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Chapter Text

Leah woke up with an aching groan.

Everything hurt.

She was a forever twenty-one year old woman with the pains of an eighty year old.

Logically, she knew that she was only twenty-one until she stopped phasing, and she knew that her aches would be gone by lunch, but whatever. It felt good to bitch about it still.

Leah rolled out of her bed and inspected the now nearly faded bruises on her ribcage. Man, those newborns could fight.

Fucking Jacob and his damn vampire loving ‘I wish she was my girlfriend’ bitch.

Fucking Sam and his ‘we must defend our land’.

Fucking everything about being in this dumbass pack.

Dumbass pack or not, Leah still got dressed quickly so she could slip off to Billy’s and check on Jacob. Technically, Jacob got hurt helping her (not that she had asked for his damn help) so she should at least go see if he’s healing or if the vampire doctor drained him of his blood.

She grabbed the first clothes she could reach- a pair of black basketball shorts, a faded La Push High basketball shirt that had been made into a cutoff the day she got it, and her dirty old sneakers. She didn’t bother with brushing her chin length black hair, nor did she fuck around with niceties like a bra. It wasn’t as if the guys hadn’t seen her fully nude multiple times now, who cared about a bra after having your teenage brother see you naked?

Not Leah.

Leah made her way over to Billy’s at a leisurely pace. With the newborns gone and Jacob’s little leech loving girlfriend engaged to one of the vampires, Leah doubted if the pack would be working as hard now. There were so many of them now that they could easily pair up for patrols and only run one day a week.

Leah would obviously call dibs on Seth, and everyone would let her have him in an effort to not be stuck with her.

It bothered her a very tiny amount at first when she saw, felt, and read how much she was universally disliked within the pack after first joining, but then she embraced it. If they all thought she was a bitter bitch, then she’d be the most bitter bitch they ever met.

It wasn’t as if she didn’t have plenty to be bitter over, in her opinion.

Phasing and being a part of a pack was great for the guys. They could all gush over their growth spurts and their muscles and coo about when they would meet ‘the one’. Quil and his weird fucking toddler imprint, Jared and Kim, Sam and Emily.

It was fine for them. They were guys. It wasn’t fine for Leah, who, contrary to popular belief, was actually a woman. She didn’t want to be 6’ tall- short compared to the other guys, giant compared to most of the guys her age. She didn’t want to have her body frozen- never changing, never cycling.

If Leah was supposed to meet ‘the one’, this mysterious ‘the one’ who would be her ‘soulmate’, her ‘other half’, the ‘genetic carrier that would produce stronger wolves’, then she was shit out of luck.

Because if she wasn’t cycling, then she wasn’t fertile, she wasn’t capable of producing future wolves, and she’d never meet ‘the one’.

It wasn’t that Leah wanted to be chained to some fucking loser by a mythical red string of fate, but damn if she didn’t want to forget about Sam, forget about her pathetic loneliness, and just…

Whatever.

It was mostly bullshit anyway.

Leah shook off the ever constant bitter thoughts and bound up the shitty little ramp Jacob and Quil built for Billy and rapped her knuckles on the door lightly.

Then she let herself in anyway, because she could hear that the TV was on and someone had to be home. She stepped in and saw that the TV was tuned to some shitty basketball game and Jacob’s dad, Billy, was the only one in the living room.

“Hey, Leah,” Billy smiled up at her with his crinkling eyes in his weather worn face. “Looking for Jake?”

Leah shrugged. “Just seeing if the leech drank his blood or not.”

Billy chuckled and his eyes kept flicking distractedly to the TV. “Nah, Doctor Carlisle did us a favor, Jake’s right as rain now. He’s down at the beach with his cousin.”

“His cousin?” Leah kicked at Billy’s braided rug on the floor for a moment. “Quil?”

“No,” Billy laughed again, leagues more relaxed than he had been before the newborn invasion. “I guess distant cousin is a bit of a better descriptor. It’s my…” Billy twisted his lips up for a moment while he thought it over, “My third cousin’s godson,” he finally said. “He showed up this morning with some old family heirlooms,” Billy nodded toward the table where Leah spotted some leather bound journals and some little silver nicknacks. “Kid looks rough, we told him he could stay for a while, visit and get to know us, but he’s down at the beach with Jake now. I think Jake’s trying to sell him on staying for longer than a few days.”

“Yeehaw,” Leah muttered sarcastically. Sand, sun, happy families, and Jacob acting like a moron with his cousin.

Billy peeked over at her again and raised his brows. “You should go down there,” he said with a casual tone of dismissal. “Harry’s a nice kid.”

Leah didn’t want to go down there and meet ‘this nice kid’, she just wanted to see that Jacob’s dumb ass was fine and then go help her mom at the diner.

“Fine,” she huffed. “See ya later, Billy.”

Billy didn’t even hear her close the door, his attention was already back on the game.

Leah grumbled and bitched to herself clear down to the beach.

Jacob wasn’t her responsibility, even if she did feel a little responsible for his injuries. She could just wait until she phased again and check on him through someone else’s thoughts then. Or ask one of the guys when they inevitably stopped by the diner for lunch. She didn’t care about Jacob. Hell, most of the time she hated Jacob.

But…

But it sucked falling in love with someone and watching them fall in love with someone else. Especially when Bella Swan was a fucking human and Edward Cullen was a nasty little vampire probably hundreds of years old.

Didn’t that make it pedophilia or something?

It would certainly be necrophilia if Bella slept with him. And it would be homicide when Edward killed her during it.

Not that Leah really gave a damn about their disgusting sex life past wondering why Bella thought that a frozen dick would feel good inside of her at all.

Ugh.

Better not to think about it at all.

Leah stormed across the sand, her eyes peeled for Jacob’s familiar hulking body and loud ass voice. It took her a while, but she finally found him in what looked like a dramatic frisbee contest with a few of the other guys.

Leah saw Quil and Embry, and even Seth as he made a leap in the air to catch the bright green frisbee, but no rough looking third cousin twice removed or whatever.

“Leah!” Seth tossed the frisbee, hitting Quil in the back of the head, before running over to his sister. “Hey! What are you doing?”

“Checking on you,” Leah lied. “Aren’t you working today?”

“Nope.” Seth grinned and ran a hand through his hair, making his already messy dark hair that much messier. “Mom said that we could both have the day off because of the you-know-what yesterday.”

Seth was an idiot.

Leah rolled her eyes at him and glanced toward the others. Jacob looked fine, really. He had a bit of a limp in his left leg and some nasty looking black bruises on his side, but she’d guess that those would be healed by night.

“D’you wanna play?” Seth asked Leah with big pleading puppy eyes. “If you play then we can get Harry to play and have three-on-three. Pleaseeeee?”

Leah almost caved in the face of her brother’s pout, but then the rest of his words clicked in place and she scowled. “Who’s Harry?” she asked, ignoring the sharp pain in her chest at the name.

“Jake’s cousin,” Seth said, bouncing in place eagerly. “He’s over there…” Seth pointed vaguely to a guy with wavy black hair sitting on a cooler near where the others were showing off with the frisbee. He had his back to them, so Leah couldn’t make out much more than the dark hair that was cut in a shaggy short mess and the pale arms sticking out of the green tshirt he wore.

“So, will you?” Seth asked her again.

“No,” she said shortly. She saw Jacob, he was fine. Seth was fine. She didn’t have any more business there. “I’m going to help Mom.”

“She said we can have the day off, Leah!” Seth yelled at her as she spun around and stormed off.

Leah flipped him off over her shoulder and kept going.

Working with their mom in the diner sounded better than laying around having a pity party all day or watching her brother act stupid with his friends.

Not that she got a break from them.

The lunch rush was slowing down when the little bell above the diner door chimed and Seth came bounding in the diner followed by Jacob and his cousin, who were in a whispered debate about something. Jacob and his cousin went immediately to a booth while Seth snuck behind the counter and grabbed a menu and three cokes.

“I’m charging you for those,” Leah called to him as he darted over to the booth with his friends.

Seth turned and stuck his tongue out at her. “I’ll tell Mom.”

“Mom’s at the bank,” Leah smirked.

Seth just stuck his tongue out again, content to be a brat.

Leah stalled as long as she could, but she finally snatched her notepad and went over to take their order. Even if her mom gave all the guys heavy discounts, they were still decent tippers if Leah refrained from fucking with their food.

“What do you…” Leah’s voice trailed off as she finally got a look at Jacob’s cousin. He was sitting across from Jacob, crammed next to Seth, and looked up politely at her when she came to get their order.

And holy shit.

Leah barely noticed those green, green eyes before—

Snip. Snip. Snip.

Everything in her world rearranged itself.

Her fierce love and protectiveness of her brother.

Snip.

Her pride in her hometown and her native culture.

Snip.

Her passion for sports and her love of classic rock.

Snip.

Every string that connected Leah to her world, her earth in general, disappeared as if those eyes cut them away.

The strings all rearranged themselves and attached them to his guy.

This fucking guy who was blinking at Leah in polite puzzlement while her brother and Jacob gaped at her.

Leah threw the notepad at her brother. “You’re in charge,” she said hoarsely. She spun on her heel and abruptly ran right out of the front entrance of the diner and didn’t quit running until she hit the forest.

She almost phased, desperate to get out of her own mind, but the reminder that at least two of the guys were on patrol stopped her.

Instead, she sank to her knees and pressed her forehead on the dirt ground while she worked to steady her breath.

No.

No.

Please, God, no.

Leah desperately wanted someone, anyone, anything, to assure her that she did not just fucking imprint on Jacob Black’s stupid fucking cousin.

Chapter Text

Dear Hermione and Ron,
Everything is great here. The Black’s are nice and I’ve made friends with a couple of Jacob’s friends. They’re a bit younger than I am, but you’d never know it really. The ocean is pretty, and their town is basically a beach town so you can see the ocean from pretty much anywhere in La Push.
I might stay a bit longer than I planned, it’s peaceful here and I need it I like it.
Give everyone my love,
-Harry

Harry spent a few minutes trying to neatly write Hermione’s home address on the little envelope before buying a stamp at the local drugstore and dropping it off at the post office.

His duty to his friends finished, Harry stood outside the post office and looked around while he thought about what to do. He could go back to the little motel room he was renting, but he was bored and it was too nice of a day to spend cooped up in there. He could go pop by the Black’s house, but he doubted if Jacob would be awake and he didn’t want to bother Billy. Jacob said he had to work overnight last night, and it wasn’t even eight-thirty yet, so the Black’s house was out.

Harry’s stomach growled a little, making up his mind for him. Except… Harry hesitated as he walked down the sidewalks of the tiny town. He was pretty sure there was only one diner within walking distance and he didn’t much fancy going there alone.

Actually, that was a lie, Harry didn’t fancy going there at all.

Ever since he went with Jacob and Seth, the day he got to La Push, Harry had been incredibly uncomfortable with the girl who worked there.

Seth said it was his sister Leah and he and Jacob spent an entire hour the other night regaling Harry on how ‘awesome’ Leah was, but Harry personally thought she was a bit odd.

Sure, she was attractive. She was tall, lean, with smooth looking russet colored skin and the most interesting shade of brown eyes that Harry had ever seen. She had a little scar over the middle of one of her eyebrows, something unique that enhanced her looks instead of detracting from them. Her hair was just as dark and silky as Jacob’s, but she wore hers in a jagged bob that suited her high cheekbones quite well. She also had the nicest smile Harry had ever seen- perfectly straight white teeth that would have put Hermione’s parents out of work.

The problem was that those perfectly straight white teeth were usually clenched when Harry went to the diner with the others and Harry got the overwhelming impression that Leah Clearwater did not like him.

Something that Seth and Jacob found hysterical when Harry hesitantly mentioned it.

“Leah’s just shy,” Seth grinned. The three of them were on the beach again, waiting on Jacob’s other friends to show up so they could teach Harry ‘American football’. It had only been a couple days since Harry first met Seth’s older sister at the diner, but Harry only mentioned it because Jacob asked Seth in a bit of a pointed manner if Leah was coming or not.

“Oh yeah,” Jacob snorted and seemed to find something incredibly amusing. “Leah’s shy, Harry, but don’t worry,” he winked at Harry for some reason, “I’m sure you’ll see for yourself soon.”

“I’ll see for myself that Leah, the girl who glares at me all the time, is shy soon?” Harry repeated, confused by the looks Jacob and Seth kept sharing.

“Yep,” Jacob said vaguely. He wagged his eyebrows at Harry, only deepening his confusion. “All will be revealed in time, Little Cousin.”

And then Harry forgot about his confusion as he began arguing again that just because Jacob was ridiculously tall, didn’t mean Harry was little. And Harry was older than him to boot, so who was he to call him little?

But, Harry was hungry. And there weren’t a lot of options unless he went back to the little market store and bought something there. So Harry bravely made his way in the diner and mentally prayed that Seth or his mum would be the one behind the counter.

No such luck.

Harry avoided making eye contact with Leah as he quietly snagged a menu and moved to the booth, following the same routine as the other guys did when they came here.

Harry picked a booth in the corner, one where he could see the rest of the diner, but where he wasn’t a focal point at all. He kind of expected to be ignored as long as possible by Leah, like she usually did when Harry came in a group, so he was caught off guard when he’d barely opened the menu and she slid across from him and settled in the booth.

“Let me know if anyone comes in,” Leah said.

“Er…” Harry would have pointed out that the bell above the door would let her know, but he just nodded uncertainly instead. He watched Leah for a moment, curious why she was sitting with him, but then he just decided to ignore her intense staring and glance over the menu in front of him.

Except he was barely past the beverage portion of the breakfast menu when Leah cleared her throat and Harry looked back up at her.

“Nobody knows anything about you,” she said bluntly, if not a bit rudely.

Harry waited to see if there was more to that statement or not, and when it seemed like there wasn’t, he shrugged. “I’ve only been in town for a week,” he said, a touch defensively. He then smiled wryly, “I’m not that interesting.”

Not to this town of muggles anyway. The most interesting thing about him was his pale skin that got less pale every day he spent out on the beach.

It was the best part about this town.

“How old are you?” Leah asked him.

“Twenty,” Harry answered honestly. He lifted a brow at her, “How old are you?”

If she was going to interrogate him, then he’d do the same to her.

“Twenty-one,” she said.

Harry nodded, he figured they were about the same age. Leah looked older than twenty-one, like she carried a lot of figurative weight on her shoulders, but so did Harry.

Hence this spur of the moment trip to America to meet Sirius’ cousins.

No more speeches. No more trying to fit in with the auror department. No more watching his friends all get engaged and move forward confidently with their lives. No mopping up from the war. None of it.

So if Harry’s shoulders were a bit heavy when he arrived, he was slowly shedding the weight every day that he got to relax and act like a stupid guy on vacation.

Leah kept staring at Harry, causing his skin to itch a little with the intensity of her silent stare, so he gestured to the menu and tried to smile a little at her.

“What’s good here for breakfast?” he asked her evenly.

Leah finally quit scrutinizing Harry’s face to look dismissively at the menu. “It’s all good,” she said shortly. “Do you like biscuits and gravy?”

“Er… maybe?” Harry shrugged. “Is it good?”

Leah huffed and rolled her eyes, making Harry smile just a bit. “I just said it’s all good,” she said. “Biscuits and gravy and coffee,” she said decisively. “I’ll be back.”

Harry didn’t even get a chance to ask anything before she snatched his menu and marched off.

Leah Clearwater didn’t seem all that shy to him.

Harry had been idly doodling on a blank page in the notepad that Leah left on his table when she abruptly returned about fifteen minutes later.

She sat two plates down, two white mugs, a pot of coffee, and a little bowl full of packets of cream and sugar.

Harry was still trying to find out why she brought two of everything when she sat back down and it dawned on him that she was planning on eating breakfast with him.

“So… I thought you hated me?” Harry blurted. Leah never ate with them any of the other many times he’d been at the diner when she was working. She usually just stood behind the counter and kind of glared at him without ever meeting his eyes. Jacob and Seth, along with the other guys they hung out with, swore Leah wasn’t glaring ‘at Harry’, just glaring ‘as usual’.

“Hate is a strong word,” Leah said in the same curt tone she always uses with him. “How do you like your coffee?”

Harry blinked at her. “Er… plain?”

“Black,” she said with just a hint of a smile. Her eyes flicked up to his for a moment and Harry was once more struck by how interesting her eyes were. They were a deep brown with little golden flecks through the irises. She looked away, hiding her eyes as she poured two cups of coffee and slid one to Harry. “We don’t call it plain coffee, we call it black.”

Harry nodded and smiled tentatively. “Black then, thank you.”

Leah didn’t say anything, she just watched Harry take a sip of the (dear God that was disgusting) black coffee and then nodded to herself before picking at her food.

More of a desire to break the awkwardness between them than anything else, Harry complimented her on her cooking after taking a few bites.

“Do you do all the cooking for the diner?” he asked curiously. He never saw anyone else working there, besides an older woman that favored Leah in looks that Seth said was his mum and Seth himself on occasion.

“Mostly,” she said. She got a weird intense look in her eye then, “What do you do for work?”

Harry couldn’t explain it, but he got the distinct feeling that this was more of an actual interrogation than a friendly breakfast. He didn’t have anything to hide though, mostly, so he indulged her.

“I was a police officer,” he said, twisting it slightly. “I’m on… extended leave.”

“‘Extended leave’,” Leah repeated. “What’s that mean?”

Harry shrugged and took another bite to give himself a moment to formulate a half-truth.

What it meant was that as soon as Harry finished the training program, he realized that he hated being an auror and he was miserable in London and he felt an overwhelming urge to just leave. So he’d marched into Kingsley’s office, handed him his resignation papers, and set about telling his friends he was taking some time for himself. By the time Harry got to Tonks and Remus’ house, refusing to leave without seeing his godson and his parents, Kingsley had contacted Tonks and told her to tell Harry that he had the job anytime he wanted it back.

Not that Harry thought he would want it back.

Conveniently, Harry left the day before the third anniversary of the final battle of the war and couldn’t have his arm twisted into making another speech.

“It means I can have my job back when I go home if I want it,” Harry told her truthfully. “I just don’t think I will.”

“Wait! You’re going back? To London?” Leah asked, her eyes suddenly wide. “When?”

Harry was surprised by her sudden surprise. “I’m not sure,” he hedged. “I mean… I can’t stay in a motel forever,” he grinned in a self-deprecating way. “Plus my friends probably miss me…”

And Harry missed them. He liked being in La Push, but he missed Ron and Hermione fiercely.

“Stay with me,” Leah said abruptly. “I have an extra bedroom.”

What? Harry thought maybe he heard her wrong, but there wasn’t any extra noise in the diner to have interfered with the absolutely absurd words that came out of her mouth.

Harry nodded slowly, “No, thank you.”

Leah’s brows knitted together and she curled her upper lip into a slight sneer. “Why? Will your girlfriend be jealous if you have a female roommate?”

Harry grinned a little, Leah had a hell of a temper. “Probably not,” he said lightly. “She doesn’t quite exist, but I suppose if I had one she’d probably be jealous if I moved in with some fit stranger.”

In fact, if Harry and Ginny, his last and only girlfriend to date, were still together, she’d be jealous as hell that he was even having breakfast with Leah. He couldn’t imagine her apoplectic anger if he called her up and mentioned that he moved in with Leah.

Hopefully Oliver Wood, Ginny’s current boyfriend, had an easier time dealing with her moods.

“‘Fit’,” Leah repeated, looking at Harry suspiciously. “What does fit mean?”

Harry fought to keep down the blush that wanted to expose him. He cleared his throat and looked down at his now cold cup of coffee. “Er… like attractive?”

Leah was quiet for so long that Harry finally risked a glance up and saw that she too had a faint blush on her cheeks, something that was much harder to spot on her darker skin than it was his.

“So you’re single and don’t want to live in a motel,” she said, apparently summarizing their conversation so far and ignoring Harry’s accidental compliment. “Move in with me. It’s a decent apartment, it’s just a little two bedroom place above the tackle shop on Main Street. Rent’s cheap. I need a roommate, you need a place to stay.”

Harry didn’t really have any experience with obtaining roommates, but he was pretty sure this wasn’t the way to do it.

“I could be a serial killer,” he said, his brows raised high. “I could be a drug addict, or a… an absolute psychopath. I’m a complete stranger. Why would you want me to move in with you?”

Especially when he said that he would probably go back to London soon.

Leah leaned forward and her eyes were sparkling with something that looked like mischief. “What are the odds that we’re both serial killers?” she whispered.

Harry let out a startled laugh, mostly startled by what he was pretty sure had been a joke from someone who didn’t usually interact with him at all. Harry, personally, had killed his fair share of people- mainly death eaters and a dark wizard. Nobody called him a serial killer, but if you had a body count of over three and they all shared similar characteristics, well…

“So?” Leah asked, apparently waiting on Harry to answer her mad offer to be roommates. “What do you think?”

Harry really tried to be polite, but he couldn’t think of a way to not sound like an arse. “I think that I might not even be staying in town all that long, and that I don’t really know you quite well enough to move in with you.”

Leah scowled at him, and Harry resisted the urge to smile. Her scowl wasn’t really as scary as she probably thought it was, Harry thought it was a bit cute, but he wasn’t daft enough to say so.

“Fine,” she said. She rolled her eyes up to the ceiling and seemed to be bracing herself for something. “Can I have your number?” she asked.

Well, growled, really.

What was up with this girl?

“I don’t have a phone,” Harry told her with a shrug. He raised his hands in a show of innocence when Leah looked at him disbelievingly. “Honestly, I don’t,” he said. “I told you I was only planning on staying for a short while.”

Leah slapped her hand on the notepad, hesitating for a split second as she looked at the floral doodles Harry drew on the blank sheet of paper on top. She gently turned the page then aggressively ripped out the second sheet.

“This is my cell phone number,” she said after writing it down and sliding it to him. She gave him a really intense sort of look again. “Get a phone, borrow a phone, I don’t care. Just call me if you decide to leave town on a whim, got it?”

Harry glanced at the number she wrote and tried pushing his luck just a little. “Can I call you if I decide not to leave town?” He tried to give her a charming smile, but he suspected he looked stupid flirting with a woman who probably got hit on all day long by much more attractive blokes than he was.

Leah didn’t laugh though; in fact, she blinked and her eyes looked a little dazed for a moment. Then she shook her head and smirked at him. “I’m sure I’ll see you here for dinner before you get around to getting a phone,” she said.

Which sounded a bit like a challenge to Harry.

“We’ll see,” he said. He dug his wallet out and carefully put the paper with her number on it in one of the pockets before pulling out some American muggle cash. “What do I owe you?”

Leah gave him what seemed like the first friendly grin he’d seen from her. “A phone call,” she said simply.

By the time Harry apparated to Seattle and back with a new phone and got Jacob to help him get it set up, the first ‘text’ he sent was to Leah.

“Leah, huh?” Jacob grinned, peeking over Harry’s shoulder. “How’d you get Leah’s number?”

The other guys, Seth, Quil, and Embry, who had been playing a card game over by the fire they had going, all perked up in obvious interest.

Harry sighed and looked at Seth in exasperation. “She asked me to move in with her then gave me her number,” he said. “Isn’t that mad?”

For whatever reason, everyone seemed to find it hilarious and Seth had rolled on the sand laughing his head off about the whole breakfast fiasco.

Chapter Text

Leah tapped the counter irritably as she stared down at her cell phone.

It shouldn’t be this hard.

It was sooo easy for everyone else.

Sam and Emily just fell in love.

Quil became obsessed with his weird fucking baby imprint.

Jared and Kim got together immediately.

It figured that Leah was the wolf with the fucked up imprint.

It could be worse, it could be a fucking baby, she reminded herself.

In which case Leah would give suicide a real shot- pun intended.

Harry wasn’t a terrible choice of an imprint, she supposed. If she had to have a soulmate, he was decent enough so far. Yeah, he hung out with Jacob’s friends quite a bit, but Leah figured Seth liked him and Seth usually (vampires notwithstanding) was a good judge of character.

Even Paul and Jared hung out with Harry at some bon fire party on the beach last weekend. Which Leah got to hear all about from Jared while he tried to talk her into attending the next one while they ran patrol the day after the party.

Somehow her having imprinted on the mysterious British guy that was distantly related to the Black’s had made Leah approachable.

Which was the worst part of it really.

Well, that and the fact that something got fucked up because Leah’s imprint did not instantly fall in love with her like the other guys’ did. Did it matter that Harry was a guy? Was love at first sight not a thing for guys?

Not that Leah would claim to be in love with Harry. He was good-looking though, with his lean build and hair that was as dark as Leah’s but a thicker and wavier texture. He carried himself confidently too, she didn’t even notice that she was a couple inches taller than him until they were side-by-side from the way Harry carried himself.

And he was polite, which was probably a good trait to have and one that Leah didn’t bother with. It was always small smiles and ‘please’ and ‘thank-you’ when he saw her at the diner. Even her mom, who Seth tattled to of course, commented that Harry seemed like a ‘good man’.

She said that about Sam too though, so Leah didn’t put a lot of stock in her opinion anymore.

Everyone else seemed to like Harry though. Seth gushed about him so much that you’d think Seth was the one who imprinted on him. Nobody knew a lot about him, just that he was in town for an undetermined amount of time and claimed he ‘needed a break’ from London.

Whatever the fuck that meant.

Even as much as she struggled with making her imprint want to be around her, it seemed like he was taking over her every waking thought and it was pissing her off.

She’d be frying up burgers for some of the regulars and find herself wondering what Harry was doing.

She’d be running patrols and wonder if she could sneak past his motel to see if he was there.

A stupid thought that flashed through her mind and Jared found hysterical until Leah bit his shoulder in retaliation.

The worst of it though was when she slept. She’d be dreaming of running through the woods, kayaking in the water, practicing layups at the gym, then it would be firm abs beneath her hands, thick hair tangled in her fingers, smooth skin wrapped around her, and lust and love filling those bright green eyes as he watched her move in tangent with him.

Leah was really starting to hate those fucking eyes.

Leah tapped the counter again before just snatching her phone and typing out a short message and pressing send before she could question it too much.

‘Are you free tonight?’ seemed straightforward.

It was a Friday night, but it wasn’t like Harry had a lot of friends here outside of the pack. Supposedly, he was single too. Leah was skeptical, considering he looked like a damn movie star with his bright smiles and perfectly ‘just got laid’ hairdo, but if he wasn’t single already, he’d better be soon.

God forbid she’d imprinted on some random guy and ruined a relationship.

Seth swore he was single, he said that Harry’s ex-girlfriend lived in England along with his other friends and family. Seth, apparently, decided that he and Harry were going to be brothers eventually and made it his mission to find out as much about him as he could and then pass that information to Leah.

Leah definitely never asked him to do that, but she listened carefully anyway.

Harry became a cop right out of school. His best friend, and the ex-girlfriend’s brother, was also a cop. The best friend was engaged to Harry’s other best friend, some girl-genius with a dumb name who was studying law. Harry’s parents had died when he was a baby, and his godfather died when he was fifteen. Harry himself was a godparent to a ‘cute little boy’ named Teddy. Apparently Harry had been all too happy to show Seth and the others a photo he carried of himself, Teddy, and Teddy’s parents.

Apparently the pink-haired woman was a cop as well and the kid’s dad was a teacher at Harry’s old school. Seth said they were ‘the closest thing to a real family that Harry had left’.

Which was sad.

Leah had, carefully and with as much disinterest as she could feint, asked Seth about Harry’s plans and Seth said that Harry was thinking about looking for an apartment and a job in Forks, much to everyone’s displeasure. Nobody wanted a Black relation, no matter how distant, to live in Forks. And, as much as they all usually only tolerated Leah, the pack also didn’t want her imprint living in the same town as the fucking leeches.

Leah, personally, was offended that Harry would rather live in Forks where everything stunk like vampires, than share an apartment with her. But there had probably been a better way to ask him to move in than just blurting it out like an idiot.

God. She didn’t even know why she’d said it like that. She just pictured him sleeping in the shitty little motel right on the edge of La Push and suddenly made the offer.

He didn’t even know her.

It had been pretty funny though when he said that he could be a serial killer. Leah said it like a joke, but she figured the odds of both of them being killers was pretty slim.

Not that vampires should count as ‘kills’, per say, since they were already dead, but Leah doubted if one human guy was dangerous to her.

Ding!

Leah looked around the diner and was relieved to see it was empty so nobody could laugh about how quickly she dove for her phone.

Unless being really bad at Xbox is a crime worthy of prison, I’m free every night.

Leah’s lips turned up at the edges just a little. That was one thing she’d learned on her own, just from their little interactions at the diner and when Leah saw him around town sometimes, Harry had a decent sense of humor. And, to her absolute shock, he didn’t seem turned off by her heavy sarcasm that seemed to flow naturally from her.

Leah smirked a little as she typed out a reply.

You tell me, officer.

She jumped up on the counter and sat while she waited for his, thankfully quick, response.

It is in London. Punishment carries 3-5 years.

Leah huffed out a laugh. He was an idiot.

If you’re interested in being a fugitive from the law, come over to my place tonight and I’ll make you dinner.

Why?

Because I’m a wolf and I’ve imprinted on you. You’re supposed to be my soul mate and I shouldn’t have to be talking you into falling in love with me.

Yeah, that would go over great.

Technically, Harry could be told about the wolves and the pack now, since he was included by being the unlucky bastard stuck with Leah, but Leah made everyone swear not to tell him until she was ready. God forbid he just sticks around because he thinks he has to.

Leah had enough pity to last a lifetime, thanks.

Because I’m sick of cooking you dinner at the diner. 825 Main Street, Apt B. 7pm. You don’t even have to tip.

That… Leah frowned at her phone after she sent the text. That seemed a little more aggressive than she meant for it to.

Why was this so easy for everyone else?!

Ding!

Leah took a deep breath before she opened the text.

Then she immediately laughed.

Not tipping feels like a trap.
But I’ll be there.
See you tonight.

What an idiot.

Leah checked her reflection once more in the mirror over her bathroom sink when there was a knock on her door. She tugged on one of the strands of hair that ended at her chin and frowned.

It was hard to look attractive when your hair was shorter than some of the guys’ hair. Leah used to love her hair. It had been long and silky and she took good care of it.

Then she phased for the first time and found out that hair length directly coordinated with the length of her fur and she’d chopped her hair off while she cried over her shitty life the next day.

Leah scowled at herself. She shouldn’t have to worry about ‘looking attractive’, Harry should just find her attractive.

They were supposed to be fucking soulmates.

Still though… Leah would deny it until the day she died, but she had put a bit of effort in what she wore for dinner tonight. She’d put on a pair of her jeans that were comfortable and made her ass look fantastic and paired it with a V-cut sleeveless shirt that offset her dark skin nicely.

She’d even put on a very little bit of lipstick and mascara.

And if Harry didn’t fall in love with her tonight then Leah would never again wear anything aside from basketball shorts and old t-shirts.

Leah opened the door and felt immediately vindicated by her (admittedly minimal) efforts.

Harry’s eyes went wide behind his black-rimmed glasses and Leah saw his eyes flick down toward her chest before he quickly looked back up at her eyes with the most ridiculous blush.

As if she wore a low cut shirt and a ‘booster bra’, as her mom called it, to not have him check her out.

“Hey,” she smirked smugly at his look of surprise before slowly, and obviously, checking him out.

He looked great, but he always did.

The bastard.

He was a little more dressed up than usual, in a pair of faded jeans that looked expensive with a nice black cotton shirt that went well with his developing tan. It had short sleeves that were a bit snug on his toned arms; it also showed off a few scars that Leah never noticed before.

All in all, Harry should have been a fucking movie star or Calvin Klein model instead of a cop.

What a waste.

Harry pulled his arm out from behind his back and surprised Leah with a clear crystal vase with a single, perfect, sunflower in it.

“This is for you?” he said uncertainly when Leah just gaped at it. “Er… you’re not allergic are you? I asked Seth what your favorite flower was and he said sunflowers, but I just realized he’s a bit of a prat sometimes and maybe it was a joke and—”

“Shh,” Leah told him, rolling her eyes and accepting the vase with a small grin. “I’m not allergic, dumbass, I love it. Thanks.”

Harry grinned, a crooked little grin, and followed her in through the living room to the little kitchen.

“See what you’re missing?” Leah said with a smirk over her shoulder as she put the vase on the windowsill.

She didn’t miss that Harry’s eyes were on her ass before he looked up at her face with a guilty grin.

“What am I missing, exactly?” Harry asked as he casually took a seat at the little folding table and chairs that Leah borrowed from her mom specifically for tonight. Leah usually ate dinner with her mom and Seth or in front of the tv, so she’d never gotten a table and chair set before.

It had been tempting, having dinner in the living room on the sofa. They could eat, watch a movie, cuddle a little… let one thing lead to another…

Leah only ruled it out because she didn’t want her fucking soulmate to think she was just an easy lay.

“All of this,” Leah spread her arms wide, indicating the five room apartment. “Two bedrooms, one bathroom, a living room, and a kitchen,” she said. “I don’t know why you’d want to move to a God forsaken place like Forks when I have a perfectly good apartment in need of a roommate here.”

Harry’s smiles came as easily to him as scowls did to Leah.

He smiled at her then and made a show of looking around the small apartment. “It is lovely here,” he said, “but I’d hate to move in and then move out in a month.”

Leah’s breath caught in her throat and she thought she felt a pain in her chest.

According to the legends, wolves couldn’t survive without their imprint. More than that though, she didn’t want Harry to leave.

“You’re going back to London,” she said, more of an accusation than a question.

Harry obviously picked up on the shift in her mood, because he looked uncomfortable as he shrugged. “For a bit, yeah,” he said. “I told my friends I’d only be gone a few days, and it’s been almost a month now…” he trailed off when Leah turned around and gripped the counter tightly trying to get a handle on her tumultuous emotions and her shaking hands.

She would not be another Sam.

She would not phase in her kitchen and hurt Harry.

She wouldn’t.

She refused.

“Leave,” she said, her voice hoarse and little more than a growl.

“What?”

“Go!” Leah yelled, her voice masking the splintering sound as she broke the counter under her grip.

To the little bit of credit Leah was willing to give him, she heard Harry quickly leave and close the door softly behind him.

Leah was out her bedroom window and leaping down the fire escape the second she saw Harry left.

The first of the traitorous tears hit her cheeks before she could phase to avoid them.

Her last thought as a human was of fucking course the freaky she-wolf got a defective imprint.

Her first thought as a wolf was anger at herself for ruining her favorite jeans.

Not that it mattered.

If Harry left then Leah would be cursed to a painfully short life.

She hoped that losing her imprint killed her sooner rather than later.

Don’t think like that.

Terrific. And she had company.

Granted, Paul and Quil were the least annoying of the choices, but that didn’t mean much.

Tell him, Leah, Quil said, ignoring the jab as Leah began running and trying to block out the disastrous ‘date’.

Harry brought her a damn sunflower and she kicked him out without even feeding him.

The poor guy lived in a fucking motel.

Fuck off, Leah snarled mentally.

Go with him, Paul suggested. We can get you a passport.

SHUT THE FUCK UP, Leah mentally yelled. I cannot leave my mom and Seth!

As Leah’s mind was flooded with the memories of her mom’s absolute misery and devastation after her dad passed, the boys went thankfully silent and let Leah mope in peace.

Quil offered one more piece of ‘support’ before he phased back at the end of his shift.

I know everything will work out somehow, Leah, he said gently through their mental connection. He’s your soulmate. It has to.

What the fuck did Quil know? He imprinted on a god damned baby.

Chapter Text

Hey, it’s Harry.

I had to get a new phone.

How are you?

Is it stupid if I say I miss you?
Yeah, that’s probably stupid.

It’s weird, London doesn’t feel like home anymore.

It’s like… like that dirty motel felt more like home than Grimmauld Place (the house my godfather left me) does now.

Or La Push did, anyway.

Leah?

You’re probably pissed.

I’m sorry.

Text me if you feel like it.
Or call me.
I’d like to hear from you.

I miss you.

Message Not Delivered.

Chapter Text

If you don’t shut the fuck up about that damn wedding I swear to god I’m going to rip your throat out.

Fuck you, Leah. As if we haven’t all had to hear about Harry fucking Potter for the last month.

Leah snarled at the low blow. Two could play that game.

At least he is- was my imprint. Bella Swan is a vampire snack. And a month from now she’ll be far away, dead and frozen forever.

ENOUGH, Sam said, ending the argument before it could turn into a fight.

Which was the opposite of what Leah and Jacob both wanted.

Jacob was all torn up and soppy over the wedding they were all invited to in a couple of weeks.

Leah was… herself.

Bitter and forcing everyone to feel bitter with her.

She was also in pain— chronic, undiagnosable, constant pain. It was like her entire chest was bruised black and blue.

Every breath felt restrictive.

Every pair of green eyes she’d seen since Harry left La Push a month ago was agony.

So Jacob could complain about heartache all he wanted, he had no idea.

I know, Jacob said, quiet and remorseful now. Sorry, Leah.

I don’t want your damn pity, Leah snarled. She put a burst of speed in her run, outstripping Jared and trying to put the physical distance between herself and the others that she couldn’t do mentally.

Thankfully, the others went silent as they did their monthly full sweep of the forests.

The more time Leah spent in wolf mode, the less her chest ached. The pain never left, not fully, but it was less noticeable in wolf mode. The drawback, obviously, was the rest of the pack.

We’re not that bad, Seth thought with his unbearable optimism. We’re— oh, what’s that?

What’s what? Sam asked, instantly alert. Seth what do you see?

It’s—

Did he just phase?! Leah howled. She was clear on the opposite side of town from Seth. Leah spun around and began running toward Seth. JACOB, IS SETH WITH YOU?!

Calm down, Leah, Sam said, stern but not an order. Jacob, can you see Seth?

Yeah, Jacob came through clearly. He’s butt ass naked and talking to… oh.

Embry was the one who howled that time as Jacob suddenly phased right out of their minds. Leah was racing across the forest, ripping through bushes and trees alike, but Sam was closest.

Hold your positions, he said. Let me assess the situation and see if we need to prepared for an attack. Hold your positions, he repeated, an order this time. If I don’t phase back within five minutes, circle around to La Push High.

Leah skid to a stop as Sam’s order commanded her and she was vibrating with anxiety as the rest of the pack felt Sam phase.

What’s going on? Paul asked the others.

Dunno, Jared said, just as tense.

Everyone was silent and preparing for the worst while they waited.

Leah counted down the seconds, waiting for the five minute mark so they could rush the high school and see what was going on, but Sam phased back before she hit three minutes.

Leah, phase back, now, he said, an alpha command. Go home. Shower. Take the night off.

What?! Leah was trembling with the weight of the command. What’s going on?

Now, Leah.

Leah let out a furious snarl that had Jared backing away quickly before she phased to human.

Who the fuck was Sam Uley to order her to take the night off?

Leah was still fuming and snarling after pulling her shorts and tank top on.

It was an abuse of his fucking power, and he knew it.

Leah bitched about Sam the whole, long, hike through the forest and back to her apartment.

Where she immediately called Seth.

Sam couldn’t order her to shower, what a fucking tool.

“Leaaaah!” Seth sounded as upbeat as always. “Hey, get dressed up! Let’s go to dinner!”

“Let’s tell me what the hell happened earlier,” Leah demanded as she absently looked through her fridge.

Empty.

Damn it.

“Course, sis,” Seth agreed easily, “over dinner. Seven at the diner?”

Leah glared at her fridge as if it had personally offended her, which, honestly, it did.

“Sure,” she snapped. “Seven at the diner, Seth.”

“Shower first! You stink!” Seth’s laughter cut off Leah’s growl as he quickly hung up on her.

Leah threw herself on the couch and grumbled about why she couldn’t have been an only child right up until she closed her eyes and passed out.

Chapter Text

Harry sighed as he shifted from foot to foot outside the diner. He glanced at his phone again, making sure he didn’t misinterpret Seth’s text:

Dinner at seven at the diner, can’t wait to see you, bro.

Maybe Seth didn’t mean tonight?

Maybe… Harry shifted away from the door when it opened and a small family left. Maybe he should just go in?

Harry wasn’t a coward, alright, but he really wasn’t sure if he wanted to run into the girl who invited him to dinner, promptly threw him out of her apartment, and then ‘ghosted him’ (a term that Hermione taught him) for a month.

Yeah, it wasn’t like Harry had a chance in hell with someone like Leah Clearwater, but Jacob and Seth kept in touch, why didn’t she? He knew she’d been upset that he was leaving, but she didn’t give him a chance to explain why he had to go and why he wanted to come back.

And, it was stupid, but the whole time Harry was in London, officially resigning from his job, collecting reference letters, leasing out Grimmauld Place, Leah had been on his mind.

There was something about her, something Harry tried to explain to a very bemused and amused Ron and Hermione, that just made her special.

It was the same something that led Harry to applying to a job in Forks and renting a room in the La Push Motel once more. He had thought about renting or buying a place in Forks, but every time he started looking at houses, he felt a small ache in his chest that reminded him about Leah’s mad offer to be roommates.

She probably found a roommate while Harry was gone. Someone handsome and charming and they’d fall in love and Harry would be pining for the rude waitress the rest of his life.

It sounded dramatic, but Harry had long ago learned to expect the worst so he wasn’t disappointed when that’s what happened.

Harry glanced inside the diner with a quick peek, keen on not being spotted by Leah or her mum. He frowned when he still didn’t see Seth, someone who was hard to miss with his height. He checked his phone and saw that it was already eight. If Seth was going to show up, he would have been there.

Harry sent a quick text, making sure he was alright, before he began making the slow walk toward the motel.

It was weird that Seth invited Harry to dinner and then bailed, but it was definitely more weird that Seth was fully nude when he did it. Weirder still that Jacob had joined Seth a few moments after Harry first saw him, also fully nude. They’d both hurried and pulled on shorts that were tied to their ankles, but Harry couldn’t help but wonder what they were doing naked in the woods.

Then he stopped wondering that because Jacob and Seth’s love life was none of his business.

Harry was slowly walking down Main St, wondering if he could stop by Leah’s and pretend to be looking for Seth, when Seth finally text him back.

I’m at Leah’s, sorry bro, I fell asleep. Come on in, I’m hopping in the shower.

Harry glanced at the tackle shop on the next block and hesitated.

He wanted to see Leah… but he also didn’t want to see Leah…

But he wanted to see Leah.

Harry jogged the last block and took the side entrance that led to the little staircase that went up to Leah’s apartment. He hesitated again before just letting himself in, like Seth said.

Harry looked around the apartment, wondering if Leah had gotten the roommate she wanted. He didn’t notice any changes, so he had to assume not. Since he also didn’t see Leah anywhere, unless she was in one of the bedrooms that Harry wasn’t going to go poking around in, he had to assume she wasn’t home.

Probably on a date.

Harry heard the shower running and made himself comfortable in one of the plastic chairs in the kitchen. The same plastic chair that he’d been kicked out of a month ago.

Hopefully Seth got out of the shower before Leah got home and could kick Harry out again.

Harry entertained himself for a moment with looking at the few photographs hung on the fridge. Seth, Leah, their mum, and their dad who died a little over a year ago. Harry grinned at the one of toddler Leah holding baby Seth with a gap-toothed smile. He did not grin at the photo of Leah, Sam Uley, and a bunch of other muggle teens on a beach.

According to Seth, who was an expert on all things Leah, Leah and Sam used to date until he dumped her for her cousin and best friend Emily.

Which Harry equated to Ginny dumping him to ‘focus on her career’ and then immediately making headlines by getting together with Oliver Wood.

Harry shifted the photo of Leah and her friends over a little so he could see the photo stuck to the fridge behind it as the water in the bathroom turned off.

And then Harry froze.

Because it wasn’t a picture at all, it was a lined sheet of notebook paper covered in doodles of little flowers. The same doodles that Harry drew in the diner the morning he had breakfast with Leah. Harry traced the ink lines with his fingertip. Why would Leah keep this? Why pin it to her fridge with her other sentimental photos?

Harry turned his head when the bathroom door opened, and was caught off guard again.

Instead of tall, gangly, cheerful Seth standing there- it was Leah.

Tall, lean, beautiful Leah.

Leah wrapped up in only a thin white towel with eyes as wide as galleons as she stared at Harry.

Instead of a greeting, an apology for being in her apartment, or something charming or casual to say, Harry pulled the notebook paper off the fridge and held it up. “You kept this?”

Leah took a few steps towards him, stopping beneath the arc in the kitchen doorway. “Yeah,” she said quietly, no bite to her tone.

“Why?” Harry asked incredulously. “Why keep this and kick me out? Why ignore my texts? Why—”

Leah closed the gap between them and surged forward, pressing her lips to Harry’s.

Harry hesitated for a split second before dropping the paper and wrapping his arms around Leah’s waist to pull her even closer while they were locked together. Leah gasped a little, leaving Harry an opening to deepen the kiss. Leah moved her hands to Harry’s head and tangled her fingers in his hair.

This was what Harry missed while he was in London. This was what he couldn’t explain to Ron and Hermione. This was what made him not so torn up when Ginny dumped him. This feeling that couldn’t be put into words…

Somehow, Leah felt like home.

And Harry, who never really felt like he had a home, didn’t want to lose this feeling. This absolute rightness of being with Leah.

It wasn’t just because she was beautiful and witty and clever, though she was certainly those things, it was because Leah felt like she was made to fit in his arms. Like Harry had been created solely to be with her.

As far as destiny’s went, it certainly wouldn’t be the worst one that Harry felt that fate saddled him with.

“I missed you,” Harry murmured as he picked Leah up and moved her to the counter. It evened the couple of inch difference out in their heights and Harry began a slow assault on her neck. He kissed beneath her ear and smiled when she made a hum of appreciation. “So bloody much, Leah.”

“I missed you,” she said breathlessly as Harry moved from her neck to her jaw and back down again. “I didn’t want you to leave.”

Harry, very reluctantly, pulled his mouth from her skin and narrowed his eyes at her. “You told me to go,” he reminded her, his voice a little rough with emotion. “You said get out, then ignored my texts.”

Apparently Harry knew how to kill a mood pretty quick, because Leah yanked her hands from his hair and snatched at the towel that had been slipping lower and lower and tightened it firmly back in place.

“You wanted to go,” she said with a scowl. “I wasn’t going to beg you to stay, I’m not going to make myself look pathetic.”

Harry tried to fix the suddenly tense mood. “You could have came with me.” He reached up and ran his fingers softly through her wet hair. “You could have met my friends, my family, my godson…”

Leah closed her eyes as Harry toyed with her hair, her face relaxing into a more passive expression. “How would you have introduced me?” she asked with a mild smirk. “‘Hi guys, this is my friend Seth’s sister’?”

“Don’t be daft,” Harry chuckled. He ducked his head over by her ear and lowered his voice to something he hoped sounded seductive. “I would have said you’re my favorite bitchy waitress.”

Leah opened her eyes to glare at Harry, but she softened when she saw the teasing smile on his lips. “Are you staying now?” she asked. “Is that why you’re back?”

Harry grinned and dug in his pocket before triumphantly holding out a business card that he handed to Leah.

Leah read it before looking back up at Harry with a cute look of confusion. “What does Chief Swan’s phone number have to do with anything?”

“You should keep that,” Harry said, folding her fingers over the card. “So if I get hurt at work or something, you have my bosses phone number.”

Leah looked from the card to Harry quickly. “You’re staying?” she asked slowly. “For sure?”

“For sure,” Harry said. He tried to smile, hoping it made him look charming and attractive instead of nervous and on edge. “So… do you still need a roommate?”

Leah couldn’t just say yes like a normal person. Instead, she threw her arms around Harry’s neck and wrapped her long legs around his waist as she pulled him back in for another scorching kiss.

And if Leah didn’t want to talk, that was fine.

Harry didn’t either.

He scooped Leah off the counter and moved to her bedroom.

There was plenty of time to talk tomorrow.

Chapter Text

How’s work?

Boring. How’s the diner?

Dead.

Good, then you can bake me a pie? <3

Fuck off, Officer Potter.

Leah laughed at the string of sad faces Harry sent back. Then she pocketed her phone and went back to finishing the prep for the apple pie she was actually baking for him.

Not because he asked her to, she wasn’t his fucking housewife, but because she was going to break the whole ‘werewolf and vampire’ shit to him tonight and maybe it would be easier with good food.

She wanted to wait, she wanted Harry to love her because of her (as fucking stupid as that sounded), but they were going to the damn vampire wedding this weekend and she wasn’t letting him walk in without knowing what was up and who the enemies were. She would have skipped the whole ridiculous farce, but Seth was going. And if Seth was going, Leah was going.

Her brother would not be a vampire snack without Leah making a good attempt at killing them all first.

And thus, Leah had to break the news to Harry.

When Harry made it home, to the apartment they’d been sharing for a week now, he hung his jacket up by the door and slipped his arms around Leah’s waist, kissing the side of her neck while she finished dinner.

“I knew you’d cook for me,” he said, his husky voice sending a thrum of joy through her.

She could feel the grin against her skin and rolled her eyes. “Because I’m the girl?” she challenged him.

“Nope.” Harry kissed her neck once more then turned her around so he could shine his damn perfect smile right in her face. “Because you despise my cooking.”

Leah laughed the laugh she reserved for only Harry. Imprint or not, soulmate or not, Harry had a knack for making her laugh. More than that- he had a knack for making her want to laugh.

“You cook disgusting food,” Leah said. She pushed Harry away, indicating he make himself useful by setting the table, and began moving plates over to the counter.

“Steak and kidney pie is the epitome of delicious British cuisine,” Harry said haughtily. He gave her a soppy look though when she put the meatloaf and mashed potatoes on the counter and put her hands on her hips.

“No, you’re right,” he nodded seriously. “This is much better.”

“I know,” Leah sniffed. Her superior smug smile softened after they both had their plates and sat down together. Harry had pulled her chair out for her, causing her to roll her eyes and grin just a little.

They didn’t talk much while they ate, mostly just discussing Harry’s easy day of patrolling in Forks and Leah mentioned a guy from out of town stopped by the diner and swore she made ‘the best fish fry he’d ever had’.

“Well you do,” Harry said with a shrug. He didn’t say it like a compliment, more like a statement of fact. He finished his meal and sat back in his chair, his hands laced together and propped behind his head. Despite his casual pose, Leah sensed a bit of anxiety lacing his next words. “You know, I never had anything that tasted as good as your food does at my old school…”

“Yeah?” Leah didn’t know much about Harry’s old school. He mentioned a few friends, a few old teachers he went and saw during the damn month he’d been back in London, but not a lot about his old life.

“Yeah.” Harry tapped his fingers against his head, an nervous gesture that put Leah on edge. “Leah, we should talk.”

Leah felt like an ice cold hand was squeezing her chest. Like a fucking vampire had her heart in a vice and she couldn’t breathe properly.

No.

If Harry was about to say he was going back, he would go back over her dead body.

Literally.

He either had to take her with him, desperate or not, or he had to understand that it would kill her for him to leave.

“No,” she snapped, more briskly than intended. “I want to talk first.”

Harry let out a heavy breath, but he nodded and kept up his nonchalant pose.

It wasn’t fair, but neither was the damn imprint. If Harry left again, he had to know the consequences.

But, now that Leah had the opening, she hesitated on what to say.

Fuck.

The other guys just phased in front of their imprint and went from there.

Leah inhaled slowly and asked her question in a rush of breath on the exhale, “What do you know about werewolves?”

If Harry was surprised by the question, he didn’t show it. Aside from a single blink, you wouldn’t even know what an out of the blue question it was.

“Quite a bit, I reckon,” he said with a slight smirk. “What do you know about werewolves?”

Leah’s smirk was full-blown when she answered, “Much more than you, Potter.”

Harry laughed, but then he cut himself off as he suddenly leaned forward on the table, an intense look in his eyes and a tightening in his shoulders. “Leah,” the intensity in his eyes bleeding into his voice, “where’d you go to school?”

Leah was the one surprised now. “Here,” she said slowly, curious about the burning look in Harry’s eyes. “My diploma is at my mom’s?”

“Oh.” Harry’s eyes dulled a little. Was he disappointed? “Sorry, Leah, what was up with the werewolf question then?”

Leah narrowed her eyes with suspicious, but decided to attack that topic later if Harry was still there and not running for the woods.

“I’m a werewolf.”

Harry sat back, studied Leah’s face with an intensity that made her want to blush, then gave her a crooked smile. “No, you’re not.”

This was why Jared, and, just last week, Paul, just phased in front of their imprints.

Leah rolled her eyes up to the ceiling. “Come on then.” She snatched his hand as she got to her feet and began yanking him toward the door. Harry asked a few questions, but Leah ignored the specifics and just told him that he’d understand in a minute.

Harry let her lead him out back, heading straight to the forest that surround the reservation. He stayed quiet while she pulled him into the woods, he didn’t say a word until she dropped his hand about half a mile in the woods and backed about ten feet from him.

“If you don’t freak out, I have apple pie in the oven,” Leah said as a joke of a bribe while she began slowly unbottoning the front of her black shirt from the diner.

Harry’s eyes were glued to her hands before flicking up to her face with a sexy grin. “If you’re taking your top off, I’m absolutely going to freak out.” He wiggled his eyebrows a little, driving a huff of a laugh from Leah.

“Counter offer,” Leah said. She pulled her blouse off and tossed it to the side before unhooking her bra and doing the same thing.

Harry’s eyes might as well have been the size of soda cans as they sparkled and popped out of his head. “Anything,” he breathed.

It was stupid, because Harry had seen Leah naked multiple times in the last week, but it was still validating to have this movie star looking man staring at Leah as if he were the lucky one in this imprint.

“Yeah?” Leah held Harry’s eyes as she shimmied out of her shorts and brazenly stood in front of him in just a pair of black panties. “I’m going to show you something, then I’ll explain it, and if you don’t freak out and run off then I’ll take you home, I’ll fuck you until you can’t remember your name, then I’ll feed you apple pie.”

“God, Leah.” Harry swallowed harshly, his Adam’s apple bobbing in the front of his throat. “You can tell me you’re a bloody vampire or troll if it means we can go back to our place quicker.”

Our place.

Just for that, Leah peeled her panties off slowly and tossed them directly toward Harry. His hand reached out and caught them on autopilot as he slowly looked Leah over from top to bottom with such a look of appreciation that Leah blushed a little.

“Ready?” she asked him.

“Ready,” he said, his raspy voice vindicating her further.

Please don’t run, Leah thought before she focused on the ever-present heat in her chest and let it change her into her wolf.

Who’s there? Paul asked immediately. Leah, is that you? What are you doing?

Shut the fuck up, she said.

Paul didn’t say anything else, he just watched her memory of the last few minutes and chuckled over the mental link.

How’s he taking it?

Leah watched Harry and let out a soft whine as he approached her slowly with his hand out. Suspiciously well, she thought truthfully.

Harry didn’t look panicked. He didn’t look particularly shocked. He just stepped toward Leah with his hand outstretched. He held it over her head, tantalizing her with his touch so close, and waited for her to butt her head up in his hand before he sank his fingers in her grey fur and she let out a more content whine.

“You’re bloody beautiful,” Harry whispered reverently as he stared in her eyes and scratched her head in an incredibly pleasing way.

Damn, even Rachel freaked, Paul thought.

As did Emily, Sam added, alerting Leah to his presence.

And since Leah didn’t want Sam to witness this moment between her and Harry, she phased back by concentrating on the soothing touch of Harry’s hand in her fur.

“Werewolf,” she told him bluntly.

Harry’s answering smile was just as blinding as his words were confusing. “Nope, shapeshifter.”

An hour later, Leah was sitting in their living room, stunned to silence.

“Fucking wizards,” she said when she could make her vocal cords work. She looked around the room at all the furniture and odds and ends that Harry ‘transfigured’, ‘charmed’, and ‘conjured’.

“Witches too,” Harry added. He smiled when Leah glared at him. “Remus, Teddy’s dad is a true werewolf. I’d guess your tribe caught a bit of magic through the Black line and gave you all shifting abilities,” he said.

“Which is how you’re an expert on werewolves, apparently,” Leah said. “God damn. When were you planning on telling me?”

Harry lifted a brow at her, silently condemning her as the hypocrite she was. “I did say I wanted to talk to you,” he said calmly. He grinned suddenly, looking mischievous. “I’m glad you’re a shifter though, that means I wasn’t about to break the law after all.”

“That’s what you were going to talk about?” Leah asked, shocked. “I thought you were leaving.”

“What?” Harry ran a hand through his hair, messing it up and momentarily distracting Leah. “No, I just…” Harry bit his lip for a moment, a red blush creeping up his neck. “I know it’s stupid, because this is all new, but… but I like you,” he smiled shyly. “I just didn’t want to hide who I am anymore.”

Leah stared incredulously at him before clearing the shock off her face. He liked her and didn’t want to hide from her.

He didn’t even know they were soulmates.

“Harry…” Leah grimaced as she knew it was time to tell him. “What do you know about shapeshifters?”

Harry scratched at the light scruff on his jaw as he thought about it. “Not much, really,” he admitted. “I know it’s like an elemental type of transformation, I know it’s voluntary, but that’s about it.”

Ugh. It would be easier if he already knew.

It would also be easier if Harry hadn’t decided to scoot closer to her on the couch and begin toying with her hair with such a look of contentment on his face. It was like he was full of peace now that his secrets were out.

“No more secrets,” she told him firmly, “not after tonight.”

“I mean… I don’t have any other cool abilities, if that’s what you’re asking,” Harry grinned, still playing with her hair.

Leah breathed slowly, calming her racing heart, and nodded. “I have one more,” she said quietly. She jerked her head away from Harry, preferring to break the contact first in case he was disgusted or disturbed.

“I’ve imprinted on you,” she said to Harry, her eyes on her hands. “We’re supposedly—”

“Soulmates?”

Leah cringed at the whisper of Harry’s usually deep voice. She glanced over quickly, to gauge his level of disgust, and instead was faced with a look of radiant awe.

“I thought you didn’t know about shapeshifters?” she asked him.

Harry shook his head, as if clearing his thoughts, but his look of reverence was still clear. “I said I didn’t know much, not that I knew nothing. Are we- did you really?”

Harry had a real knack for rendering her silent. She couldn’t even speak in the face of his breathtaking joy, she settled for a nod.

As Harry’s happiness increased, Leah’s confusion did as well and she wound up lashing out as she always did.

“Don’t look so fucking happy,” she snapped at him. “It means you’re stuck with me, Harry. If you leave, it’ll kill me.”

Harry rolled his eyes at her and stretched his arm back over her shoulders to go back to toying with her hair. “I think I’ll survive,” he said drily. “I do enjoy being stuck with you, so far,” he grinned.

Leah glared suspiciously at him. “You barely know me.”

“Seems like we have a while to find out all sorts of things about each other,” Harry said with a wry smile and a light tug on her hair.

“You…” Leah shook her head. “You aren’t upset? Pissed off?”

“Pissed off?” Harry let go of her hair and trailed his hand down to her cheek. “Why would I be mad to find out that you, the most beautiful and witty woman I’ve ever met, are my soulmate? How could that possibly be a bad thing?”

Leah stared in his guileless and earnest eyes that were practically causing her to drown in his joy. “I’m a pain in the ass,” she whispered. “I’m a bitch. I’m mean. I’m—”

“Mine,” Harry interrupted her with a smile that knocked the air from her lungs. “Leah, you’re mine and you’re everything I’ve ever wanted.”

Daughter.

Sister.

Werewolf.

‘Shapeshifter’.

Being Harry’s was the best label that fate had given Leah.

She didn’t know if it was enough to make up for the other cards that life dealt her, but she knew that she wanted to find out.

Chapter Text

“Good morning,” Harry murmured. He nuzzled his face in Leah’s silky hair and wrapped his arm around her waist.

“I’m not talking to you,” Leah grumbled. “In fact, I hate you.”

Harry chuckled and rubbed her stomach, guessing what the source of her anger this morning was. “You can’t possibly already hate me,” he teased her. “Statistically, I think we should be married for at least five years before you even think about divorce.”

“Divorce?” Leah rolled over, a difficult feat with her protruding stomach, and smirked at him. She reached up and cupped his cheek softly. “Babe, I would never divorce you. I’m going to smother you in your sleep.”

Harry grinned and darted in to kiss her forehead, melting her look of annoyance. “Is our son bothering you?” he asked with another sympathetic rub of her stomach.

“Yes,” Leah huffed. She struggled to sit up, rolling her eyes fondly as Harry immediately moved to assist her. She glared down at her bare stomach with mock-irritation and rubbed it. “You’re a little menace, just like your father.”

Harry watched Leah light scold their unborn son for keeping her awake all night and was once again struck by how lucky he was.

What were the odds that four years ago, Harry would show up in a little town and run into his soulmate at a diner?

Harry hated to imagine what would have happened if he’d decided to stay in London when he went back the summer before he turned twenty-one…

Leah might complain about some things, like the ever-present pack members, the witches and wizards flooing into their house at odd hours of the night, and (currently) her swollen feet, but Harry knew she was as happy as he was with their life.

He proposed the first Christmas they were together- a quick proposal to be sure, but a confident one. They were married the next spring, moved in their home that summer, a year after Leah first offered to be Harry’s roommate, and now they were anxiously waiting on the birth of their son.

It was everything Harry ever wanted.

Their biggest problem now was just naming the baby. Which, considering he was due any day now, was becoming more and more of a problem.

Leah noticed Harry’s soft smile and narrowed her eyes at him. “What?” she asked him.

“Nothing,” Harry shook his head and moved to slowly kiss her, taking up as much time as he could to make his wife sigh and melt in his arms. “I was just thinking how ridiculously happy I am,” he murmured.

Leah’s smiles were more rare than Harry’s, she was more reserved when she showed her happiness, but she gave him a true smile when she ran a hand through his hair. “I love you,” she said with a peck to his lips. “Come on, carry me downstairs so I can have some ‘plain coffee’.”

Harry laughed and climbed off their bed before smirking at Leah. “I’m not carrying you until you give in,” he said, nodding at her stomach. “You know the deal.”

“Absolutely not,” Leah scowled. “I am not naming my son after Jacob’s damn cousin.”

“James then,” Harry countered with, as he always did.

“We’re naming him after my dad and his dad,” Leah said as she heavily got to her feet. She smiled smugly when Harry scooped her up in his arms.

Harry rolled his eyes at her as he navigated carefully down the stairs. “We cannot send our kid to Hogwarts one day with a dumbass name like ‘Harry Potter’,” he said. “Poor kid will never have peace.”

Harry sat Leah down gently in one of the kitchen chairs and shook his head at her when she made to get to her feet. He kicked the coffee maker on and began digging through the fridge for breakfast while Leah continued the same disagreement they’d been having since she found out she was pregnant.

“No son of mine is going to Hogwarts,” she said. “Basilisks and dickhead potions professors and fighting mermaids? No.” She rubbed her stomach softly, practically cradling it with her hands. “Harry Seth will be going to school on the rez.”

“Of course he will, babe,” Harry grinned over his shoulder as he got started on breakfast. “Until he’s eleven, then he’s going to school with Ron’s daughter.”

Ron and Hermione’s very surprising daughter who would be born in a couple of months. Whereas Harry and Leah had began trying almost immediately after their wedding and worried every month it didn’t take, Ron had called Harry in a panic one day back in January about Hermione missing her cycle and the positive pregnancy tests.

“Wrong,” Leah sang. “Our son is going to high school- perfectly safe muggle high school where he will play basketball and work at the diner on weekends.”

“Counter offer- our son goes to Hogwarts, works in the diner with you and Sue during summer breaks, graduates, and comes to work on the police department with me afterwards,” Harry grinned.

Leah crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “No.”

“Fine,” Harry sighed dramatically and played his trump card. “You know, it’ll be good for him to go to La Push High, really.” He gave Leah a smirk over his shoulder, “Samantha will be about his age, right? Maybe they’ll be friends.”

Leah’s glare increased in intensity. “Our son and Sam’s daughter will not be friends. I’d take Rose Weasley over Emily’s little spoiled brat.”

Harry laughed at the irony of Leah calling little Samantha a spoiled brat when ‘Aunt Leah’ spoiled her more than anyone.

“Final offer,” Leah smiled suddenly, “our son goes to Hogwarts if we name him after my dad.”

Harry groaned and scooped the quickly fried eggs and sausage off the griddle and divided them up on two plates. “Can’t we use Tucker?” he asked, referring to her dad‘s middle name. “Then Seth can name one of his sons ‘Harry’ and they’ll be a Clearwater instead of a Potter.”

Leah, who Harry knew mostly just loved to give him a hard time, smiled sweetly when he put their plates and coffee mugs on the table. “Depends on how good these eggs are,” she said in sweet voice that didn’t suit his sarcastic wife at all.

“You’re as big as your old apartment, Lee,” Harry teased her. “I could have served you raw eggs and you would eat them.”

Leah shrugged. “Just for that, I’m naming him Harry James Potter Junior.”

Harry laughed, reasonably confident that she was joking. “He should have been a girl,” he said. “We could have named her Suzanne and been done with it.”

Leah paused, her fork halfway to her mouth, and she gave Harry a bewildered look. “Why the fuck would I name my daughter ‘Suzanne’?”

“Oh. Er… is that not your mum’s name?” Harry asked slowly. “I thought Sue was short for Suzanne?”

Leah blinked at Harry for a moment before throwing her head back with laughter. “We’ve been together for four years and you spent this whole time thinking my mom’s real name is Suzanne?? Jesus Christ, babe.” She shook her head once she was done laughing and pointed her egg covered fork at him, “Just for that, we can name our son Tucker.”

Harry had no idea why it was so funny, but if it meant they finally had a name for their son, he wasn’t complaining. “Really?” he grinned.

“Nope. I lied. It’s still Harry.”

Pregnant or not, his soulmate or not— Harry still threw a sausage at her head.

Three days later, they welcomed their first son, Tucker James Potter, to the world.

And they lived happily ever after.