Chapter 12

She didn't bother moving as her eyes flickered open; she stayed in her place wrapped around him. It felt right—this moment with them together. She couldn't help the tingles that ran through her body, as skin on skin touched, with a light layer of sweat. For the first time after her shift, she felt complete and ready for whatever the world brought upon them. She was relaxed with the soft mattress underneath her and the sun streaming through the bedroom window within the silent house, an opposite to the compound she had been residing in for the last couple of days. Leah wished more than anything that they could stay like this forever, but she knew the pack life still continued outside of these four walls. As a pack they had to stick together.

It seemed the world didn't stop while the pack was dealing with their own problems. The relationship between Sue and Charlie had grown, and turned into a serious stage that Leah didn't know existed. She had to admit that she was happy that her mother had some brightness in her day, even though she knew that Charlie would never replace her father. Not only did Charlie make her mother happy, but he moved in, while Bella decided to make the move into the fanger's house. Though it settled Leah's personal life, meaning Sue wouldn't sell the house, it started a pack problem arising, as Bella was accounted protected by the pack's law. Bella was human, yet felt the need to press forward into the danger zone. She knew it was driving the pack crazy, while Jacob was hanging by a string ready to snap at the slight hint of violence towards the woman. Leah still felt the hint of jealously, but it stayed dim, as she knew that he had chosen her, not Isabella Swan. With the shifting of houses, it made her wonder if maybe she and Jacob could find a place of their own. The only thing holding her back was the question: were they ready for that stage? She didn't bother bringing it up, and decided it was for the best to let things flow as usual.

. . . . .

The clearing was tense; the Cullens, along with Bella, stood on their side of the treaty line. The whole pack hadn't turned up for the day. The younger ones, including their newest members, had stayed at Sam and Emily's, as their self control hadn't reached the level of not shifting on sight of vampires. As it was, Leah was thankful for them not being present, as the pack was tense enough without having to worry about the action-thoughts of their newest members.

"Bella has decided to join us."

Leah could feel Jacob stiffen beside her at Carlisle's words. She knew the two species had some understanding after the operation, but it had no effect on changing the laws of their people.

"We thought you deserved to know our plans before anything else happened."

Leah could feel the stir throughout the pack; no one made a move as Sam stood in human form in front of them.

"When her heart stops beating, there will be nothing stopping us from ripping your throats out."

It was a threat, one that seemed empty, as they all knew Bella was going to turn—just not in their area, out of their reach of protecting the innocents. It was also a threat to the change in Bella's diet. The rule was going to apply to the woman as well, once she changed, and there was no exception.

The pack knew their words of discouragement didn't affect Bella's choice in turning into a vampire, but that didn't help the effect it had on the people around her. Charlie was trying to come up with every reason why Bella shouldn't move away with the Cullen family to Alaska. Some were plausible reasons but others were farfetched like the cold weather, or popping the question on whether she was pregnant. Leah didn't blame the man; he was losing the only daughter he had, someone who had been constant in his life for the last couple of years. Bella's mother was easier to deal with, the phone calls between the two split parents were of Renee telling Charlie the experience their girl would have, the opportunity with the new environment and family. Bella and Charlie had come to an agreement at last—one that Charlie still didn't hundred percent like—they weren't leaving until after Christmas in the New Year, giving Bella time with her parents, and Charlie to wrap his mind around the situation.

Neither of the agreements Bella had made shifted the mood of Jacob Black. To say he wasn't happy with her choice would be an understatement, the constant tension in his muscles, and his patience thinning had put everyone on edge. The only time he wasn't wound up, was at the late hours of the night, or the rare times Leah could drag him away from pack business to the cozy area of his bedroom. She could knit the stiffly knotted muscles to soft cushions with the tip of her fingers or a kiss of her lips.

Beth's body seemed to improve. Since escaping the operation, the flush in her cheeks and the ringlets of red hair and the hint of happiness shone within the brown eyes. She seemed shy in the pack, a complete opposite to Leah. Beth had shifted once with the pack, and Leah had felt the overwhelming feeling of belonging through the young girl in the pack bond.

One of the younger wolves, Colin, had put his time into some research which involved government systems and along with the local Google, he found the information on Beth's family. Beth's father was the shifter while her mother, a normal human made Beth's shift dormant; it was powered by the injected substance which the operation had manufactured. The next part was finding out the pack that Beth's father, Nick, happened to be a part of before his death. The information would decide on what bloodline pack she would join. It happened that Nick has been an outcast in the pack society, which led to the lone wolf's death. With no pack line, Beth was able to stay with the La Push Pack with Sam and Emily taking the young girl under their wing.

It was amazing to see the sudden change in Emily as she embraced motherhood, supporting and guiding Beth through the steps. Leah knew that Sam and Emily wished to have their own child in the near future but it seemed they were content with Beth in the meantime.

"It may be weeks after everything, but it still feels like a dream, though Sam and Emily are helping me with the reality of this life."

Leah nodded her head as she leaned against the fallen tree in the forest, Beth sitting opposite her with her legs crossed in the air, and laying on her stomach.

"I mean there was ... is so much I don't know about everything."

"But you're enjoying yourself?"

Beth nodded her head and Leah couldn't help the smirk curling on her lips. Beth was definitely reacting to the life of the pack better than her, maybe it had something to do with the way Beth was exposed to the life.

"Got to get used to school. Colin and Brady are helping me there, but Sam is still hesitant with me being in public."

"Don't worry, it's nothing personal, everyone has gone through the same stage." Leah tried to remember back when she was dealing with the shift—Mason automatically flickered through her thoughts. She shut her eyes to block him out; all she could see was the crazed look of his eyes whenever she thought of him. "Some experiences are different as expected."

"When do you think they'll let me do rounds?" Leah could hear the nerves tingling in her voice while her body showed a hint of excitement.

"If you want to fight a vampire—" she paused for a second, but got no response. "You'll have to prove to them that you're not an ordinary girl."

"Ordinary? I change into a wolf!"

Leah couldn't help a laugh escape her at the tone of Beth's voice. The mention of wolves triggered a memory in Leah that was surrounded by questions.

"Have you had dreams of a wolf?"

"Running as a wolf ... as a pack, is that what you mean?"

Leah shook her head; it was nothing like she meant. The white wolf had appeared to her more than once in her dreams. She felt a sudden sadness at being the only one, the questioning but having answers.

"Maybe it's just one of those creepy wolf –things."

Again she couldn't help herself at Beth's attitude towards everything and smiled.

"Like the Bonfire." With the newest members of the pack, they had finally gotten around to having a pack bonfire to tell the stories of how they had come into being and what their duty entailed.

"You'll get use to it." Leah stood up, followed by Beth.

"You better start for home, Emily will have dinner on the table once your there."

Beth nodded her head in agreement as Leah looked above them at the sky; it was known that once the sun was setting, Emily would have dinner ready for anyone in the pack that needed a healthy feed and good company.

"We still running tomorrow?"

Leah nodded her head at Beth's question, the young girl wasn't ready for a pack run, but she was edging towards a couple of runs together.

Leah didn't waste any time walking back on her two feet; she shifted to make the destination time shorter. It seemed to work, as her house came into view, she took the back door making sure it didn't slam shut behind her, and made her way upstairs to her bedroom. She could hear her mother talking in the living room, and at that moment she didn't want to chit chat.

She knew exactly where to find it. Getting on her knees, she looked under her headboard, but came up with nothing—there could only be one other person with the book.

Slipping over to the other side of the hallway, she knocked on the door before stepping into Seth's room. Her brother lay on his bed, dead to the world, snoring softly—the result of today's work of keeping the boundaries clear of any problem. Flicking a glance around his room, she spotted the book peeking from under a pair of shorts on his floor.

With the book in her hands and her bedroom door closed, Leah laid out on her bed, flipping the book open to the index. She came up with nothing under white wolf so she tried for the next best—dreams. She winced at the size of the section, theory had always been her worst mark in school and it hadn't changed, but she started to read nonetheless looking for some kind of answer.

It was an hour later, with the sky pitch black, that she caught something. She had almost missed it with her tired eyes, but the discovery made a spark run through her. Each pack has their own ancestors, and they very rarely can appear to another member of the pack in a time of desperation or hardship. They bring with them a gift from the other world— a glimpse of the future, a desire that will impact the pack or an idea to help in their time of need. The gift can be told by the action of the wolf, the direction is the sign relating to the cause of stress, or pain within the pack member .She felt the air rush out of her lungs—it told Leah the reason for the wolf coming to her, but not why? Why would such a thing happen to her? There was no glimpse of the future, or an idea at her time of need. What was her desire? A desire that could benefit the pack? She laid the book on her stomach, her back flat against the mattress, staring at the ceiling as the information rolled around her mind. She thought about the next clue—the direction is a sign relating to the cause. Well, the wolf always jumped at her, going straight through her when the wolf made its exit.

She didn't get a second chance to think about it, as a light thump that was only audible to her ears, sounded in her room. Her head twisted to her open window to find Jacob standing 6 feet 5 inches tall, shirtless—it had been his afternoon for the shift to check La Push boundary. She moved to the side of the mattress making a space for his bulky form. He wasn't hesitant to take the vacant space and settled next to her. She turned on her side once he was laid out, and curled into the side of his body, his arm wrapped around her in return. As the silence filled the room, Leah's mind started to wander yet again.

"What's on your mind?" His index finger smoothed the line that had formed between her eyebrows.

"Just the book." She turned her head to the book lying on the side of the bed, Jacob following her line of eye sight.

"A myth?"

"Coming to reality." Jacob leaned over and picked up the open book, making sure to keep his fingers at the open page. She watched his eyes flicker over the page before he looked up at her; he didn't show any type of shock about the truth.

"What has the wolf given you?"

"Nothing ... that's the problem." She turned to wrap herself around him once again.

"What has happened to you except the obvious?" The obvious being the science operation a while ago.

Without much of a warning, Jacob placed his hand on top of her stomach, the action sending a killing chill through her. She knew he wanted kids some time in the near future, and she'd never be able to give that aspect of life to her imprint.

"Where did the wolf go?" His bright eyes flashed up to her.

"Through me." She stated it like it was obvious, she had already gone through this stage of thinking.

He rolled his eyes at her. "Which part?"

"My...stomach."

She glanced at Jacob who had a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. She almost doubted that she would have such luck after everything they had been through. On the other side of the coin, it made sense for the ancestors to giver her this gift. It would affect the pack, having two wolves reproduce making the pack stronger, including the leadership of the pack.

Beth hadn't made any moves towards imprinting on either human or wolf. Leah may not have been the only female in the area but she had abilities and responsibilities that only rested on her shoulders. She knew the time was coming that Jacob would step up to be pack leader; she would have to step up her own game as the mate to the leader. This automatically gave her the position of beta pack master, the second in command. Leah could worry about that later; she couldn't help the joy that ran through her at the possibility of having a child with Jacob. Of course it wouldn't happen now, but in due time, when the ancestors decided on the right moment. It made her slightly upset that yet again, someone else would be deciding her fate—another set of elders to deal with. Before she could make a rude statement about it, Jacob had her pressed up against him, with his hands on her hips and their lips connecting.

Leah took in the two young boys gathered at the beach. She lay down on the sandy beach next to Emily, Kim and Beth, with little Claire between them as the guys kicked the football around. They were bulky like the other men in the pack, yet smaller in size like Seth. She had formally met Brady and Colin at the bonfire; they seemed like reasonable boys, and made a good addition to the pack. Colin was handy with a computer, proving himself in searching Beth's family history. Brady was giving Embry a run for his money with his attitude. They seemed to get along with each othe, but you would always see the two younger brothers together no matter there difference in traits.

Quil moved away from the game of football and threw himself on the ground next to Claire, making the young child smile as sand sprinkled over them. "How is my girl?" He taped her lightly on the nose. Her answer was a hug, her arms wrapping around Quil's neck.

"Castle." She picked up the plastic spade and passed the bucket to Quil. Leah almost found it sweet with the connection between the two imprints. At least now Embry had someone to partner with, as Quil spent his time with Claire.

Leah's attention turned to the game; Seth and Colin weren't a part of the team. They were off to the sideline with their heads stuck in a book—no doubt it was the book their father had given them. Seth had come into her room that morning asking for it. She didn't see any reason for the youngest member not to get to know his history.

The rest of the guys had their teams of three with Jared, Paul and Sam, while Jacob had Embry and Brady with him. Though one team was older and more experienced, Brady seemed to match Paul's full behavior. Watching Paul now, she wondered where Rachael had gotten to.

"Anyone seen Rachael?"

Apart from the bonfire, she hadn't seen her childhood friend for quite some time. Paul seemed to be handling the imprint with ease.

"Working! She'll be around tonight."

The girls shared a smile at Paul's response; he was meters away from them and yet his sense of hearing caught wind of the question. Tonight was dinner at Emily's, a chance for imprints and imprintees to get together for the night. Everyone seemed to be alright—Emily and Sam were going to get married in the Fall, while Rachael and Paul had finally completed moving into their small cottage. Jared and Kim seemed to be heading in the serious direction like Sam and Emily. But Leah knew for a fact that the couple would wait until they finished their schooling as well, as Kim was getting a further education to be a dentist. Jacob was going to complete his education at school, hopefully to get a job at the local garage to be a mechanic. Leah was going to encourage it as much as she could, since she knew Jacob loved spending time in the shed. Seth and Beth would continue schooling with the younger two as well as patrolling, though the older wolves would pick up any shifts needed to keep them continuing their education. Colin and Brady had a handle on everything. Their parents weren't sure about their new group of friends with Sam's Gang, as some called them around La Push. Their sons hadn't gotten in any trouble or a least that they knew of— that included the sneaking in and out of the windows and their change in sleep pattern since their shift. Leah wasn't sure exactly what she would do with her time—continue with working in the shop and doing her job to protect the town, even taking shifts to help her brother out.

The tension was there; they only needed a spark. That spark happened on one of their patrolling days with Sam and Jacob butting heads at every decision. Leah wasn't sure if it was Sam or Jacob that made the first move, whoever made it, started the challenge quest to be Alpha. It was automatic that it brought the attention of the pack, each watching the bites and paws of each Alpha male. Leah could feel her wolf rising at the challenge, on edge to see the new Alpha of the pack.

Sam pawed at Jacob, his claws leaving three red marks against Jacob's matted fur. In reaction to the attack, Jacob swung around and did the same to Sam's right hind leg. The weight of his paw made Sam's back leg give out, giving Jacob the upper hand, but that didn't stop Sam from still trying to attack the other Alpha. The fight would continue until one of them surrendered, or it would be a fight to the death. Sam's body slammed into Jacob, successfully throwing his body against the closest tree. The tree vibrated with the impact until Jacob stood up, taking a stand to Sam, his growl rumbling through his chest, making the rest of the pack bow down on their stomachs. Leah lay on her stomach, head on paws, as her eyes followed the movements of Jacob. She had to stop herself from jumping into the challenge, as Sam and Jacob were at each others throats. They each rolled on the ground with their muzzles snapping at any inch of skin to make the other weak.

The rush ran through Leah as she watched the frazzled movements of each Alpha. It wasn't until Jacob had his teeth wrapped around Sam's neck, did the struggle stop making the rest of the pack standby, waiting for the next moment. The two larger wolves stood each other down, only resting when Sam's eyes cast down giving in to submission, making that relief flow through the pack. Sam would live, stepping down to give Jacob the rightful position of pack Alpha.

No one made a move; each wolf waiting for some kind of response—command from their new leader. Sam stepped away from Jacob, giving him his back, making him vulnerable to Jacob by showing another sign of submission. The first thing Jacob did was walk towards Leah, touching her nose in reassurance and acknowledging that she was his mate. A loud howl soon followed, as Jacob raised his head tilting it towards the tree tops. Leah joined in, her own lesser howl mixing with his, while the rest of the pack followed the example. Once the ten wolves had howled, Jacob wasted no time running full speed into the forest with Leah by his side; Paul flanking his other. They were about to catch their first hunted prey as a pack with their new Alpha.

Leah closed her eyes against the sun. Her muscles had a slight ache in them from their long hunt, as she laid in the meadow with Jacob resting beside her. Paul and Brady were patrolling, while the others had left them to their own devices. The power of Jacob being Alpha, rolled through her veins like a fresh storm. She couldn't stop the silly grin on her face at the feeling of strength wrapped around her. He could command anyone to do anything, but she knew that with one look she could make him do anything, and vice versa. It didn't matter if he was Alpha or not, but the thrill of the position set a weight on his shoulders ... their shoulders. The responsibility of the pack relied on them, yet she knew they could do it together—keep a town protected, run a pack of wolves, and make a family. They could do anything together.

. . . . .

"Close your eyes." Jacob's voice rumbled through her body, as she laid her head on his chest.

She closed her eyes as he fiddled with her hand. She opened them at his request to find a leather bracelet around her wrist; a single brown wolf attached to the leather—a promise bracelet. Her fingers traced the wooden lines in the small wolf the size of her thumb. The letter J was carved in its back leg. She cursed herself for being a woman as tears started to form in the corner of her eyes.

"Jake ...Thank you." She wrapped her arms around his neck and his around her waist as he brought her onto his lap. This felt like home, where she wanted to be—sitting with Jacob, knowing they could face anything the world brought upon them.

AN: Well that's all folks! Hope you enjoyed it and thank you for the support along with my Beta- Lady of Spain.