Pen name: Legna989
Rating: M
Pairing: Emmett & Rosalie
Title: Flouting Leviticus
Summary: When Emmett encounters his singer, the exhilaration of drinking human blood becomes too much to resist. Pre-Twilight/Twilight AU.
AN: Thank you, as always, to ElleCC for the beta work. Thank you to HMonster4, AccioBourbon and TheHeartOfLife for organizing the Thirty Days of Emmett and giving the big guy his due.
October 15, 1949
The smell of apples and freshly-harvested hay permeated the air as I made my way along the tree line bordering the dirt road that led back to our house. It had been a perfect autumn day—warm and sunny—which kept us housebound and left Rose in a mood to go out for a night on the town.
Rose and I had been living apart from the family for about a year, posing as the young married couple we never would have been in our other lives. We didn't attend school, so we often went out dancing or to the movies to make sure we remained acclimated to humans.
Tonight, we were going dancing. Rosalie on the dance floor was a sight to behold, and as the dance hall in Montpelier was likely to be quite crowded on this Saturday night, she was determined to be completely flawless.
Which is what landed me on this errand. Rosalie's last pair of stockings had a snag, so she sent me to fetch a new pair.
The air was beginning to cool now that it was dusk, the crisp bite of winter's herald coming on quickly as the sun continued its descent behind the mountains. The wind shifted just a bit, and-
Bam!
The scent was like a physical force, making me stutter-step as I turned toward its source. My mind didn't register the branches I was rending from their trees as I tore through the forest, or the white cotton that fluttered in the dying breeze, or the house that was mere yards away. My ears barely heard the quiet "Oh!" as my teeth sank into plump flesh and my venom paralyzed my prey.
My only focus was the ambrosia, warm and sweet, passing through my lips and charging my cold body with a warmth and electricity unlike anything I'd ever felt.
All too soon, I found myself sucking at dry veins and I nearly roared in frustration. I licked all around the wound my teeth had left, turning my prey this way and that, seeking any stray drop of blood that might have escaped. The last turn left me looking into the unseeing eyes of the woman I'd just killed.
I dropped her and took a step back. She was a hearty woman, middle-aged, and soft with the evidence of child bearing. A wicker basket lay toppled on its side a few feet away. She'd been collecting her laundry.
We were hidden from the house by the white sheets that still hung on the line. I was tempted to wrap her in one; she seemed so like a gift to me. But I knew the rules—I needed to make her death look like anything but what it truly was.
I picked up her limp body and stole back into the trees. Her neck was already ravaged quite severely; my desperation had made me messy. With just a few more scrapes and cuts left by my hands and teeth, she easily looked like the victim of an animal attack. Her house was so close to the forest that it would be the logical conclusion the humans would draw.
I raced back home, exhilarated by the boost in speed and power the woman's blood had given me. I reckoned I was as fast as Edward; my feet barely touched the forest floor. As I approached the small creek that bordered our property, I launched myself off the ground and flew farther than I ever had before, landing neatly on the bottom step of the porch.
The windows and doors were open, and Rosalie's scent wafted over me. I was hit with a surge of lust so powerful that I nearly tore the screen door off the hinges in my haste to get inside.
"Emmett, where—"
My lips were on hers before she could finish her sentence.
After a moment, she tore her mouth away from mine.
"You taste like blood. Emmett?"
She'd noticed my red eyes and was looking into them questioningly. I knew she wouldn't judge me, but she would want to make sure I had taken care of everything, and I wasn't in the mood for an interrogation. I was just in the mood.
I picked her up and slammed her against the wall. Plaster rained down on us and a loud crack indicated that a support beam was damaged. It wouldn't be the first house we'd ruined.
I pinned her against the wall with my hips so I could use my hands to rip the clothes from her body. Rosalie responded in kind, and in seconds, our clothing was in tatters around us.
I entered her in one thrust, and both of us cried out.
I pounded against her relentlessly, at inhuman speed. The support beam gave way, and we toppled to the floor, Rosalie spinning us at the last second so I landed on my back. We didn't even lose our rhythm, Rosalie now writhing above me. I'd never seen anything so beautiful and erotic.
Her head was thrown back, golden waves bouncing in time with my thrusting. I reached up to grab her breasts, pinching and pulling, and then sat up so I could replace my hands with my mouth.
Rosalie moaned, and I moved one hand down to where we were joined. I applied just the right amount of pressure, moving my finger at a speed no human could achieve, and within moments, Rosalie was crying out my name and clinging to me for dear life.
I rolled us over and knelt between her legs. Rosalie braced herself against the portion of the wall that was still intact as I lifted her hips and continued thrusting into her violently. It wasn't long before I achieved my release and collapsed on top of her.
After several moments, Rosalie finally spoke. "Not that I'm complaining, but what was that?"
I told her what had happened, and as I'd predicted, she wanted to make sure I'd covered my tracks. Even though she seemed reassured, she cancelled our plans to go out, insisting that we start repairing the damage to the house right away in case we needed to leave town in a hurry.
We might have gotten it done that night if we hadn't kept causing more damage.
I was insatiable, and I wasn't sure if it was Rosalie's body or the dead woman's blood that I craved more. But there was only one I could have over and over.
February 23, 1954
"Where're you going, Emmett?"
I startled slightly at the sound of Alice's voice, then chastised myself for being caught off-guard. Alice was tiny, and while we were all able to move quickly and relatively silently, Alice was the quietest—sneakiest—of us all.
"To hunt." My voice brooked no invitation, but, of course, that didn't deter Alice.
"Want some company?"
Not particularly, I thought. I hadn't been trying to sneak out, exactly, and had it been anyone but Alice or Edward asking, I wouldn't have minded the company. It's not like I had plans beyond hoping to find some bear. But I couldn't say no; they were already suspicious enough of me.
Although I hadn't killed a single human in the month that Rosalie and I had been back with the Cullens, Edward and his new sidekick kept an annoyingly close watch on me. They knew why Rosalie and I had come back to live with the family. Even if my red-tinged eyes hadn't given me away, Edward would have picked every detail out of our heads, whether we'd told him or not.
Rosalie had given only the most generic information about my exploits to the family upon our return, but Edward had plucked the particulars out of her worried mind, and then he turned to me.
I'd always been someone who said what he meant and meant what he said, so I never felt the need to keep Edward out of my mind. I saw the minute he realized my lack of remorse and my less than solid commitment to the animal diet: his spine stiffened ever so slightly, and his head cocked just a little to the right. I knew that if I ever hoped to have any kind of peace living with the family, I needed to work on shielding my thoughts from Edward.
Rose and I hadn't visited the family since I'd killed that woman in Vermont, despite Esme's pleas. Perhaps if it had just been the one human, we might have—others in the family have had their slip-ups, after all—but because I kept chasing that high, Rosalie kept making excuses for us. And although Rosalie said she wanted us to rejoin the family because she missed them, I knew that at least a part of her thought that being around more vegetarians would help me stick to the diet more easily.
We returned to a family with a different dynamic than the one we'd left. Rosalie and Edward had always butted heads. They were too alike for their own good, in many ways, and they both resented that Carlisle had initially intended them for each other. Despite that, though, Rosalie had always loved Edward like a brother. It hurt her—though she'd never admit it—to find that Edward had become closer to a new sister, Alice, in just four years than Rosalie and Edward had ever been.
Alice and her mate, Jasper, had joined the family while Rose and I were away, and they each brought their unique gifts with them. It made me nervous. I knew Jasper could sense the longing I felt for human blood, but I also knew he understood it—he'd subsisted solely on human blood for nearly a century.
Alice, though… she was a different story. Her gift wasn't precise, and what she saw was often open to interpretation. She could also "see" those to whom she was closest more clearly than she could see anyone else. Which is why she was constantly harassing me—hovering, inviting herself along on every outing, insinuating herself into every conversation.
It was irritating.
"Uh, sure, Alice. You can come if you want," I replied.
Her face fell slightly at my obvious lack of enthusiasm, but I couldn't bring myself to care. I didn't want to get to know Alice better. It was bad enough that Edward was in my head; I didn't need her there, too.
We ran through Yoho National Park silently, both of us seemingly focused on the hunt. I had to admit that the family's home in Golden, British Columbia, was a pretty good place to maintain an animal diet. Its proximity to so many national parks meant there was a wealth of wildlife from which to choose; I was sure the family had relocated here with Jasper's struggles in mind.
I caught the scent of a Silvertip and veered quickly left. I could see Alice out of the corner of my eye and kicked my speed up a notch. No way was she getting to my kill.
As it turned out, Alice wasn't trying to get to my kill. As we approached the stream where the bear was cleaning itself, she dropped back, seemingly content to watch. I'd always enjoyed a good grizzly fight, so I was happy enough to put on a show for Alice, getting the bear good and riled up before finally sinking my teeth into the fur and sinew at its neck.
"You seemed to enjoy that," Alice said when I was finished.
I shrugged. "Bears are fun." She moved with me as I carried the carcass to the edge of a small ravine and threw it over. "Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I was killed by a bear," I continued. "Eternal revenge and all that."
Alice laughed. "Maybe. Or maybe you just enjoy a little challenge."
It was my turn to laugh. "Maybe I do, Alice."
"You're one of the happiest vampires I've ever met, Emmett," she said. "You haven't just accepted what you are, you revel in it."
There was a slight edge to her voice that put me on edge. I hummed noncommittally. "Well, when life gives you lemons…."
"Hm."
"Well, should we find you something to eat?" I asked, trying to change the subject.
"Oh, I'm not hungry," Alice replied. "I just wanted to spend some time with you."
"Well, that's… nice. Uh, I'm done, so I guess we should head back?"
"Sure, if you're ready." She paused. "I like you, Emmett. I hope you're able to stay for a while."
The warning in her voice was clear enough to me. She'd be watching.
June 3, 1956
"What the hell were you thinking, Emmett?" Edward yelled.
"Shut up, Edward. Just shut up!"
I hated that Rosalie was fighting my battles for me, but I had no words to explain myself, to defend what I'd done. I didn't even feel bad.
"That's right. You don't even feel bad, do you, Emmett?"
Dammit. I knew I should have been trying harder to keep Edward out of my head, but I was still too buzzed from the blood of the two humans I'd drained not an hour earlier.
"Of course he feels bad, Edward," Rosalie argued.
"Mind reader, Rosalie. Remember?"
"Well, he will feel bad, once he's had a chance to think about it."
Edward shook his head in exasperation.
"It's not like you haven't killed more than your share of humans, Edward. God! You are such a hypocrite!"
"Enough." Carlisle's voice was calm, quiet even, but rang with an authority that immediately quelled the argument between Rose and Edward. "Everyone, please sit."
The props of human life—like the dining table around which we all arranged ourselves—sometimes came in handy.
"As you all know, I have chosen to lead a life quite different from most vampires," Carlisle began. "I've never judged anyone else's choices, however; I know that this life isn't for everyone.
"I also understand that accidents happen. We've all had our share of slip-ups."
It was kind, if untrue, of Carlisle to include himself in that statement.
"We've moved three times in two years because of Emmett's 'slip-ups,' Carlisle," Edward said snidely.
"Edward, I swear to God—"
"Rosalie, Edward, enough." Carlisle's voice was stern, but his face softened as he turned to me.
"Emmett, you have been a most welcome addition to our family. I could not love you more, especially for everything you have given to the first of my daughters." His eyes turned sad and begged for understanding. "But you cannot continue to live with the family if you cannot maintain our diet."
"Carlisle!" Rosalie started to argue, but he spoke over her.
"I do not think any less of you, and were you to decide to live a more conventional vampire lifestyle, I would not judge you for it. But there is a reason that most vampires are nomads: they cannot live permanently among their prey."
"Are you— Are you kicking us out?" Rosalie asked incredulously.
"I'm giving Emmett a choice, Rosalie," Carlisle answered. "We will have to move; there is no question. Emmett killed two people in broad daylight while they were on their way home from Mass. This is a small area, and many of the locals still believe the old Druid myths. We cannot avoid suspicion."
I lowered my eyes to the table, not because I felt bad, but because I didn't.
"Emmett is, of course, welcome to move with us, but only if he is able to promise me that there will be no more killing of humans."
"He can promise to try, Carlisle. That's all any of us can do." Rosalie, God love her, was still trying to make the case for me.
Carlisle turned to me again. "Emmett, I get the sense—and again, I say this without judgment—that you are not truly committed to feeding only on animals. If I am wrong about this, please feel free to correct me."
I finally looked him in the eye, ruby to amber.
"For Rose's sake, I want to be."
Carlisle smiled wryly. "But you are not."
I shook my head slightly.
Carlisle nodded. "I understand, perhaps more than you believe. But since that is the case, I'll have to ask you to make your own way."
I nodded. "Rosalie can stay, though, right?"
"Emmett, I won't stay without you. Unless— Do you not want me with you?"
"Of course I want you with me, Rosalie. But I know you miss the family when we're away, and I don't want you to have to sacrifice that for me."
"You're everything to me, Emmett. If you go, I go."
Esme let out a tearless sob, and Carlisle took her hand.
"Then I guess it's settled," Carlisle said. "You will, of course, have access to all of the accounts, and the use of any residences you may need."
"And you are both welcome to come back anytime," Esme added.
"Anytime," Carlisle agreed.
April 24, 1989
"The body of a young woman, estimated to be in her early to mid-twenties, was discovered today along interstate one ninety-five. The remains are believed to be those of Sandy Botelho, a twenty-four-year-old mother of two who was first reported missing last August."
Rosalie turned to me, eyes wide.
"That brings to nine the total number of bodies discovered in the area since July of last year. All are believed to be victims of a serial killer, dubbed 'the New Bedford Highway Killer.' Two other women have been reported missing, but their remains have yet to be found. A sheriff's department spokesman said today that they were working closely with the state bureau of investigation and were pursuing several leads."
Rosalie shook her head. "Emmett…."
I sighed. "Rosalie, there is no way they will ever trace the bodies back to me. I have been very careful, which is why the bodies haven't been found right away. Hell, they've barely been able to identify the victims!"
"They are looking for someone, Emmett. A serial killer!"
"I'm a vampire, Rosalie. I leave no fingerprints, no fluids or hairs that can be identified."
"Emmett, that is so far off the point that I don't even know where to start."
"Well, what is the point, then?"
"The Volturi, for one, Emmett! Even if the humans can't figure out that it's you, it's only a matter of time before the Volturi figure out that a vampire is drawing the kind of attention that no vampire can afford."
"So, we move."
"And what? Wait until the bodies start piling up there, too?"
"Okay. So we travel for a while instead."
"I don't want to live like a nomad, Emmett." Rosalie's shoulders slumped. "We've tried that, and it just doesn't work for me."
I scoffed. "It's hardly 'living like nomads' when we stay in luxury hotels."
"It is when I'm worried the whole time that you're going to kill one of the other guests! Or that someone will notice your red eyes." Rosalie's eyes were burning with frustrated tears she would never shed.
I gathered her in my arms and stroked her hair. "What do you want to do, Rosie?"
She took a deep breath. "I want to rejoin the family."
Several moments passed silently.
"They won't let me live with them."
"They will if you give up human blood."
Could I? Did I want to? I knew that if I were human, my heart would be pounding, giving away my true desires. Rosalie didn't need such clues, however. She knew me better than I knew myself.
She pulled away, looking into my crimson eyes. "Will you not, even for me?"
"Rosalie, I love you…."
She removed herself fully from my arms and turned away.
"But you won't give it up."
"I can't."
November 20, 2002
"How long will you stay?"
I hesitated. I wanted to tell her that I'd stay as long as she wanted me to, but I knew that wasn't realistic. Winter in this area of Alaska meant even fewer humans; only the most hardcore wilderness hikers enjoyed exploring this area at its most extreme, and it wouldn't do to hunt locals.
"As long as I can."
She snuggled more closely to me. As it always was after being apart for some time, our love-making had been explosive. Destructive. I'd never been more thankful that the Cullens had what amounted to a compound of cabins on their Denali property.
"I should probably stay at least long enough to fix the damage," I mused.
Rosalie laughed. "Probably." She got quiet again, then added, "Maybe you can come back for Christmas?"
"Definitely."
"Carlisle's been talking about moving again at the end of the school year."
I could tell there was more she wanted to say, so I remained quiet.
"Maybe you could move with us this time," she whispered.
This was always the hardest part. I didn't feel one ounce of guilt over repudiating the "vegetarian" diet, but I made up for it in spades with the guilt I felt over disappointing Rosalie.
"Aw, Rosie, you know why I can't." I felt her nod slowly against my chest. "But depending on where you go, maybe I could visit more often, even get my own place nearby."
"We'll see," she said.
"We'll see."
January 27, 2005
"I'm so glad you're here. I didn't expect to see you so soon after the holidays."
"I'm glad to be here."
Esme curled her arm around mine as she steered me into the living room. "Things are… difficult right now. She needs you."
I nodded. "It's quite the mess Edward's gotten himself into, isn't it?"
"The girl hasn't said anything so far, and Alice seems certain she won't." Esme shrugged. "I'm probably silly to hope, but…."
"But what?"
"He's just been alone for so long, Emmett. I'd thought perhaps he'd always be alone, but if Alice is right…."
"Wait. What?"
"Oh, my. Hasn't Rosalie told you?" Esme's eyes were excited now. "Alice sees the girl as one of us, with Edward!"
That was interesting. And possibly changed things. "She hadn't mentioned it."
Esme waved her hand as if to shoo away the thought. "Well, you know Rosalie. She's so fiercely protective of the family; she automatically opposes anything that might threaten us."
Anything but me, I thought ruefully.
"So. How long will you stay?"
"A few days, I think. You know it's hard for me to stay too long; I don't want to do anything to risk the treaty."
"Of course. It's very considerate of you, Emmett."
"It's the least I can do, Esme."
We both turned at the sound of tires on the gravel. The "kids" were home from school.
I went outside to greet them. I knew Rosalie wasn't expecting me until later, and I hoped the surprise of my early arrival would help us shield our plans from both Edward and Alice.
Rosalie didn't even wait for Edward to pull into the garage. She opened the rear passenger door while the car was still moving and was in my arms in an instant.
"Emmett, we weren't expecting you so soon," Alice said as she rounded the corner from the garage.
"It didn't take me as long to get here as I thought it would."
"That's great." Alice's eyes narrowed slightly, as if she were trying to focus. "Are you planning to stay long?"
"As long as Rose needs me."
"Speaking of which," Rose said, "let's go for a run."
Edward had joined us by then, and snorted out a short laugh.
"Hey, Edward," I greeted him as I slugged him lightly on the shoulder. "You doin' all right?"
He shrugged. "As well as can be expected."
"Yeah?" I smiled at him, and he smiled back.
"Go for your 'run.' We can catch up later."
Rosalie took my hand, and we sped off around the back side of the house. We kept running, deep into the forest, although with what everyone assumed we'd be doing, we were fairly certain no one would follow.
When we finally came to a stop, we did, in fact, do what everyone assumed we'd be doing, but as we lay entangled in one another in the snow that still dusted the mountains at this elevation, we got down to the true reason for my visit.
"I don't know, Rosalie," I said as I stared up at the darkening sky. "Esme told me that Alice saw the girl as one of us."
"Did Esme also tell you that Alice saw two possible outcomes?"
I turned my head to look at Rosalie and raised my eyebrows.
"In one outcome, yes, the girl is one of us. But in the other, Edward kills her. Do you know what that would do to the family? To Edward? The guilt would torment him, and in turn, would torment the rest of us."
"The guilt he'd feel over killing the one he loves."
"Esme told you that, too, huh?"
I nodded.
"Well, I'm not convinced. And neither is Edward. I don't know how Alice could possibly see that when Edward doesn't seem to have decided it."
"What's he doing about it?"
"Nothing, as usual. He's basically just ignored her for the past two days."
"And what's she done?"
Rosalie hesitated. "I have to admit, she hasn't said anything to anyone. Yet. But I can tell she's frustrated that Edward won't explain how he managed to save her from the runaway van. It's only a matter of time."
"You're sure?"
"Sure enough to be confident of the danger she poses to the family." She put her forearms on my chest and lifted herself up to look me in the eye. "Things are different here, Emmett, you know that. Her father spends a lot of time with the Quileutes. We cannot risk Edward breaking the treaty."
"I thought the wolves had died out."
"We're pretty sure they have, but Carlisle wants to honor the treaty anyway. We've been abiding by it since we returned, wolves or no."
"Edward will know it was me."
Rosalie shrugged.
"He might know you had a hand in it."
She shrugged again. "He'll thank me for it one day."
Later, after Rosalie and I said our goodbyes, I watched the unassuming girl through the lighted kitchen window. She was doing homework, but seemed distracted. Several times, she looked up, stared at nothing for a while, then shook her head and scowled back down at her papers.
The back door wasn't even locked.
The next time she looked up, she gasped, because instead of staring at nothing, she was staring at me.
"Hello," I said.
She gaped at me.
I took a deep breath in through my nose. "I know what he sees in you."
She finally found her voice. "Who— how— what are you?"
In a flash, I had her out of her chair and restrained, her back to my chest. Her feet didn't even touch the ground. "Your worst nightmare. But I promise I'll be quick. You won't feel a thing."
I sank my teeth into the pulsating blue vein lying beneath the paper-thin skin of her neck. I didn't know whether to think Edward a fool or a saint for foregoing this blood; it was by far the sweetest I'd tasted in half a century.
It was over in minutes. I looked at the body in my arms, trying to imagine her as one of us, but couldn't. She was too soft, too fragile. This was for the best.
I glanced around the kitchen; there wasn't a thing out of place. I studied her homework for a moment, then ripped off a page of notebook paper and dashed out a quick note telling her father she had to run out for more painkillers.
I ran upstairs to empty the medicine cabinet of Tylenol, and was back down in a flash to grab her coat and keys, and finally, her body.
The cover of darkness would minimize the chances of anyone noticing that it was someone other than the girl driving her truck, but I slumped low in the seat and pulled my hood over my head to reinforce the illusion.
The curves on these roads were dangerous; everyone knew that. No one would be surprised to learn that even a truck this heavy, with new tires, had spun out on a slick road on a cold January evening.
And as I watched the truck burn, her body along with it, I was confident that I had covered my tracks well. The Cullens would be safe. Rosalie would be safe.
No one would know it was me.
I felt a familiar hand slip into mine.
"You'd better go," Rosalie said as she squeezed my hand. "Alice will have seen by now."
I nodded.
"Thank you." Rosalie kissed me, hard.
"Love you," I replied, then released her and ran.
Up Tuesday am - Ladyinblue6 with an Emmett/Bella AH One Shot