* FINISHED *

TRIGGER WARNINGS: FAMILIAL ABUSE, ANGST, FLUFF, HOMOPHOBIA,

INSPIRED BY AND USED: What Ifs - Kane Brown

Fem Pronouns : Wolf : Georgian :

Traveling all the way from Georgia had left an empty place in Y/N's heart and soul, but it was quick to be filled when she found more people that were just like her.

______________________________________

"Y/N! Get your ass back in this house right now!"

Y/N had ignored the call of her mother behind her, screaming at her from the porch. Tears had streamed down her face as her cheek stung with the retaliation of her mother's hand. Her legs had pumped as hard as she could get them to go, carrying her away from the abuse of that awful house.

"Hey, Y/N. You alright?"

Y/N snapped out of her daze, the memory of her runaway fading away as she glanced up at her best friend, Jared Cameron. A small smile pulled at her lips as she nodded, standing up from the sand and following Jared to the fire that was blazing on the beach.

The H/C haired girl had discovered another pack of shifters when she had run away from her mother's wrath back in Georgia. Thankfully, they had taken her in, especially when they realized one of their own had imprinted on her.

Speaking of, Leah looked up from the fire to see Y/N and Jared approaching the bonfire. Upon seeing her imprint, an uncharacteristic smile emerged onto her face as she stood up and wrapped Y/N in her arms. Y/N couldn't help but think back to the time that they had imprinted on each other, and the battle they both had fought to gain the trust of the other.

"No. Fuck no. I'm not doing this," Leah had shut the situation down immediately, as soon as she had laid eyes on the girl wrapped in a blanket. Leah still had too much pent-up rage against imprinting for her to accept her own, and the rejection sat heavily upon Y/N's chest.

"Look, I'm not too keen on this either, but at least tolerate me until I'm good enough to leave. My mother's pack is searching for me, and they'll kill me when they find me. I can't take them all on by myself, so just let me lay low for a bit. The smell of another pack will ward them off long enough for me to cross the border, alright?" Y/N was quick to explain, wrapping the soft blanket around her body tighter as the beautiful woman in front of her glared at her. The harsh gaze in her eye softened at the idea of Y/N getting killed, and a sigh left her before she just stormed out of the door.

______

It had taken nearly 2 months to gain Leah's trust, and another few months before Y/N had returned her's. They both had emotional baggage attached to them, and it took a while for them to sort through all of it.

Leah had finally opened up about the Alpha of the pack, Sam Uley, and how they had been engaged before either of them shifted. When he had turned and seen Emily, Leah's cousin, he had imprinted on her and broken things off with Leah. A short time had passed before they announced that they engaged, and it had nearly ripped Leah apart. She had broken down in Y/N's arms, still harboring such hurt and anger from the situation. It pained the other girl a great deal to see her imprint in such a state, and it had taken her a greater deal of effort and persuasion on Leah's part for Y/N not to go straight to the black wolf and shred him to pieces.

Then, in exchange for Leah's opening up, Y/N decided she'd do the same. She shared her home experience, told stories of the awful abuse she had endured from her own mother. She shared with Leah the times she tried to tell her mother that she was attracted to other girls, not just boys, only to be met with a hard slap across the face each time. Y/N continued through her childhood of being bullied for moving schools at a young age, the building anger throughout high school, the manipulation of fake friendships, and then finally, the shift. When her mother had realized her daughter was next in line for the Alpha title, she had screamed at her and hit her and screamed some more.

Then, she told Leah about the day she ran away. Y/N had, once again, tried to stand up to her mother about her sexual orientation, only for her mother to slap and beat her again. Having finally had enough, Y/N had scrambled out of the door, tripping down the porch steps and taking off as fast as her feet could take her. When she had reached the trees, she had shifted and never stopped running. She had crossed state border after state border, meekly fighting off territorial packs and other supernatural creatures that wanted nothing to do with her. Just as she had been about to give up and accept her emanate death, Y/N had stumbled onto the territory of the Quileute Tribe.

From that day on, the two women had been inseparable, practically sewn together. One of them always had an arm around the other, always seen together. If you found one, the other was undoubtably close by. Slowly, both of them had begun to fall in love with each other.

"Whatcha thinking about, country bumpkin?" Leah's voice broke through Y/N's memories, and her exaggerated country accent causing the H/C haired girl to giggle and roll her eyes.

"Nothin' much, dollface. Just the moment I realized I'd fallen in love with the prettiest, most amazin' imprint a southern wolf like I could ever dream to have," Y/N grinned at the blush that had spread to Leah's cheeks, her drawl thicker as it filled with the love and admiration for the she-wolf in front of her.

"That was awfully cheesy, there, pumpkin. What if I said that you're wrong, and that you are the most perfect imprint a she-wolf like me could ever have the hopes of loving?" Leah blew a gentle breath into Y/N's face, the latter reeling back at the assault and laughing.

"What if I -" Y/N was cut off by Quil, who had emerged from seemingly nowhere, tugging Y/N's shirt sleeve.

"Hey, Y/N. You know any country songs on guitar?" Quil teased, not expecting a real and honest answer. With a smirk, the addressed girl tilted her head.

"Actually, Quil-iam," Quil scoffed and rolled his eyes at the nickname as Leah chuckled, "I do know a few. In fact, I'd like to dedicate a special one to my darlin' wolf."

Y/N winked at Leah as she pulled away from the she-wolf, snatching the guitar from Quil's hand and throwing the strap over her head. She strummed a few cords, tuning to the necessary keys, and tried to remember the song. As she got the feel for it, the entire pack watching her as they sat around the fire with their designated imprints, Y/N smiled at hers. Then, her fingers expertly pulled the strings, beginning the song.

"You say what if I hurt you," Y/N sang, her southern drawl coming out the thickest it's ever been, giddiness welling up in Leah at the sweet sound, "what if I leave you. What if I find somebody else and I don't need you? What if this goes south, what if I mess you up? You say what if I break your heart in two, then, what?"

Leah's eyes softened at the lyrics, her smile following suit. She remembered all of the conversations of both her and Y/N's insecurities, of the lack of faith they had in imprinting. Y/N had also told Leah about her parent's divorce, even though they were imprints. She spoke about how often the two fought, how they never seemed to be the right pieces of the puzzle. It was then that Y/N knew that imprinting wasn't always reliable, and that scared the shit out of her.

"Well I hear you girl, I feel you girl but not so fast. Before you make your mind up I gotta ask," Y/N's accent brought Leah back to the present, the giddiness rising again as they locked eyes.

"What if I was made for you, and you were made for me? What if this is it, what if it's meant to be? What if I ain't one of them fools just playin' some game?" Y/N smiled affectionately at her imprint, seeing the tears already welling in Leah's eyes at the emotion Y/N was putting into the lyrics, "What if I just pulled you close, what if I leaned in? And the stars line up and it's our last first kiss!"

Y/N allowed a small pause, her eyes boring deeply into Leah's before continuing, "What if one of these days, baby, I'd go and change your name? What if I loved all these 'what if's away?"

Leah was overcome with emotion, catching on to the meaning behind the lyrics immediately. Her heart swelled with love as her chest puffed out in pride, the others grinning from ear to ear at the two, glad that their sister and pack mate was finally getting the love she deserves.

"What if the sky falls, or the sun stops burnin'? We could worry about them 'what if's 'til the world stops turnin'. Or I could kiss you," Y/N winked, "what if you liked it? Well, we ain't never gonna know unless we try it!"

Leah couldn't help the wet, emotional laugh that bubbled from her lungs, the sound music to Y/N's ears as a face-splitting grin stretched her lips. Leah had never felt such joy, nothing had ever made her feel the way Y/N does. Not even Sam had made her this happy, and she almost married the guy! But now, Leah was grateful for everything that had happened. She was grateful that Y/N had tripped across their territory and were found by her pack, and she was forever grateful for the imprinting. Without it, Leah wouldn't be able to call this southern bell, dancing and singing in front of her, hers.

She was completely, and utterly in love with this country bumpkin.

"You say what if I hurt you, what if I leave you? What if I find somebody else and I don't need you? Damn," Y/N whispers, coming close and leaning into Leah's standing form, a huge grin on both of their faces as they exchanged loving gazes. Then, she was leaning away and ending the song with one last chorus.

"What if I was made for you, and you were made for me? What if this is it, what if it's meant to be? What if I ain't one of them fools just playin' some game? What if I just pulled you close, what if I leaned in? And the stars line up and it's our last first kiss! What if one of these days, baby, I'd go and change your name? What if I loved all these 'what if's away?"

As the song drifted to a close, Leah stumbled through the sand towards her imprint. Y/N handed the guitar back to Quil, then lifted her hands to Leah's cheeks. A few stray tears fell from Leah's eyes, but Y/N was quick to wipe them away, a content smile on her lips. She leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to the brunette's lips, whispering against them.

"Marry me."

Leah responded by kissing her back harder, wrapping her arms around her waist and pulling her impossibly closer. Their chests collided, but neither pulled away until their lungs were burning desperately for air. Even then, it was reluctant.

Y/N's hopeful eyes shone brightly against the pinks, oranges, yellows, and purples of the sunset over the ocean, and only one word slipped passed Leah's kiss-swollen lips.

"Yes."