying the people they claim to care about and defend? Putting them in danger?" She insisted. "And there's the fact that you know, as well as I do, Sam, that Renesmee isn't happy. She feels she has no freedom. Like all the choices other kids immediately get at birth have been taken from her. Do you think that this is normal? Or right?"
Sam sighed. "Leah..." Leah shook her head. "Don't give me that," she said bluntly. "I know what you're going to say: 'It's imprinting, it's destiny, it's special, they're so lucky,' and 'Of course she has a choice! But why wouldn't she choose him in the end?'" Leah sighed, shaking her head. "I'm done, Sam." She threw her hands briefly into the air. "I'm done trying to be the one to call out sense and warn everyone about things they don't want to listen and will only regret not listening later. So I'm going to say this once and you can either take it or leave it. It doesn't matter to me what you guys think anymore. It doesn't matter if you guys think I'm just a bitter shrew, a miserable bitch who can't stand seeing other people be happy. It doesn't matter if you guys are so hypocritical that when Jacob had his heart broken you all wanted to hold his hand and pat him on his back and be there for him, while I was only ever the outcast that you could never wait to get rid of." She shook her head as they all looked uneasy- and guilty. Too little too late. "You're not my family. And even when I was in your pack I was never part of your family. That's why I found it easy to leave. I'm done trying to fight for anyone's acceptance- or their respect."
"Leah-"
"But what I am going to say is this," she continued, ignoring Sam. "I've asked the Appalachians pack to help Jake out. It's not like we can take him to a licensed therapist from anywhere else. Jake's still in denial, but he's feeling a little guilt." She shrugged. "Especially since something else happened after you guys came running when Paul called."
That got their attention. Everyone straightened. "What?" Jared whispered.
"Jake sneaked out and went to Charlie's house. Disobeyed orders." Leah said flatly. "Charlie confronted him and Jacob spilled the beans about imprinting." Jared swore and Paul winced. "Charlie wasn't happy. He called it paedophilia and even after we arrived and explained things to him, he called it grooming. But I'm getting ahead of myself; we rushed over to Charlie's house 'cause we knew that Charlie wasn't going to take things well and would do whatever he could to stop Jacob from seeing Renesmee, and considering that Jake was already on the edge and Renesmee didn't want to see him any longer-"
"What?" Jared blurted. Leah gave him a shrug in return. "What, didn't you know? Apparently, the concept of personal space and freedom, along with privacy never occurred to Jacob." She gave him a pointed look that stated she didn't think Jacob was the only one who had this problem. Jared looked like he was going to retort but then he heard Kim sigh and saw Rachel and Emily wince. Their respective imprints also noticed this, seemingly stunned, but Leah decided it was time to continue. "And to make matters worse, Bella... had a bit of a breakdown after visiting Edward in vampire prison. She had something of an epiphany, I guess that's what you can call it. Charlie finally stood up to her and called her out for all her bad behaviour, to him, to Jacob, to everyone else. My mom did the same," Leah looked thoughtful. "And I suppose at some point the Cullens confronted Edward and Bella was forced to finally accept that Edward's been a jerk and so was she, and apparently, somewhere along the lines, she realised Jacob was the same thing." She paused, contemplating her next move.
Leah turned towards Seth. "Tell them what you saw in Jacob's head. Tell them what he was about to do and what made him imprint."
Seth sighed. He shifted so he was fully facing Sam and his pack as he spoke. "Jacob was about to literally kill Renesmee when the imprint happened," he explained. "He wanted to kill her out of revenge. Not just for Bella's 'death' but mostly for what her parents did. He was angry she'd forced him to stick around and watch her suffer and fall apart before dying, or so he thought. He knew she would have never wanted him to hurt her baby, but he was mad at her." Seth paused. "When Edward started hearing the baby's thoughts and everyone all found out that Renesmee was trying not to hurt Bella and didn't mean to, everyone accepted it and Edward thought that, maybe, the baby wasn't such a monster after all. Didn't want to hurt anybody. But Jacob knew. And he didn't care. He was angry Edward had jumped sides 'cause he wanted him to suffer, more than Jake did. Jacob didn't care a bit that Renesmee meant no harm. He was angry that Edward was unreliable, but at the same time, his thoughts immediately flew to his personal feelings of pain and resentment that he ran out of the house and went around town trying to force himself to imprint on any girl he saw." Seth paused. "He was breaking down, even then. When Renesmee was born and it looked like Bella wasn't going to make it, Jacob decided to go and kill her. He thought that he knew that Bella would've hated him for doing this but he didn't care. His thoughts were that she didn't care about what she was doing to him, letting herself be killed like this, so why should he care about her feelings? That was why he really wanted to hurt Renesmee. Heck, it wasn't even just about Bella suffering or potentially dying. He wanted revenge- against Bella."
As the audience all sat in stunned silence, Leah continued, "Jacob didn't hate Renesmee," she spoke. "Even before she was born. He hated her mother, or rather, he wanted to hate Bella but he couldn't. He just couldn't bring himself to do so much as to get mad at her." She paused. "But at the same time, he couldn't pin the whole blame on Edward. Edward had given Bella a choice- heck, he'd warned her. He'd tried to get her to stay human, even if it meant giving her up. And Jacob respected that." She said leaving no room for doubt.
"This baby was supposed to be a substitute target," Leah explained "one half Bella, but someone whom he never knew, wasn't attached to before all this. One half Edward, his creation, the reason he was going to lose the girl he loved, or so he thought. But something which never really earned his respect. And- conveniently- the reason why Bella was dead. A perfect substitute target." Leah paused again.
"This means he never really hated Renesmee. After all, it's not like he knew her," she pointed. "Why should he hate or love her? He just wanted something to vent out his anger, hatred and revenge towards. And since it couldn't be either Bella or Edward-" everybody winced.
"You all know that, don't you?" Leah challenged calmly. "But I don't suppose you asked yourselves whether he truly loves Renesmee and why, either? I mean, if he didn't see her as her own person before she died and he already decided he hated and wanted her dead... do you think the reason that he loves her is because of herself?"
Jared spoke. "Leah, what are you saying?"
Leah scoffed. "No point. You'll just think I'm a bitter shrew. Never mind that the only reason Jake imprinted, the precise moment that he did, was when he saw the baby had Bella's eyes." She pointed. She looked at her pack-mates. "Am I right?"
Slowly, Quil, Embry and Seth all nodded. "A substitute," Leah said flatly. "A replacement. That's how he saw her. He just convinced himself after the imprint that the reason he was ever drawn to Bella- the baby's mother by the way-" Leah made a disgusted face "- was because he was destined to be with her future daughter. Never mind that Edward and Bella hadn't even gotten together by the time Jacob took an interest in her. Never mind that Jacob wasn't drawn to Edward at all, the other half of the baby's genetic makeup." Paul made a disgusted noise. "You're right, but still. We're right too, aren't we?" Leah challenged boldly.
Leah sighed, leaning forwards. "Tell me, now that we all know there's a wider world of supernatural people out there, including different vampire and Wolf species, how many vampire-human hybrids are there in this world?" She asked. "With all species of vampires and humans. Take a guess."
Everybody looked at each other. Sam shrugged helplessly. "I dunno," Jared muttered. "Maybe... seven or eight?"
"Ten?" Paul suggested. "Twelve? I mean, the Cullens' kind can't be the only ones, right?" Everybody agreed. Leah pursed her lips.
"I had to contact Gabrielle Delacour and she had to contact the vampires' council for this," her lips twisted in bitter irony. "Including those four- Nahuel who we all saw on New Year's Eve and his three sisters- and Renesmee... That gives us five." Leah confirmed bluntly. "Maximum. There was another guy, a while back, but he's dead now. Killed himself after spending a lifetime slaying vampires out of revenge." She let them absorb this. "And he wasn't born a hybrid anyway. Eric Cross, known as Blade, was the result of a pregnant woman being bitten before he was born. The virus got to him, but didn't change him completely. After him, Dhampyr- vampire-human hybrids- became even rarer than they already were." She pointed.
"And it wasn't from lack of trying that they were rare to begin with. Joham- Nahuel's father- you heard that he went around seducing human women to try to breed as many hybrid offspring as possible to get his super-race." She sounded disgusted. "How many centuries do you think he's been alive for? How many human women had he seduced before he was stopped and killed? Too many to count," she said, bluntly answering her own question. "Not all of them survived. But not because their babies killed them. Sometimes, they just didn't conceive one, even though some of them already had children. Vampires aren't as fertile as humans, even the males like Joham or Edward. Some of them died during his attempts." She sounded disgusted. "And sometimes, the babies died too before they were ready. More half-vampire babies who were conceived died than survived." She said bluntly.
Sam shook his head in disbelief. "Leah- what're you saying?"
"What I'm saying, Sam, that Renesmee's existence truly was a miracle. The fact that she even made it to be born, and her mother held on long enough for her to be strong enough to emerge was truly defying the odds. The chances of Renesmee even coming into existence in the first place were slim. And Bella didn't want to have children," Leah said bluntly "she wasn't planning on having them after she'd spent so long taking care of an immature mother who should've been the one to raise her daughter but never did. And because she didn't think Edward would be capable of making them, as a vampire, she- recklessly, to be honest- went about her honeymoon normally without even protection. Renesmee wasn't likely to come into existence. And even then, the truth was, even Bella was surprised at her own change of heart when she learned she was pregnant. She had little chance of ever existing as a person, and even less so before Edward and Bella got married and Jacob kept harassing her would-be-mother because he took an interest in Bella and wanted her to change her mind." there was no other way to put it, to soften the blows.
Leah looked boldly at her ex, her former love. The man whom her younger self thought she would go to college, get married, have kids and spend the rest of her days with. But she didn't want that anymore. And the truth was, she couldn't imagine it now, even without Emily and what happened. Leah thought perhaps, just maybe, she wasn't the same person that she was when she loved Sam, anymore. She'd grown up.
And she'd stopped thinking of true love and imprinting as the pinnacle of all dreams. For the first time in a long time, Leah could safely say that she felt good about herself. She wasn't worried about what anyone would think or that they would hate her even more now, anymore.
"So do you think Jake was right?" She twisted her head and gave him a dubious look. "About this being destiny? Him and Renesmee? You know, Bella thought she was a boy before she was born, right? What if Renesmee had inherited her father's eyes? Would Jacob have imprinted if she had? If she had been born a boy?" Leah allowed her scepticism to show through.
"She's right," Quil decided to step up. "I'll be the first to defend Jake- same as the rest of them," he gestured to Seth, Embry and Leah herself. "But I don't think it's destiny that drove him to imprint on Renesmee as soon as she was born." Seeing them open their mouths to protest, Quil plowed through, "He was about to kill her," he insisted "literally: to end her life as soon as she was born. And he only stopped when he saw Bella's eyes on her." He pointed. "Besides, he only wanted to kill her because of something she couldn't help, that she was never at fault for. Renesmee didn't tell her parents to get together and make a baby before she was even conceived." Quil said dubiously.
Everyone grimaced, including Sue, as they conceded this point. "What if seeing Bella's eyes was what caused him to imprint?" Quil insisted. "The very thing that triggered his imprinting was seeing that this baby truly had traits of Bella- traits which could be perfect for him?"
"What are you saying?" Sam whispered, again. Embry was the one who spoke. "Jacob was in so much pain, in so much mental and emotional turmoil he was about to do something he would never normally do." He said bluntly. "The Jacob I knew would never hurt a baby. The Jake that I knew would never hurt a person because their family members hurt him." He pointed. "Don't you think that's right?"
"He was in pain-"
"Exactly!" Embry nodded enthusiastically. "He was in so much pain, so desperate, so ready to self-destruct, to totally lose all sense of himself that something in him reacted- to save him." He glowered at them. "He saw Bella's eyes and the instinct, the one that triggered it, seized the opportunity. It did it to save Jacob from himself. To stop him from trying to murder an innocent."
"We're Quileute Wolves," Seth was the one who spoke. "We protect the innocent. We don't hurt them, least of all for our own ends. Renesmee was half human, and even though she's half vampire and her family are mostly vampires, they hadn't done anything wrong." Except for Edward's creepy, stalker behaviour, and his attempt at abortion without Bella's consent, Seth thought.
"Killing Renesmee would have been the very antithesis of what we are and what we stand for," Seth boldly pointed out. "That is not who we are. We were wrong to even think about planning to kill her. And we were wrong to even look her in the eye and claim that everything was alright and she was one of us afterwards, like we'd never planned to do anything." He finished coldly.
Sam and his pack were silent. "Jacob is not Renesmee's soulmate," Seth said. "Not by a long shot. He doesn't love her. He doesn't hate her. He never really knew her or saw her for herself. He didn't even know Bella. She's his substitute for his fantasy dream-girl who never existed. He met Bella in 2005 and apart from a brief visit to Charlie's and then her high school prom, he didn't see her again for a whole year for Taha Aki's sake!" He burst out. "She never looked for him until after Edward dumped her and she felt vulnerable. And then he staked everything on being with her? Even though he clearly, blindly missed the signs, so much that he insisted she liked the kiss he forced on her when she obviously didn't want it? And he never even respected her?" Seth was incredulous.
"Sam," Leah spoke. All eyes turned back towards her. "Renesmee has spoken. She's hiding at Charlie's house, and no one is allowed to see her without her permission and his. I've heard from the Cullens that the list of charges against Edward includes him planning a forced abortion and forcing her under Jasper's spell." Actually, Gabrielle had admitted that these charges may be dropped, considering that Edward backed out of the idea, but no one was under any illusions that Renesmee would be safe with Edward any more than she was with Jacob.
"She wants out." Leah said slowly, looking Sam and the others in the eye. "She wants to end the imprint bond between them. She's made up her mind: she wants nothing to do with Jacob. Not anymore. She refuses to even let herself be called Nessie after that."
Sam hitched in a breath and Emily gasped. "She knows?" The latter asked breathlessly. Leah nodded grimly. "Bella confessed everything. She couldn't bear to have her baby daughter thrown in as a consolation prize for anyone, because of her own mistakes." Kim groaned.
"If it makes everyone feel any better," Leah said coolly "it doesn't look like Bella and Edward's relationship is all rosy. I don't know how much longer they'll be able to hold things together for." She amended.
"He'll go insane," Someone whispered at the back. It was Brady. "Jacob won't-"
"He won't," Quil interrupted him. Brady stared. "How do you know?" He demanded. "You have an imprint. You know what it's like-"
"I had an imprint," Quil corrected gently. "Not anymore."
Every member of Sam's pack and their imprints- bar Rachel- gasped. "What?" Emily breathed.
"You heard." Quil nodded to Emily. "Claire's back at her parents' in the Makah reserve." He told her. "She's safe. I haven't seen her since."
"I don't understand," Emily found herself saying. It was obvious that Sam was thinking the same thing, but that both of them truly knew what Quil meant, dep down. Leah winced in pity. She saw Sam and Emily looking at her. They knew what she truly felt. They didn't even have to be telepathically linked.
"I reversed the imprint." Quil explained. "I had the connection between me and Claire reversed, like it never happened. I've willed myself to let her go. Now, I'm staying away- and I've asked Claire's parents to keep her away, at least until after she's of age. That way, I won't risk imprinting on her again at least until after I've safely imprinted again and am in a committed relationship with someone else, or when she's all grown, enough to know her own mind, what she wants and to make her own choices without anyone influencing her. Including me."
Emily stared at him. "It was never going to work out, Emily," Quil sighed. He glanced pityingly toward her. "I'm sorry, but it really wasn't. Claire was two. I was fifteen. I was totally in a different place. I've had crushes, pinned posters of Beyoncé on my bedroom wall, checked out girls..." Quil trailed off, checking the list on his fingers. "I kissed a girl on prom night too. Claire hasn't. I've done Calculus, though I hate it. I've started writing essays. Claire's learning the Alphabet, counting blocks and attending kindergarten. I've had plans for what I want to do in life. Claire dreams of being a princess, but doesn't really plan on achieving it. She probably doesn't even want it that much. Last I saw, she was really interested in fairies." Quil remembered the last time he'd seen her, with Gabrielle, just before the bond between them was reversed. He pushed that away from his mind before he could contemplate the loss of what he once had.
"She'll probably change her mind. If that's true, then she has every right to do it" Quil said boldly. "I've long decided I like girls. Claire doesn't think about marrying or having babies, not even when she's playing with dolls and stuffed animals. She always sees them as her friends, she's not playing house with imaginary kids. She might not want them. She might like girls instead of boys. She might like both. Either way, how are we supposed to know? Claire doesn't even know." Emily's eyes softened as she heard this.
"You said yourself that you weren't easy with this, Claire being so young," Quil pointed. "I'm young too, Emily. I'm not ready to imprint on anyone yet. I'm not ready to act like an adult. I might wish to be taken seriously, but that doesn't mean that I have to be or am ready for all the responsibilities that came with it. I'm not Jake." He turned towards Sam.
"Sam you once volunteered to step down for Jacob someday." He reminded him. "That was before Jake broke out and formed his own pack. Didn't you ever think that he was too young? Or did you ever consider that he might not be the right guy to be your successor?" Leah sighed.
Sam looked completely shocked- as if he wasn't enough, Leah thought sympathetically. She would never envy either of them ever again. She hoped she could at least soften the blow.
"Sam," she spoke, drawing his attention before Sam could say anything to Quil. "The reason Jacob broke away..." she faltered. She wasn't sure if she could go this far. To say this about Jacob, to make him seem and look bad when he wasn't even there, and...
True to form, her loyal, wonderful baby brother spoke up. "The only reason Jacob broke apart from your pack was because Bella's life was in danger," he said quietly.
"I'm not gonna lie, Sam. What you did wasn't an honest mistake: it was wrong." Leah grimaced hearing her brother speak so bluntly like that. "You shouldn't have ordered Renesmee's destruction for no good reason, especially since she was innocent and she had no part in anything her parents' did or decided. You didn't even wait to see if she meant or was capable of any harm. You didn't try to talk to the Cullens to make sure that they could keep her under control or to come to some kind of agreement. You shouldn't have thrown Bella under the bus, either." Seth sighed. "And the rest of us... we shouldn't have turned a blind eye to your and Jake's mistakes. And none of you should've put up with this, either." He stared coldly at the members of Sam's pack who were there at the time.
"But you... At least you had what you thought were the best interests of the tribe when you made that decision," Seth conceded. "Jacob... the only reason he didn't go along with everything you were planning and broke apart from you guys was because the girl he thought he loved was in danger. That was it. He was only thinking about her, just as he was only thinking about keeping Renesmee with him when he put Charlie's life in danger." He sighed.
Seth ran a hand through his hair. His face was sad. "I was the first to go with Jake when he left," he said quietly, but everyone heard him. "Just as I'll be the first, or among the first to defend him. But he isn't fit to be Alpha." Everyone gasped when Seth said this, not least of which this was Seth who was saying this. Seth winced but he quickly regained control and his voice became firm. "And he has to stay away from Renesmee. If he can't, he has to be kept away from her. She never wants to see or be near him ever again. And if he doesn't learn to respect her or her wishes, he sure as hell can't be trusted to lead. And he doesn't deserve to have an imprint."
"Good luck trying to convince her he's her soulmate," Quil said coldly. Embry nodded. "Good luck trying to convince everyone, even yourselves that they are soulmates. Not only does he not know her at all; he doesn't want to or care to get to know her. He sees what he wants to see. And it doesn't matter what she wants, any more than what Bella wanted."
"Sam," Embry sighed. "All we're asking is... that you alert us if you see or hear or in any way sense that Jake's trying to make his way towards her. That's it." He spread out his hands. "Tell us. We'll stop him. If you can't bring yourselves to stop him yourself, we understand." The diplomatic approach that both Gabrielle the faerie-witch and Gabriel the Alpha Wolf along with Leah had helped them practice.
"We don't expect you to put your hands- or your paws and teeth- on him." Leah said quietly. Her eyes softened in sympathy. That's when Sam knew: it hit him that Leah felt sorry for him and Emily. She wasn't hurt. She wasn't angry or resentful. She certainly wasn't jealous. She felt bad for them, knowing what a breakdown in Jacob and Renesmee's bond, and the total reversal and doing away with Quil and Claire's imprint bond could possibly mean for both of them- for any of them. Leah stood. Not angry, not arguing. Not aggressive. Just sad and sympathetic for them. Sam paled and beneath her scars, so did Emily.
Paul and Jared paled too. Kim stood in shock. Rachel... Rachel looked relieved.
"But no one's endorsing or encouraging any child grooming." Her voice and gaze became stern. Leah was resolute. "We'll see if Jacob can agree to get some treatment."
"What about Renesmee?" Kim whispered, drawing everyone's attention. Her hand flew to her heart. "If she doesn't want to even see him-"
Leah shook her head. "One thing at a time," she warned her. "We have a big mess to sort out."
The new pack's Wolves turned and strode away, ignoring the completely shell-shocked and disbelieving stares as they retreated, Leah in the middle. Sam stared at the retreating back of his ex-girlfriend, striding calmly back to the Clearwaters' house. His former pack-mates were calm. Even Quil, the guy who'd openly just given up and denounced his imprint.
Sam felt his heart roar, thunderously pounding in his ears. He felt his hands begin to tremble.
"Sam?" A concerned voice cut in. Rachel sighed. "Let's all get some sleep, okay? It's been a long day." She gave each of them a warning look. One by one, they retreated, each disappearing into their own houses. The fire was still flickering. Sam stood in silence, doing nothing.
It was then that he remembered that he'd been so stunned he'd completely forgotten to ask Quil just how his imprinting had been reversed. How he'd managed to let go of Claire. How he'd even wanted to. Sam felt his trembling intensify.
"Sam," Billy's voice was gentle as it cut through the turbulence of his thoughts. Sam turned to see Billy's dark, compassionate eyes gazing sadly up at him. "Get some rest."
He turned and wheeled himself away.
Once they were back at her house, Leah sighed.
"It's done." She said firmly. "Sam is... starting to get ideas. He might not like them, but he's getting them." Sue agreed.
"What now?" Her brother asked.
"Now we wait." Sue said quietly.
"What about Jake?" Quil interjected. Leah frowned. "He has to be made to understand." She turned towards Quil. "Can you talk to him? You've reversed the imprint-" but Quil was shaking his head alongside Embry and Seth.
"I don't think that's the problem, Leah," Seth said softly. "The problem is he might not want to listen. He's like that- even he admits that."
Everyone fell silent as they contemplated what to do about Jacob.
"Renesmee..." Sue sighed. "I'm not gonna like this, but I think Renesmee should straight up tell him that she doesn't want to get with him, at any time in the future." She said firmly.
Everybody stared at her incredulously. "And I think Bella should be there- to explain and actually apologise, without grovelling any more than she makes excuses." Sue said quietly. "This may not heal everything, or mend rifts, but this will clear the air and hopefully give some closure to all of them someday."
Leah was silent for a while. "Do you really think she'll leave Edward?" Sue sighed.
"Only Bella can tell us that." She said softly. In a softer voice, her mother added, "I don't think even she knows."
Leah thought about this for a while. It was going to be hard, she reflected, for Bella to admit, even to herself, that her marriage was doomed to be a failure from the start. To come to terms with the knowledge that the boy whom she'd given up her humanity, her chances of a future and her family and friends for- no matter how flawed they were- was in fact not who she thought he was. It was hard letting go of the idea of Edward Cullen and who she thought he was in her mind. Leah remembered what Renesmee had said when confronting her mother. How she believed that neither Edward nor Jacob ever truly saw nor accepted, much less loved, either of them for who they truly were. She wondered, fearfully, if imprinting convinced the other Wolves, like Sam, of the exact same thing. He saw what he wanted to see. It looked like Paul was the same way with Rachel. But what about the others? What did this mean for the rest of them and their future?
"It's no use thinking about this now," Leah said softly, deciding not to fall prey to her fears. "Bella knows what she did wrong and she's accepted responsibility for her part. I don't know about Edward," Leah said hesitantly "but Jacob is a completely different matter. Like with him and Bella he won't be forced to accept Renesmee's going and she's not getting with him- until after she's gone and he's staring at that right in the face." Leah was silent.
She remembered her pity for Jacob. How she strongly felt that his situation echoed her own. Only, she realised now all too well that Jacob's situation was different to what she'd experienced. And he wasn't as lucky to imprint as she thought he'd been. She still felt pity for him, even stronger in fact, but it was riddled with something else. Jacob was flawed, as they all were. But his flaws could potentially endanger them and everyone else. He couldn't be allowed to have any sort of authority or to go free if this meant he would go after and never stop searching for Renesmee.
Quil and Embry both winced. Seth sighed and looked down at the tabletop. "I don't want Jake to go through that again." Embry whispered. "None of us do."
Everyone vehemently agreed. "He shouldn't have gotten into this in the first place," Quil whispered. "If only Edward Cullen stayed the hell away from Bella. Just one thing and everything would've be alright. Bella would never have flirted with Jake if she didn't want to know the truth about the Cullens."
"And then what?" Leah shook her head. "It's done. Yeah, a lot of crap happened because of it, but good things too. Besides, she would've died if Edward hadn't pulled her away from the van that skidded on ice." She said, remembering Bella's initial suspicions about that incident. "It wasn't his fault she got nosy. Let's leave it at that. Tomorrow morning, we need to talk with Charlie and Renesmee. And Gabrielle. We need to come up with a plan. See if Gabrielle can..." she sighed. "I really don't want to do this. But if push comes to shove, we might have to sever the imprint bond between them without Jacob's consent."
Everyone gasped. "Leah-" Seth spluttered. Leah shook her head strongly.
"I don't like it either, Seth," she warned. "But it's gone on for long enough. And either we keep this going even longer until somebody gets hurt- either Jacob or Renesmee, most likely- or we end things now." Her fingers curled into a fist. "While we still can."
"Sam won't accept this," Quil whispered. "He and his pack-" Leah grimaced. "I know." She admitted softly. "This will cause them to act aggressively," Sue pointed.
"Which is why we can save this as a last resort," Leah insisted. "But it's either this, or we force a small girl to stay and become an indentured and groomed housewife to a temperamentally volatile, emotionally compromised guy around the same age as her mother, who wanted to replace said-mother in his affections with her-" everyone grimaced "and she would be forced to live as a virtual prisoner for her very long life, or we can save them both, and everyone else alongside them. That's why Mom is right. Let Renesmee tell the packs, the council of elders and the other imprints what she wants to do with her life. Jacob should be there to see and witness this. If we have to, we can modify his memories of her later on, once the imprint-bond has been reversed, the way your memories were," she pointed to Quil "if push comes to shove... Renesmee has to escape. To get as far away from here as possible. Out of the country if she has to. Because Jake won't stop going after her. He'll never let her go and live freely, peacefully without him. He won't ever stop trying to find her, to haunt her footsteps. And she doesn't need that. So that's why we have to stop him if he tries to stop her and the Cullens from going. That's why we have to hold him down. And because he's the Alpha and Sam and his pack are watching- that's why I have to be the one to challenge him for the role of leader." Leah swallowed. "I don't like it. I don't want it. I sure as hell don't want to do this to Jacob or any one of you. But what's the alternative?"
No one could answer her.
"It ends as soon as Edward's trial is over." Leah warned. "We'll bring Jake out. Until then... he stays at his house. He can't leave. And Sam and his pack can't be allowed to see or influence him or vice versa. Otherwise, they'll react if they think their imprint bonds and the future they're going to have with Rachel, Kim or Emily are threatened. They'll go violent and they'll attack anyone and everyone- including the Wolves from Vermont and the Appalachians. Or Gabrielle Delacour who's a witch for her United Nations equivalent. And if Edward and the Volturi were arrested for killing a kid and her father who were one of them..." she trailed off warningly. "We can't fight against the wizards, nor can we risk conflict with them. Our lives may be in danger. And I don't think Sam's pack or the rest of ours can stand in a fight against all these other Wolves- one of them having a pack big enough to fill a town larger than this- or a secret world of people with magic." Leah said frankly. "The future of our species- and our tribe- could be in danger. So, we have to move quickly."
"Edward's trial starts tomorrow night," Sue remembered. "It won't last for more than one night. After that, he's either innocent or guilty, but the sentencing won't take place until two days after they've decided on an official punishment." She remembered what Gabrielle had told her. "The Appalachians Wolves know another pack with a therapy centre. They're discussing with Gabriel and Vivian and Billy how to get Jacob into that place."
Leah and the others cringed. The thought of Jacob in a padded cell wearing a straitjacket wasn't something they wanted. Unfortunately, beggars couldn't be choosers. At least for now.