Chapter 4
Seth's POV
I was nervous but happy to change back at midnight when Quil and Embry showed up. I phased without saying anything to anyone (which— in retrospect— was probably rude) and I grabbed clothes stashed in one of the many trees in the forest. Once I was ready, I ran to Elysa's house. The building was dark, which surprised me as Elysa was usually up late on summer nights. I ventured around the outside of the house until I reached the window to Elysa's room. Then, with a deep breath, I knocked on the window. It took a minute for her to respond, but eventually I could hear her stirring inside. I knocked once more and Elysa raised the blinds to the window. When she saw me standing there, she gasped. Then, after a short moment of contemplation, she hesitantly opened the windows.
"What are you doing here?" She hissed. "It's after 12 in the morning!"
"I know," I whispered back, "but I just got off work and we need to talk."
"Couldn't you have waited until morning?" she asked.
"I could have, but I have to work at 6 A.M. on Thursdays."
"Then you should be home sleeping!" She chided me.
"I'll have plenty for time for sleep later," I told her, "Will you let me in?"
Elysa shook her head, "No, I'm coming out. I could use a midnight stroll."
"Alright," I said.
"I'll be out in a minute," she said, "I'm going to change and leave my parents a note, just in case they wake up."
I nodded, "Take your time." Elysa disappeared from the window. She was gone for about ten minutes. When she came back she was wearing jean shorts, a t-shirt, and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail.
"Okay," she said, "I'm ready." She carefully lowered herself out of the window and joined me on the damp ground below. We walked in silence for a few minutes before either of us said anything.
"Listen, Ellie," I finally said, "I'm so sorry to have just sprung this on you. And I'm sorry that I didn't stick around long enough for you to ask me anything about this."
"Don't apologize about springing this on me— I was begging to know. And we did force you to leave, so it's not like you had a choice."
"I could've said no, though! And, Ellie, I want you to know that I'm an open book if you want to know anything. And I mean anything, all you need to do is ask."
"Thanks, Seth," Elysa said as we strolled though the dark forest. "Seth," she said after we'd walked a little further, "I think that we should talk about something…"
"Whatever you want," I responded as we stepped across the damp debris underfoot.
"I think we need to… Maybe we should—" At that moment, Elysa was cut off by the loud call of a wolf. A warning sound to the rest of the pack. A warning that we needed to phase.
"Hold that thought, Elysa," I said, scooping her into my arms.
"Seth!" She exclaimed, "What are you doing!" When I didn't respond, Elysa filled in the blanks for herself, "Oh, gosh… that… that howl… was a warning call for you, wasn't it?"
"Yes," I said simply, "and I need you to stay in your house. Please. I'll try to come back as soon as possible, but I don't know when that'll be." Elysa nodded her head as I placed her on the ground in front of her bedroom window.
"Be careful, Seth?" Elysa asked, pleadingly.
"Always." I replied. "Promise that you won't leave your house until I give you the all-clear?"
"I promise," she said. With that, I gave her a quick, chaste kiss before running back into the woods and phasing once out of site.
Fill me in, I said quickly, knowing I was later than everyone else, what's going on?
We've got a new trail, Jacob replied, it's the same scent as before. She knows what she's doing.
Has anyone made contact? Or even visual? I asked.
It was Embry who answered, Oh, there was visual. Stupid leech ran straight through the camp grounds down the road. I signaled while I was chasing her.
How far did you get? I asked.
Straight to the ocean, Embry responded, playing the events in his head, the vampire had long straight brown hair and killer read eyes. I told you, she knows what she's doing.
Our main goal right now is to figure out who she is, why she keeps coming back, and if she's following a pattern, Jacob said.
We spent the next ten minutes brainstorming her motives. Who was she? What was so important to her? She hadn't tried to hunt, but her eyes were red…
Has anyone informed the Cullens? I asked.
They know there's a vampire in the area, Jacob said, I'll let them know she returned as soon as I phase back.
What are we doing as far as shifts go? Leah asked.
For now, I want two of us on. Just until sunrise. Then, I'll go talk to Sam and see what he's doing. If we have one person from each pack on guard, that should be enough.
Who's staying on? I asked. We'd been out for about half an hour, it must have been going on 1 AM.
I'll finish out my shift, Embry said.
Thanks, Jake replied, any other volunteers? It's just until 6 AM; then I want all of us to meet.
I'll stay on, Quil said.
Sounds good, thank you. I want all of you back here at 6 AM, no complaints; I'll be getting less sleep than all of you.
With that, we were dismissed. I knew Jacob was wrong, I'd be getting fewer hours of sleep than him. As I ran back to Elysa's house I thought over the day. Once I reached the woods connecting to her yard, I phased back, threw on a pair of shorts, and ran the rest of the short distance to her room. I wasn't sure if she'd want me to wake her up, but I decided to go ahead and knock.
"Seth," she mumbled as she pulled open the window— she was still wearing the jeans she'd changed into— "is everything okay?"
"Everything will be fine." I said, "Do you want to ask questions now, or later?"
"Now," she said, "tell me what's going on now."
I nodded, "Alright."
"Step aside," she said, getting ready to jump down from her window.
"Are you insane!" I exclaimed, "I'm not letting you back out here, not with there being a vampire on the loose!"
"Then I suppose you'll want to come in?" Elysa asked, not waiting for an answer and simply stepping away from the window.
"Thanks," I said, jumping in and taking a seat on the floor. "Now, I believe you have questions for me? Or that you wanted to say something?"
"I do want to say something," Elysa said, "but may I ask my questions first?"
"Of course," I responded.
"Thanks," Elysa said, "first things first, how many of you are wolves?"
"Me, Leah, Jacob, Quil, and Embry are a part of Jacob's pack. Sam's pack consists of him, Paul, Jared, Collin, and Brady."
"Why are there two packs?" Elysa asked, curiously.
"It's a long story."
"Quick version?"
"Alright… we were one pack. Then, when Sam wanted to kill Bella, Jacob broke off on his own, because he disagreed with Sam's choice. I followed Jacob. Leah followed me. Quil and Embry jumped in eventually."
"Sam wanted to what?"
"Well, you have to see where he was coming from. Personally, I believe Sam was wrong, but I do see his integral point."
"You see a point for Sam to want to murder a person?"
"Well, she was about to become a vampire like the rest of the Cullens. It's our job to protect the people here from vampires. Sam takes his job very seriously. I think Sam would have been alright with her change if it weren't for the baby—"
"The baby?"
"Bella's baby— Renesmee. Really, Nessie is what Sam wanted to destroy, but the only way to get rid of her was to get rid of her mom." (A/N: Has anyone ever tried explaining Twilight to a friend who hasn't read it? It gets really confusing, really fast.)
"Wait. Bella is Renesmee's actual mom? Renesmee looks so old."
"Yes. It's a vampire thing. Actually half-vampire, half-human..." I rambled; I hadn't realized that once I started to talk I wouldn't be able to stop.
"Okay," Elysa said, "we're done with this conversation now."
"Sorry," I said, "what did you want to say before when I had to go?"
"Oh… I… honestly… Um…"
"You can tell me anything," I said, grabbing Elysa's hand.
"Look, Seth," she said, pulling her hand out of mine, "this is just… it's a lot, you know? I think I need a break."
"A break? From…"
"From us," Elysa replied, "I think we need a break. I just… I need time to think over everything you've said to me today."
I nodded, "Sure, sure. I understand."
"Thank you, Seth. Thank you for being so honest with me, and thank you for hearing me out."
"Always," I responded.
Elysa pulled me into a tight hug, "I'm sorry. I think you should go, Seth." She said as she released me, "Thanks again."
I nodded as I stood up, feeling numb. She'd rejected me. But could I blame her? Not really, no. All I knew for sure was that I wasn't getting any sleep tonight.
