Falling for Autumn | Jacob Black

Chapter 42 [edited]

After a long, rough night of keeping an eye on Bella - and Edward, for that matter - morning came way too soon; the sunshine slowly illuminated the room, warming my face with its rays. Yawning as I stretched along the length of the soft bed, it took me a few seconds to remember where I was. Sometime in the middle of the night, despite my half-asleep protests, Jacob had carried me to Edward's room, the only place with a real bed.

The thought of Jacob chuckling at my sleepy pouting made me smile. Lingering in the warmth a little longer, I focused on breathing as I reached out telepathically to my fiancé.

Good morning, Leaf.

Jacob's voice sounded rough, as if he had just woken up. He had a long night too, watching over Seth and being on high alert in case Sam decided to attack.

"Good morning, Jake. I didn't wake you up, did I?"

No, I've been up for a while. We have a new situation...

Flashes of images shot through my mind and I gasped, nearly falling out of the bed.

"I'll be outside in two minutes."

I'll be waiting.

Muttering a quick spell to stop the link for now, I quickly clambered out of bed and changed into clean clothes Jacob must've grabbed from my house. Grateful for the soft pink shirt and my favorite pair of jeans, I grabbed a matching pink scrunchie from the small suitcase propped on the ottoman at the foot of the bed; in record time, I threw my hair into a ponytail before racing down the stairs and out the front door, earning curious glances from the Cullens.

There at the edge of the tree line stood Jacob in human form, with Seth a few feet away in wolf form...

And Leah sitting next to him.

"Meet the newest pack member." Jacob called out as I reached the last step on the porch.

Morning, Autumn. Leah's voice floated into my mind, her tone a bit smug as she glanced at Jacob.

"Morning, Leah." I returned a warm smile in her direction, tilting my head as I silently asked her permission to see her thoughts. Dipping her head low to the ground, Leah let out a soft yelp and closed her eyes.

Jacob and Seth both waited quietly as I shifted through the memories, learning what they already knew. I gasped in understanding when I realized why Leah left Sam's pack; she was getting away from Sam's pity and not wanting her around. Despite her imprinting on Chloe, Leah was still hurt that he didn't want her around. Even as a friend and a pack member.

Something caught my attention about her discussion with Jacob earlier this morning and I rolled my eyes, huffing.

"Leah, Seth... could you give Jacob and I a minute?"

Leah and Seth shared a look before nodding and taking off into the woods, Leah taunting Seth to see who's faster as they resumed the perimeter established last night. Jacob shook his head as he watched them disappear before turning towards me, his smile faltering as he took in the angry expression on my face.

"What?" He asked innocently.

"How could you tell Leah you didn't want her around?" I crossed my arms over my chest, internally satisfied by the reddening cheeks.

"I was stressed out!" Jacob said defensively. "I didn't want to have a pack of my own in the first place!"

"Well, you have one now! Whether you like it or not, Jacob, the Alpha runs in your bloodline. You claimed it the moment you stood against Sam. Of course, the Clearwaters were going to join you... Seth is like a younger version of you - he knows the difference between right and wrong. And Leah..." My voice trailed off as I struggled to take a deep breath.