Revised 1/12/13

Chapter Five

Emmett stared at the small container of cum on the Cullen's front porch. Even through the plastic lid, he could smell the venom within and he felt his eyes steadily turning from gold to black. One breath through his mouth and he could taste the scent of the venom and knew it was the same venom that was slowly destroying Bella.

Though he wanted to roar his frustration, beating his chest in anger as he took off to find this mysterious vampire who dared drop the very evidence that was killing his mate, Emmett simply picked up the container and stepped back inside the house.

It was late and darkness surrounded the house, none of the lights were on as Bella was currently sleeping. Normally, he wouldn't have even considered leaving her side, having been with her almost every possible minute since her arrival (with no idea as to how long he might have with her, he was loath to let even the smallest amount of time pass without her by his side), but that was before the doorbell rang.

He hadn't heard any vampires approaching, hadn't smelt any on the air, or felt the vibration of their steps as they had made their way to the house. Whoever this vampire was, they were incredibly stealthy, managing to travel completely under the radar of other vampires.

It made him nervous.

The rest of his family had gone out for a late night hunt in an effort to support Edward's effort not to eat Bella and Peter and Charlotte had gone off for a little alone time, leaving him alone to protect Bella. They all knew Emmett would never let anyone near his Bella, that he would fight harder than all of them combined to keep her safe.

Still, knowing he was the only line of defense between his tiny more-human-than-vampire mate with an unknown vampire close by had him rushing back to her side, but not before dropping off the container of vampire semen at Carlisle's study.

She was sleeping as soundly as she'd been when he left, her arms wrapped around his pillow in his absence. As soon as he laid down beside her, she abandoned his pillow to curl into his side. Closing his eyes against the ache in his chest, he pulled her closer, nuzzling her neck to inhale her sweet, comforting scent.

He tried to empty his mind, knowing he wouldn't be able to find an answer to his questions until Carlisle returned home. Instead of dwelling on who had brought the venom, how they had managed to get to the house without him knowing, and why they'd brought it at all, Emmett focused on the steady rise and fall of his little mate's chest, the rhythm of her heartbeat, and the soft murmurs that passed through her lips as she dreamed. He was ridiculously pleased to hear his name several times throughout the night. He knew that if he could sleep, he'd be dreaming about her constantly.

He heard his family come in just before dawn, Charlotte and Peter returning as the sun peaked over the trees, sending a ray of light through the window of his and Bella's room. Emmett grinned as Bella groaned, turning away from the shaft of light in annoyance.

"It's time to wake up," Emmett murmured, his lips brushing against the silky skin of her neck.

"No," Bella mumbled into her pillow.

"Yes. Unless you like cold pancakes."

Slowly, her head rose from the pillow until she was blinking blearily at him.

"Pancakes?"

"Yep. Esme just poured the first batch onto the griddle."

"Mmm. Pancakes."

"Yes, pancakes. But not unless you get out of bed."

"Pancakes."

Well, fuck. She was broken.

"Babe?"

"Hmm?"

"You okay?"

"Pancakes, Em. Pancakes."

"Right."


I love her. I love her. I love her.

Maybe if he kept reminding himself of this fact, he'd be able to handle watching her completely lose her shit.

All over a stack of pancakes.

Fuck.

It was almost worse than watching a newborn feed for the first time. There was syrup fucking everywhere, bits of pancake all around her plate, and he was pretty sure there was even some in her hair.

Now he understood why Charlotte and Peter had disappeared before Bella came downstairs. It was like watching a deer fuck a bear. All kinds of wrong, but you can't help but stare with your mouth wide open in a mix of shock, disbelief, and disgust.

Well, if it were to ever happen, that is. Emmett had never seen a deer fuck a bear and he really hoped he never had to watch his mate eat pancakes again.

"Mmmmm. So good," Bella moaned, using the last bite of pancake to sop of as much syrup as possible.

Emmett watched as she popped that piece into her mouth, her eyes closing in bliss as she chewed and swallowed. Her fork hit the plate with a gentle clatter, signaling the end of breakfast.

Finally.

"Thanks, Esme," Bella smiled, completely oblivious to the stares she'd received all throughout her meal.

"Uh, you're welcome, dear," Esme murmured, eyes wide as she picked up Bella's plate.

"God, I love pancakes," Bella sighed happily, patting her stomach.

"Yeah, we could kinda tell," Emmett teased.

She just grinned at him, licking lingering traces of syrup from her lips. If the sticky substance hadn't tasted extremely disgusting, he might have licked her lips for her. As it was, he'd wait until she'd brushed her teeth before venturing even a peck.

"Darling, why don't you go shower before you have you talk with Carlisle?" Esme suggested, rag in hand, ready to wipe off the counter.

Bella nodded, sliding from the stool and making her way out of the kitchen. Emmett glanced at his mother, smirking as she began to viciously clean the entire counter.

"Smooth, Ma."

"Darling, I'm sorry, but that is something I never want to see again. I only wish our recall wasn't so… sensitive."

He chuckled as she shuddered lightly, scrubbing all the harder at a stubborn spot of syrup.

"At least the rest of the family was spared," Emmett said.

"Think again, brother," Alice chimed from her and Jasper's room.

"A vision, Ali? You couldn't have warned us?" Emmett asked.

"It wouldn't have helped."

"We'll just… stay away from pancakes from now on," Esme decided, throwing away the used rag instead of attempting to wash it of all the syrup.

"Sounds good, Ma," Emmett agreed, unable to completely hold back his laughter.

"Hush and go see your father." Esme shooed him from the kitchen, even going so far as to whip him with a dishtowel.

"Watch what you do with that thing," Emmett warned, jumping out of her way.

Getting hit wouldn't hurt him, but he figured Esme would be pretty upset if he ripped one of her towels by letting it smack him in the ass him.

"Go," Esme demanded.

"Alright, alright. I'm going," Emmett said, hands raised in a silent plea for mercy.

He heard the shower shut off as he walked into Carlisle's study, Bella's soft singing coming to an abrupt halt. It didn't matter, shower on or off, they could all hear every word she sang, but for some reason, she stopped singing as soon as she turned off the water. Emmett figured it was the illusion of them being unable to hear her and he wasn't going to deny her the comfort. He loved hearing her slightly off-key singing, even if it grated on his family's ears a little.

"Ah, Emmett, good. Come look at this, will you?" Carlisle requested, leaning over a microscope.

Emmett walked over and bent down to peer through the lens.

"Now, this is the sample I took from Bella yesterday. And this," Carlisle said, shifting something around. "Is the sample dropped off at our door last night. Notice the similarity between the venom in the semen and the venom attacking Bella's cells?"

"It's from the same vampire?"

"Most definitely. And now that I can prove it, we should be able to find out who it is," Carlisle said excitedly.

"How? It's not like we can go up to every vampire we come across and ask for a sample of their venom."

"No, but… you know I spent time with the Volturi in the early 1700s. A few decades prior, Italy was a major player in the field of microscopic biology. Aro requested that I find a way to use the new technology available to create a database for all vampires. That is why, upon completing their first year, all newborns are required to visit Volterra, to give a sample of their venom for Aro's records," Carlisle explained.

"But I never went-" Emmett started.

"Because I began the database, Aro allows me a little leniency. I send a sample of every vampire I changed, including you," Carlisle said with a small smile.

"Damn, Pops. How'd you manage to keep that under wraps?"

"Please, Emmett. With as long as I've been around?" Carlisle scoffed.

"So, you think this vampire who bit Bella is in your system?" Emmett asked, getting back on topic.

"I know he is. I've already identified him."


"Do you really have to go?"

Emmett stood in the corner of the living room, watching as his mate said goodbye to her mother. Peter stood off to the side, looking just as upset as Bella. He was being left behind, too.

"Darlin' girl, I'll be back before you know it," Charlotte promised, kissing Bella's forehead.

"But I'll miss you so much," Bella sniffled, hugging Charlotte tight.

"I know and I'll miss you, too, but you need to stay here and I need to follow this lead. Besides, Peter will be with you."

"And I ain't too happy bout it, neither," Peter grumbled.

"Do you really want to leave our daughter alone right now, Peter Whitlock?" Charlotte asked, getting a dangerous look in her eye.

"Hell, Char. She's not gonna be alone! What do ya think she's got him for?" Peter huffed, jerking a thumb in Emmett's direction.

"He's right. Maybe he should go with you," Bella said, biting her lip in worry.

"Hush now. I'll be fine and we all know I move faster without that behemoth taggin' along behind me," Charlotte insisted gently.

"Promise you'll call us every day," Bella demanded, more tears slipping down her face.

"Twice a day," Charlotte said with a small grin.

"You miss one phone call, little missy, and I'm comin' after you," Peter warned, grabbing his mate up and holding her close.

"Deal. Keep her safe while I'm gone," Charlotte whispered, low enough so Bella wouldn't be able to hear.

"Always," Peter answered, kissing her sweetly.

"Be good. I love you both."

With that, Charlotte walked out the door and disappeared into the trees. Peter and Bella watched for as long as they could, which obviously meant Bella turned away sooner. Peter and Emmett could still hear her rushing through the trees, but eventually the woods fell silent to her movement.

"Come on, brother. Let's play some Halo," Emmett offered, clapping a hand on Peter's shoulder.

"Fuck that shit. Let's play Call of Duty."

"You're on."

In truth, it was a bit of a distraction for both of them. Yesterday, Carlisle had sent word out to Aro that he needed Demetri's assistance. Normally, Aro wouldn't send out his prized tracker, but Carlisle had explained the situation. Apparently, Aro had a hybrid of his own and the knowledge that someone had attacked another hybrid, causing the vampire gene to fail, had him worried enough that he was willing to send Demetri to aid them in tracking down the vampire responsible. Carlisle and Esme were currently on their way back from picking Demetri up at the airport.

From the sound of things, Edward was upstairs playing his piano, one of the few distractions he had to keep his thoughts off Bella's blood. Alice was with Jasper in his study, the two of them talking quietly amongst themselves about the possibilities of how to best handle the vampire once Demetri found him. And Rosalie…

Was in the kitchen?

Instinctively, Emmett's arm wrapped around Bella's body where she lay against his leg. The two of them took up the entire couch, despite Bella being so small. He took up almost half of it alone and took up even more as he attempted to cover his mate as best he could.

The kitchen was her domain. Well, hers, Peter's, and Esme's. No one else went in there since there was really no need. The thought of Rosalie puttering around in Bella's food source was causing Emmett some unnecessary tension. From the way Peter kept glancing at the kitchen door, Emmett knew he wasn't alone in his apprehension.

"Should we stop her?" Emmett asked, low and fast enough that Bella couldn't hear.

"Nah. She won't try anything," Peter answered in the same tone.

Emmett wasn't so sure, but with everything that had been going on, he figured he might just be a tad bit paranoid. Instead of doing what he wanted to do, which was go into that kitchen and draw Rosalie out by her hair, he settled back against the couch, tightened his hold on his mate, and continued to kick ass at Call of Duty.

It wasn't until he and Peter were in their second battle that Rosalie exited the kitchen, plate in hand. Instantly on alert, Emmett paused the game so he could watch her walk towards Bella, sickly sweet smile on her face.

"Here. I made you dinner," Rosalie said, setting down the plate on the coffee table.

"Oh. Wow, um, thanks," Bella mumbled, sitting up to take the plate of… something.

"What the fuck is that?" Peter asked, grimacing at the pile of… stuff.

"Dinner for the human," Rosalie explained with a pleased smile.

"It looks like shit," Peter scowled.

"Smells like shit, too," Emmett added, frowning at the food in question.

"All human food smells like shit, though," Peter said thoughtfully.

"No, I mean… this really smells like shit," Emmett said, lifting the plate out of Bella's hands and inhaling deeply.

Sure enough, the strange meat wasn't exactly kosher.

"What the fuck, Rose?!" Emmett snarled, flinging the food out a window.

The glass shattered on impact and everyone in the house froze as Emmett leapt to his feet, placing himself between Rosalie and Bella.

"I was just trying to be nice," Rosalie said defensively, but Emmett could hear the underlying tension in her voice.

She was nervous.

"Bullshit! What the fuck was that, huh? Some kind of kill that's been sitting out for a few weeks? How could you not fucking smell the bacteria growing all over that shit?" Emmett snapped, venom pooling in his mouth.

"Emmett, she probably didn't realize-" Bella started, but he quickly cut her off.

"Oh, she realized. What? Do you think if you make Bella sick I'll just leave her? Did you think that if that food ended up killing her, I'd actually go back to fucking around with you? Did you think, for even one second, that I would let you live after pulling this shit?" Emmett practically roared at her.

When he saw the victorious smile on that bitch's face, he realized he'd fallen into one of her tricks. Glaring at her smug grin, he tried to think of what he had said that would make her so happy.

"Wow. You really are a bitch."

Emmett swung around to stare at where Bella was rising from the couch, gaping at the look she was shooting Rosalie. It was somewhere between a glare and a snarl and looked down right fucking scary coming from the tiny girl beside him.

"Excuse me?" Rosalie huffed, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"I don't think I will. Really, though? I know he's not a virgin, Rosalie. He's been a vampire for over seventy years. That's a long time to be alone. And I'm not surprised he's been with you. After all, you are an unmated female living with two unmated males. Honestly, who wouldn't take advantage of that? Still, I'm his mate, which means you will never have him again," Bella said, the deadly calm of her voice so much scarier than if she had screamed the words.

"I'm not the only one he's been with. He's been with hundreds of women, even as many as three at a time," Rosalie said, trying to get a rise out of Bella.

"Well, he's a one-woman kinda man now, so back the fuck off or so help me Peter, I will shove my fucking boot up your ass," Bella hissed.

"Just tell me which boot, darlin', and I'll get to shovin'," Peter said, smirking as he lounged in the armchair.

"You'll never be able to satisfy him. He's a man-whore. A little virgin half-vampire will never be able to keep up, and you're not even a half-vampire anymore," Rosalie sneered.

Now, Emmett had been content to let Bella handle Rosalie up until that bitch started talking about Bella being unable to satisfy him. That shit was just not gonna fly and he stepped between the two women real quick, reaching an arm behind him to hold Bella against his back.

"Fuck off, Rose. I may have slept around, but I've not nowhere near the number of notches in my belt as you've got on that bedpost of yours," Emmett said with a murderous glare.

"How dare you!" Rosalie gasped, moving to slap him.

Emmett easily caught her hand and pushed her away from him, unless he be tempted to hit her instead.

"Go for a hunt, Rose. You need to get away from me before I do something we'll both regret," Emmett warned.

"Fine. But know this, that little bitch has already been claimed. She doesn't belong to you or even Peter and Charlotte. She was claimed the day she was born and nothing you do will break that bond when her true owner comes calling," Rosalie threatened.

"What are you talking about?" Peter asked, voice dangerously low as he moved to stand beside Emmett.

"I'm talking about her real mother, the one who was there at her birth."

"Ellie's dead, Rose. She died when Bella was born," Emmett argued.

"Not Ellie. Her vampire mother, the one who raised her the first few days of her life. Victoria."


Duh-duh-dun! Okay, so the next chapter hopefully won't take as long and I'll try to remember to update the edited version after I get in touch with Augustmoon99. But, yeah. Expect it within a week or so.

See you next time!