"Liz!" Seth smiled wide as he ran to greet Elizabeth. She grinned back at him as he effortlessly swept her off her feet into a big hug. "Where the hell have you been?"
"Dude was afraid we scared you into hiding." Quil laughed alongside Embry.
Seth rolled his eyes turning to face them after setting Elizabeth back down on her feet, "Can you guys go bug Emily or something?"
"Actually," Elizabeth spoke. "I needed to speak to all of you."
Seth furrowed his brows in confusion as she glanced at Jacob who sent her a nod. Paul approached the scene now as well. Before he could speak another voice interrupted him.
"Guys why don't you head inside. There's a storm on the way." A female voice sounded causing Elizabeth to meet the girl's gaze.
She was a beautiful young woman. Her shiny black hair fell down her back against her satiny copper skin. Elizabeth's eyes glanced over the three long scars on the right side of her face, from her hairline to her chin, extending down her right arm and to her hand.
"You really think we're worried about a little rain?" Embry scoffed at her crossing his arms.
The girl crossed her arms as well. "Oh, well then I guess I'll just take these muffins to the neighbors. Wouldn't want them to go to waste."
She shrugged before taking a step back inside, just as each of the boys suddenly ran into the house causing her to smirk.
Seth stayed behind, as did Elizabeth. "Hey, I'm really sorry about everything that went down that day." Seth spoke shoving his hands into his pockets.
Elizabeth was quick to shake her head. "Don't be. We both clearly had things we were hiding. We were bound to find out one way or another."
"I guess." The boy shrugged.
"Seth, you coming? So you can finally introduce your girlfriend to me." The girl shouted towards them sending him a cheeky grin.
Heat rushed to his cheeks as he scratched the back of his head. "We're just friends, Em."
Elizabeth held back a smile as she watched the boy in his awkward state.
He cleared his throat. "After you," He held his arm out gesturing for her to walk ahead of him.
"Thank you."
She proceeded towards the small home, Seth trailing behind her until the sudden warmth of the cozy home's environment surrounded her.
The crackling of the fireplace filling her ears, the sweet scent of blueberry muffins filling her nose, the commotion of laughter and bonding at the dinner table that was filled with hungry boys. Each of them not hesitating to stuff their faces with the fresh baked goods.
"I'm Emily, it's nice to finally meet you." Elizabeth's attention snapped towards the beautiful girl's outstretched arm then up to her warm smile.
"Elizabeth, but it seems you already knew that." Elizabeth shook her hand sending her a smile.
Emily smirked at the girl, "I hear you've got some pretty powerful tricks up your sleeve."
Elizabeth let out a slight laugh. "I guess you could put it that way." Her smile slowly fell. "That's also the reason I'm here to speak with all of you." Her green eyes glanced to the boys at the round dinner table.
Seth's gaze never left Elizabeth as she stood talking with Emily. He stood leaned up against the side of the brick fireplace across the room. After Elizabeth met his stare she gave him a small smile before turning to speak to everyone. Emily began cleaning up the kitchen where Sam stood as Elizabeth spoke.
She explained the hex, the reasoning for creating it in the first place, who the volturi were and that they were after her. Seth grew tense at this, stepping closer to Elizabeth as she spoke. She continued on explaining how they will not stop until she joins their side.
The boys all sat in silence as they absorbed the information. Jacob, already knowing of the situation, stood staring out the window at the harsh rain that poured onto the green forest.
"Well, why don't we just go after 'em then?" Embry was the first to speak.
Quil nodded in agreement as the others thought for a moment.
"It's too dangerous." Elizabeth shook her head.
"I think we can handle some little vampire trackers." Paul spoke now crossing his arms.
Elizabeth shook her head again, "You don't know how strong they are. It's not a good idea."
"Yeah, well we're stronger." Quil responded tossing his muffin wrapper across the table to the trash can.
Elizabeth felt uneasy. "I really don't think you guys understand how dangerous they are. You'll get hurt."
Paul scoffed. "Damn, she really underestimates us."
Elizabeth crossed her arms before looking to Seth who seemed to be in deep thought. "Seth, this isn't a good idea. The hex will protect everyone just fine."
"I think Embry's right." Seth said looking up finally.
"What? Seth, no." Elizabeth stepped closer to him now.
Seth looked down to the brunette girl in front of him, her eyes pleading. "I can't let you guys risk getting hurt." She spoke, "I won't."
"Liz, we're a lot stronger than you think." Seth said to her softly.
Sam spoke now as he wrapped an arm around Emily, "The whole reason our pack exists is to fight vampires." He said firmly.
Elizabeth sighed as she walked over to Jacob. "Jacob, please tell me you want what's best for your pack? To keep them safe, right?"
Jacob clenched his jaw as he watched the rain that had now slowed down to a trickle. "Sure," He glanced behind Elizabeth to his pack. "but that doesn't mean we can't kill some vampires." He gave a slight smirk.
~~~
Elizabeth paced outside of the home, as the light rain sprinkled over her head. Her finger traced across her upper lip as she thought.
She heard footsteps approaching her as she continued pacing. "Liz, just come back inside. Your hair's getting all wet." Seth said standing in front of her now.
"I won't open the hex if it means you'll all be risking your lives out there." Elizabeth said putting her arms around herself, feeling the chilly nighttime air surround her now. "And for what? Killing for sport?"
Seth sighed. "Liz you can't just protect everyone forever. Believe me when I say we can protect you." He met her green eyes as hers met his warm brown ones.
"And it's not killing for sport, we'd be protecting you." He said taking her hands in his.
She shivered for a second at his very warm touch, looking at his hands holding hers.
"Just think about it, okay?" He asked her causing her to meet his gaze again.
Elizabeth didn't want to think about it. She didn't want them to be involved. But she also knew they were right. They could help. Maybe they were stronger and could fight them off.
"Okay." She sighed causing Seth to smile and pull her into an embrace.
His heightened body heat immediately warming her up. She closed her eyes, relaxing at the soothing temperature.
"Quick, look up!" Seth shouted in a whisper before Elizabeth followed his gaze up to the twinkling stars across the night sky.
A bright star shot across the sky, disappearing in almost the blink of an eye. Elizabeth smiled at the sight before her smile began to fade.
"It's dark." She pulled away from Seth's warm arms and ignored the shivers she felt as her heart raced, "I'm so sorry, I have to go."
She began to walk away as she faint red glow appeared from her hands.
"Wait!" Seth called to her.
"Don't worry, I promise I'll be back soon." She reassured looking back to him.
"Besides, I'm sure you can track me down if you needed to." She smiled at him before using her abilities to propel herself into the brisk air.
~