High Tide

Wandering

I was shocked. I thought Leah figured out what I was doing when I phased. She was there. I felt her presence, so she should've felt mine...I was prepared for the worst case scenario. The worst case being, she would see me coming and make a run for it. However, this was the best case scenario because it appeared that I had the element of surprise. I would try to use this to my advantage.

This was gunna go a lot different than I had planned. She wouldn't see me coming, but would that make my mission easier or harder? Before, I was only worried about leaving Nessie, a spasm of pain circulated through my entire body at the thought of her name, but now I was worried about speaking Leah. How was I going to convince her to come back home? How would Leah react to seeing me? She hadn't seen any of the pack in a long time.

I grew more anxious with every stride. Still, I continued on the path that was stained with Leah's scent, despite my nerves. Hesitation grew the longer I followed her footsteps. But despite my uncertainty of what would happen when i finally came face-to-face with her, I continued. I was so close there was no way I could turn back now. I pushed forward on her trail.

There was a change in the weather. I felt a windy chill run threw my fur, but it did not make me feel cold. My longer hair was quite practical in the wintery months and now I was glad it was long. Nessie had wanted me to cut my hair because she didn't like the length anymore. I winced at the thought of her.

The only thing I could think of was Nessie, Renesmee, my Nessie. Ouch. Ow. I winced in pure pain but I deserved it. I couldn't help myself. I had not seen her all day, so it was hard not to think of her. Trying not to think of her only made me think of Renesmee more. I winced again. Tomorrow would be even harder.

The sun began to set. I decided to phase back to human form, so I didn't redo the mishap of yesterday. When I phased I was so exhausted, I could barely keep my eyelids apart. I stumbled a few steps forward then passed out on a nearby shrub.

When I awoke the sun was just barely rising, I took in the light of the gray sky. The scene surrounding me, looked untouched, as if no one had ever stepped in this part of the forest. One of the few benefits of being a werewolf was that I got to see places most humans would never see. I got up lazily and stretched. Even though the ground I lied upon was soft, I had slept in an awkward position. My shoulder blade and arm felt somewhat stiff. I stretched and then wandered around and found a nearby stream. I drank from it and then decided to refresh myself in it. The water was freezing, but the contrast felt good against my always warm skin. I waited for the sun to rise. I watched the forest slowly turn from gray to green in the light from the rising sun. When the sun finished rising I got out of the water and phased.

I looked around for Leah's scent. When I found it, I noticed it had faded since I last smelled it. I could still catch her scent, but I hoped she hadn't gotten too far away from me since last night. I wondered how much she far she had roamed during the night. I hoped she hadn't gone too far because chasing after her was staring to feel like a never-ending quest. When would this end?

Jake?

Oh!. Hey Seth. He took me by surprise. For some reason I thought it might be Leah even though it was the day and she was probably fast asleep due to her nocturnal activities.

I just wanted to do a little check up. You know, I just wanted to see how things are doing ,but don't worry I'll be the only one disturbing you today. And, boy, let me tell you, it's really hard for the guys not phase. They're just dying to know what's going on and if you've found Leah yet.

Well I haven't. I'm still on her trail. I'm glad you decided to phase and talk to me. It gets pretty boring and kind of lonely doing nothing all day.

Well besides the fact that your running like hell all day long, I swear I think you might be running even faster than Leah.

No I'm not. I reassured him. I was the second fastest in the pack but she was the first.

Well it seems like it...and you never know things can change.

I laughed. I highly doubt that. If I was faster than Leah I think I would have figured that out a few years back. Don't you think?

Yeah I guess...but you didn't think that you would ever be the alpha a few years back, did ya?

Hmmm. I guess you have a point there. Touché. I guess you just influence my thoughts more and more these days.

Are we referring to three days ago? Seth asked curiously.

Yes I am.

Um, Jake if you forgot I'm in your head, I can clearly see that I was not the one who made you change your mind about rescuing Leah.

His accusation was right.

I didn't reply to him. Instead I thought of the memory.

Sam did a pretty good job of convincing you. I'lI take tips for next time when I try to get you to do something.

Oh great! I can't wait until you test out your skills. If he spoke like Sam and also acted like he did the other day I would never be able to say 'no' to him. He would be able to get whatever he wanted. He would be an unstoppable force. Let's hope that never happens.

Really? I see. I will cry next time if that's what I need to do.

If you do that you'd be able to get anything you want and you'd probably end up ruling the world making everyone you're personal slaves.

Hmm the idea is intriguing, but I think I can use my skills toward other things. The idea was never intriguing to Seth but he just went along with the conversation. Global domination didn't appeal to him. I should go. Everyone is getting anxious to hear about your updates...unless you want to tell them yourself...

And have ten other people in my head?...No thanks. You update them . I'll talk to you soon. Goodbye Seth.

Bye Jake. His words faded away.

I was glad Seth had talked to me. Our conversation was refreshing from my continuous routine of running. Preoccupying my time helped the time to fly by. Everything in the forest got boring after awhile. While I ran, my mind wandered from subject to subject. I tried my best not to think of her. However, my mind continued to try and make me think of her. No matter how many times I tried to change my course of thought, she came back around, like a boomerang. I wanted to go home to her. She never wanted me to leave, but I had to. It was my duty. Part of me just wanted to go home, but the other part told me to stay and continue my mission. The opposing voices in my head had the same amount of authority, which made it more difficult to choose a voice to follow. But in the end, I kept following Leah's tracks westward.

I had absolutely no idea where I was? When I had run off on my own a few years back, I ran eastward. The scenery here was different then where I had been. It was colder here and there were no human landmarks or signs anywhere. There were no signs marking forest trails, or even trails. Was she heading to Alaska? Was I heading to Alaska? Were we even in Canada anymore? Had I crossed the border unknowingly?