After I finished my story, Carlisle commented that he was astounded I remembered so much from my first life. I forced myself to smile in response because I didn't want to communicate my true feelings on the matter. Bitterness. I cursed knowing exactly what I had lost and how I lost it.

I sighed.

"What is the matter, dear?" Esme asked. She put her hand on my shoulder in an attempt to comfort me. It was subtle yet so uplifting.

I refused to let my bitterness get the best of me and instead asked Carlisle to tell me about him and his family. He did me the honor of reciting the entire Cullen history. It took three days and the most shocking part of the story was the fact that they all hunted animals over humans.

"I admit we are more different than most in our world," Edward answered my silent comment.

I didn't want to offend the Cullens. It wasn't polite or tactically wise. "I would prefer the term 'weird,' but I think it is better to be weird than boring," I said with a chuckle. "We're all weird in our own way."

"That's assuming there are only two options, right?" Emmett's question was obviously rhetorical, but I couldn't miss an opportunity to engage him in conversation. He was smart. The others might think of him as simple, but that was definitely their mistake.

"Take the compliment for what it is, Em," I said with a smile.

He smiled back at me. The way his dimples indented into his cheeks set my body ablaze. The sudden rush caused me to choke. It was like I was socked in the gut by a fist. When I found the sanity to inhale a breath, my body lurched forward and the bat took another swing. This time, the most wonderful scent invaded my nose, my life, and my soul. It was a combination of sandalwood, fresh squeezed lemons, and a hint of… sweet tea, like the flavor of sweet tea I used to drink when I was human.

It was emanating from Emmett… His saccarine scent was intoxicating. It drew me in, but sanity took control and I commanded my feet not to move. If I had moved, I would have essentially tackled Emmett. That would've misconstrued as an attack and I didn't want to attack him like that. I wanted to attack his lips, his body, and his soul in another fashion.

All this occurred over the course of two seconds. Hopefully, it was lost on everyone in the room. I took a quick glance around. Only Jasper was looking directly at me. Jasper's eyebrow was high above his forehead. He smiled. He totally knew.

Shit.

I had to be wary about both my feelings and thoughts here. With Jasper's sensitivity to emotions and Edward's mindreading abilities, I would have to practice thinking about lame subjects like fishing and photosynthesis whenever Emmett was around. Ugh. This was going to be hard.

I watched as Emmett peered out the window at the rain. I watched his eyes flash about taking in the raindrops individually as they fell. Emmett was mesmerized. I was too.

He better not be taken! I growled internally.

I heard a cough, and then another. I turned my head away from Emmett to see Edward was clearing his throat. "Go ahead Logan, ask your question."

Damn you, Edward! Way to throw me under the bus, I screamed.

"A bus wouldn't crush you," Edward noted quietly.

"A bus?" Emmett asked. I could feel his cool breath reach me. My eye twitched.

I had to be careful. I had not yet figured out who of the Cullens were mated with Emmett. Such a thought made me sick to my stomach, as if I hadn't hunted in months. But, who was I to come into their lives and throw them through a fan? I knew Carlisle and Esme were together and so were Alice and Jasper. So that left Rosalie, Edward, and Emmett? I had to ask. "So are any of you mated? This is the biggest coven of vampires I have ever come upon so it seems natural that some of you would…"

"Hook up?" Emmett said with a laugh.

"That is disgusting," Rosalie said throwing her elbow into Emmett's side.

Emmett wasn't ashamed. "Not disgusting if it's true."

I had to laugh. It helped dissipate the tension.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Carlisle did hope that Emmett and Rosalie would mate when Emmett came out of his newborn years. Then again, Carlisle hoped the same for Edward and Rose when her own bloodlust waned. All three of them sort have evolved into close siblings, but nothing more."

Rose gagged. "Wait Logan, you thought I was mated to Edward or Emmett? Come now, I thought you were smarter than that!"

Without skipping a beat, I said, "It's just you're so beautiful. I'm shocked that neither has tried to mate with you."

That caught Rose off guard. She primped her hair for a moment. "Well Logan, maybe you are really smart."

The whole room lost it in laughter. Rose, the Vain was now the comic relief. I couldn't thank her enough.

The laughter didn't last quite long enough and the room soon became silent. I bit my lower lip at the awkwardness of the situation. How could I break it again? I needed to clear my head, but I didn't want to be rude. "So who wants to take me out hunting, vegetarian style, so I can see what all the hype is about?"

That caught everyone off guard. "What?" I asked.

"Three days and you're already willing to swear off human blood?" Esme asked with an emphatic smile.

That smile made me uncomfortable and I couldn't quite place my finger on why. "Well no, I didn't say that. I just want to see how you and your family live."

Esme's smile didn't falter.

I looked over to Alice who was beaming the same smile. What did she know that I didn't? This whole mental gifts thing was frustrating. I wonder how Emmett feels about it?

"He hates it really," Edward said.

I glared at him. "Do you always answer people's thoughts? It's real annoying."

"And that is why I do it. To annoy people," Edward laughed. I wished I could drop a painting on his head to shut him up, but he would know it was coming and would avoid it. I glared at Edward, challenging him to respond to my latest thoughts.

He didn't. Instead he changed the subject and suggested the whole "family" go for a hunt together. Apparently, the deer herds in southern Oregon were overpopulated.

The run to Oregon was short, but it gave me an opportunity to be alone with my thoughts, for the most part. Edward was the fastest of the Cullens and he ran at full speed. He wanted to stretch his legs, which I did as well. Everyone else fanned out over a mile in diameter, but otherwise kept pace with me.

We arrived on the eastern border of the Williamette National Forest, right where the forest met the mountains. I had hunted here before. Today, I would be hunting something different. My stomach lurched in protest. This might be difficult.

The forest was beautiful. It had just rained and the sun was out now. The air was fresh and crisp with the smell of the wet forest. My feet pushed into the mushy pine needles below. It was spongy.

"Okay, how do we do this?" I asked.

Edward, who let everyone catch up to him, was the first to speak. "Why don't you let Emmett teach you? I am sure he would love to teach you."

"Awww come on! I'm thirsty! Make Jazz do it. He probably knows how to gag less than me!" Emmett's words pierced hard into my self-esteem and pride. He didn't want to be with me. I bit my lip.

Esme came to the rescue with a slap upside Emmett's head. "Do not be rude! Show Logan how we do this."

"Sorry Logan, I'm just really thirsty," Emmett said.

I accepted that it wasn't because of me directly. "It's okay Em. You can take down as many of the herd until you're satiated. I'll just watch and take notes."

Emmett smiled at the compromise. I smiled back. Ugh, he was cute…

Emmett ran into the woods with me on his tail. We found the herd soon enough, but Emmett ran a wide circle around them. He kept his head moving taking stock of what we had on the smorgasbord. He also looked into the woods and smelled often. Perhaps there was other or better prey in the woods? I would have to ask.

The scent of the herd hit my nostrils as soon as they hit Emmett's. It wasn't appealing at all, but thankfully I didn't retch at the smell. I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of Emmett. Maybe I should have done this with someone who wouldn't distract me as easily, or at all. I laughed at myself.

"Ready?" Emmett called out. He was about a hundred feet ahead of me. I came around a large stand of trees to see three does foraging.

I nodded.

Emmett, the colossal man that he was, ran with such speed and grace that he looked more like a gazelle mixed with a cheetah. As he approached the does, they sensed the danger and took off into the woods. Emmett hopped into the trees and sprang like a monkey. He passed over the does and hopped down right in front of them. It took the does a second to stop and change directions, however it was second too long. Emmett was on the first doe in less than a heartbeat and I heard the snap of its neck. Emmett lunged at the second doe and I heard another snap clear through the forest. In the same lunge, Emmett was on the last doe. He strung his arms around the does neck and pulled it down to the ground hard. He threw his razor sharp teeth into the doe's neck and I saw the red sustenance for a brief second. Emmett's lips were on the wound and he was drinking furiously.

I maintained my distance from Emmett. I didn't want to interfere. From my vantage point, I did get to observe his beauty. The blood was obviously doing the trick. His lips became flushed and pink. The flush trailed across his face and down his arms. Emmett didn't linger long on the third doe. He dropped it and jumped upon the other two in sequence. Each were still alive when Emmett broke the skin with the teeth. Their heartbeats were slow and steady until Emmett bled them to death. Emmett must have broken their necks so they couldn't run. Hopefully, they couldn't feel pain either.

After Emmett finished his lunch, I waived at him to get his attention. He waved me over. "How was the show?" he asked.

"Impressive," I said succinctly. "You looked good."

Emmett got up and took a bow. "Now help me dispose of the bodies."

I pursed my lips. Ew. I would have to touch these things? Whatever. Emmett walked over to a huge tree that had fallen decades ago and picked it up. Using my telekinesis, I ripped the three bodies from the ground and levitated them to the dark, moist ground where the rotting tree had previously laid. Emmett lowered the tree atop the carcasses and they were encased fully. Humans would need a forest fire or a crane to move that tree again.

"Awesome! You're really handy to have around!" Emmett's voice had tinge of sarcasm to it. Bastard.

"So are you ready for the rundown?" Emmett put his hands on his hips. He looked like a track star who just ran a marathon. "Okay, so I ran around the herd first instead of just lunging into them. I wanted to see what the whole situation was. How big the herd was, were there any young, any sick and wounded. A sick one doesn't taste any different than a healthy one, which is surprising. A doe tastes worse than a buck. I think its because a buck will give up more of a fight. A mother would probably give up the best fight, but I never go after a mother with young. That's a personal choice.

"After taking stalk of the prey, you need to make sure there was no possibility you'd run into humans. I know you know the reason why."

Yeah I did.

Emmett continued, "I was lucky to run into the three does. Since they were separated, as long as they didn't reach the herd, the herd would never know and wouldn't stampede through the woods. I don't want to kill anyone else or cause everyone elses meal to run away. Anyway, I made sure to only knock the first two does out. Their blood turns worse as soon as the heart gives out. I drained the last doe and then made my way back. Any questions, grasshopper?"

"How did you know that breaking their necks wouldn't kill them?" I asked with a chuckle. Grasshopper.

"Experience." Emmett's answer was clear to me. I would have to practice to be perfect. It almost sounded like a challenge by the way it came out of Emmett's mouth.

"I didn't really break their necks though," Emmett continued. "It's kind of like a ninja trick to knock them out. If they woke up, they could run away."

I wasn't sure about that. "But I heard the snap of bone. It was pretty distinct."

"I said could, not would," Emmett said with a laugh.

I didn't get what was so funny, but I took the opportunity to be impressed with Emmett's appearance. There was no blood splatter and he didn't have any scratches on his clothes.

"I know, I make this look good," Emmett whispered.

Huh?

"Took a lot of practice. At first, I had blood all over my face and my clothes were in tatters. I once took a bear down in Idaho and it ripped my clothes completely off. I had to run all the way home in my birthday suit. I'm sure I accidentially flashed a whole church congregation." Emmett guffawed at the memory.

I had to join him. It masked my erection that was snaking down my left pant leg. The thought of a naked Emmett, oh boy!

"Yeah anyway, then we have to cover up our evidence. It's would be suspicious if someone found a carcass with just a bite mark near the neck. A bear or other predator would have torn it to shreds. So unless you're willing to shred the skin, you have to bury the thing under a rock or something." Emmett pointed back to the tree-grave.

I couldn't really focus on what Emmett was saying however. My erection was throbbing. I tried to croke out, "No, I get it. Burying the carcasses will cause bacteria and maggots to flourish and decompose the body in secret. The maggots will be food for animals higher on the food chain. The circle of life comes round."

Emmett nodded. "Yeah, I guess."

"I guess it's my turn," I redirected. "Follow me this time?"

Emmett nodded again.

I let my senses take over. I smelled the wind and let my feet propel me in the direction of another doe… no the scent was a little different, probably a buck. I was lucky, it was. A twelve-pointer too. Too bad I wasn't a hunter. The buck saw me the instant I saw it and took off into the woods. I was on it in an instant. With a tug to the left, I pulled the buck off its balance and it fell on top of me. I whipped around the beast and pinned it to the ground with my ability. It became very still. My throat burned at a temperature reminiscent of my transformation. Well, time to take the plunge.

I laughed as I buried my teeth into the buck's neck. I sucked down my first gulp of animal blood and then two things happened simultaneously. I vomited blood all down my front and Emmett was beside me, breaking the buck's neck and killing it.

Emmett's proximity set my brain into defense mode and I sunk beneath the ground. I sat there beneath the earth contemplating how I could ever come to like—let alone tolerate—that foul substance they called "blood." I felt the stomping of feet above me and I knew that Emmett was trying to get my attention.

I rose out of the earth to see that Emmett wasn't tapping his foot, but rolling around on the moist ground laughing… hysterically. In between guffaws, Emmett sputtered, "Yeah, I knew that would happened. I had the same reaction to my first deer. It gets better after time, but forcing it down your throat and keeping it down is the first step."

We spent the rest of the afternoon running around the forest. I dropped two bucks, an elk, and a grizzly bear. Only after bringing down the bear was I able to keep any portion of the blood down. This would definitely take practice.

Emmett and I were walking slowly back towards the Cullen's agreed meeting point when the scent of another deer pierced through our nostrils. "Can I have this one?" I asked.

Emmett nodded.

I stalked off and pulled the deer down easily. Before I cut the barrier between the blood and me, a thought came across my mind. Blood is blood. Humans are mammals. Deer are mammals. Rather similar, but obviously different. "Let's see if I…" I pierced the skin of the deer and delightful delicious delirium took over. The blood seared through my veins and my body trembled in pleasure. I greedily slurped the entire body of blood down. When it emptied, I became anxious for my next kill. That was a common thought for when I took down a human.

Oh my, I could do this… easily.

I stood from the carcass and saw that Emmett was eyeing me down. He opened his mouth to speak.

"I know what you're going to ask," I cut him off. "How could I enjoy that." I pointed at the dead deer.

Emmett nodded. I could see he was questioning why I could keep that animal blood down on the first day when it took him decades to do it. His face darkened. Was it shame? My heart lept to him.

"Trust me," I tried to head his shame off. "I don't have the control you have or will ever have. I kind of cheated."

"CHEATED!" Emmett exclaimed incredulously.

I pointed at the neck of the deer. "Yeah, I was able to focus just enough to change the molecular composition of the blood to be human-like. It wasn't human blood, technically. It just tasted like it allowing me to trick my body."

Emmett let out a long breath. "Yeah, you're a cheater." He approached me and gave me a slap on the back. And in our connection, he shocked me.

From the point of contact, my body hummed in… anticipation? The hum was like when a streetlight would burst to life. The electricity flowing through the filament was so intense it caused the air around it to vibrate, to hum. Emmett made my body hum. The hum made stomach have a contorted feeling.

I turned to face Emmett to see if he was having any reaction to our connection. If he was, he didn't show it. I hoped then and there I wasn't showing it either. I bit my lip. "Ready to head back?"

"Hell yeah! Jasper owes me five-double moves the next time we play chess. I want to rub it in my face. Raise the roof!" Emmett lifted the air with his hands, or portrayed what he would look like doing it at least.

"Huh?"

"Come on Logan, one thing you need to know about this family is we are a betting family. We have wagers on everything. And on you, Jasper bet me that you wouldn't be able to keep one drop of blood down. You would've failed me until your last stint. You cheated, but I won. Thanks buddy!" Emmett grabbed me in a headlock and gave me a vampire-nuggie.

"You rip any of my hair out, you are putting it back in!" I yelled. I only had one set of hair to last me an eternity and I wasn't about to lose it because of this oaf!

We made it back to the rendezvous point and Emmett recanted my experience with a degree of embellishments. I guess I had to become accustomed to his inability to give the exact story. I about ripped his head off when he lingered on my regurgitations. It was then I noticed my clothing were in tatters and stained blood red. Everyone else around me was spotless.

I put my hands on my hips and with a little concentration, the animal blood dripped off me and the fibers of my shirt and pants reconnected. I looked as clean as anyone else.

"Like I said," Emmett commented. "A cheater."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Guess I'm just that awesome, Em."

"Impressive," Carlisle commented. "You should meet a friend of mine. His name is Eleazar and he has a way of understanding people's gifts. I'm sure he would be fascinated by you."

I felt like a lab rat. "Is that like his gift?"

"He would argue that it was not," Carlisle said. "I would disagree however. Would you be interested in meeting him?"

"Hunting in Alaska?" Emmett asked, his fingers around his chin.

Alice's eyes glossed over. "Yes, Logan would be interested, Carlisle."

"I thought your visions were subject to my decisions," I said to Alice.

"They're subject to decisions, not necessarily yours." Alice's clarification was more confusing.

Edward's eyes were wide. He refused to explain and said it would all become clear soon enough. For an immortal, "soon" had an entirely different context.