"You're kidding me," Leah said in disbelief. She sat at the kitchen table with Sue and Billy as Jacob explained everything he learned from Seth. She was never going to get a break, was she? In addition to vampires, now she had to worry about a freaking Child of the Moon tearing up campus.

"I thought the Cullens checked to make sure this campus was safe," Sue said.

Jacob shrugged. "The species is nearly extinct. If it's survived this long, it probably knows how to lie low. There haven't been any disappearances around campus. Maybe it's just passing through?"

"It's not," Leah said. Everyone turned to look at her. "I met a guy who saw some kind of monster. He said there have been sightings for the past two years. I didn't think much of it at the time, but his monster definitely matches the description of this Child of the Moon."

"We need to warn the tribe," Billy said.

"We should," Jacob said. "They need to be prepared. We have no idea what it'll take to bring this thing down. If it's been around long enough to start rumors, I wonder if there's other breadcrumbs around."

She and Jacob started looking into local missing person cases while Billy called Old Quil and Collin. They couldn't find anything from over the summer, but sure enough, a hiker had disappeared in early May. The month prior to that, a newlywed couple never checked in to their hotel in Long Beach. She and Jacob were able to compile a list of eleven cases within a seventy-mile radius within the past two years, all reported missing shortly after a full moon. It was easy to see how the pattern was missed. None of the cases were anywhere near each other and the victims had nothing in common.

Only one of the victims was a student, a senior philosophy student from Portland. A couple of the pictures of him used in the newspaper showed him with his fraternity. Leah recognized the straggly man next to him as Kevin, the man Ian had glared at on their walk back.

"There weren't any victims last summer, either," noted Jacob. "Do you think it could be someone at the university?"

"That would make sense. That doesn't narrow it down much, it could be anyone," Leah mused.

A knock on the door interrupted their thoughts.

"Come on in, Collin," Sue invited the young alpha inside.

Collin had been one of the youngest wolves before the packs split. As Jacob's cousin, he was also a descendant of the previous alpha. When Collin came of age, Sam gave him the opportunity to lead the pack, but unlike Jacob, Collin didn't refuse.

"Hey Leah," he said eagerly, "good to see you back home. We've missed you around here."

Collin was one of Leah's favorite members of Sam's pack. His middle school crush on her had been a little annoying at times, but she had to admit he was sweet. Judging by his tone, Leah suspected the crush hadn't faded.

"Good to see you too," Leah said. "How's it been?"

"Good, good," Collin said. "Starting to get the hang of leading."

"Yeah, I'm sure," Leah answered. She knew Collin's journey as alpha hadn't been easy. He'd had to make some difficult decisions as the pack struggled to keep the secret contained. A couple of the wolves from Forks had been dismissive of the dangers of exposure. They'd behaved recklessly and Collin was forced to give them an ultimatum.

"Collin," Jacob greeted the other alpha with a nod and a stiff handshake. Now that they were standing side by side, Leah could see that Collin had passed Jacob in height.

Collin listened intently as Jacob relayed everything he knew about the situation. Collin thought carefully for a minute before responding.

"I'm not sure I agree with the Cullens' assessment of the situation," Collin said.

"What are you talking about?" Jacob said.

"We've never encountered one of these creatures before. I'm hesitant to assume the worst without seeing it for myself," Collin explained.

Jacob scoffed. "If you hesitate, you'll get your brothers killed. It's a monster. It's a threat to everyone here."

"That's exactly what the Cullens use to say about us," Collin pointed out. "I'm not too keen on taking them at their word."

"This is different," Jacob said.

"We can't be sure of that," Collin pointed out.

"And you're willing to gamble your pack's lives on that?" Jacob said.

"I'll discuss this further with the elders. At this time, we have reason to believe it will venture this far north, but if it does, we will hold a defensive line, but we will not attack unless it proves to be a threat."

"What about the Volturi?" Jacob demanded. "If we don't take care of this thing, they will."

"All the more reason for us to stay out of it. We can't have the bloodsuckers thinking we'll come running every time they whistle. It's a bad precedent," Collin argued.

"Precedent," Jacob scoffed. "They're our friends."

"Allies," Collin corrected. "We were there when they needed us. What have they done for us since?"

"The treaty—" Jacob started.

"The treaty never accounted for anything like this," Collin said.

"You're making a mistake," Jacob insisted.

"Maybe, I am," Collin mused. "But I know where my values lie. I cannot order the death of an innocent creature simply at the word of our natural enemy. How far are you willing to go, Jacob?"

"It's a monster," Jacob growled.

"Innocent until proven guilty," Collin said definitively.

Jacob stormed off.

Collin turned to Leah and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry."

"No, you have a valid point. Though, we did find some deaths that correlated with the moon cycle," Leah pointed out.

"I remember when a mysterious wolf was causing hikers to go missing around here, too," Collin pointed out.

"That's fair," Leah acknowledged.

"Like I said, innocent until proven guilty. For now, it's not our problem," Collin bid his farewells and left.

Leah thought about what he said. He had a valid point. She agreed that Jacob was too friendly towards the vampires. She thought it was odd that Collin was making a point to take such a strong stance on the situation given that it was unlikely that the monster had never strayed this far north. In the time since he took command, there hadn't been a single supernatural threat to the tribe that warranted his intervention. She thought Collin was overeager to prove himself.

Leah and Jacob spent the day running helping their parents with projects that Seth hadn't quite had time to finish before heading to school. Leah started chopping wood while Jacob changed the oil in Sue's car. They worked on various chores around the house until night fell.

Chapter Playlist:

Surface Pressure - Encanto - Collin