Third Notice, identical to the first: the chapter will not please fans of the Cullens, Bella and all the rest of the Disney gang... sorry Twilight. I read the saga and watched the movies only for Leah and Charlie Bewley. I love the Volturi. But not the rest of the gang, even if I like the pairings (in addition to LEAH / DEMETRI), Leah Alistair, Leah Nahuel, Leah Embry ... and a little, depending on the story, Leah Felix, Leah Vladimir and Leah / OC. I'm not a fan of Leah / Jacob.

Sorry bad english

Chapter 14: Near Dark

Edward doubled over in pain. The poison had risen from below and reached his mouth. He vomited. In a few seconds he saw Leah's entire life. Her humble childhood, but full of affection starting with her parents' love for her. He saw the immense love she had and has for Seth. The love for her parents, her friends and Sam, since she was a child. He saw how he looked at her. Too youngs to understand that kind of love, but already present at a tender age. They had chosen each other without realizing it. He saw Emily and the love they had for each other. He saw Sam between them when her cousin was going to LaPush. He saw how Sam never stopped loving Leah. Sam saw Emily, but there was nothing between them at the time. They had not chosen each other.

He saw her serenity adolescence, always lived simply even though she had dreams in the drawer that would never come true: like classical dance, playing the clarinet or the cello. Or both. He saw her love for art instilled since she was a child by Jacob's mother. He saw the moment in which they both realized they loved each other. The promises, the kisses, their unions so full of love. He saw her commitment to school and the indecision between choosing her mother's job or that of a teacher for small children. She saw her collaboration in the family household. He saw the serenity and peace that her presence gave to Sam when he was close to his first transformation.

And then he saw the pain of Sam's disappearance, the happiness when he returned, the worry for the boy's secrets and the despair for the loss of her beloved.

He saw the anger, the frustration, the humiliation and the hatred towards herself. He saw the detachment of her family in favor of her ex and her cousin. He saw her loneliness before and after the transformation. He saw the love that despite everything she continued to feel for all of them: cousin, parents, pack and elders. He saw the love that never died for Sam. He saw how such love was judged by everyone else: a vulgar obsession. He saw how it was judged by the elders: an irrelevant feeling, without importance compared to the imprinting... nonexistent, weak. He saw the suffering for the loss of her father and the hatred she felt for herself increase. He saw her first surrender. When she was forced to accept Sam's imprinting on Emily. He saw Emily's response: "I'm so glad you understood the situation, that Sam and I couldn't do otherwise, that we had to love each other, because we are soul mates…" He saw how she tried to repress all her pain and loss, with a different pain. He saw the wounds she inflicted on herself.

He saw the efforts she made to please the pack, the elders, her mother, Sam and Emily. He saw how she scarred both sides of her face, clinging to the illusion that she had been abandoned because she was hideous at the sight of her Sam. He saw everything. Including Rosalie and Irina's pain. He saw them and he understood them through Leah's eyes and heart.

And finally he saw her second surrender. She had surrendered to the way everyone saw her: a sour bitch, a bitch, a witch… An object used by fate to make sure that Sam would eventually meet Emily. A theory also supported by the Quileute elders and by Jacob himself… a stupid chicken. Unworthy of the ancestors. And Jake's imprinting with a half-vampire had given her the final blow. For her that event was a confirmation that supported her theory: she was a freak of nature, a defective body, a girl without value and without a backbone. A girl who did not deserve to have the imprint because she did not deserve to have such a gift, nor did she deserve to be the imprint of one of them, because she did not deserve to be the gift of another wolf boy. She did not deserve to be loved even by her parents and all the people that they knew her a lifetime. This had completely emptied her. Edward knew what the next step was. The point of no return. He shivered at the thought. The venom reached the vampire's tear ducts.

The boy looked at Sabrina. The girl was crying too, as was Jenna.

"Do you realize that what she went through, with your arrival to Forks, was never fair? Imprinting included? You can understand Edward... you can."

The young man nodded. He couldn't stop crying and vomiting.

"Edward, you all have justified the injustices that Leah has had in her life. And that's not fair either, and it's totally wrong. Come on Jenna, let's leave him…", Sabrina didn't finish her sentence, because Bella came in at that moment.

"Edward," she called alarmed, "What have you done to him… MONSTERS."

Sabrina got really angry this time.

"You can call me a monster, but not my family."

Bella looked at her defiantly.

"Use your power on me," the vampire said arrogantly.

Jenna smiled. She knew Sabrina couldn't use her power because of Bella's shield, but the little hybrid could use hers against her, because she could easily get past the girl's mental shield. She screamed and threw her down.

"Cowards," Bella said.

"You prefer a hand-to-hand fight. I'm ready," Jenna urged.

Bella was about to attack, but her husband stopped her.

"Stop, my love," she said.

"No, look at what they did to you. You threw up, you cried… you have." Bella didn't finish her sentence. She looked at her husband in dismay. He smiled bitterly.

"It seems when the emotion you feel is too strong we can cry too… and throw up."

Edward hugged his wife. "It's all thanks to the hybrids that we discovered this," he whispered. The boy saw his father out of the corner of his eye watching the scene with scientific curiosity. This made the boy smile.

Suddenly everyone looked at Jake. The boy was fidgeting.

"Vampire," Jake said.

"What, Jake, what did you say?" Jenna asked.

"Vampire," the boy repeated.

"It must be that monster. That crazy doctor," Edward said.

"No, Jake doesn't talk about him like that," Sabrina said.

"Vampire… danger."

"Jake, breathe and try to be clearer," Sabrina said.

"Vampire… Italy… danger."

"Vampire, Italy, danger. What does that mean," Emmett asked, slightly upset.

Alice ran downstairs with Jasper.

"Demetri is coming back to Forks," she said quickly.

"When?" Carlisle asked worriedly.

"I can't say for sure, but I think it's close, very close."

"That's what Jake was talking about." The head of the family looked at his son. He had loved the child right away.

"He mustn't find them," Esme said worriedly. "We have to hide them," she continued.

"They have to go back to their home. It's the safest place for them now," Eleazar said.

Everyone agreed. Edward suddenly turned around. Leah had woken up and entered the room.

"Leah honey, are you okay?" Esme asked worriedly.

Leah didn't answer. She was puzzled.

"Leah it's okay," Edward said, "There's a reason you're here."

"Seth. Where's my brother, I was with him…"

"Seth is okay Leah, now you just have to calm down."

The boy looked at Jasper and he immediately used his power. Leah relaxed. Esme made her sit on the couch, while Carlisle started asking her some questions. Leah didn't remember anything, not even about the vampire she had met with Seth. She simply said that they had gone into the forest to look for a bloodsucker and after... the dark.

Bella grimaced, she didn't like the way she called vampires. Edward couldn't read his wife's mind because of the shield, but he understood what was bothering her. He came closer to reassure her. The vampire looked at him surprised. Edward usually scolded or glared at Leah, but this time he didn't.

The wolf girl felt weak and tired, but she also sensed something different in her.

"It's okay Leah, you don't have to worry. We will fix this," Edward said.

"What problem?" The girl asked.

Jasper continued to use his gift to keep the shapeshifter calm. The girl heard them speaking softly. Even though the sound was barely audible to a normal wolf boy, Leah could hear everything perfectly. Her senses were even more heightened now. When she heard the name Volturi, the wolf girl disappeared in the blink of an eye.

oOo

"My brothers, Demetri just announced that he will be arriving in Seattle in a few minutes and at the Cullens in the late afternoon. Soon we will know what our dear friends are hiding."

Caius growled slightly.

"Don't worry my dear Caius, if the Cullens are doing something wrong they will be punished as they deserve."

"You said that last time too," he replied angrily.

"Last time my brother we were not prepared."

"We are not prepared now either brother," Marcus said boredly.

"That's true, but this time we know what we are facing and Demetri will give us more information. Also our pursuer will bring the only wolf of the reserve. She will also give us the information we want," Aro said amusedly.

"No."

The voice came from behind the thrones of the lords of Volterra. They turned and saw a frightened young woman. The girl's irises glowed an electric blue hue and dilated slightly. She disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"What was that," Caius growled.

"I don't know," Aro said curiously, "But I'll find out."

Leah's rendition is inspired by parts of the last book and the last movie. So not entirely out of place. As for Sam and Leah's love, I imagined that they could have had feelings for each other at a very young age. They've known each other for a lifetime, they must have played together many times. And I think Emily also knew Sam for a long time, since she was like a sister to Leah. If I remember correctly, Jacob also had feelings for Bella when he was still a child. One of the things I like about Leah is that she asks questions. But this bothers others (they always silence her, even Jacob), because they are ignorant and prefer to live in their ignorance rather than question themselves and try to find answers or try to break certain magical bonds. And they don't want to listen. Leah is invisible to them.

"I'm so glad you understood the situation, that Sam and I couldn't do otherwise, that we had to love each other, that we were forced to love each other, because we are soulmates according to the supernatural world…" I'm afraid I didn't write this sentence well. The intention was to make fun of Emily's response. How can you say something like that to a friend of yours who is suffering for love, because you are her substitute in the heart of (her) boyfriend? And I think they said something similar in the saga… or in the guide. It's nauseating. Just as it's sickening how Sam and Leah's love is considered after the boy's imprinting: irrelevant, unimportant. So even the love that united Jacob and Bella should be considered like that. But we all know that's not the case.

For the title I took inspiration from the movie: Near Dark by the Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow. A movie about vampires, beautiful. If you have the chance go see it. For me it is worth it. Also read The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause. A book from the 90s, about vampires. It reminds me of Twilight, but it was written a decade earlier.