His Butterfly

xvi. who else

"The first problem is the redhead. She's been on our land back and forth, but now it's getting serious. She's here more times than I can count and is killing the hikers in the forest. If we don't find her soon then the police will get involved, meaning more people gone, and conclusions on those disappearances."

Five angry shapeshifters sit or stand in Sam's living room, with Mariposa, Matei, Emily, and Kim being the only non-shifters. Emily sits holding Sam's hand as he talks. Jared leans over the back of the sofa where Kim sits, looking anxious. Matei stands next to Elliot by the coffee table with his arms crossed and a frown on his face, his foot taps on the carpet softly.

And Mariposa sits flush against Embry, his arm resting against the back side of the sofa where she sits. The brunette is slightly bouncing her leg up and down with the thought of Victoria back in town. Nearly a year ago, she and the Cullens had killed her mate, James. All she can think about is what if she's back for revenge.

"How are we supposed to catch her though? The only thing we've done is chase her away. She's way too fast for us to even grab her." Jared speaks up.

"He's right. It can't just be the five of you." Matei says, agreeing with the boy. Being half human and half vampire, they have advantages that the wolves didn't have.

"It's not just the five of us anymore," Sam looks at his pack. "That's another problem. Jacob's on the verge of shifting. Billy called me earlier, he's been feeling the symptoms."

A silence falls on the group, grasping the information they were just told.

"Damn," Jared breaks the silence by pulling out a bill, and slapping it in Embry's awaiting hand, a smirk on his face. "I just lost twenty."

Mariposa digs her elbow in Embry's side with an incredulous expression as the boy stuffs the money in his pocket. "Don't you two anything better to do?"

"I know you're not talk–"

"One more word out of your mouth, and it'll be the last one you ever say." By proving her point, the brunette raises a finger where a flame is alight.

Immediately, Jared shuts up, gulping in fear of losing his tongue as Kim pats his arm soothingly with a grin, throwing a wink at her best friend.

Shaking his head at the childish behavior within his pack, Sam speaks up again, "I want all eyes on him. I don't want him phasing somewhere where there's people."