As April came, so did more problems.
One day after school, we all headed home as Edward went to drop Bella off at her house. It was something we did every day, and I was ready to not be at school.
"You know, I can't wait for school to be over," I said, flopping onto the couch.
"You do know that we repeat high school all the time, right?" Emmet asked me, walking into the room.
I simply groaned in response, making Emmet laugh at me. Carlisle shushed the two of us as he turned up the volume on the tv. I sat up and looked to see that he was watching news coverage of the disappearances in Seattle.
"Is it still happening?" I asked him.
"Yes, and it's getting worse," he told me. "If they don't stop soon, we'll need to intervene to stop the Volturi from coming down here."
"Just wonderful," I replied sarcastically. It seemed every month we had a new and worse problem to deal with.
Jasper's phone rang, causing me to look over. "Who's calling?" I asked him.
"It's Edward," he replied, answering his phone. "Wow! Slow down, Edward. The phone speaker isn't picking up what you're saying. Wait, what? Okay, we'll come right down." He hung up the phone and looked at me. "We need to go, Emma."
"What's going on?" I asked him, following him without hesitation.
"A vampire was in Bella's house."
The two of us quickly got in Jasper's car as he drove off as fast as he could. We quickly arrived at her house and ran straight inside to see Bella and Edward standing in the living room.
"I don't recognize the scent," Edward said as we walked in. "Can you two try and track it? You're the best at it."
"Of course," I replied. "Where is the scent strongest?"
"Bella's room."
"While we go track it, you should get one of the wolves to come over and smell it so the pack knows the scent as well," I told Edward.
"I will," he responded. "And thank you."
Jasper and I ran up to Bella's room, immediately smelling the stranger. I took a deep breath, committed the smell to memory, and took off after the trail with Jasper.
I ran through the woods as a wolf, trying to see where the stranger went. His scent went straight out into the woods before looping around in an indiscernible circle. I phased back, wanting to talk to Jasper about what was happening, but I was met with a surprise.
A blur ran past me, ripping part of my shirt off, before running farther into the woods.
I phased back and chased after the stranger. I could tell Jasper was catching up to me, but the stranger was getting farther away.
Then the scent was suddenly gone. I reached a creek where the stranger could have gotten in and swam away, effectively getting rid of any traceable smell.
I phased back as Jasper caught up to me. "What happened to your shirt?" He asked me.
"Whoever was in Bella's room ripped off part of my shirt and then took off!" I exclaimed, upset with losing him.
"Hey," Jasper said, pulling me into a hug. "We'll deal with whoever he is next time, okay? As long as you're okay, it's okay."
"We should get back to Bella's house and tell Edward."
We retraced our steps back to Bella's house, where another fun surprise was awaiting us. Jacob was shirtless and standing in the living room with Bella and Edward.
"What happened to you?" Edward asked me as we walked in.
"We lost the vampire, but he took a piece of my shirt with him," I told him unhappily.
"Well, the scent is stuck in my head now," Jacob said. "If he comes back around here, the pack will be able to hunt him down.
"Thank you, Jacob," Bella said. She gave him a hug as she spoke, making all of us uncomfortable. Edward looked over at Jasper, clearly listening to see how they both felt about each other.
It's okay if they like each other, Edward. Maybe after you break up with her, she'll be okay because she'll go out with Jacob.
Edward smiled slightly at me before looking back at Bella. "We should probably go home," he told her.
"But aren't I open to attack here alone?" She asked him, suddenly turning away from Jacob.
"I can stay," Jacob suggested, glancing over at me briefly to see my reaction to that.
"What a great idea," I told him. "Thank you, Jacob."
Edward, Jasper, and I made our way to Jasper's car, where we drove home in comfortable silence. As soon as we got home, the rest of the family was gathered together, ready to talk.
"What exactly happened?" Carlisle asked me.
"I chased the stranger through the woods, he took a piece of my shirt, and then I lost him."
"Well, that's weird," Noah said, confused.
"Are you okay?" Esme asked me.
"I'm fine. I just wish I caught him," I told her.
"Vision," Alice mumbled, zoning out.
Noah put his arms around her, bracing her while she focused on what she was seeing. She stumbled slightly as she came out of the vision, but Noah held her tighter in response. "What did you see?" He asked her.
"A group of newborns were passing around Emma's shirt and Bella's scarf to get their scents," she replied, looking over at me.
"Oh great," I mumbled as Jasper wrapped his arms around me.
"Anyone you recognize?" Carlisle asked both Edward and Alice.
"Just the one, Riley Biers," Edward replied. "He's not the one orchestrating this."
"Who could be behind it?" Esme asked.
"The Volturi?" Emmet suggested.
"I've been watching Aro's decisions," Alice told him.
"How about Victoria?" Jasper asked.
"I've been watching her too," Alice replied.
"Maybe it's one of them playing with your blind spots," I suggested.
"I'll just try and watch them both more closely," she replied quietly.
"Don't over-exert yourself, Alice," Noah told her gently, pulling her closer.
"I want to help," she told him.
"You are helping," Carlisle told her. "But don't overwork yourself. We can handle whatever is coming our way."