AUTHORS NOTE
I'm going to try something new with the 3RD PERSON POV in this chapter. I'm going to try and integrate song lyrics in there and hopefully, it works. The idea just came to me and I haven't seen anyone do it before so here goes nothing.
Just for the record, I do not own the songs that are mentioned but I do own the lyrics to the other song that is featured towards the end of the chapter.
EMBRY POV
When we got to the mansion the first thing I though was, 'Holy balls, this place is huge!' It was easily five stories high. It was made of stone so it kinda looked like a small castle. The only part of the outside that looked new were the garage add on and even that was blended into the fold seemlessly.
We walked in the front door and I saw that even though there was some older looking furniture it had a mostly modern look. I took note of the big screen TV and the entertainment center. I also took note of the blank face my brother was sporting. He only did that when he was upset. I noticed that Tanya was frowning at him. She shook her head at turned to me with a smile.
"Hello Embry," She said walking towards me and pulling me into a hug. I hugged her back. "It's good to see you."
"Like wise." I said pulling back. I noticed the others were exchanging greetings except the new people. They were watching us in interest. One of the girls stepped forward.
"Hi my name is-"
"Elena McIntyre." T.J. finished for her and she froze. Before she could ask how he new that, one of the new boys charged at T.J. and began to strangle him. Tanya flashed over to him while I took Joe Bob out of it's sheath. She smacked the idiot so hard that he went through the wall he was standing by on the other side of the room while T.J. coughed and sputtered.
"You dare to touch my mate!" She roared and I was really glad that she wasn't mad at me. I would have shit myself from the look she had on her face. I walked over to the idiot that tried to kill my brother and held Joe Bob at his throat.
"And what the fuck is your problem?" I snapped and he glared at me. "Don't look at me like that you prick. I asked you a question now answer it."
"Why should I?" He spat and made the motion to get up and applied more pressure to his throat. He hissed and flinched back.
"You should answer because as of right now you are testing my patience." I said. "I can be a pretty patient guy, level headed too, but I do not like it when someone hurts my family. That guy you tried to strangle is my brother in all but blood and the mate of the coven leader who just bitch slapped you. We would be well with in our right to light your ass on fire while you were still in one piece!"
He said nothing but he bared his teeth.
"Let him up." I heard T.J. say which was followed by Tanya saying "What?"
"I said, let him up." He repated. "Now Embry."
I bristled from the command. T.J. rarely used his rank against anyone, and he wasn't as powerful as Jake, but he was to be respected none the less. I glanced at him and saw that he was holding Tanya back. I was wondering why she didn't try to kill him. I took a step back but kept my weapon pointed at him.
"Get up." I said and he got to his feet slowly. I made another mental note to never piss Tanya off. This guy was as big as Emmett and Jacob. She was able to hit him hard enough that he went through a wall. I'm not saying she's weak but I didn't think she could do that. "Move." He shuffled past me and I stayed behind him, still keeping Joe Bob trained on him.
He went back to standing by his siblings but I didn't put Joe Bob away. He glared at me before turning to Tanya and T.J.
"I'd lose the glare asshole," Leah snarled while twirling her daggars. "Your brother maybe Hulien's mate but that dosen't mean I have to like you or your glare. Lose it or I will rearrange your face."
The idiot turned to glare at her and Nahuel growled at him. He put his head down but he held his glare.
"You seem to have gotten better with Joe Bob." I heard T.J. say and the ones who didn't know what I named my weapon looked confused. I glanced at him. He had managed to sit down and pulled Tanya into his lap. She still looked pissed but she wasn't trying to get out of his hold.
"Yeah, I've been practicing with Emmett and Jasper." I told him. "Learned quite a bit. Sparring session later?"
"You bet." He said.
"I'm in too." Leah said and I turned to her. "I didn't get a chance to spar because we had to deal with all those...intruders." She made a face at the word. I could tell that it was hard for her to not say 'leech' or 'blood sucker.'
"Sure." I said. "I'm interested to see how you do with Casper and Podex."
"It's Castor and Pollux you ass." She snapped and I grinned. "You know, good names for weapons."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I said frowning and she rolled her eyes.
"I'm saying their better names than Joe Bob." She said and I hugged Joe Bob to my chest, horrified that someone would insult my weapon. She rolled her eyes again and T.J. laughed. "Seriously what were you thinking when you were naming that?"
"There is nothing wrong with the name." I said.
"It sounds like it belongs in a damn trailer park." She said.
"Oh, and what make your names so special?" I sneered.
"Enough!" T.J. commanded and we both went silent. "Elena," He said and she eyed him warily. "I'm sorry."
She blinked at him as did the rest of us.
"Excuse me?"
"I'm sorry for what just happened." He explained. "I didn't know how to...talk to you and this was the best option. Sorry for getting your brother in trouble and I'm sorry for everything."
"I don't understand," She said frowning. "Why are you apologizing?"
"I wish there was an easier way to say this," He murmured to himself before he sighed. "Do any of you know about talents or rather, supernatural abilities?"
"I do." The boy standing next to Hulien said. "It's my gift I can see what others can do or what they could do." He narrowed his eyes at T.J. "Just like I know that you can see the future." He turned to Kate. "You can control a mental electrical current." He turned to Eleazar and frowned. "You're just like me but different."
"I get a feel of what someone has by being near them." Eleazar said. "I can't tell by looking at them." He glanced at me, T.J, and Leah. "Do you see anything else from them?"
"Eleazar?" T.J. said.
"I'm just checking something." He said with a smile. The boy frowned as he stared at each of us.
"He," He said looking at T.J. "Has something else I just don't know what. She," He said looking at Leah. "Has something as well, same with him." He inclined his towards me. "I feel like I'm being blocked though is that the same for you?" He said looking at Eleazar who nodded.
"It does." He said. "I don't know why but something tells me they would be stronger than they already are." He looked at the other girl. "And what is your name my dear?"
"Elektra." She said shyly.
"Hello Elektra." He said with a smile. "Could you tell me what it is that you do? I've never experienced such a thing."
"It's hard to explain." She said slowly. "I can sort of feel the presence of others and I can see their...aura I guess you could call it. It appears as different colors."
"Truly?" He asked.
"Wait," Elena interrupted. "I wanna know what this has to do with you apologizing to me." She said looking at T.J. He sighed and began his story. He told her about seeing her in a vision but it didn't show what city she was in. He told her that if he did know where she was, he would've tried to help.
"You went through so much and I couldn't stop it." He told her. "And for that I am sorry."
She frowned at him.
"It's not your fault." She told him. "True, my life isn't exactly the best right now but it's not your fault. It's not as if you were the one who told them to do what they did."
"But-"
"No." She said firmly. "Stop beating yourself up. I don't hold anything against you. I would, however, like to apologize for what my brother did."
She glared at him and he glared right back.
"We almost got kidnapped by people who knew you by name, Elena." He sneered. "Ivan was going to take us to a bunch of strangers to see if we could be of any use. Forgive me if I can't help but feel suspicious of anyone using your name."
"Do they look like the people we've encountered Ethan?" She asked dryly while glancing around. "This is a very...interesting group."
"What are you exactly?" Hulien's mate asked looking at us wolves and Nahuel. "I can hear your heart beats, but you're not human."
"You may want to take a seat." T.J. said with a sigh while running a hand through his hair. I noticed that he grew it out and shaved the sides. "This is going to be a long story."
Those that were standing, moved to an open seat. I pulled Irinia into my lap and held Joe Bob at my side.
"Ok," T.J. said and told them about us. After he was finished they were all frozen in their spots.
"So," Elena said slowly. "You turn into giant wolves?"
We nodded.
"Nahuel is a vampire hybrid?"
We nodded.
"Vampire males can have children but with human females?"
We nodded.
"You kill vampires?" She asked glancing at us wolves.
"Only if they trespass on our territory." Thomas said. "We aren't originally from the area and where we are from, we take it very seriously."
"Do you dislike vampires that drink from humans?" Elektra asked.
"I can only speak for myself," Thomas said. "But I do have friends that stick to the traditional diet of humans."
"And you don't mind?" Ethan asked sounding skeptical and T.J. shrugged.
"Sometimes you just can't fight your instincts." He said. "You have to remember that there is a difference between eating to survive, and eating to to just eat. Besides, I can't make them do anything. Would I be less apprehensive if the started drinking animal blood? I guess but it's their decision to live how they want to."
"How bout you?" He asked Leah and I. "How do you two feel about this?"
"It takes some getting used too." Leah mumured while making a face. "I will admit that I had trouble trusting vampires and sometimes, I still do. Especially when it comes to those bastards that came for an unwanted visit in Washington."
"I have friends who stick to the traditional way." I said. "Part of me would rather they didn't but what can I do?" I asked with a shrug.
"Wait," Elektra said. "Who were you talking about?" She asked looking at Leah who sighed.
"The Volturi." She said with venom in her voice. "They went there to try and destroy our friends and take those that had powers."
T.J. was watching them closely.
"Where is Ivan by the way?" He asked. "I didn't see him outside so, where is he?"
"Gone." Ethan said. "We were ambushed in New York. A group around the same number you just saw attacked us. Ivan took care of a few of them but he was overwhelmed. We tried to help but even with our strength, we were no match for them in fighting skill. The last thing he told us before they tore him apart was to run and that's what we've been doing."
"I guess it's a good thing he didn't take you to Italy." Leah said and they raised an eyebrow at her. "Aro would have made sure you never left." She explained.
"Especially you." Eleazar said to Hulien's mate. "He would give anything to have your gift."
"How do you know?" He asked.
"Because I used to work for him." He said honestly. "He would always ask me to use my gift to find other gifted vampires or humans. He was rather upset when I decided to leave."
"Why did you leave?"
"I was tired of living that way and I wanted to leave for so long, but I had a strong enough reason." Eleazar said before smiling at Carmen. "After I met Carmen I knew I made the right decision and I don't regret it at all."
"How would he have made us stay?"
"He has a vampire named Chelsea in his ranks that can make you switch loyalties with a single thought." Eleazar said and the new comers narrowed their eyes. "She might not be able to break the family bond you all have, but she would make you loyal to the guard if Aro wanted it that way, and he would."
They scowled but said nothing.
"Still up for that sparring session?" I asked T.J. and Leah when it got quiet.
"Are you really that eager to get your ass beat?" T.J. asked and I glared at him.
"How do you know you won't be the one to get his ass beat?" I growled and he laughed.
"I trained with Emmett and Jasper too, remember?" He said and I stopped glaring. "True I didn't finish but I know enough and I'll know what you'll try." He tapped the side of his head with his pointer finger.
"So how are we going to do this?" Leah asked. "One on One or two on one?"
"How about two on one?" T.J. asked. "I won't use my weapon though."
"Why?" Leah and I asked at the same time.
"It's been awhile since I've used the technique fully." He said. "I would hate to think that I would be out of practice when it comes to that."
Leah and I looked at each other and shrugged.
"It's your funeral." Leah said and he snorted.
"Whatever you say." He told her with a sigh. "Do you guys want some music?"
We both shrugged again.
"I'll get my radio." He said before looking at Tanya and poking her in the ribs. She squirmed a little before she looked at him. "Are you going to behave?" He asked placing his chin on her shoulder.
She rolled her eyes.
"Yes." She said.
"Are you going to strangle our guests?" He said frowning before looking back at them. "I didn't catch your name." He told Hulien's mate.
"Evan." He said with a smile. "Yours?"
"Thomas." He said smiling back. "But you can call me T.J. if you like. That goes for the rest of you." He said glancing at the others. They nodded and he turned back to Tanya. "Well?" He demanded.
"I solemnly swear I will not strangle our guests." She said dryly and he poked her again. "What was that for?"
"I'm serious Tatiana." He told her with narrowed eyes and she smiled sweetly.
"What would happen if I didn't?" She asked with an eyebrow raised.
"I'd rather not say it in front of our guests." He said whispering even though we heard him. "Or in front of our family, lest they be tempted to follow our example."
Garrett, Leah, Kate, and I snorted.
"As you could teach us anything." Kate said.
"You'd be surprised sister," Tanya told her. "He knows quite a lot. He would probably make you feel like an amatuer if he had the chance. I know that's how I felt when we really got into it." She gave a small shudder.
Kate's jaw dropped and the rest of us blinked. T.J. stood up with Tanya before we could say anything. He kissed her on the cheek before flashing out of the room. A couple seconds later he came back in with a portable radio, a few cd's and a change of clothes. He also had his hair pulled back into a small ponytail.
"Ready?" He asked and we nodded. "Let's go outside."
3rd PERSON POV
Thomas was standing 50 paces away from the house looking at the back porch. He gave his weapon to his mate and waited for his pack sister and brother to get ready. When they were finished with their mental preperation, they walked towards him while the others stayed on the back porch.
"The fight will go as follows," Thomas said as his eyes glazed over and his claws extended. "Since I do not have a weapon you two will be tasked in taking me to the ground or knocking me out as a form of victory. If I disarm you or knock you out, the victory goes to me. Agreed?"
They both nodded their agreement.
Thomas nodded to Garrett to press play on the radio. Jump into the fire by Harry Nilsson started playing.
"Well then, do your worst." He said smirking at them beckoning them over with a hooked finger.
They both smirked to and ran towards him.
~You can climb a mountain~
Embry swung at Thomas but he ducked and punched him in the leg.
~You can swim the sea~
Embry staggered back groaning. Leah tried to stab him but Thomas caugh her wrist.
~You can jump into the fire, but you'll never be free~
She tried again with the other hand but that got caught too.
~You can shake me up~
Thomas threw her to the side and ran to Embry.
~Or I can bring you down~
Thomas caught Embry's wrist, spun around and elbowed him in the face.
~Whoa-o-o-o, whoa-o-o-o~
Embry fell to the ground and Thomas had his weapon.
"One down." He said before looking at Leah before tossing the scythe away from him. "One to go."
~We can make each other happy~
Leah snarled as she charged at him and slashed wildly as Embry stomped his way over to the back porch.
~We can make each other happy~
Leah tried hard as she could to land a blow but Thomas kept dodging.
~We could make each other happy~
She ran towards him with her daggars to the side. She swung them inward but he caught her wrist again.
~We can make each other happy~
Thomas fell back placing his feet on her her stomach. The second he hit the ground, he used the momentum and pushed her off of him. She flew over him and he swatted the daggars out of her hands. She landed on her back with a thud. Thomas sprang to his feet to collect the weapons.
"I thought we would've lasted longer." He said after he grabbed their weapons. "The song just started and is no where near being finished."
Leah and Embry glowered at him as he came closer to them.
T.J. POV
I handed my brother and sister their weapons and they both grumbled under their breath. I chuckled as I made my way over to Tanya. I was going to pull my hair down but she stopped me.
"Leave it up," She told me. "You look good enough to eat." To put emphasis on her words she licked her lips.
"Get a room." Embry groaned and I smirked at him.
"You shouldn't have said that." I told him and he frowned. "If we got any old room, you would hear all it and if you hear us, I doubt it would help your condition."
He scowled at me while Leah laughed loudly. The others looked confused.
"Condition?" Ethan asked.
"Yeah." Leah said. "Embry suffer's from a serious case of blue balls. It doesn't help that it's self inflicted."
"Well Leah suffers from a severe case of Bitchinosis." Embry growled and Leah bared her teeth. "Which means that she is liable to snap at anyone even if they don't deserve it. This is probably due to a lack of attention in the bedroom."
I was pissing myself in hysterics at this point.
"Don't get mad at me because you haven't got any Call." Leah snapped.
"Oh, and you have?" He asked. "I shudder to think how traumatized Nahuel is now. What did you do, tie him up and have your evil way with him? Or did you spike one of the deer he drank from?"
I busted out laughing and fell to the ground while clutching my stomach. I could hear Garrett laughing too. I glanced around to see that the others were trying to hold back.
"And what the hell is so funny?" Embry asked me. "When was the last time you got any?"
"About an hour ago." I said seriously after I stopped laughing. "Garrett?" I asked looking at him while standing up.
"That's none of your concern." Kate interrupted with a scowl. "And we do not need to have this conversation in front of our guests."
"They'll have to get used to it." I told her. "Now that they are apart of the family." I said looking at Hulien and Evan who were making eyes at each other. Kate shrugged but said nothing. I stood up and turned to Embry.
"Is there any cliffs near by?" Embry asked me and I shook my head.
"No and I could use a few Jack Knifes or Swan Dives right about now." I said and he nodded.
"Yeah they do the body good." He agreed and Irina smacked him while Tanya smacked me. I was prepared for it but it still hurt like hell. Embry yelped and frowned at Irina.
"What was that for?" He whined.
"I don't wanna hear about you jumping off cliffs!" She snarled at him.
"And I don't want you looking for any!" Tanya hissed at me.
"But baby." I pouted and walked towards her.
"Don't you baby me!" She said before slapping my hands away when I tried to reach for her. "I mean it. No cliffs!"
I pulled her close to me and buried my face in her neck. I kissed her softly and she groaned.
"Stop trying to distract me!" She said. "You won't get out of this so easily."
I sighed and backed up. I looked at Embry and Irina who were trying to swallow each other whole. I looked at Leah who was avoiding Nahuel's look.
"Leah?" He aid. "Have you ever jumped off a cliff?"
She kept her head down.
"Leah?" He pressed.
"Oh alright I have ok!" She said throwing her hands up. "It's no big deal I did it all the time after my change."
"Were you safe?" He asked sounding a little hysterical.
"No, I was in danger the whole time." She said rolling her eyes.
"Be serious!" He said sounding shrill and she sighed.
"No I wasn't in any danger." She grumbled.
"How high was the drop?" He asked and she shrugged.
"About a hundred feet." She said looking at me for confirmation and I nodded.
"A hundred feet!" He cried with wide eyes.
"It's not so bad." She said with a shrug. When he was going to protest, she cut him off. "Look can we do this later? We have other things to deal with."
He nodded reluctantly and Embry stopped kissing Irina to smirk at Kate.
"Did you think I would forget our duel?" He asked and she gulped. "What's a matter, you scared?"
"No." She snapped. "But I need time to prepare."
He shrugged and she looked at me.
"Don't worry sis, I got your back." I told her and she smiled.
"What are you going to do?" Embry asked while eyeing us suspiciously.
"Nothing," I said with a shrug. "Just gonna give her some tips is all."
He shrugged again as we all headed inside.
"Have you ever actually used this stuff?" I asked Embry while pointing at the music equipment. He grinned and flashed over to his bag. He came back with the same grin on his face while holding a composition book out to me. I took it from him and read the cover.
"How to make awesome electronic music by Emmett Cullen." I read and frowned. "He can read and write?"
This caused my family to laugh and the newbies to frown.
"Is he stupid or something?" Elena asked slowly.
"Kind of," I said. "Slow would be a more apt description. He's the definition of all brawn and no brains."
"So he and Ethan would get along just fine then." Evan said and Ethan scowled while the rest of us laughed.
"Oddly enough," I began while looking Ethan over. "If your hair was shorter and darker, you two could pass for twins."
Those who knew Emmett nodded their agreement. The ones who didn't looked like they could at least picture it.
"Well let's get the show on the road." Embry said taking the book back.
"I'll be back." I said. "I need to get a few things."
I flashed to my room before anyone could ask what I was getting. I came back in with my laptop, my launch pad, my note book, and my keyboard. The laptop was a gift from Alice and Jasper. The launch pad was a gift from Emmett. Tanya got me the keyboard even though I told her that I didn't want a gift.
I started hooking everything up and checking to see if everything was functioning right. I started adding some samples to Kate's MIDI pad and hooked up her Kaossilator to my keyboard which were all hooked up into my computer. I started off with a simple drum beat at the speed of 175 on the MIDI pad. I played a few notes on the keyboard and distorted them slightly with the Kaossilator.
"What are you doing?" Embry asked.
"Showing Kate how all of this stuff works." I said while looping the sounds together. Kate watched on in fascination.
"Not bad bro." Embry said as he brought out his equipment. He had a sh-201 synthesizer which was basically a keyboard with knobs on it that could distort the sound or raise the levels. He also had a laptop and Kasossilator but his laptop was black and mine was silver. The Kaossilator he had was small, with a red and yellow color scheme. The Kaossilator Kate got was the size of of composition book and it was black. I pulled another table close to the one I was on so he could set up.
After he finished his set up he started playing too. He was going at a slower speed and it reminded me of grime music. Grime is a sub genre that blends dance hall, UK garage and hip hop. It was developed in the United Kingdom in the early 2000's.
I frowned in concentration while bobbing my head.
"We should redo all of this." I told Embry. "I have an idea."
I stopped the beat I had made and I slowed down the tempo. I switched to organ on my keyboard and played a few notes before I looped them. I pulled out my note pad and flipped through it. I showed Embry my lyrics and he nodded. He distorted a few note on his sythesizer. He walked over to his bag and pulled out a microphone and plugged it into his synthesizer.
"Whenever you're ready." He said handing it to me and hitting the record button. I was feeling a little nervous but I took a deep breath, hit the hi hat a few times, and started reciting my lyrics.
~I might show you sympathy but that's only when~
~They got you strapped to a chair with a gun to your head~
~And say, we'll play this song from beginning to end~
~And you better love it or else you'll be dead~
The was a pause before Embry let the bass drop with some horns in the back ground. I noticed he sampled the horns from 'Racks' By Young Chris (YC) ft. Future so I added this part in.
~Some people are fools, and here's an example~
~They don't know the difference between stealing and taking a little sample~
~Of a song that you want a song that you know~
~A song that you like~
~A song that makes you wanna stand up fight~
~To do what you want, to do what you need~
~To do what you need to succeed~
~Our critics will say how is this concieveable?~
~Alone we are strong but together we are invincible~
~They may be weary of any form of attack~
~And they'll start to call us wolves cuz we act like a pack~
I put the mike in front of Embry to put him on the spot, just to see if he could come up with something. I wasn't disapointed.
~They think we're weak but they would be wrong~
~We got nothing but love so we're forever strong~
~We got nothing to lose and nothing to prove~
~We'll make some noise to stomp these fools~
~We got it going o-o-on~
~Going o-o-on~
He took the mike from me to do whatever. They way he delivered those lines reminded me of 'Coming Home' by Skylar Grey. I noticed that Irina had a video camera and was filming us. What for I had no clue. I played with my keyboard for a moment before Embry came in with his own verse.
~My songs could never be hard, politically charged~
~But I'll never have to worry about making it far~
~I wanna make so much songs, make so much movies~
~It's a life that's less practical, if you don't like it then sue me~
~It's not a gaurantee that everything will go off without a hitch~
~But I won't call it quits or hit the panic switch~
~Or the panic button and everybody has the right to contribute something~
!To the song like the words for the chorus, the background voices~
~The drum line, bass line, anything so the final product doesn't end up souless~
He put the mike in front of me and I repeated what he said earlier.
~They think we're weak but they would be wrong~
~We got nothing but love so we're forever strong~
~We got nothing to lose and nothing to prove~
~We'll make some noise to stomp these fools~
~We got it going o-o-on~
~Going o-o-on~
Then we said it together and lowered the volume on our equipment to give it a sort of fade out feel to it. When we were finished, he grinned at me.
"That was awesome!" He said. "We need to make an album."
I noticed that the others were nodding their agreement. I was going to respond but my eyes glazed over and I froze in my spot.
Let me know what you thought about the music aspect of this chapter and if I should do it again.