this is me trying
chapter twenty four: the vampire is back
SETH24
"I'm so sorry." Tatum gushes as soon as I pick up the phone call. "I am running pretty late. My boss called me into her office just as I was leaving. I was hoping it wouldn't take too long, but she just kept talking and talking. And I couldn't be rude and say that I had to leave. So I am just now leaving work. I'm sorry."
"Hey, hey. T, it's okay." I chuckle at her frantic ranting. She sounds so cute when she is flustered. "I just got to your house. I don't mind waiting." I assure her.
"Well, you know where my key is." Tatum says as I hear her start up her car in the background. "I will be there in like twenty minutes."
"Drive safe and I will see you in a few minutes." I say before Tatum's goodbye follows shortly after. I hang up the phone and climb out of the truck. But I immediately freeze.
The sickly sweet smell fills my nose, burning the back of my throat. I quickly duck out of view of the neighbors, throwing my clothes off in the process. Seconds after phases, I let out a howl of distress.
What's wrong? Thomas asks, surprised by my sudden shift.
There's a vampire here at Tatum's place. I growl in anger. How did no one catch it? What if Tatum would have been home? She could have been killed! I roar with anger.
A vampire? Embry grumbles with sleep evident in his thoughts. Is it still there? Are you able to find a trail?
I just got here and I smelt it. I grumble as I keep my nose to the ground, trying to follow the scent through the woods behind the house.
Embry, Vanessa, get to Tatum's house. Jake orders. Seth, phase out. You need to call and divert Tatum from coming home. The last thing we need is for the vampire to be around her.
I shudder at the thought. I listen to my Alpha and phase back into my human form. I immediately dial Nessie's number and she picks up in a heartbeat. "You need to invite Tatum over for dinner." I spill out immediately, panic evident in my voice.
"Of course." Nessie answers obediently. She must know that something is going on. It is possible that Jake had informed her somehow. "I will wait for you to cancel your plans with her and I will give her a call. I won't let her go home."
"Thanks, Nessie." I say before hanging up and dialing Tatum's number.
"Hey, babe. Can you not find the key?" Tatum asks with a soft chuckle.
"I actually have to cancel on dinner tonight." I say, breathlessly.
There is a long pause on the other end and guilt washes over me. I really hated to do this to her, but I need her to be safe. I am willing to do anything to ensure her safety. "What? Are you okay?" Tatum questions, worried. "You sound off."
I mentally kick myself. I hated to worry her and I hated that I wasn't able to tell her the truth. But this is my fault. This would have been so much easier if I would have just told Tatum the truth about shapeshifting after the bonfire! I scold myself for my stupid mistake. "I'm sorry, babe. I-just… An emergency came up with Collin and Brady. I have to help them out." I lie through my teeth.
There is a moment of silence on Tatum's end of the phone. "Oh, well I hope everything is okay." She expresses concern. "Will you call me later once everything is okay?"
"Of course." I say before rushing out a goodbye. Once I hang up, I shift back into my wolf form. I just allow myself to have faith that Nessie is going to have the rest covered. I needed to focus on finding this vampire. I am NOT going to let this thing near my imprint.
Ugh, I can smell it everywhere. Vanessa gags as she circles the house. I think it went inside, too. Vanessa points out. I hadn't really thought about the vampire going inside. My stomach churns at the idea.
It smells similar to the bloodsucker that was here a few weeks ago. The one that Tatum encountered at the mall. Embry concludes after investigating the yard on his own. How did this son of a bitch get over the line without anyone noticing?
Why is this son of a bitch after my imprint? I growl. The scent of the vampire continues to fill my nose. The smell and the thought of this thing killing my girlfriend starts to make me sick.
Seth, is there any way that you can get into the house? We need to see if Tatum is truly what this vampire is after or if he was just crossing through her yard by coincidence. Jacob says as he makes his way into Tatum's yard.
I phase out first and Jake follows. "She has a spare key up here." I say as I lead the way to her front door. I find the hiding spot underneath a planter and pull out the key. I quickly unlock the front door and I am greeted with the overwhelming smell again. "It's after her." I growl.
"I think Embry is right. It's the same bloodsucker from the mall." Jacob states as he follows the scent aimlessly through the house. There is nothing besides the scent that is out of the ordinary within the house.
I follow a trail of the scent to her bedroom and my heart begins to pound. I feel hopeless as I think about the vampire being in here.
"What do you think it wants?" I question. My rage begins to build within me. "There are plenty of other people out there. Why does it want Tatum?" I yell, throwing my hands up.
"We need to talk to the Cullens. They might have some insight or rationale behind this." Jacob concludes. "Besides, we need to get them on the lookout too in case they see anything suspicious in their area." I stare blankly at the floor, ignoring Jake's words. Instead, I allow myself to fume. Jacob pulls on my arm, pulling me from my angry thoughts. "Come on, Seth. We aren't doing anything good sitting here being pissed. We need to get on this. Hopefully we can catch this thing."
Jake successfully shakes me out of my fury trance. We phase back in where other wolves are attempting to follow trails. Jake and I make our way through La Push and head towards the Cullen's house.
When we shift out, Alice is waiting outside with Carlisle. "Lost my visions for a moment. Figured one of you all would show." Alice states with a sly smile.
"Jacob, Seth." Carlisle greets with a nod. "What can I help you two with?" He says as we enter their house.
"A vampire crossed into our territory today." Jacob begins. "We believe this vampire had come into contact with Seth's imprint a few weeks ago."
Carlisle's head nods slowly in understanding. "We have not had any visitors and haven't come across any others during our hunting. But I will inform the others to be on the lookout." Carlisle states.
"Why would this vampire be after Tatum?" I question, unable to hold back any longer. My protective instincts for my imprint are on overdrive. I want as much information as I can get.
Jacob then goes into the whole story about Tatum and Nessie interaction with the vampire at the mall. Carlisle has apparently heard bits and pieces of the story from his granddaughter. Jake continues to elaborate on the current scents matching the previous vampire.
Carlisle shifts stiffly before nodding his head. "It does appear that this vampire seems to be after Tatum. There could be a multitude of reasons. The vampire potentially could be a tracker. We have had some experiences with a tracker."
My eyes narrow. "A tracker?" I question.
"A vampire who follows its target." Carlisle reiterates. "They usually don't stop until they accomplish their goal."
Their goal? I nearly ask, but I know it is a stupid question. Of course the goal is to prey on the target. And the target is Tatum. I feel like I'm about to throw up.
"But again, there could be many different reasons." Carlisle reminds me when he notices my sudden shift in mood. "I suggest that you keep an eye on things." Carlisle offers. "My family and I will be on the watch. We will let you know if we notice anything"
Jake nods his head in response. "Thank you for your help." Jake says before looking over to me. Jake can sense that I am not satisfied but he doesn't respond.
"I'm sorry that I am unable to give you any exact answers." Carlisle says, looking at me. "But let us know if there is any other way that we can help out."
Jake and I say our goodbyes before exiting the house. I let out a sigh of frustration as I storm into the woods with Jake following behind me. "He gave us no answers." I huff under my breath.
"Carlisle told us what he knew based on the situation." Jake says with a shrug. "I know that's not what you wanted to hear, but I assure you, we are going to handle this. I need to get stricter on patrols."
"Yeah, we are obviously not doing well with the current patrols." I grumble under my breath.
"I get it, Seth. We fucked up. We let our guard down." Jacob states authoritatively. "But we are going to fix this."
Jake and I shift back into our wolf forms. Everyone better get very familiar with that scent. Jacob orders as we both begin heading back to La Push. Because we are not letting that bloodsucker back in our territory without being ripped into shreds. That vampire is not coming back to hurt one of our own.
The search for the vampire continues on for several hours. We were able to follow the scent for miles and miles before the scent just vanished. By the time the skies fully reach nighttime, the whole pack is exhausted and cranky.
I can't believe we still can't find this thing. Vanessa grumbles as she slumps down into a lying position when we reach La Push again.
Patrol routes are going to change. Jacob states. We are going to need more people patrolling and bigger routes.
No one complains even though this is not what everyone wants. But the absolute last thing anyone of us wanted was for a vampire to hurt someone on our land, let alone someone so close to the pack.
Tonight, Brady and Vanessa, you are going to stay on for a couple of hours. Collin, Thomas, I am going to need you to stay with them. Jake orders. Seth, Embry, Quil, and I will switch out with them around midnight. I will iron down the new schedules and let you all know.
The ones not on patrol begin to head back to their places and phase out. Part of me wanted to remain on patrol to ensure that this vampire doesn't get Tatum, but I know that I have to have some faith in my pack.
But my overwhelming need to protect leads me to Nessie and Jake's place. I knock on the door and I hear Nessie's footsteps move through the house before the front door swings open. Nessie smiles when she sees me. "Tatum, your boyfriend is here." She says as she motions for me to enter the house.
Tatum peeks her head up from the couch and a small smile emerges on her face. "Hey." She greets before rising from the couch and stretching.
"We were just watching a movie and having a much needed girl talk." Nessie fills me in.
I eye Tatum curiously. I wonder what the girl talk was about. I don't question it. "Is everything alright with Brady and Collin?" Tatum asks as she walks over to me.
Oh shit, I forgot that I had said there was an emergency with Brady and Collin. "The-um toilet was overflowing in the apartment." I say quickly. "But we were able to fix it." The fact that the lie is so easily able to fall from my lips makes me feel so incredibly guilty.
Tatum yawns and nods her head. "Well, I'm glad it's all fixed." She whispers, not noticing the lie. She turns to face Nessie and pulls her in for a hug. "I should probably head home. Thank you for having me over tonight. I needed a girls night."
"Anytime, Tatum." Nessie says happily. "I'm sure you are heading out too, Seth." She says with a knowing smirk.
I look at my girlfriend. "Yeah, I was hoping to get to spend some time with my girlfriend tonight to make up for bailing on her." I say hopeful, even though there is no detection of anger on Tatum's face.
"Well, you two be safe." Nessie says as she walks up to the door. "I will text you, Tatum. Have a good night you two."
Tatum thanks Nessie one more time before we both say bye. I grasp Tatum's hand when we make it outside in the darkness of the night. "Your car's not here." Tatum points out when she just notices her car in the driveway."
Shit, another lie. "Yeah, Brady dropped me off." I say smoothly.
Tatum doesn't respond. I help her into the driver's seat of the car before I move to sit in the passenger's seat. It is quiet as Tatum begins driving to her place.
"I'm sorry if I made you upset by cancelling our plans tonight." I finally speak up. "I felt horrible to cancel on you." I say truthfully.
Tatum peaks over at me before keeping her eyes on the road. "I wasn't upset." She assures me. But her tone of voice doesn't give me any assurance. The car goes back to an uncomfortable quiet again.
The silence is deafening as I think of something -anything- to say. It feels like the universe is cursing me for keeping the truth from Tatum. All of our encounters since the bonfire where the legends were told have not been going well for us.
First, Tatum crying when I told her I loved her. And it was not a good cry. Now this.
I can't seem to come up with anything good to say before Tatum pulls the car into the driveway of her place. So the awkward silence continues as we get out of the car and make our way to the house. I watch as Tatum's hands tremble as she puts her keys into the lock and my heart breaks. What have I done?
When we get inside and I shut the door behind me, I follow Tatum into the kitchen where she sets her things on the counter. I immediately pull her into my arms because I don't know what else to do.
Tatum is stiff at first. "I'm really sorry for messing with our plans." I breathe in the smell of Tatum, trying to ignore the lingering smell of vampire. Tatum slowly relaxes into my chest and I hear her begin to sniffle. "Baby, what's wrong?" My heart aches listening to her cry.
Tatum pulls away from me with tears streaming down her face. "I-I was so worried that I really fucked things up." Tatum hiccups as she wipes her tears away with the sleeves of her sweater. "You d-didn't stay the other night after the bonfire. And tonight… I thought you were mad at me."
"Baby, I promise I am not mad at you." I say, directing her to the couch in the living room where I sit down and pull her into my lap.
Tatum whimpers into my shoulder as she buries her face into my shirt. "I-I can't lose you." She whispers weakly.
I rub her back, attempting to comfort her. "You aren't going to lose me. You are stuck with me unfortunately." I try to joke, receiving a small sad laugh from Tatum.
Tatum pulls away but remains in my lap. Her curly hair is currently wild and her face is reddened from crying. She continues to use her sweater to rid herself of the tears before she rests her arms on my shoulders. "When you called me earlier to cancel, I really thought that you were upset with me for not saying it back the other night." She whispers.
I brush a strain of hair out of her face and tuck it behind her ear. "I am sorry that you thought that." I mutter, holding eye contact with her bright green eyes. "An emergency really did come up." I assure her, not lying to her.
Tatum sits up a little straighter. "You shouldn't have to apologize." She says, clearly annoyed with herself. "I have been a hot mess the past few days. I'm sure you are done with the crying."
"T, I love you. The crying and all." I chuckle. "And I will say 'I'm sorry' a million times if I have to. I never want you to think that I am leaving you or that I am mad at you." I lean forward and press a kiss to her forehead before I stand up from the couch carrying Tatum in my arms. "Let's get ready for bed. You look exhausted."
Here's another chapter! I hope you guys like it! Let me know what you think is going to happen next/want you want to see! Don't forget to leave a review or favorite the story! xx M