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ashcal99 · 1 year

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Certain Things : Leah Clearwater IX

Chapter Nine

"Something about you, It's like an addiction, Hit me with your best shot honey, I've got no reason to doubt you, 'Cause certain things hurt, And you're my only virtue"

Summary: Conner Swan moves to Forks Washington in hopes to help his sister Bella through her breakup with Edward. In hopes to find happiness again. He finds much more.

Warnings: (18+ only), brief mentions of smut, graphic descriptions of pain and violence, mentions of death, depression, loss, antidepressants, general angst, slow burn

Words: 6.1k

A/N: Comment if I missed any warning or anything plz thnx.

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Previous Chapter

Series Masterlist

——————

May 29th, 2006

The rest of their weekend alone was amazing to say the least, but it had come to an end all too soon. Sometime during the night on Sunday, the red head had been spotted near the treaty line and one of the Cullens had jumped across trying to catch her. Nothing came of it and the red headed vampire got away, but Leah had to leave to join the pack, and hadn’t been able to return that night. He hadn’t heard from her during the day, as he had work and he was sure she had been catching up on the sleep that she had lost.

After the weekend had flown by, his shift that Monday had seemed to drag on forever. Hours slugged along and all he could do was think of Leah, especially after how they had spent the last few days. He wanted so badly to be back by her side, but he also didn’t want to interrupt her rest, so after his shift had ended, he had reluctantly driven home. He had taken a quick shower and then settled down in the living room with his father.

He was flipping absent-mindedly through the pages of his book, as Charlie paced the room. Bella hadn’t returned home after school and he was beginning to grow antsy. He had begun mumbling under his breath, when finally, Bella came in clamoring through the front door. “You know... Edward could at least respect meal times.” Charlie called out to her, leaning on the doorway to the kitchen, his voice dripping with annoyance.

Bella looked to him, slightly startled. “I was just with Jake.” She said pointedly. Conner smirked, hearing the conversation from his spot on the couch. The whole dynamic between the two had always been humorous to him. Charlie wasn’t very good with discipline and the two siblings rarely needed any, so the situation was fairly entertaining to watch. In reality, Bella was an adult now, ands didn’t have to listen if she didn’t want to, but he suspected she knew how badly she had fucked up, and that was why she was playing along.

Charlie rose his eyebrows in shock at her words. “Oh... Good.” He said, his happiness soon diapering as a nock on the front door interrupted him. He rolled his eyes, instantly knowing who it was. “I'll just give you two some privacy then.” He mumbled irritatedly, making his way to his room.

Bella turned the knob, sucking in a breath before opening the door. Edward stood in front of her, eyes looking panicked. “Hey.” She said, trying her best to sound nonchalant.

His eyes softened, seeing that she was safe. “Do you understand how worried I've been?” He asked incredulously, concern coating his voice.

She sighed, slightly irritated. “I was perfectly safe.” She said, brushing his comment off, trying to ease his stress of the situation. She knew she was safe with Jacob, but it was clear that Edward wasn’t as confident in the wolf’s control and composure.

“I almost break the treaty to make sure of it.” He rambled, suddenly stopping as he sucked in a breath of air finally, his eyes widening as his body went rigid.

Bella hung her head. “I know, I smell like a dog. I'm sorry.” She said dismissively.

Edward pushed his way gently past her into the house. “No, no. Something's wrong.” He said, eyes flickering around the room, a concerned look on his face. He rushed upstairs, and in a moment he was standing back in the living room, causing Conner to flinch by his sudden appearance, his heart leaping into his throat.

Bella ran, stumbling to his side. “Edward, what's wrong?” She asked, placing her hand on his cold stone arm.

Edward turned to the girl, eyes wide with panic, addressing the two siblings. “Someone's been in here.” He said eerily.

It hadn’t taken long for Leah to arrive after hearing about the intrusion. She had showed up, anxiety filling her chest as she smelled the unfamiliar scent. She had rushed upstairs, Jacob by her side as she searched around for any clues as who it had been.

After they had deemed their search inconclusive, she rushed to Conner’s side, stress coating her features. “Well I have good and bad news.” She started, curling her arms around his waist as she tried to calm herself. “We don’t recognize the scent, they must have left only an hour or so ago. But, this gives me the excuse to not leave your side until we find out who it was.” She finished, smiling lightly up at him.

Conner attempted weakly to smile back at her as his heart dropped to his stomach. “What’s wrong?” She asked, smile wiped from her face.

He tried to bite back his frown, as he gazed into her eyes. “I’ve been home for hours.” He said. Her heart clenched hearing his words. He had been so close to danger while she had been miles away from him, completely unaware.

The crease between her brows deepened as she took in the new information. “You definitely aren’t getting rid of me now.” She said burying her face in his chest, breathing in the soothing scent of him.

——————

June 8th, 2006

A little over a week had passed since the intrusion of the Swan residence. Leah had kept true to her promise and had not left his side for more than a minute since. If it had been anyone else, he would’ve grown annoyed by the constant attention and lack of privacy, but it was Leah, so he didn’t mind it one bit. In fact, he definitely loved it. If he was lucky, maybe his life would stay this way, the opportunity to be around her anytime he wanted. Never being forced apart. A dream come true.

The two had just arrived at at the Blacks’ house for the pack’s council meeting. The whole pack was there, including the tribal elders. He hadn’t seen the majority of the pack since learning of Leah imprinting, so it would be nice to see them again after so much had changed. They walked, hand and hand down the dirt trail towards the glowing fire in the distance. Conner ran his thumb back and forth on the back of her hand. “Are you sure you want to go? We can turn back now if you want.” She asked him, slightly apprehensive about bursting the bubble of privacy that they had been sharing with each other.

He shook his head lightly. “No, it’ll be fun. Besides, I probably need to start learning the legends now, right?” He said, sending her a small smile. Since the ‘cold one’ incident, Leah had been particularly stressed out and Conner had hoped being around her pack would grant her some sense of safety. In reality, he knew he would go through literal hell if it meant making her feel safe and comforted, so a simple bonfire was nothing.

The warmth of the fire engulfed their senses as they approached the group. Conner took in the familiar faces of the pack, spotting Sue and sending a small smile in her direction.

Leah pulled him to a seat next to her on one of the logs surrounding the fire. She leaned into his side, burrowing her face into his neck, trying to calm her nerves. He shivered at her touch, the warmth of her contrasting the cool air. The heat of the fire and her body seeped into his bones as he relaxed into her. He wrapped his arm snuggly around her waist, resting his cheek against the top of her head. With anyone else he would’ve felt awkward displaying such affection around so many other people, seeing as he was never one for PDA, but with Leah it all came so naturally. He had never felt anything less than complete comfort whilst in her presence.

He looked up from the woman in his embrace, his eyes connecting with the brown of his sister’s. He wasn’t completely shocked to see her there, as she had been spending more and more time with Jacob the past week or so. He felt sorry for the boy. Conner could tell that he had strong feelings for Bella and seeing her happy with Edward had to be very painful for him. As much as it stressed Conner out, he knew that Bella was going to do what she wanted to do in the end, and he tried his best not to worry too much.

Billy cleared his throat from the other side of the bonfire, seeing that everyone had finally arrived. “The Quileutes have been a small tribe from the beginning.” He began, eyes trailing across the group surrounding him. “But we've always had magic in our blood. We were great spirit warriors... shape shifters, that transform into the powerful wolf. This enabled us to scare off our enemies, and protect our tribe.” He paused dramatically, letting the ire silence surround them.

“One day our warriors came across a creature. It looked like a man, but it was hard like stone, and cold as ice. Our warriors' sharp teeth, finally tore it apart, but only fire would completely destroy it.” Conner’s eyes focused on the flickering flames before him, letting the story overtake his mind. “They lived in fear, the Cold Man was not alone, and they were right.” Fear pricked the back of his neck, unease settling in his stomach.

Leah lifted her head from his neck, feeling his body tense at Billy’s words. She looked towards his face to gauge his reaction, grasping his free hand and bringing it to her lips to plant a gentle reassuring kiss to his knuckles. He grip on her waist tightened as Billy continued. “She took her vengeance out on the village. Our elder chief, Taha Aki, was the only spirit warrior left to save the tribe, after his son was killed. Taha Aki's third wife could sees that he would lose. The third wife was no magical being, no special powers, but one. Courage.”

Leah had of course heard this story many times while growing up, but now that she not only knew that the legends were true, but she also had Conner, her heart clenched thinking of how the story would end. The thought of Conner in a similar form of danger had panic filling her chest. "The third wife's sacrifice distracted the cold woman, long enough for Taha Aki to destroy her. She saved the tribe.” Billy Continued.

“Over time, our enemies have disappeared. But one remains. The Cold Ones.” He said eerily. “Our magic awakens when they near, and we sense it now, we feel the threat in our blood. Something terrible is coming, and we must all be ready. All of us.” He ended, a chill rising in the air, despite the heat of the flames in front of them.

Conner of course knew that Leah was in constant danger because of what she was, but the story had made it all feel so much more real. He couldn’t help but feel himself gripping her tighter. After the legends were done being told, the group moved on to mingling and eating the burgers that they had grilled.

Seth was over talking to the two as Leah was finishing her food. Conner turned to her, a smile on his face. “Do you want another?” He asked, being well aware, of course, of the appetite and metabolism that went along with being a wolf. She smiled up him, mouth full of food, and sheepishly nodded her head.

He lifted himself up from the log and made his way over to get another plate full for her. He grabbed a fresh paper plate, turned and narrowly missed slamming directly into the man in line behind him. Conner looked up from the ground to see Sam Uley standing directly in front of him. He hadn’t exactly been trying to avoid the man, but it was obviously going to be slightly awkward when they finally did see each other again. Like most of the pack, he hadn’t seen the man since finding out exactly what had happened between him and Leah.

Conner gave him an awkward smile, deciding he it would be best if they didn’t avoid the inevitable. It would be better if they just got it over with, especially since they would definitely be seeing each other more and more as things got more serious with Leah. “Hey, Sam.”

Sam looked to him, returning his smile. “Hey, Conner. It’s nice to finally officially meat you. I’ve heard a lot about you.” He laughed lightly, scratching the back of his neck, his eyes drifting away slightly. “You know, wolf telepathy thing.” He clarified.

Heat rose to Conner’s cheeks as he processed his words. Yikes. What was it with all this mind reading stuff? First Edward and now the whole pack? He hadn’t exactly thought about the privacy that him and Leah lacked when it came to the pack and now he wondered just how much they had all seen of him inside of her mind. He blinked slowly, trying to stop the racing thoughts in his mind before they got out of hand. Sam saw in his face the embarrassment and tried his best to ease it. “She’s happy. With you. She deserves it, so… thanks, I guess?” He ended, starting to become unsure of his words and how appropriate or inappropriate they might be.

Sam knew, now that Leah had found out the truth about everything that she had forgiven him, but he had ultimately been the one to cause her that pain to begin with. He wondered if Conner had the same kind of understanding for the situation that Leah and found.

He honestly wouldn’t know what to feel if he was face to face with someone that had hurt Emily to the extent that he had hurt Leah, no matter what the reasoning had been. Despite the inevitability of breaking her heart, when Sam had imprinted on Emily, he knew it would be best to break things off with Leah as soon as possible. He had hated seeing her in pain, and now that she had Conner, he saw that spark of happiness return to her eyes.

Conner cleared his throat, a genuine smile on his lips. “She deserves the world if I could give it to her.” He said. He didn’t hold any animosity towards the man in front of her. He knew that the situation they had gone through was difficult for all parties involved, and of course it hurt his heart to know how it had effected Leah, but there was no use in taking it out on Sam, especially now.

Sam grinned ear to ear, glad to see that Conner wasn’t angry with him. He clapped an open hand on the man’s shoulder, giving a small farewell as they moved their separate ways.

Conner made his way back to Leah, a plateful of fresh food in hand. He passed it over, lowering himself back onto the log beside her. He pressed a kiss to her temple, returning his arm back to where it had been previously around her waist and he eased back into the conversation between the two siblings.

——————

June 10th, 2006

The day of Bella’s graduation had come and Conner had made a point to go to the ceremony. As iffy as their relationship was at the moment, he knew he would end up regretting it if he missed seeing his little sister graduate high school. So Leah had gone as well, refusing to leave his side, and he was thankful for that. Not only because he knew that there would be an abnormally high number of vampires in attendance, but also because having her next to him made being around big crowds much more bearable.

Clearly, Conner held no desire to attend the Cullen’s graduation party, so instead the two found themselves sitting along the shore of la push beach. The soles of their bare feet sunk into cool sand, strong gusts of wind whipping throughout the open air around them. A comfortable silence surrounded them as they sat, taking in the view and the sound of the waves beating against the shore.

Leah looked up towards him, the moonlight illuminating his face. He had been abnormally quiet the past few days and she had been growing more and more distressed by it as time went on. She reached up, turning his face down to her own. “What’s wrong?” She asked, a crease forming between her brows.

His eyes landed on hers, trying to put his overwhelming thoughts into words. “It just is all so much.” He said, pausing to suck in a shuttering breath. “I can’t help but feel like something bad is going to happen soon, and it honestly scares the shit out of me.” He confessed, resting his forehead against hers. He had this creeping feeling that something horribly life altering was going to happen soon, and it had his stomach in knots.

Leah frowned, rubbing her thumb across his cheek. “No matter what happens, I’m going to keep you safe, Conner.” She promised, pulling away to peer deep into his eyes.

Conner’s frown deepened slightly. “You know that it’s not my safety that I’m concerned about.” He said, voice soft as he reached forward to tuck a piece of her hair behind her ear. The fear of losing Leah had been eating away at him since she had come into his life. After losing someone so important already, of course it had been in the back of his mind from the beginning, but now it felt like the danger was closer than ever.

Happiness had never come as easily to him as it did with Leah, but with it came the crippling anxiety of losing it. His life had become so heavily centered around her so quickly, and he couldn’t even begin to imagine how it would effect him if she was suddenly gone. Leah was of course terrified of losing him as well. She was confident that she would be fine, but he was just human. Compared to herself, he was incredibly fragile, and he was already surrounded by so much danger as it was.

Sucking in a shaky breath, she leaned forwards, pressing her lips lightly to his. Her hands held both sides of his face, her fingers brushing the frown lines that were present. “I can handle myself.” She whispered.

Her words did little to ease his internal dread, but he decided to drop the subject, knowing that it wouldn’t help to focus on it any longer. He gave a small nod, trying his best to smile down at her. “I love you.” He sighed out, turning his head to kiss her open palm that rested on his cheek.

“I love you.” She answered, a soft smile grazing her features. Her lips once again found their place on his own, as she sunk into the comfort of his embrace. The softness of her plush lips against his helped slightly calm the anxiety that rattled his bones. His arms wrapped tightly around her waist, pulling her further towards himself and settling her on his lap. Her knees dug into the sand on either side of his hips as her fingers curled into his scalp, taking fistfuls of his hair.

A low groan left his lips as he felt the light tug of her hands. He slowly pulled his lips away from hers, leaning back so he could look into her eyes once more. He found himself getting lost in the deep brown of her irises, the way the moon illuminated them, making it even more difficult than usual to look away. “We should get married.” He suddenly blurted out, shocking even himself. Sure, he wanted to marry her. Of course he did, in fact, he didn’t exactly see the point in waiting any longer to do so. Now that he really thought about it, they knew they would never choose to be apart, so why put it off?

Her eyes widened as she processed his words. “Really?” She asked, searching his eyes for reassurance. He gulped, trying to swallow the lump in his throat and as he finally gave a nod to the woman. A large smile blossomed across her face, pulling his lips to her once more for a short but intense kiss. She laughed lightly, resting her forehead against his. “Okay. We will, then.” She said simply.

His hand traveled up from her waist to her neck as he pulled her face towards him, bringing their lips together in a deep kiss. The stress of everything was still on his mind, but he wasn’t about to let that dampen his happiness in this moment. He knew they would spend the rest of their lives together, and he would be grateful for that, no matter how long that life lasted.

Their lips moved together tenderly, both of them just wanting to savor the moment with each other while they could. The intensity of their mouths grew as she ground her hips down on his. Her moans pierced the cool air, shooting straight to his already growing erection. His mind was foggy as he forced his hands back down to her waist to halt her movements. As much as he would love to get carried away in this moment, they were on a public beach, and given the fact that his father was the chief of police in the next town over, it definitely wouldn’t be good if they were caught in the action.

She groaned in disapproval as their lips disconnected. “We really need to get our own place.” She said. The two, while spending close to every moment together as of late, had found little to no time for intimacy. Conner was either at work or they were back at his home with a mind reading immortal teen with super hearing in the next room. They had resolved to going at it quickly in his truck or quietly in his room while Edward was gone, but he would give anything to be able to take his time with her again. To not have to stifle their moans in fear of his father hearing from down the hall. To cherish every second of it. Hell, they couldn’t even get privacy in the middle of the woods since the rest of the pack were constantly running around on patrol.

He laughed at her words. “You’re right, I’ll start looking.” He said. His job didn’t pay much, sure, but if it meant being able to freely be with her at any moment, he would gladly spend his whole paycheck to rent a shitty apartment.

——————

June 15th, 2006

Of course, Conner’s fears were for good reason, as it turned out. Leah and him had been in their own blissful moment, while the pack and the Cullen’s had learned of the impending newborn vampire army headed their way. Because of this, he had learned of the strength that the newborns of their kind held, which only added to his terror. Given the size of the army that Alice had seen coming, the two groups had decided to team up to keep the Swan siblings safe. They had finally found common ground, and as much as it annoyed them all, it was the only way to come out of the fight alive. Or so they hoped anyway. Unfortunately, Alices visions were not very reliable on the finer details, especially when the wolves were involved.

The two groups had met up to practice their fighting skills. As much as Conner was completely uncomfortable with being around that many vampires, he was even more uncomfortable with the thought of Leah going without him, even if he wouldn’t be able to help if anything did happen.

Although he hadn’t talked to his sister much, he could tell just from looking at her that she held the same internal panic about the oncoming fight. As much as he hated that she was caught up in all of this, he knew that she loved Edward and he wouldn’t wish anything bad on him, knowing how it would in turn effect Bella.

He could tell that she was eaten up by guilt about everything that had been happening, despite it not being her fault in the first place, so he wasn’t about to stir unnecessary shit up just to stress her out even more. Regardless of how much she had hurt him after everything, she was still his sister and he still loved her.

They had discussed what they would do when the fight finally did come, and had decided that Leah and Edward would stay with Conner and Bella away from the fight in hopes to keep them as safe as possible given the situation. Keeping the two away from their home would in turn keep Charlie safe as well. Having Leah close to him would ease both of their stress of each other’s safety a bit as well.

The idea of her off fighting dangerous monsters that were out to kill her with him miles away wondering if she was okay or even alive would be way too much for him to handle. He couldn’t even imagine how it would be for her, given that he’d be practically defenseless without her, and how distracting that would be. The whole plan would pan out much more smoothly if they just stuck together.

So they had planned that out as thoroughly as they could muster. Bella and Conner had gone out and left a trail of their scents in hopes to distract and trick the vampires and they had set up camp in the mountains.

The sun had set hours ago, and a chill ran through the air as the snow fell outside of the shelter. Conner could hear Bella’s teeth chattering from across the tent and found himself incredibly thankful for his personal heater that shared his sleeping bag with him. Leah had been sleeping for some time now, Conner adamant that she got enough rest for the next morning.

He however was finding great difficultly falling asleep, not because of the constant chatter of teeth, but because his mind wouldn’t stop screaming at him his worst fears. If he didn’t have Leah wrapped in his arms at that moment, her touch comforting him, he was sure he would be having a full blown panic attack. He was also sure it wasn’t helping Edward to hear his incessant worrying, but he couldn’t stop even if he tried.

Edward finally spoke up. “I should have chosen a site lower down.” He said, guilt threaded into his voice.

Bella spoke up from the opposite side of the tent. “No, It's fine. I'm okay.” She lied, trying and failing to make him feel better.

“What can I do?” He asked her, growing concerned that she would end up freezing to death before morning arrived. Conner didn’t hear Bella answer, but he knew as well as they all did that there was nothing really that Edward could do to help.

The zipper of the tent suddenly opened, sending a shiver down Conner’s spine as the wind cut through the rigid air. “I can't sleep with all that teeth chattering going on.” Jacob said pointedly.

Jake began to climb inside, Edward stopping him almost immediately. “Forget it.” Edward said angrily, making himself a stone, blocking the path of the quileute boy.

“She may need her toes someday, and let's face it... I'm hotter than you.” Jacob said arguing back. Definitely not the wording Conner would have used, but Jake was definitely warmer and would keep her not get frost bite or die or hypothermia.

Edward bit back another snide remark as he heard Conner’s thoughts. He muttered complaints under his breath, waving Jacob in, knowing that Bella really did need the help, and he wasn’t going to let his stubbornness keep her from comfort.

Jacob crawled to Bella’s side, a smirk on his face as he stepped inside her sleeping bad and pulled her to his side. The sound of Edwards teeth grinding in annoyance followed suit. “You're freezing, Bella. Relax, you'll warm up soon. Faster if you took your clothes off.” Jesus, why couldn’t they have gotten two tents?

Bella spoke up shakily. “Jake.” She warned.

A scoff followed from Jacob. “Survival one oh one.” He remarked.

Conner decided it was time for him to speak up, as he didn’t want to hear this conversation go on any longer. “Jacob, please, for the love of all things holy.” He pleaded, voice croaking slightly in the cold air.

The teen’s eye shot over to him, giving him a sheepish smile. “Sorry, Con. I thought you were asleep.” He apologized to the man. Conner grumbled in response, trying to drown out the rest of their conversation and get some much needed sleep finally.

——————

He wasn’t sure when he had ended up falling asleep, but when he awoke it was morning, and Leah was beginning to stir next to him. They were now alone in tent and he could hear arguing outside. Bella and Edward from what he could hear. He rubbed his eyes tiredly, trying the focus his blurry vision on the woman in front of him. Her eyes were now open and she was looking up at him from her spot on the pillow. She slowly sat up, laying a soft kiss to his lips. “Good morning.” She said as she let her forehead rest against his. They sat there for a moment, taking in the last peaceful moment they would have for a while.

Conner pulled her forwards, embracing her as he stuffed his face into her hair. Dread filled the air, the two of them attempting to mentally prepare themselves for the inevitability of having to leave the safety of the tent.

Leah pulled away abruptly from his embrace, seemingly hearing something that Edward had said from outside of the tent. She jumped to her feet, rushing out into the cold air. Conner scrambled to follow, mind still a bit hazy from sleep. As he stepped out of the tent, his eyes shot to a figure stepping out of the tree line, and he instantly recognized the man. He had seen his picture on their kitchen table. Riley. He had gone missing some time ago, and Charlie had been looking into it.

But the man standing in before them was different. His skin was smoother, paler, and his eyes were a deep haunting scarlet. Conner had thought the Cullens were terrifying but this man looked straight out of someones nightmares, and he knew he would never be able to forget the sight of those blood colored irises.

“Riley... Listen to me. Victoria's just using you, to distract me, but she knows I'll kill you.” Edward said, addressing the pale man delicately. Riley hesitated. “In fact, she'll be glad she doesn't have to deal with you anymore.” Edward continued.

A sickeningly sweet voice cut through the silence between the group. “Don't listen, Riley. I told you about their mind tricks.” Conner looked to her, seeing her bright red eyes as well as her hair that matched. The color contrasted so greatly against the white snow and her pale skin, it was almost blinding.

“I can read her mind, so I know what she thinks of you.” Edward tried to reason.

Victoria’s eyes widened in innocence. “He’s lying.” Conner’s eyes flickered to Leah’s rigid frame as she stood a few yards away, wanting to make sure there was enough room between them for her to safely phase.

Edward answered back. “She only created you and this army to avenge her true mate, James. It's the only thing she cares about. Not you.” He said, attempting to convince Riley of the harsh reality. He began to hesitate, glancing between Victoria and Edward, unsure of what was the truth.

“There's only you. You know that.” Victoria said softly. Riley’s body stiffened, ready to attack. Victoria finally looked to Bella, murder and bloodlust shone in her eyes.

“Think about it. You're from Forks, you know the area. That's the only reason she chose you. She doesn't love you.” Riley faltered once more, doubt seeping into his mind as he processed Edward’s words.

Victoria’s face morphed into concern, filled with fake emotion. “Riley... Don't let him do this to us. You know I love you.”

Riley’s face hardened, anger replacing his doubt. “You're dead.” He said simply.

Chaos suddenly rang throughout the clearing. Bodies blurring with speed and the sound of clothing ripping filling the air as Leah morphed into her wolf form. She leapt forward landing on Riley, sinking her teeth into his hand.

Conner’s eyes widened in horror as he was frozen in place, heart pounding in his ears as he watched the fight break out in front of him. Leah’s wolf circled him in defense as Riley tried to attack again. He was vaguely aware of Edward and Victoria battling a ways over, but he couldn’t look away from his mate and the vampire that was advancing on her. He lunged again, Leah tackling him, snapping her jaw as he lashed back at her. He kicked at her, trowing her roughly against the cliff, slowing her down slightly.

It could’ve been seconds or minutes, he wasn’t sure. His mind fogged as he watched horrified at the sight before him. Hissing and growling filled the open space as the two creatures wrestled in the soft white snow. Everything was moving too quickly around him for his human eyes to focus properly. Leah snapped her jaws at him again, catching slightly on his shoulder. Riley punched through the air, sending Leah flying into the cliffside once more.

Leah let out a whimper of pain, the sound going straight to Conner’s heart. She tried standing, falling back down to the cold ground, unmoving as the red eyed vampire stalked back towards her defenseless body. Conner had to do something. He couldn’t just sit back and watch her die. He wouldn’t.

Memories of the quileutae legends flashed through his mind as he pushed himself to move from his frozen stance. He knew there wasn’t much he could do, but he would be damned if he just stood there and watched her die while he did nothing. He would easily give his life to save hers, he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he did nothing. He scrambled, hands shaking as patted the ground looking for something, anything. His hands found purchase as he grabbed the sharpest rock his fingers could find. He crouched in the icy snow as he brought the jagged stone to his open palm, grit his teeth, and drug it harshly across his skin.

Crimson liquid pooled in his hand and dripped onto the stark white snow beneath. Riley’s head snapped in his direction giving a deadly look and then he was a blur. Conner felt a pinch on his hand next to the open wound, followed by an ungodly searing pain. His blood was suddenly fire and the pressure on his palm seemed unrelenting until it was pulled violently from him. His arm felt like acid as his body fell, writhing on the ground in blinding pain.

Pain. White hot burning pain. All he could think of was the pain, the way it traveled up his wrist to his elbow and slowly consumed every nerve ending in his body. Vaguely, in the background he could hear screaming. Blood curdling screams. Wait. Was that his own screams? He couldn’t make sense of it through the burning of his own flesh. His mind was muddled with the agony and all he could hope for is that it was worth it. That Leah was still breathing, and that what he had done had saved her.

Then, as he laid there, the fire of the venom consuming him, he saw her face. Tears streamed down her cheeks falling onto his scorching skin as she panicked, knowing that there was nothing she could do. Nothing that anyone could do. Riley had taken too much blood and left too much venom behind before she could stop him.

Conner’s screams ceased as he looked into her pain filled eyes. The fire kept burning, and the venom kept spreading, but now he knew she was okay. It had worked, and he knew that whatever pain he endured was well worth it. She was alive, and that was all that mattered to him. So he laid there, head cradled in her lap and excepted the consequences of his actions as the fire of the venom smothered him.

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