MS: Helloooooo alll my loveliessss :) It has been WAY too long right? I know, I know... Fuck. First year of uni really takes it outta you man; tough shit. But, I am happy to declare that in no less than 4 weeks, summer break will be upon me :D And that means updates and new oneshots and fics ;) Lemmeeee at it! So guys I hope you haven't given up hope for me yet; because I will soon be back in action. ;)

This little number is dedicated to my bff Maggy (StealthLiberal). She requested some hot PaulxLeah lovins and I'm here to deliver ;) This will be a two-shot, maximum of a three-shot by the time it's all wrapped up and I just hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as she and I enjoyed planning it and I enjoyed waiting to surprise her with it. ;)

So without further ado; my first Twilight forray, that is not LeahxSam.

'Apparently they're newborns... So they'll be fast. Fast, and strong.'

'Aren't all vampires fast and strong Jake?'

'Well... Faster, and stronger.' The stringent Alpha sighed mentally, his tail a-flicking behind him and fur standing on edge. It had been an eventful month, for the pack... Lots of fighting to be had. It just seemed like word had spread about the formidable shapeshifters inhabiting the Olympic penninsula; apparently gossip existed even in vampiric society.

How the gossip got out, however, the pack had no idea.

It's not like any vampire ever lived to tell the tale.

Paul's large grey muzzle pulled back to bare his teeth. 'So how close are they? When do we move?'

'Alice said we have a minute to set up an attack front; actually plan this crap for once.' Sam looked at his fellow Alpha and nodded his large black head. Jacob had stepped into his role as Alpha of the La Push pack when they had reunited, and as much as it was a pain in the furry ass sometimes to have two alphas, Sam and Jacob had made it work and coordinated completely.

There were differences, of course, and not all members were happy with the packs reuniting (Leah and Paul were distinctly two of them). But, bloodthirsty vampires and cloaked Volturi really didn't give one much choice about who his or her allies should be.

Or who they should battle beside, as it turns out.

'Me and Jacob have decided privately about the battle line.' Leah resisted the urge to roll her eyes as Sam began to speak. The days were closing in on the Young-Uley wedding, and well... No one was more depressed than Leah lately. Depressed... And pissed. And of course, she'd been happier as part of Jacob's pack... But that was just Jacob's pack. With her brother, Embry, and Quil. Now she'd been thrusted back into Sam's mind with Paul, Jared, and the twins to annoy her along with her ex-boyfriend and his lovey-dovey imprint obsession.

Fun times.

'So we don't organize ourselves by rank this time?' Embry tweaked his ears in curiosity, wondering just what his alphas had been planning. Usually, when it came time to defend the pack was quite standard about who ran beside who. The only exception was Leah, really; she'd always run close or with Seth and while that wasn't her rank (she and Paul were tied for Beta, Paul with Sam, Leah with Jake), she and her younger brother worked efficiently together and that was what counted.

Until today.

'Nope, not this time Embry. Just run with it; we're gonna see if this works.' Jacob and Sam exchanged looks, and then had the pack line up according to usual battle strategy.

Jacob and Sam, side by side would lead the pack onto the battlefield.
Paul would be behind them, Jared at his flank as a Beta and a quick thinker.
Embry and Quil came then, commonly referred to as 'dumb and dumber' weren't so dumb on the battlefield as they made out to be.
Leah would be fighting beside her brother, who'd technically hold rank by himself.
And then Collin and Brady would be bringing up the rear. (The two were the only youngsters who had phased that Sam and Jake were confidant enough in to actually reprise a role in battle.)

As their wolves looked at them with pondering faces, Jacob and Sam could see the wheels turning in the shewolf's head. Hear them too, actually. Gotta love pack mentality.

She was silently threatening them about moving her away from her brother.

Too bad.

'We gotta do this quick. So no arguments.' Sam looked at Seth. 'Move into the back; behind Brady and Collin. Newborns are fast; we need the coverage.' Seth shrugged his wolfish shoulders and slunk back behind Collin and Brady. Leah watched him go, then raised a mental brow at her alphas and did not like the look she received in return.

'Jared,' Sam acknowledged his third, 'You're going to take Seth's place. But Paul-'

'But Paul WHAT?' The large grey wolf rumbled grumpily. 'I'm the Beta Sam; I don't move.'

'You're A beta; dumbass.' Leah chided mentally and Paul growled at her. Typical, typical.

'Knock it off you two, we don't have the time!' Jacob growled, and against their judgement, Leah and Paul flattened their ears but shut up. 'Now Leah, move up beside Paul. Stop bitching at eachother and just do your job.'

The chorus was instantaneous, and quick as the muscle.

'NO!'

But then it was too late.

'They're on us...!' Sam and Jacob turned and raced onto the field as the sparkling bodies appeared on the meadow's edge across the way, gleaming in the sunlight beautifully but holding so much sinister inside.

'Oh COME ON!' Paul snapped, as he Leah were forced to push forward and run side by side. Paul watched the small white wolf out of the corner of his eye. She was moving too damn fast, she was gonna outrun him! 'Slow DOWN, Leah!'

'Oh FUCK YOU Paul, there's no TIME for this!'

And quite frankly, there wasn't.

Alice had been right to tell them to develop a strategy. The Cullens' pale bodies, golden eyes gleamed from the west side of the mountain clearing as well, also ready to stop this ragtag group of newborns that had been rude enough to bulldoze their way onto protected property. Who'd created them was not of the question; not yet, anyways. First it was ripping apart and burning the fuckers.

And they were high in numbers.

Jake and Sam had been the first two into the fray; they always were. Teeth gnashing, eyes savage and they were set to kill. Hell, if Leah had the time to look, she would've admired the streamline way that her ex navigated the field. For his age, Sam wasn't at all lacking in any skill compared to the younger wolves.

Then again, he never was.

Brady and Collin did their usual; they each branched out from side to side, Brady tackling the right while Collin handled the left. The way they moved in sync, linked by both age and interests and talent it had seemed the two to be twins for quite a while. In fact, sometimes, they were referred to as such. When the two got off on their joyous tangents about kills they'd made together, the pack called it 'Twinning'. It was both cute... And insanely annoying.

Seth had been bringing up the rear for this fight, and as his pack speared out from side to side he ran straight up the middle behind his alphas; ready to receive any threats that evaded Sam and Jacob. He'd grown up a lot since the Volturi left... Both in skill, and in responsibility. It made Leah proud of him, to be honest; not that she'd ever mention it. Seth's ears flickered both left and right; Leah could tell that he wasn't... Anxious; that wasn't the right word. But... Weirded out, about not fighting beside her when they'd grown so accustomed to fighting as a team. Leah was the same way... Paul was a bigggggg stretch from her supportive brother.

Jared was a good fighter. He was decent in all areas: Speed, agility, aim, stealth, power... But he also relied a lot on structure, and that was clear today simply because Jared had been having a hard time knowing just where to go and who to back up. He was doing alright; he really was. He was just picking off any random bloodsucker he could get his jaws on. And that was fine too.

Embry and Quil were almost hard to describe... Leah had tried to figure out their fighting style quite a few times, but honestly, it usually added up to a little showboating and that was that. Quil did the gloating; Embry did the quiet, prideful smirk that made her smirk in return and roll her eyes. They were good as a team, and good apart. But wolves were pack animals.

And they would always prefer to work as a team.

Well... Most of the time.

Paul leapt clean over Leah's head; brought the shewolf up solid, skidding across the meadow and tearing up about an acre's worth of land while she was at it while Paul nailed her vampire. It was a plucky brunette little thing; Leah liked to think it was the pixie vampire. But, her chance was lost as Paul severed head from shoulders and with a mighty heave of his jawls, tossed the grimacing, pale face right into the pile that had seemed to be adding up of lost and unanimous vampire parts.

'GODDAMMIT PAUL!' Leah snarled at him, snapped her teeth when he paused to look at her and earned a growl in return.

'Screw you Leah, you're just pissed I beat you to it!'

'You WISH you could beat me!'

'ENOUGH!' Once again, that voice which Leah detested the most sounded out in her head and Sam's command worked fast; slammed Leah and Paul's mouths shut, had them backing up away from eachother like earlier. 'We're STILL in BATTLE here, if you two would've cared so much to notice! Now BREAK IT UP and get back in there!'

Leah and Paul traded another glance and she growled; he chuckled mentally.

'Betcha hate havin' to listen to Sam again.'

And then he was off; gallivanting back into the destruction.

So much for the two working together.

That comment made Leah's blood boil... And when the battle was over, she'd made up her mind; Paul was going to get an awful fucking rude awakening. Yes... She did hate listening to Sam again. Already, she could hear her ex-lover's old, tired, mental sigh.

'Leah... I mean it. Put your head back into the damn game.'

So... That was what she did.

Leah turned her head towards the direction Paul had ran, watched him leap another vampire who was running to meet him face to face. It was funny... Since the newborn she'd tried to handle after the first newborn battle the pack had faced, the one that got Jacob hurt... The pack had been strictly advised against such brutal, head-to-head tackles. Use the speed; use the agility. Get the job done right, with less risk to yourself.

For the love of fuck... Leah hadn't even been sure if she wanted to come out the other side of that newborn battle alive, and yet Jacob got himself hurt and had the nerve to call it 'saving her ass.'

And now Paul; doing just what they were warned against, and going to get no reprimandment whatsoever once the battle was won.

Typical.

So, Leah figured... 'Why the hell not?'

White legs began to race across the meadow, almost instantly hot on Paul's trail. She'd always had a gift for speed; drove the guys nuts. Leah was usually a teaser, when people failed; not a showboater, when she had succeeded. But in races... God love Leah; god hate her fucking guts. It was nigh about two seconds for Leah to catch up to Paul, who was still driving himself into his enemy with gnashing teeth, spit flying and clawed paws tearing up the earth. He'd stolen Leah's chance from her... He deserved to suffer the same.

Leah took Paul's abrasive battling strategy as her hole, and when Paul reared onto his back legs to tower in height over the gleaming bloodsucker, Leah dove right underneath his belly and knocked the vampire head over heels; the two then rolling, bowling into the trees like pins struck at an alley.

'LEAH!' His anger was blunt, to the point and as he came to four paws again, he snarled viciously at her from where he stood. The fucking nerve of her... His silver fur bristled as he watched Leah effectively deduce a leg, than an arm from her target and kept the freak yowling and trying futilely to fight back against the massive creature tearing him to bits. Paul had been riding the edge of his patience with the shewolf since the battle had begun, and he thought maybe he'd tear a chunk of her hide out himself when she got back up into the meadow.

A moment later and Leah's solitary fight had been won; she drug the majority of the body up over the short hill, heaving the torso with a toss toward the pire before turning her white head back to Paul.

And then she was running as he was growling.

'You cocky cunt, you KNEW I had that fucker-'

'Paul WATCH OUT!'

Paul paused a second too long. Two more bloodsuckers had leapt him from behind, taking the large wolf cleanly to the ground and if that bitch hadn't occupied SO MUCH of his damn attention, he would've seen them coming.

One of the vampires sunk his teeth into Paul's back leg and he snarled in rage; tore at the vampire's face with a paw before he could inject any of the lethal shit they carried in their veins. Leah pumped her thin legs faster, eating up the distance between herself the two vampires on her comrade. Friggen Paul... Always spent too much time bitching and complaining when he should've spent more time concentrating.

Soon Leah had also crashed into the battle, jaws locked on the throat of the bloodsucker currently attached to Paul's back limb and pulling the white demon away from him. By now the rest of the pack had taken out their enemies and were sending out the warning howls, cursing and yelling in the packmind to get to Paul and aid their brother.

'Paul needs help!'
'Get to Paul and Leah! Now!'
'Two left!'

The chorus of voices made it hard to determine just who was who, not that Leah and Paul were actually listening. As Leah tugged one vamp off of Paul the downed wolf seized the opportunity to stagger back onto his feet; one lame back leg be damned. Paul turned to face the vampire leering at him, teeth bared in an ugly, intimidating grimace.

(Well, nothing intimidated Paul. Except for the female menstrual cycle; but that was another story.)

The vampire Paul faced was tall. Statuesque, built. A young face... A teenager. Maybe, if Leah concentrated hard enough she could imagine the green, or maybe blue twinkle somewhere beyond those sunken red eyes of the monster he now was. It was never a fleeting thought in the minds of the pack when they faced someone who obviously once had such undeniable promise as a human. This man looked athletic; wide arms, big biceps. Maybe a football player, or a boxer.

'You're gonna get your's, you sick son of a bitch... You're gonna fuckin' pay for taking that kid's life.'

And with that, Paul leapt for their last foe and Leah had stepped forward to help... But soon stood still in her tracks. Quil and her brother had phased back to human beside and behind her, picking up the pieces of diamond flesh and flinging it into the flames of the pire they'd built earlier. Sam too had stopped to watch the last battle, but Jacob had gone sniffing around the edges of the clearing just to make sure they were finally, nearly rid of the vermin that threatened their otherwise calm reservation.

Leah cocked one white ear, and sat down on the torn up grass. Listening to the inner workings of her most volatile packmate's mind as he fought and piece by piece, reduced the vampire to granite shavings on the forest floor.

'Goddamn piece of shit... I hope you burn in hell for hurting that boy!'

She'd always recognized Paul as the man who was enthralled with being a wolf. Enchanted in the power he'd been given even if it came with fur, claws and a tail. Fuck someone with an ego the size of New England, like Paul's, thought he still looked hot as an animal. Leah could remember many a situation where Paul wouldn't bring up the emotional, touchy side of protecting their tribe. When the notion of losing someone to the vampires was brought up, Paul digressed the conversation and would always end it with some haughty remark: 'Yeah well we ain't gonna lose nobody to those friggen things, are we? So shut up about it.'

Until that moment, listening to Paul think of nothing; not even the venomous pain he was sure to be feeling from his bitten leg. Nothing except what that vampire had the nerve to take away from such a young soul, Leah had never pictured Paul as someone with... More going on. For lack of a better term; a heart.

She was snapped out of her thoughts however with a rude snort from the black wolf beside her.

'The fight's over Leah. Everyone's phasing back.'

Leah shook the fur of her head and neck out (mostly her brain), and looked at Sam with lingering thoughts of Paul still echoing through her mind. 'Oh... Yeah.'

Then she ran for the treeline and pulled on some clothes as she became human. She didn't feel Sam's eyes burning into her back before he too phased from four legs to two.

When Leah came jogging across the meadow again, Jacob and Sam had knelt down beside Paul where he sat on the grass. All of him human as well, the damage to his limb was clearly visible now and Leah silently hoped that it looked worse than it was.

It was roughly a five centimeter puncture, nearly a gash with the typical curvature shape of bite wounds. Ruby blood still trickled down the expanse of Paul's calf but it wasn't the coppery smell nor the sight that sickened the pack. It was the paling of the ragged edges of flesh running along the wound. Whitening of the skin around the bites usually occured before the inflammation and the fever of venom poisoning sunk in. So, it looked as though Paul had been infected with a little more juice than they'd hoped for.

"Looks deep Paul... Maybe we should go to Carlisle."

Paul scoffed, shook his head and looked at Jake. "Fuck that... I'm fine."

"If you're fine then get up."

Sam and Jake looked over their shoulders at Leah and clearly, they were 'not in the mood for her snippish, childish games right now' as she'd been told many times. Paul just rudely scoffed again.

"Screw off Leah."

"Hey you said you're fine; so if you are, get up. Stand up. On two legs."

"Leah-"

"Shut up Sam. Stand up, Paul. Come on."

Paul looked down at his leg, looked back up at her and glared. She could practically feel the undercurrent of the growl that he was sure to release soon and it made her want to smirk. No way in hell was he fine... Not with a cut that nasty-looking. And no way in hell would Paul let anyone work on it until he was knocked down a few notches, either.

"...Fuck off Leah, seriously. I know you wanna see my dick, but right now I'm not in the mood."

Leah rolled her eyes (Seth grimaced). Nudity was a foregone joke in the pack now and Leah hid herself well; it was Sam's goddamn dirty remembering mind that was the problem. He had a nasty habit of comparing his current fiance to his ex-girlfriend. So, the pack had seen enough of her and more. And well, she was always seeing plenty of them.

"I don't care about your cock Paul; it's not big enough right now to impress me anyways."

Jared just sorta whistled. Paul's growl made its appearance.

"You're a-"

"A bitch, I know... Now stand the fuck up and prove me wrong if you think you can. I know you can't."

Paul grit his teeth, used every muscle he had in those bodybuilder arms of his, and leveraed himself up and onto two legs. Jacob hissed and Embry put up arms in case Paul fell. Venom was a right git... It sucked. Mostly everyone had had at least a tiny brush with it... Hell this was bigger than most. But it packed quite a humiliating, feverish, tipsy, throbbing punch and of course, it was avoided at all costs.

Leah raised an eyebrow. She kept her eyes on his face where Paul brazenly kept his eyes on her's. Like Paul had been having with the vampire before, two members of the La Push wolfpack were locked in a staredown.

And at that moment, Leah was the enemy.

Sam didn't like the intense, challenging look his ex was giving his best friend. Nor did he like Paul's comment about Leah wanting to see his dick but Sam refused to take it back to highschool jealousy levels. Leah wasn't his business, anymore... Not outside of pack, anyway. Sometimes, in the heat of the moment... He had to struggle to remember that. But while one alpha's eyes were on the interlocking pridefulness of Paul and Leah, the rest of the pack's eyes fell to Paul's damaged leg.

They were watching what Leah assumed: The leg began to tremble, and Paul held it stiffly with most of his weight resting on the left. No doubt the venom's throb had settled in to claim the limb as its own by now, and the shapeshifter felt a nearly unignorable sting.

Leah waited, and waited. She was used to winning.

But finally, she cast her eyes down at the limb along with the others. "Paul... You're hurt. Come on, just go home. Alright? No Cullens... But you gotta go home."

Both of Paul's eyebrows shot right into his hairline. He felt the need to raise a hand and see if he'd lost his hearing too because that wasn't exactly the tone he was expecting out of Miss Bitch herself. Maybe the response was usually more akin to... 'Hah! I TOLD you you were hurt. Douchebag, now go get the leech to look you over. You're useless anyways; let alone with a smashed up leg.'

So, instead of the cocky comeback he'd originally had planned Paul stammered out a "No Cullens...?"

"No Cullens... Just home. You need to be in bed."

"...Fine."

"Fine."

And so, Paul clumsily pulled on his cutoffs and began to limp in the direction of his house. The pack exchanged wonderous glances. Leah stood still and stared at Paul's retreating back for awhile... And then began to follow behind.

Sam liked that even less.

Jake looked around at his wolves and their bewildered expressions. He could tell the same question played on every mind in sight: Whether Leah was just going home herself, or whether she was going home with Paul. To Paul's house... Paul, bottom line. Those two weren't exactly the most akin duo. Would rather tear eachother to bits than laugh together, have a good time... God forbid, care about eachother. Paul was the only wolf who made Jacob really doubt the family-like love they all had for eachother, even if the boys and Leah gave eachother a hard time sometimes.

Leah and Embry traded blows constantly over his paternity even though the egging was one-sided on Leah's part. He still cared about her like a sister. And when they'd had their own separate pack, Jacob had watched Leah care for Embry as well. The two had needed time to warm up; but that was expected. The bond came slowly and soon Embry respected Leah as his beta, and as his friend.

Leah frequently gave Quil shit over his imprint on Claire. A touchy subject for Jacob included. Their imprints were children. Claire and Renesmee were young; and put in Leah's words, "Being groomed to be nothing more than their friggen housewives." But they loved them; and if Claire and Renesmee wanted them when they got older, so be it. An imprint was an imprint. Sacred. Quil returned the hits he took, but there was never a harsh battle of words or big argument between them. One or the other always let it slide.

The great debate of imprinting and its values was a common thing for Jared and the shewolf as well. Having Kim as his imprint had turned Jared possessive and protective, just the same as Sam and usually, Paul. And Kim and Leah's blatant disregard and hatred of eachother had the poor boy in a constant struggle to maintain the peace. Jared and Leah went way back; just like Sam and his ex had. They were old friends. But, clearly things changed and Jared wanted to move ahead in life. He still cared for Leah... Somewhat.

Collin and Brady had been the last two to phase. They were still young... Jake and Sam kept them home as much as they could. The duo probably got one patrol a week, if that; and since they'd become as tight as twins, the alphas tried to keep them together. Friends were valuable in this life... As it had been proven. Leah always supported that, and she was a good spokesperson for them. She'd even ran that once-a-week patrol for them once or twice, if they had a math test... Or a date. She was like their aunt, or big sister. Someone they could talk to and always in their corner. So they were mute to the ignorance the pack sometimes gave Leah and deaf to her cruel responses in return.

Sam was... Sam was probably the most difficult to describe, in terms for how each member truly felt about the shewolf in their ranks. Fuck... At the same time, Sam was the easiest.

It was there in the way his eyes lingered... It was there when he tried his damn hardest to not slip up and call her LeeLee. But he always did anyway. And she bitched, and complained. And then, from what Jake had seen flash in her mind one day... She let out the tears when she got home over the simple nickname. He didn't really think Sam knew the damage he'd caused... Was still causing.

But Jacob didn't think his former beta knew the heartache she still created in her ex-fiance, either.

Sam still cared about her, so, so much. More secret thoughts unveiled to only the alpha, Jacob had seen the darker, dimmer side of Sam's mind also. The side that desperately still wished for 'his LeeLee.' The part of Sam that would do anything to have her... Even if it meant cheating on his one and only. But then the imprint strings would yank tight again... And with a wince, the memories of Leah in Sam's mind were once again but a still, long-forgotten whisper.

So even in the midst of parent mysteries, imprint disasters and ex-boyfriends, Leah had managed to survive and the pack had managed to get used to her in a way that included their sole female member as a bonafide member of the family.

Everyone, except Paul.

The fights, the bickering, the agitation... It was never-ending in reference to Leah and Paul's behavior. If she objected to something, he had to agree; if he thought one strategy was effective, she would cast her vote for another. Sometimes Jacob wondered about the structural formation of the pack's integrity when those two got on like that. It was like a constant question whether Leah and Paul actually stood up for their opinions or whether they just wanted to stand out, against eachother.

And a pack, of all situations, that defended their families and tribe was no place for that childish bullshit.

As Jacob had told them many times.

Some day they were going to do something foolish for simple spite at eachother; and one of them was going to get hurt a lot worse than some damn nip on the leg. Even worse yet; someone else could get hurt.

And no matter how hard Leah and Paul rode the game of life, Jake knew neither of his wolves would be able to stand the guilt if their silly hatred of eachother caused the loss of innocent life.

Jacob stood in the clearing, and watched the purple pire fester out until he could kick some dirt atop it and extinguish the flames.

Sam stood in the clearing a little longer... Just until he could no longer hear Leah's disappearing footfalls.

"I don't even know why you're here; I don't need anything Leah!"

"You're not goddamn Superman Paul, you need to get the hell into bed and eat something before the venom makes you stomach-sick."

Paul glared at her where he stood in his kitchen, half on a limp with all his weight resting on his left limb. It was bearable... But the ache was beginning to set in. It felt as though the fluid rushing through his veins was slightly too hot; not too cold, as one would think. Like his blood had began to boil and someone threw some salt in there just to watch the mixture bubble. Having venom put in your system was like injecting a vaught of pure acid into your leg. It felt as though it was eating away at your very flesh, kinking up the muscles and then fixing them over and over. No bite could turn a shifter... But it could damn well kill them. So if a nip was of a decent calibre usually Carlisle would be notified and that injured packmate was shipped to the Cullen's to spend a night in the sick-role. Or maybe two nights... Or five.

It really depended on the seriousness of the bite.

And as Paul thought about it, his bite really wasn't that serious.

It wasn't like the vamp had damn near gnawed off his limb (speaking of, the question of limb regeneration was still a big one. Just, no one wanted to be the one to test it out). He could hold the leg fine; he could wriggle his toes, bend his knee.

It just didn't... Feel too great, that was all.

He looked at Leah again where she stood against the doorjamb of his kitchen, arms crossed and blue eyes pointed at him like she honestly didn't have a clue how he could defend his case.

"What the hell does it look like I'm tryin' to do?" Leah looked down at his hands; watched them nearly drop the spoon where he held sugar over his cup of coffee.

"Looks like you're about to make a mess if you ask me." As if her words had been the catalyst, Paul's hand suffered an involuntary venom twitch and he dropped the spoon; the thousand grains of sugar bouncing over the countertop and onto the wooden floor.

"Fuck!"

"That's it; into bed, now." Leah marched over and grabbed his elbow. She could feel his muscle bulge beneath her fingertips as Paul held his arm steady, tried to stay standing where he was. But, with another effective tug, Paul teetered on his weak leg and cursed again with no choice but to follow his female packsister into the bedroom.

Once there, Leah all but shoved him down onto his blankets.

"What the fuck'yah doin'!" Paul growled at her as he caught his balance; hindered the injured leg up off the floor with a straightening out of the ligaments in his knee.

"I told you; you were getting into bed." Then Leah walked right over to his bureau. Opening drawer after drawer, she searched for the object of her she plucked a fresh, pinstriped-pattern pair of Paul's boxer shorts out of the wooden furniture and slammed it shut. Then she walked right back over to his bed and got to her knees. As Paul's eyebrows dove into his hairline, Leah's hands went right to his zipper and button and undid the two.

"What the fuck Leah?" As her intentions dawned on Paul he slapped her hands away with a growl. It wasn't exactly like Leah to just walk up to him and start stripping off his clothes. But then again, it wasn't like Leah to actually give two shits about him either.

Leah gave his jeans a hard pluck; pulling the denim halfway down his legs.

"You're changing for bed. Plus, I need to clean the bite. So sit down, shut up and let me help Paul. You think you're so fucking tough... Newsflash; you're really not."

Paul blubbed like a fish out of water. His brown eyes were staring sort of listlessly at her as she brazenly pulled his jeans off the rest of the way (he refused himself the flinch that came with the fabric pulling tight over the bite wound) and threw the cutoffs to the other side of the room. Christ, women... No wonder men couldn't figure them out.

He was almost stroking by the time she got around to pulling off his boxers... And well, a woman pulling off your clothes (almost any kind of woman) brought a special... Reaction, to a guy's body. All guys; even headstrong dudes like Paul. Goosebumps raised on his warm flesh not from the cold as he saw her eyes perch on him; then raise slowly back up to his own. Hell... At least he looked good.

"...Um... You're hard."

"And you're a chick."

"...So?"

"You're here pullin' the goddamn underwear right off me and all you got to say is 'so'? Jesus, you ain't too bright Clearwater."

Much to Paul's satisfaction, Leah looked slightly taken aback. But, probably not for the reasons Mr. Lahote had been thinking.

It wasn't as though Leah had never seen any of the guys naked before; hell, ironically (and taking into consideration how stuck up she knew Emily, Rachel and Kim really were) Leah had probably seen their cocks more than their imprints had.

And that was sad.

But damn... It was a nice sight. Sometimes Leah wondered how she could... How she could ever find something sexy about a mortal man again. An ordinary man... Someone without the eight-pack, the intense eyes, the bulging muscles and the most fantastic attribute becoming super-sized gave a guy; the simple fact that usually everything became super-sized.

Including their naughty bits.

With the pack's mental connection (and all the embarassing, too-much-information bullshit that came with it), Leah had seen some memories and views through the pack's eyes that she was quite impressed with... Not that she wanted them to know that. Leah was proud of her capability to cover up some of her thoughts, to say the least. She had seen Jacob's longing memories for a girlfriend his own age... Someone who he could be an adult with. And then almost felt the spring of the imprint yank him back into focusing on Renesmee. She had seen Jared's fleeting annoyance with being treated like a borderline slave in Kimberly's house. 'Do this, do that.' But Jared always did whatever she asked. The twins, well... They were un-imprinted and had some pretty single-track minds.

In fact, she was thought about more often than not; in a very naked, gorgeous light that made everyone else laugh, Sam growl and Brady and Collin practically put their tails between their legs.

Embry was a little harder to read. She had caught him once or twice, she thought anyways, maybe trying to sneak a glance at her as she changed to phase. But maybe she was just overthinking. Quil loved Claire so much that he had pretty much become a toddler himself; so Leah really didn't find it shocking that anything even remotely similar to pornography was kept the hell out of his mind.

Paul was... Different. He thought about Rachel, a lot. But... It was always in a sexual light. It was never in a tender light... It was the exact reverse of Sam, actually. Sam only thought of Emily as the light to his dark; about stroking her scars, coming home to her grin. Never lustful. It was as though Paul's imprint saw Rachel as... Well, a means to lay; and that was it.

Leah found it laughable.

But now, upon seeing the fine manhood Paul was working with ready to go... Maybe Rachel was luckier than she'd initially wanted to believe.

He was large. A little thinner than Sam; maybe a little longer in comparison. And god it was staring her right in the face.

Leah gulped when she realized how long she had been silent for.

"Uh... Jesus Paul, do you ever shut up...?"

"No."

Leah shook her head and focused on the bite adorning his right calf. Anything to get her eyes off his dick.

The limb was ravaged red... The bite still festered and she wrinkled her nose a bit as she leant closer to the chomp marks to see better. The faint smell of venom was lingering along the jagged edges of the cut.

"I'm gonna get some warm water. Hang on."

"No Leah, you don't have to. Look I'm just gonna sleep alright? It'll be fine." He noticed that while his voice still held annoyance, Paul couldn't pinpoint outright anger like there had been when she followed him home. Maybe she was worried; but still. He didn't need to be babied.

"Paul it'll get infected, there's dirt and grass all over that damn thing... Just let me clean it and then you can sleep." As if to end the discussion, she rose off her bent knees and went to the bathroom to fetch a warm cloth.

He watched her go... Wondered what was going through her head about his naked body.

When Leah returned with the small bowl of warm water in hand, she set it on the nighttable and knelt once more between Paul's bent legs. It was glaringly obvious that he'd neglected to put on shorts probably for no better reason than to antagonize her. But it was sort of having the opposite effect on Leah. She stared at him again for a moment, pondering once more just how magnificent of a specimen he really was but then it occured to her that...

That this magnificent specimen belonged to Rachel Black.

Leah soaked the rag, wrung it out and then pressed it to the wound. Paul jerked and cursed at her.

"Fuck!"

"Oh come on... It's not that bad."

"Yeah let's cut you open a few inches and pour boiling water on you; see how you like it!" Leah rolled her eyes.

"Paul it's not even that hot!" As Paul neglected the chance to argue back and Leah felt the heavier man sink back down into the mattress, she returned her eyes to the bite. It did look painful... Then Leah turned her eyes to the clock. Nearly dusk, around 7 PM.

Leah bit her lip and wondered what kind of response her next question would elicit from Paul. She had a few guesses. He'd either a) Kick her in the face. b) Tell her to go fuck herself. c) Ask her why she gives a shit. Or, d) Talk to her like a civilized human being. Needless to say, her odds weren't looking very promises.

But what odds did look good for her nowadays?

"It's starting to get late... Where's Rachel?"

Paul looked down at her and Leah refused to tremor. She waited for it.

"I dunno... Out I guess. She goes out a lot, I don't know where the hell she goes."

That took Leah by surprise. Emily kept Sam on such a strict leash that he had might as well wear a bell to let her know when he was on the way home.

"Oh... Geeze, does she know you got hurt today...?"

"Yeah, I'd say Emily called her. Rachel trusts me to know when I'm okay and when I'm not." His eyes burnt into Leah but now she looked away from his leg and stared back up at him.

"...I would be worried... I'd be home."

...She would be, wouldn't she? Paul raised an eyebrow, but, he didn't question it. Leah was here... Rachel wasn't and for the first time in a long time (outside of the days Rachel took him shopping and made Paul carry all her fucking bags), he found himself disappointed.

Disappointed, in Rachel. In his imprint.

But he couldn't let Leah Clearwater know that.

"It's none of your fuckin' business anyways."

Leah's eyes hardened; in fact, so did the cloth pressed to his bite and Paul cursed louder this time and he kicked out a little bit. Knocked Leah off of her knees and onto her butt on the floor. She glared up at him.

"You asshole!" And with that, well... She went for the proudest part of Paul; also the weakest. Leah grabbed his dick and squeezed.

"OW! FUCKIN' LET GO BITCH!"

Leah just sort of tightened her grip on him. The words poured out of her mouth after that.

"You listen to me Paul Lahote. I'll fucking talk about Rachel goddamn Black all I fucking want and there's not a goddamn thing you can do to stop me; know why? I'll tell you; because I practically made her into a friggen presentable woman by telling her how to curl her goddamn hair right, how to look sexy in a pair of high heels, and, probably most beneficial to you, I taught her how to SUCK A FUCKING DICK!"

Leah leaned in close, then. Paul was a little wide-eyed.

"...And she can't even compare to me."

When Leah let him go and stood up, Paul was still. Very, very still.

And then it hit.

His arms wrapped around her waist and threw her down to the bed so fast her head spun. And as if that wasn't surprising enough... Leah's jean shorts got thrown to the floor in two pieces; victims of Paul's fast hands.

Her underwear followed... And then Leah felt Paul cup her sex.

"You think you can fuckin' TOUCH ME without my goddamn PERMISSION, Leah? And then act like I fuckin' can't do shit about it?"

Paul laughed. "Clearly you don't fuckin' know me."

As one finger roughly drove into her heat and Leah gasped... She knew things were about to take a turn in a direction neither one of them had anticipated.

MS: What a place to leave it, huh...? I know hahaha. But oh well; that'll just keep you eagerly awaiting the update in a few weeks. :) I hope you enjoyed guys; PLEASE REVIEW and give me your thoughts on the events of next chapter. Hope you enjoyed it Maggs. :) ps; GO CHECK OUT STEALTHLIBERAL'S FIC, "Shrapnel." It'll blow your mind just like it blows imprinting. ;)