A/N: So now we get to see what Leah's thinking. My plan is to switch between Jake and Leah every chapter.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter one. I really appreciate your feedback.

Oh, I'm going on a weekend trip and I don't know if I will have internet connection, so it will probably be Monday or Tuesday before I can update next.

Chapter II

Leah's POV:

"Thanks for staying to help clean up," Emily said as I finished drying the dishes.

"No problem. I helped make most of this mess," I pointed out.

Emily sighed as she wrung out the dishcloth and dried her hands. She turned to face me.

"Come with me," she said, taking my hand and leading me to the couch in the living room. I gave her a slightly confused look as we sat down.

She took a deep breath, as though she didn't know how to begin. "There's something I need to tell you."

I braced myself for the worst. The tone in her voice indicated that she was going to regret what she was about to tell me.

She sucked in a breath. "Sam and I are going to have a baby."

I stopped breathing for a moment. So it wasn't bad news. At least, it was news that wasn't meant to be bad.

Sam and Emily had only been married for a few months now. I wondered how long they had known about the pregnancy. No wonder Sam hadn't been phasing lately, especially around me.

"That's great news, Em," I choked over the words.

My disappointment was evident. It was selfish of me to be upset at this wonderful news. I was supposed to be sharing Emily's joy, not ruining it.

"We thought we'd tell you first, you know, before you found it out from someone else." Emily struggled to find the right words.

Before I saw it one the wolves' minds, I corrected in my head. Now good old Sam could get back on patrol duty.

I turned to look at Emily. I had completely ruined the moment for her. Emily and I had been best friends growing up. We had shared each other's up and downs. When something upset Emily, it meant I was upset too. When she received good news, I shared her excitement. From about the time we were about five years old, we had promised to always be there for each other.

It's amazing how much things can change. No matter how much I wanted to blame Emily or Sam for what had happened, none of this was either of their faults. It was just one the cruel things that life throws at you. I was just going to have to be strong and deal with it.

"Really, Em, that's terrific news." My voice was much more confident. I didn't falter over the words.

I leaned in to give her a hug. I would feign happiness if meant making Emily happy. There was no point in fighting the inevitable. I would just have to watch Emily live my dream.

Emily looked as though she was about to burst into tears. My feigned happiness could not hide what I was truly feeling. Emily knew me too well for that.

"I'm so sorry, Leah," she sniffled, tears beginning to pour down her cheeks.

She had nothing to be sorry for. I almost began to cry myself, seeing how much she truly cared.

"Don't cry, Em. This is supposed to be good news. I'm truly, sincerely happy for you and Sam," I told her, but even as I said the words, I could feel tears brimming in the corners of my eyes.

She nodded, wiping her eyes.

"I'd better get home soon. I'll see you tomorrow, Em," I said, not knowing how much longer I could hold up.

She nodded again, and stood up to hug me. As soon as I was out the door, the tears I had been holding in began to pour down my cheeks. I cried so hard that my vision began to blur and I had to stop walking for a moment. I stood by the side of the road like a pathetic idiot for only God knows how long. Finally, my tears ended. I dried my eyes and continued toward my house, which happened to be only about a minute away.

I entered the house quietly, hoping I could avoid my family. I wasn't really in the mood to talk to anyone.

"What took you so long? Everyone else left ages ago," Seth interrogated as soon as I opened the door.

So much for being alone. I sighed, ignoring him.

"Hey, why were you crying?"

Why couldn't he just shut up for once?

"I wasn't crying," I told him flatly.

"Yes you were. Your nose is bright red and your eyes are puffy," he told me. This kid just didn't give up.

"Fine. Don't tell me. I'll find out as soon as we phase anyway," he said, looking sly.

That did it. I lunged toward Seth and tackled him to the ground.

"Leah! Get off!" he screamed, trying to push me away.

Even though he was bigger than me, I was stronger than him. I pinned his arms flat against the ground and dug my knee into his stomach.

"Ow! Leah! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please get off now!" he begged.

After hearing the commotion, my mom entered the room.

"Leah! Seth! You're acting like ten-year-olds! Leah, get off your brother this instant!" Mom's fury was evident.

I gave his stomach one final jab before getting off. He howled in pain.

"What am I going to do with you two?" Mom sighed, shaking her head. "Your father—"

She stopped short, as she always did when Dad came up. I immediately felt bad for being so immature.

"I'm sorry, Mom," I said, giving her a hug.

She wrapped her arms around me, sighing. "It's okay, Leah."

Dad's death had been tough on her, but dealing with two teenage werewolves on top of it made it even worse. I needed to learn how to control my anger.

"I'm sorry, too, Mom," Seth went over to give her a hug, too.

It was funny to see Seth stand next to Mom. About a year ago, he was barely taller than Mom's shoulder. Now he stood at least a foot taller than her.

"Hey, I know what we can do," I said, trying to make amends. "Let's play a game!"

Before either of them could protest, I ran up to my room and grabbed The Game of Life. We all piled around the dining room table just like we had done in the good old days.

"I get the blue car!" Seth immediately announced. He always had to have the blue car.

Mom took the white car and I took the red one, which left the green one, the one Dad had always used. No one dared to touch it.

The game turned my thoughts away from the news Emily had told me. It felt good to be carefree, even if it was only for a bit. Playing Life with my family made me feel young again. Instead of being the over sized boy who looked more like a man than a kid, Seth became that sweet fourteen year old boy he used to be before the transformation. Mom smiled again, laughing at Seth's stupid jokes and other pointless things. Even I let go of the wall of attitude that I had built up ever since I became part of the pack. For once I was just plain Leah, who had just graduated from high school and was trying to live a normal life.

The only difference was Dad's absence, but no one mentioned it. It would only ruin the moment.

Around eleven o'clock, Mom yawned and announced it was bedtime. Seth was the only one who had made it around the board. His blue car sat beside Millionaire Estates while Mom and I were still trying to make our way to the end.

"We can finish playing tomorrow," Mom said, yawning again.

Seth and I nodded in agreement. We all headed up to bed.

As I crawled into bed, the thoughts I had been avoiding during the game began to invade my mind.

I thought of Sam and Emily and how happy they were together. I thought back to the wedding day. I had been Emily's maid ofn honor. It was one of the hardest things I had ever done, but since it had been for Emily, it had been worth it. I thought of the news Emily had told me tonight. I imagined her and Sam, lying in bed together, arguing about whether the baby would be a girl or a boy and throwing around possible name ideas. And I thought about something that I often thought about. What if it was me and not Emily? I imagined myself walking down the aisle in Emily's gorgeous dress. Sam would be waiting for me there, smiling that way he did at Emily, the way he had used to smile at me, a look of complete adoration in his eyes. And then I thought about having Sam's baby. He would hold me in his arms, a broad smile on his face. He would kiss my stomach where my baby, our baby, was growing inside.

I sighed, pulling my mind away from my unrealistic memory. And as I fell asleep, I subconsciously wondered why Sam couldn't have imprinted on me.

A/N: Special thanks to willywonka5, who gave me the longest review I think is possible (But you never know. Maybe YOU can write one longer than hers ;))