Team PackPerv 2/27/12 Seven Days

We are Pervs that dig the danger and maybe even the fur that comes with being a Pack lover. Team PackPerv isn’t afraid to take on the shape shifters of Quileute. We welcome all the sexy possibilities that come walking on the wild side. So join us in the sunlight and run with the wolves. As always clothing is optional.

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The PackPerv Pick is...

Title: Seven Days
Author: IdpatThat
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,437
Reviews: 138
Summary: He spent ninety years searching for vengeance, but his eternity is about to be cut short. With seven days left, he'll find that there are much more important things worth fighting for. AU, Edward/Leah.

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Jeanne
One of the beauties of an alternate universe is that you can make the rules up as you go along and that includes changing character’s back stories. Through a few simple changes to Edward’s history IdpatThat effectively changed his future too, but she also opened up the possibility for a new (though very different) love story. A true Romeo and Juliet story about two very different people, natural enemies, that find solace and love in each other.

Edward is a dark, (delightfully) snarkier version of his canon self. He is still Carlisle’s son, weighed down by responsibility and expectations, but he also carries heartache and rage over a previous love lost to tragedy. This changes the direction of Edward’s immortal life giving him a purpose, though a much darker one, that drives him and matures him in some ways. All in all, this is still the Edward we know and love, only better (in my opinion). He is a man, focused and determined, but also humbled by the knowledge of true loss.

Leah is, well she is still very much the Leah we know (and love). She is brash, brazen and bitchy as ever. Yet, in the face of this strange new possibility of love we see a different Leah emerge. The bitterness fades, replaced by hope and wonder and even passion. Honestly, if I weren’t a Leah fangirl already this refreshing, heartfelt portrayal of a woman discovering a second chance at love would have quickly turned me into a lover of the tenacious she-wolf.

The pacing of the story is fast, the title says it all and IdpatThat is unrelenting even as she weaves an intricate tale of love, vengeance and second chances. Every words is packed with power and meaning. Every moment is an unexpected treasure and when you get to the end you will wish, just like Edward and Leah, that there was more time. Or in this case more chapters.

Few Twilight fan fics create a wholly new, yet still familiar universe. Fewer still make it their own, while still keeping the characters familiar and even fewer manage all that, while also writing a wonderful love story. Seven Days is all that and some of the best sex scenes I have ever seen written. Really do I need to say more?

Jen
The last time we were flailing over IdpatThat in a full review it was for the Team Anything Goes review of Accidental Atonement. Seven Days is also an Edward/Leah fic. This time IdpatThat has written an amazing AU fic. It’s not a secret that I love vamp/wolf stories nor that I like my stories with a healthy portion of angst. Seven Days is all that and more.

The following passage reveals so much that’s essential to this story and to these characters.

Leah gasped slightly when my body pressed against hers. The heat of her body seemed to radiate through my cold skin, blanketing me like direct sunlight.

My eyes traveled down and focused on her mouth. Before I could do anything she moved. It was quick, inhuman. Her arms were around my neck and her lips were pressed to mine in less than a second.

It was like worlds colliding. I could feel the earth trembling beneath our feet but as her body curved against mine nothing else seemed to matter. My hands slid from her face as I pulled back. Her eyes were wide with astonishment as they focused on my mouth again.

So much of this story is about opposing forces and feelings. Edward has two different worlds colliding: the Volturi ways vs the Cullen family ways, and the wolf and vamp worlds. Edward and Leah both have internal battles over how they regard one another. Leah in particular tries to resist the urge to trust Edward, to be attracted to Edward. Besides the whole mortal enemies thing, she’s got the pack aware that she’s spending time with Edward, and every one of them warns her to be careful. I like to think that the contrary part of Leah is more convinced to go with her gut feelings about Edward because of the pack warnings, particularly Sam’s.

There’s an underlying sense of sadness and angst throughout the story. Edward is on borrowed time. Leah has to work hard at blocking the pack mind. Even though I’m desperately in love with these two and was so excited to read every chapter as it posted, I really adore the bittersweet nature of the story. They open up to each other in ways they haven’t been able to be open with their families. They open up to each other even though their time together is limited.

Just as Edward and Leah fit a lot in to their few days together, so does IdpatThat with the story itself. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: I love when an author chooses a format or length that is just so very perfect for their story.

I think it’s perfect as is. Do I wonder about their lives after the events of the final chapter? Yes, definitely. But there’s something so intense, so achy (masochist, anyone?) about the way it ends that I’m swoony over it. That said, I will definitely read anything extra that IdpatThat has to say about these characters!


Jess
I am not even sure where to begin. I can tell you that I absolutely adored it the first time I read it, and when I reread it to write this review, my reaction was even stronger. This isn’t your typical love story, although the resolution at the end is absolutely perfect (even if it left me wanting - read, BEGGING - for more... which IdpatThat is graciously going to post soon).

Leah is an extremely rich character. While she has often been painted as bitchy and bitter, she is so much more in this story. On the surface she comes off that way, but when you scratch and dig a little, you find a woman who is deeply loyal to her family, bears the pain of a loss so acute it’s hard to stomach, and is capable of a deep, deep love. She’s also sarcastic as hell, and that’s what stands out when she initially meets Edward.

"You're different than the other ones I've seen. You smell different, too," she said taking a small step forward.

"You can…smell me?" I raised an eyebrow.

"It's weird. You smell… sweet."

I grinned. "Aw, that's nice of you."

"Too sweet actually," she explained and wrinkled her nose. "It's kind of disgusting. It's making me feel nauseated."

"You sweet-talker, you. No woman has ever said that to me," I said with a sarcastic press of my hand over my cold, dead heart.

The two of them have amazing banter and great snark, both of which characterize the give and take, the back and forth of their natural enemy relationship.

Edward has all his true canon characteristics, so nothing stood out in that respect. I think what I really loved about him, was getting a glimpse into his thoughts, how he thought about and viewed Leah. As I would have expected, he appreciated her strength and loyalty. But it was the way she made him feel, the way she made him come alive that was so beautifully portrayed (and one of the many reasons I loved this story). Here’s a little glimpse:

She was beautiful, that was a given. Leah was different than the women I usually kept company with. Well, not that I actually had a lot of time to pursue a relationship, or that I even wanted one. Pursuing a deadly vampire murderer kind of put a damper on that. Besides, most times I was content with the friendships and familial bonds that had been created with Alice, Esme, and even Rosalie.

But Leah… being around her the past couple of days made me feel lighter, freer. She was easy to be around, and she didn't ask or expect any more than I could offer. She certainly didn't try to change my mind about what I was doing. Maybe it took a killer to understand one.

It was strange, and I wasn't quite sure if I liked it.

Things weren’t easy between them, both struggling to deal with their differences and the way things should be, but in the end it becomes too much. Couple that intensity with Leah’s desire to push back against the lack of choice in imprinting, and you get a very liberated woman. By some fluke, she chose him just as he chose her.

There are so many powerful scenes that I could talk about. One of my faves plays out after Edward takes down a vampire. When he reaches for Leah she flinches and he realizes, with horror, that she was terrified of him. He reads and sees the images of his actions and lets her go (which just about did me in). But that pain gives way to pleasure in a very intense and sexy scene.

"You taste sweet," Leah said through heavy breaths. I smiled and left a teasing kiss on the corner of her mouth as my hands slipped under her t-shirt. I moved slowly so as not to rip the flimsy material, but I wanted nothing more than to see her. She let me remove her shirt, revealing bare skin, and pulled me closer. I braced my hands behind her, trying to keep myself from touching her though that's all I could think about.

"Please," she whispered and touched my face softly. I let my hands fall from the broad oak to her warm skin, the imprint of my palms evident in the bark. I watched her face as my fingers met her skin again. They moved over her collarbone and rested over her pounding heart. That was the main way Leah was different than the other women I'd encountered in my years. She was alive. Blood pumped through her veins, calling to me. It flooded her skin when I touched her. It let me know that I was doing something right with her.

My hands ran over the swell of her breasts and she arched against me with a soft moan. I smiled and bent toward her, letting my nose skim the side of her face. Her smell was different than a human. Underneath the woodsy, musky scent was something so distinct to Leah. It was sweet but spicy, like cinnamon. Carefully, I let my tongue trace her skin just under her ear.

"You taste sweet, too," I said with my lips to her ear. Leah froze at the contact; I pulled back and, for the first time since we'd kissed, her eyes showed something besides a desperate want and need.

::swoon and flails and fans self::

Leah steals the show in this story. She is beautiful and sexy and so, so strong. This is a great story to cut your teeth on if you want to give Leah a shot. She is worth it. This story is so worth it. Seriously, go read it and leave IdpatThat some love!