Pick a Pic Challenge

Title: The Alpha's Ex

Banner #: 206

Pairing: Leah and Embry

Genre: Angst

Rating/Disclaimer: T

I don't own any of the recognizable characters, they belong to SM.

Summary : She sat on the beach as she wallowed in pain. He stood at a distance watching her cry.

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A gust of wind blew, causing a piece of her short black hair to dance in front of her face, and her lithe body shrunk ever so slightly when she exhaled.

One olive-colored hand fell into the sand, tightly clenching a handful of it. She remained like that for a moment before she lifted her arm an inch, letting the sand fall between her fingers back to the beach. A slight tremor shook her body. At first, it seemed to be from anger, but the scent of salt – and not the kind from the ocean – wafted through the air and assaulted the senses of the man who was watching her. She was crying. Her body shook once again, but this time a small sob fell from her lips and into the silent night.

Her free hand came up to her face to wipe away one of her traitorous tears. Another sound escaped her mouth, but it wasn't audible. The man watching her knew what she whispered; he seemed to know everything she did. He knew the reason she sat there and cried, and he knew how often she did. He was the only person who paid attention to the images in her mind when they were in wolf form. Aside from her brother, no one else cared, and even he hated to see and feel the things she felt. The disrespect toward her angered her onlooker deeply, but he never said a word to anyone.

He wanted to go to her but wasn't sure he should. She was hostile toward anyone who seemed to care. It was her nature to mistake worry for pity. It always seemed to set her off. There were countless fights and unkind words between her and the rest of the pack. Eventually, almost everyone did what they could to avoid interacting with her. Her younger brother and the man watching her were the only two willing to take patrol shifts with her. It didn't escape her notice either, but she never expressed any feelings on the subject.

As the minutes wound on, he continued to watch and she continued to cry.

Every night around this time, she was on the beach wallowing in her misery, the misery caused by the one she used to love. Her heart was ripped carelessly from her body. She could not escape the agony of seeing him with her cousin. It broke every piece of her to see the images in his mind when they were phased together. It took all her strength not to cry and lash out when she saw them exchange a loving embrace. She did not think her heart would ever be able to heal, not as long as she was alone with no one to love her.

She silently yearned for someone to hold her, love her, and mend her broken spirit. Sometimes the tears she shed on the beach were because she knew she would never find her other half. No one would want to be with such a bitter and closed-off woman.

And each night he sat within the cover of the trees. He watched with a sad ache as the beautifully broken woman cried. All he wanted to do when he witnessed her sorrow was go and sit beside her. If he could only offer her an ounce of comfort, he would it. That was the only thing he could give her because he had no clue what she really needed. She was angry and sad, and he thought maybe she just needed someone to endure her wrath, someone on which she could take it all out. His body would heal quickly, but he was not so sure he wanted to feel her violent side directed at him. He knew he was not the one who needed to feel her pain and suffering. It should have been their Alpha.

As he continued to silently watch her, he yearned to hold her in his embrace. All he wanted to do was help her heart heal, to be the person who mended her spirit. He wanted her to know she was never alone, not even when she cried at night. His presence was with her, whether she knew it or not.

The woman let out a loud sigh as she wiped at her face once again.

She knew her eyes were puffy. Her cheeks stung, her nose was running, and it was all because of the man who broke her. It all started when he disappeared for a while and she was the only one who seemed worried. She knew he would come back for her; he always did, but she worried still. When he finally returned, she knew something was off. His gaze fell instantly to her cousin rather than her. In that moment, her heart slowly started to crack. The pain intensified when she saw the look on his face, like her cousin was his world. It was a look he once saved for her, but it was no longer hers.

Her world began to fall around her.

That night changed the course of the rest of her life. The relationship she thought would never fail ended. The images of their wedding and children faded and left nothing but misery. Her belly would never swell with his child and they would never exchange vows. They would never be together again. She tried holding to hope, but it was pointless.

Not even twenty-four hours passed before everything finally crashed in on her. Her mother sent her to the store for some bread and as she walked past the diner, her eyes fell upon her cousin with her once fiancé. They were snuggled together in a booth, smiling and laughing. She wondered how they could be so happy when she felt so hurt. Her feet were rooted to the ground because she could not stop staring at them, staring at how in love they appeared. Tears fell down her cheek and after three long minutes, they spotted her.

The look on her cousin's face was pained, but his face looked stoic.

In the moments following, she felt her heart completely shatter as it was cruelly torn from her body. That was when she knew there was no hope for his return to her awaiting arms. She had lost him to her cousin. and she was not sure she could ever accept that fact. Even if she never saw them together again, she would never forget. He would go home to someone else every night. His strong arms would never hold her again. She would never hear his whispered love in her ear. Everything felt unfair as she turned to run away from what was forever embedded in her mind.

She did the best she could to suppress her memories as her eyes focused on the ocean. The waves were starting increased in intensity as lightening flickered randomly through the sky. For a moment she smiled at the reflection of her mood in the weather.

He continued to watch her as she was lost in thought. The man wondered what exactly she thought about when she drifted off. The moment she came back to the present, he felt the shift in her mood. The usual feel of misery radiating from her was missing. It came back quickly and caused his chest to ache for her. It was not pity he felt – it was sadness. She was so broken yet beautiful. She did her best to keep it together when someone was near, but alone, she fell apart so completely. It made him mourn for her. He wanted to shred his alpha for causing her to become so bitter and sad. No matter how much he wanted to hurt him, he would never be able to do it. That was up to her.

With one last sigh, he looked in her direction. "I will always be here for you, Leah." The whisper was low but he knew that she would hear it.

"Thank you, Embry," she returned.

He turned away from the distraught Leah. All he wanted to do was help her. She was his Alpha's ex, she was broken, and he was in love with her.