Author's Note: Alright, so here we go with an EmmettxOC story. To clarify, this story is a change from the usual Twilight stories. Rosalie does exist despite this being an EmmettxOC story. And she is not evil, nor a bitch (outside of the normal Rosalie spectrum), a whore, or involved with anyone else. She saved Emmett because his hair reminded her of her friend's baby, just like in the book, but she did not form a romantic relationship with him, just a very caring brother/sister relationship. That is the only difference there.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Twilight franchise. I only own characters you do not recognize within the Twilight franchise - these are my characters and belong to me. Do not steal them, use them in anyway, or think that they are yours. They are mine, created from my own little brain.

Note: All memories are written in first person - depending on who's memory it is - to explain how they feel/remember it at the time. This is the only time that this is done, the rest of the story is written in third person from an omnipotent view of the story world.

The smell of bear was repulsive, but I didn't want to venture too close to the human towns. I was too far gone with thirst to risk it. Not if I wanted to avoid their eyes. I prepared to lunge for the bear that was ambling its way out of cave I sat perched on. I was downwind, it hadn't smelt me yet and in its groggy half-awake state it was basically oblivious. Not many things were a better predator then a bear in these woods.

"You shouldn't poke a cranky grizzly ma'am." Turning quickly I was surprised, yes he surprised me, to find a man standing not far from behind me. If my heart could have beat, it would have beat too fast for comfort. "Tend to maul the people that do – especially the pretty young women like yourself." I resisted the urge to laugh at the warning. It was the bear – and him – that should be afraid of getting mauled by me. Not the other way around.

"I like them cranky." The words slipped out before I could stop them. Strange. It was then that I finally inhaled. Sometimes I forgot to breathe, I hadn't been around people in so long that I had a hard time remembering to blend in. His blood was so potent, I could feel his heart beat as if it was in my hand. I wanted to lick the line of sweat forming on his brow from the obvious effort he'd exerted coming here.

"My, you're an interesting one aren't you ma'am?" I knew I probably looked like a maniac at that moment. My hair was a mess, and my black eyes were probably wider then tea saucers. Not to mention the mud and grass stains on my clothing – and my lack of footwear. But he seemed oblivious to all of these facts.

"You could say that." He grinned – what an endearing smile he wore, and those curls – at me and I felt my mouth water. He was right here, I could be on him faster than he would know. It would be so easy. But, I didn't want to do this here, in the dirt. His smell reminded me of Elizabeth – the woman from decades ago. She'd smelt so delicious, like him but more floral. He smelled of the earth, sweat, work, the fauna and the flora around us. He smelled like time itself. "What is your name?"

"Emmett McCarty. Pleasure to make your acquaintance…" He trailed off, quirking a brow at me. I flashed him my best winning smile. I couldn't help the predatory instincts that were emerging. I'd always enjoyed dragging out the foreplay, the time before the kill. It was so sweet.

"Nicoletta Smith." I extended a hand to him to shake. I could smell the warmth coming off his flushed skin. When he extended his hand to shake mine, he slipped from where he'd been crouching on the slippery stones beneath our feet. Sticking his hand out to catch himself, his palm was sliced by the sharp edge of the rock. I stopped breathing, but it was already too late. I was already on him. His body pinned beneath mine.

He tried to yell – whether from pain or for help I don't know – but my hand covered his mouth. I didn't want him to attract too much attention. I pulled his other hand to my lips, my tongue flicking out to lick the line of the wound. Probing it slightly gaining sounds of pain from him, muffled as they were. He tasted better than he smelt. Warm, earthy, old and new at the same time. His blood was potent and I felt myself drunk on it from just the smallest taste on my tongue.

Before I could bite him, the smell of another vampire caught my attention. I didn't want the interruption. Throwing myself off of Emmett, I dove for the scent of the vampire. Once I was far enough away from Emmett, before I even reached the other vampire, I felt my self-control returning. I couldn't go back. That was the last I knew before finding myself somewhere in North Dakota.

Nicoletta sat still, hardly moving, watching the world go by. It was Irina that finally managed to garner her attention. "Aunt, you'll turn to stone if you stay here so long. Go." The blonde gave a gentle push to the strawberry blonde's shoulder, hoping to motivate her though she knew she had no hope of actually pushing the woman from her chair.

"Would that be a bad thing?" Irina was surprised to hear her speak. She hadn't spoken in weeks, not since the last time she had fed. Despite the disuse, the slow tandem soprano of her voice sounded as if she had not been silent so long. Irina frowned at the woman, kneeling beside her.

"Aunt Nicoletta, please. We hate to see you so." The use of her name was what drew her attention. Turning to her niece, Nicoletta smiled kindly at the girl – though physically older than her when turned, she would forever be a girl in Nicoletta's mind – and wished she could do something to appease the girl. But her sorrow was too deep. She had killed him. She had abandoned him to the bear or the vampire, she did not know. But her sorrow clouded her mind – an ever present pain. Glancing at Tanya and Kate, Nicoletta moved ever so slightly, reaching for the nieces she called family. Even they did not know of her pain.

They had found her a few years ago. She'd been staying in a cave – the same cave, she reminded herself – when they found her and had dragged her back to Alaska with them. She felt the girls embrace her, hugging her for all they were worth. Under the strain of their hug, something in Nicoletta stirred. "My beautiful girls. Tanya…" She stroked the girl's hair behind her ear, a gentle smile creasing her lips. "Irina…" She held Irina's chin for a moment, looking at the girl as if she held the secret to unlocking her pain. "Oh, Kate." Kate was very dear to her, they were so similar in so many ways already that she couldn't help but love the girl most of all.

The four of them broke from their reverie of familial bonding at the sound of a car approaching the house. Tanya was the one who stood first, peering out the window which Nicoletta sat in front of. "It's Edward."

The name was familiar to her, but she did not care. She watched absently as the girls descended on the man coming towards the house. She was glad to be left alone again, her eyes drifting over the white landscape before her.

"Edward, we're surprised to see you here. What is it?" He was led into the living room, the sound of how tightly he clenched his fists audible. It sounded as if he might shatter his own hands from sheer force of willpower. Never moving from where she sat, Nicoletta inhaled, trying to decide if she liked the male or not. She'd met him years ago, and had been unable to form an opinion then as well. He was an enigma to her.

"I met my singer." He said the word almost derogatively. "In a high school Biology class of all places."

"Honestly, why you keep returning to high school at all is a mystery to me." Before anyone in the room was able to react, Tanya had been pushed away from the couch where she'd crouched before Edward, Kate had been thrown from her perch on the arm of the couch and Irina had been forced to dive from her spot, lest she be impaled by the heel of Nicoletta's shoe.

Edward was left pinned beneath her, his head held firmly in her hands, and his shoulders held to the couch by the weight of her feet on his collarbone and shoulder. Her eyes were wild as she peered down at him. Leaning close, with no real sense of decency or personal space, she sniffed him again. Her nose trailing along his neck, and face.

"Aunt Nicoletta!" Kate grabbed at her Aunt's hips, trying to pull her off. She didn't want to shock her, knowing that once she recovered the repercussions would be severe. Nicoletta simply pushed her away and returned to Edward, her eyes unnaturally wide and inquisitive.

"You know him."

"Who?" Trying to read the woman's mind was near impossible – it was a jumble of pain and confusion. Edward couldn't make sense of her mind as he tried to figure out a way to get the hell out from under the crazed Nicoletta. They had met not long after he'd been turned, and then again when the Cullens and the Denali's had run into each other. He had not seen her since, but he remembered her vividly.

"Him." That didn't exactly clear anything up for him. Trying to find the answer in her mind, he saw a face with a pale hand covering his mouth.

"Emmett?"

"Emmett."

They spoke in unison, his a question, hers a statement. She nodded slowly, still staring at him. "Yes, I know Emmett. He's my brother."

"He's alive?" Her slow speech had picked up an octave, musical and light, in a way that hadn't been heard in far too long.

"Yes." Nicoletta was off of Edward in an instant, standing by the door with her hand ready to twist the knob.

"Let's go Edward." Poor Edward was flabbergasted, looking to the Denali's who were just as puzzled by their Aunt's behaviour. Though they remained quiet, only motioning at Edward to go with their Aunt. They weren't about to ruin the mood that had gotten their Aunt to move for the first time in weeks.

"I'll help you with your singer problem Edward. In return you will take me to Emmett." Well, he wasn't about to turn that down.

They were nearly half-way back to Forks before either of them spoke to the other. "Just how do you intend to help me with my problem? We're nearly back to Forks." He hoped that her intention was not to kill poor Bella Swan. He'd heard rumours about the woman next to him, and he didn't exactly want to be on the receiving end of anything of hers.

"The first thing you need to do Edward, is to feed. Copiously. Even when you think you've had enough, you need to drink more. Drink until you can drink no more." Well, that will seriously impact the predator population in the area. As if reading his mind, Nicoletta spoke up again. "There is an overpopulation of mountain lions in the area. You can help the local predator prey paradigm, and help with the problem."

"How does that help me deal with Bella?" Nicoletta laughed then.

"It doesn't, but at least it means you'll be less likely to try and seduce her from class to devour her behind the school." His look of shock – he'd considered that a half dozen times in various ways in the time he'd been forced to sit beside her – made her laugh again. "Don't look so shocked Edward. You're not the first vampire to not want to devour their singer…well aside from the desire to devour her."

Edward was not amused. Or that was how Nicoletta decided to take it based on his facial expression – or lack thereof. "What else?"

"You need to build up a tolerance to her. An utter lack of appetite will help you be able to that. You're a vegetarian right? Well, draw on the strength you first used to resist the urge to hunt humans when you were young. Use that to help you. It is possible." He nodded, eyes unnecessarily focused on the road.

"Have you ever resisted a singer?" In her mind he once again saw the image of Emmett's terrified face. It was probably the worst image of his brother he'd ever seen, even when he'd been in pain from his transformation, he had not looked so terrified.

"No."