I'm so glad you reviewed the last chapter. Thanks so much for that and I hope you'll be equally satisfied with this chapter.

Sammigirl23 : I'm glad you like Laurence and the fact that she's not easily persuaded :)

Evenfishcry : I'm a little confused as to why you thought she was going to end up with Edward? I thought it was pretty clear she and Emmett were the couple in my fanfic…

ScornedxRose : Yep, they are. And let's just say Laurence isn't actually too happy about having to be a vegetarian vampire.

xxRena : Yeah, that's one of my favourites as well. And indeed, the real relationship only start now so I hope you'll like the next Laurence / Emmett scenes.

Lalina92 : Finally indeed though I could still have drawn it out longer

Ellefaine : Well, yes there is of course still the fact that Carlisle didn't really wish to see her again. I hope you'll like the directions I'm taking.

may : Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.

Luli Cullen : I'm glad you liked the previous chapter and I hope you'll feel the same about this one.

Chapter 11

After thoroughly bonding with my newfound mate, we stayed on the forest floor. I like to think that there is no romantic fibre in this body but I surprisingly enough found it very nice to lie in his arms. And even though I have nothing to fear, he made me feel ridiculously safe.

"The others will start wondering where I'm staying." He eventually spoke.

"Why?"

He had been hunting when I came across his scent. Why would they wonder where he was staying if he had been hunting? It wouldn't be that strange to not see him around the house for an hour.

"Because we've been here for five hours and I had already been hunting for one."

What?! That is not possible. He saw the surprised look on my face and laughed.

"Vampires have much more stamina then humans, Laurence."

I was very grateful that I no longer had the ability to blush. Did we just have sex for five hours? I had no idea vampire stamina was that great!

"We're forgetting one thing, Emmett."

"What's that?"

"Carlisle told me I was no longer welcome in his house." I told him when I stood up to go retrieve my dress.

Emmett got back on his feet and stood in front of me.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that Carlisle won't be happy to see me again and the rest of your coven won't either. Maybe you should go ahead and give them some kind of warning."

"No."

"What?"

"If I go to the house and then come back for you, you'll be gone."

"Seems like somebody has some trust issues." I muttered but since he's a vampire as well, he heard it.

"I do not have trust issues, I just know you well enough."

As much as I hate to admit it, he had a point. Who's to say I won't suddenly have some sort of panic attack while he's gone and bolt? I could not be so sure that it wouldn't happen.

"Then now what?" I crossed my arms in front of my bare chest.

"We just go back to the house. Alice will see us coming anyway."

He did have a point there as well. She had apparently seen me coming as soon as I made the decision to return to Emmett. I nodded and picked up my dress. There was one little problem though. In the heat of the moment Emmett had torn my dress completely to shreds. There was hardly any fabric left to put on. I could see he had the same problem with his trousers and shirt.

"You can make a naked second impression." He grinned, clearly enjoying this.

"I'm sure you'd love that." I growled slightly, trying to hide the small smile creeping up on my face.

"I would."

I rolled my eyes.

"Isn't there a store or something nearby?" I asked him.

"Well yes, but do I look like I have some cash on me?"

"You're a vampire, you don't need money."

"I'm a vampire, Laurence, not a thief."

Oh God, why did I have to find my mate in one of the only vampires on this fucking planet with morals?!

"You can just leave them some money afterwards. Right now, I need clothes."

He reluctantly agreed to go to a nearby store and take clothes from there. Since we're fast as lighting we could just go running through the streets naked. The humans could not see us anyway. It was already late which meant that all the stores were closed. Remember the good old days when you could just walk in houses and buildings without being caught? Now they all have cameras by the door and alarms. It's making vampiric life style harder than it needs to be. I could just feel Emmett's disapproving gaze on my back when I tore out the alarm system from the store.

In my walk down the pathways in the store, I threw some trousers and a shirt at Emmett. I was going to be a bit pickier in my choice for dressing.

"These are very expensive. If we're going to steal, can't we pick out the cheapest outfits?"

"No." I told him firmly. "You want to leave money afterwards anyway and I'm not putting on cheap fabric."

I am a snob when it comes to my wardrobe. He better get used to it. He eventually put on the outfit I had chosen for him and I do have to say, he looked delectable. I threw a vest at him as well.

"Put that on."

He looked great. Now I just needed an outfit of the same calibre. I wandered the store but hadn't found anything so far.

"What about this?" Emmett's voice called out to me.

He was holding a short simple black dress which hardly covered any cleavage. It would make me look like a prostitute and I think he knew it, judging by the huge grin plastered on his face.

"No." I told him once again.

If he really thought I was going to put such a thing on, he hasn't been paying much attention to my taste. Eventually I settled for a long flowing dark purple dress. I didn't like the form on top but it's the best I could find in the entire store.

"Let's go." I reluctantly told him when I was ready.

We ran the whole way back in silence. It didn't take a mind reader to know what both of us were thinking. Emmett was probably hoping to himself that his coven wouldn't make a huge deal out of me coming back while I was thinking of what to do if, when things got out of hand.

If I didn't remember the way to the house I had lived in for a few weeks, the scent was strong enough to follow it back. They were all present in the house and they probably all knew I was on my way. This might very well turn out to be a blood bath.

Emmett seemed surprisingly calm for someone who was about to throw his newfound mate to the figurative sharks. Vampires are much worse than sharks. Not that I couldn't beat them in battle but I couldn't beat them to like me. That's an almost scary thought.

"That might not be the right approach." Edward's voice called from inside.

If there is one thing I definitely didn't miss during my absence it was the mind reading abilities of the second oldest Cullen. It gets on my nerves.

When we finally entered the house, all the Cullens were in the living room. They all stood really tense even though none of them made an attempt to attack me. I can't say the blond one didn't look like he wanted to. With six pairs of golden eyes on me, I couldn't help but be a little intimidated. Who knew that I could ever be intimidated, let along by vegetarian vampires who were weaker than I was?

"Laurence, this is a surprise." Carlisle spoke tensely with a little glare directed to Alice.

Hadn't she told anyone? Maybe she should have then at least they would have had time to adjust to the idea.

"What exactly would that idea be?" The mind reader asked me.

Before I could even try and explain to them what had happened in the past hours, days or maybe even months (I have no idea when it actually happened), Emmett grabbed my hand and puffed out his chest like some kind of proud lion.

"Laurence is my mate."

I believe that explains it. None of them seemed too surprised by it but not all of them seemed pleased with the idea. The blond one, Jasper, seemed extremely displeased by it.

"Being Emmett's mate, means you will have to adjust to our diet." Carlisle eventually spoke.

I had secretly still hoped that it would not be a problem if I decided to stay a carnivorous vampire but I had not really expected that to be a possibility.

"It's hard, if not even impossible, to keep up with our diet if you are not behind it." Edward reminded me of what he had said to me when we first met.

I knew it would be hard. I can't even imagine going without human blood for over two weeks, let along for the rest of my existence. But as Carlisle already said, as did Emmett himself, if I wanted to be with Emmett, I'd have to switch to a diet that only consisted of animal blood. I had no idea if I would be able to keep up with this diet, especially without ever slipping up but I wanted to be with Emmett. I could at least try it.

"I know that, but I'd still like to try." I told them, maybe a little more directed towards Edward than the others.

"Very well. Welcome to the family then." Carlisle gave me a small but sincere smile.

Before I could stop her, Esme had pulled me into a hug and told me how she happy she was to gain a daughter. This was all going so fast. What happened to them not wanting me around?

"Things are different now." Edwards said to me.

Yes, things were very different. For one, I didn't even mind Emmett holding my hand in an almost possessive way. Had he tried this a week ago, I would have ripped his head off. And because he kept smiling the entire time, I was not angry over the fact that suddenly both Esme and Alice wanted to hug me.

"There are still a few questions you'll have to answer." Carlisle spoke up. "There are no secrets in this family."

Family. Would it be okay if I kept calling them my coven because I'm not quite ready to refer to Esme and Carlisle as my mummy and daddy.

"Of course." I told them when we all sat down in the living room.

I did not feel the need to hide things from them. Now that they knew I used to be a part of the Volturi guard, there wasn't anything left they could get upset over... I think. Jasper seems to get upset over everything that leaves my mouth.

"How long did you stay with the Volturi?"

I should have known they would have a lot of questions concerning the Volturi but as Carlisle had just said, they did not keep things from each other and I was now a part of their coven. That meant I should tell them everything there was to know about me.

"55 years."

"Why did you leave?"

"I didn't like feeling trapped in that castle."

"Are they as cruel as vampires say they are?" Esme asked me.

"You and I have a very different definition on what is cruel."

Yes, they killed people off in a blood bath for a sport and they took vampires' lives whenever they pleased but I never had a problem with that. I do realise that others and especially someone like Esme would consider them cruel. Compared to saint Carlisle, they were demons.

"Yes, to your definition they are cruel." I eventually said.

"Why did you stay with them anyway?" Rosalie asked me.

"It wasn't exactly my own choice."

"What do you mean?"

Rosalie seemed genuinely interested and I figured I should reward that with the truth, the complete truth. That begins with Archie.

"My creator, Archie, hunted in Volterra and, as I am sure you are aware, that is one of the highest crimes to commit. Needless to say, the Volturi weren't pleased with him. He begged for his life and promised them something in return if they spared his life. He knew of Aro's interest in gifts and told them about me."

"Your maker just gave you to the Volturi!?" Emmett growled angrily.

"Yes and believe me, I was very angry over it. But Chelsea has the gift to bind people to them and she made me want to belong with them. Eventually I wasn't that angry with Archie anymore."

"So you stayed because of Chelsea's gift." Jasper suddenly asked.

I would be glad to see a genuine interest from him but I knew very well that was not the reason he asked me this.

"Would it make you feel more at ease?" I grinned slightly at him.

I am certain it would. He wouldn't see me as such a big threat anymore if I had been forced to stay with the Volturi and had secretly always wished to accomplish world peace. But that's not the truth.

"No. I very much enjoyed being a part of the Volturi. Though it got a little boring after a while."

Jasper didn't like my answer. He would probably never warm up to me. That is okay and even understandable, I did not particularly care about his opinion on me.

"We were just going to hunt. Would you like to join us?" Carlisle asked me suddenly.

He was probably doing it to be nice but his question put me in a difficult position. I felt no need in the slightest to go hunt some kind of animal and drink their blood. I knew I would eventually have to force myself to drink it but for now, I'd like to postpone it.

"No, thank you. I'm not thirsty." I politely declined.

And when I said I wasn't thirsty, I really meant that I had fed on a human not that long ago. Since I knew I would probably no longer drink human blood, I had decided to go out with a bang. I had drained three young women completely and knowing that they would be the last, they tasted that much sweeter. The memory of it would be strong enough to keep resisting my hunting instincts for a while.

I could see that Edward had once again invaded my mind by the disapproving look on his face. He can't really be angry or upset over the fact that I had wanted to taste human blood one last time before depriving myself of it for eternity. I was making a very big sacrifice here.

As it turned out, everyone was going to hunt now. That left me all alone in this house. I might not like too many vampires around me but being alone isn't really any better. Fortunately Emmett 'sacrificed' himself to keep me company. The way he grinned at me when he said so gave me the idea he had something specific in mind.

I was right. As soon as the others were gone, he threw himself at me. We had just mated, and now he wanted to go again? Sure, vampires had amazing stamina but doesn't he want to do something else? I didn't. I was perfectly content feeling his strong body against mine. Before I could do anything else, he had whisked me in his arms and ran at vampire speed to his, our room in the house.

It would only be later that I find out about the overwhelming lust that all newly mated vampires experience. It will most likely consume us during our first years together. It's almost like a newborn phase except so much better.

We had locked ourselves up in the room for fifteen days when I could no longer resist the thirst that was burning in my throat. Emmett had left once or twice to hunt but I had refused to join him every time. I knew he was worried over the fact that I wasn't feeding but I just wanted to keep postponing drinking animal blood. Eventually I couldn't pretend anymore that I wasn't in pain and Emmett had enough.

"Me, Edward and Rosalie are going hunting. Will you join us?" He almost pleaded with me.

Normally I would have told him no but the thirst was making it almost unbearable to talk so I just nodded now. He seemed relieved that I had finally agreed to join him. As soon as I had, we found ourselves running through the forest with Edward and Rosalie in front of us.

"You must be really thirsty so we won't go too far." Edward told me.

That was fine with me. Even though I didn't want to drink animal blood, I was looking forward to finally be relieved from my agony. We ran for only three minutes when we came across a group of deer. I had kind of hoped to take down a bear as my first victim but since I'm starving, deer will do.

"Rosalie will show you how to hunt." Emmett told me.

Seriously? I didn't need some vampire almost 50 years younger than me to show me how to hunt, something I've done for over 100 years now. I almost sneered at her but it's not her fault Emmett thinks I need a tutor. So instead I watched how she snuck up on the deer – as if it could possibly outrun her if it saw her earlier – and how she sank her teeth in its neck. I was surprised to feel the need to do the same once the scent of blood reached my nose. Who knew I'd ever want to drink animal blood? In my defence I have been deprived of any blood for ten days now. I'd drink anything right now.

"Now you try." Edward said.

I wasn't going to sneak up on the deer like Rosalie had done. I just raced straight to the defenceless animal and sank my teeth in it right before I snapped its neck. I didn't realise that I had certain expectations about what animal blood would taste like until I was sorely disappointed. I thought animal blood might hold a certain resemblance to human blood and it would just taste like a bad human. This wasn't anything like it. I immediately dropped the dead animal on the floor once a few drops made their way down my throat.

"That is disgusting." I spat.

There is nothing that will ever make me drink something as foul as that again. I'd rather starve myself to death.

"It's not that bad." Emmett tried to change my mind.

"You must be kidding. It tastes as if someone peed on my tongue." I snapped.

"Well, deer isn't really a culinary delight. You should try a bear, or a lion. They taste much better." Emmett smiled at me.

"You are seriously delusional if you think I'll ever try animal blood again."

"But you have to." Emmett told me with big round eyes.

"I don't have to do anything." I almost hissed at him before taking off.

I do not want some awful taste in my mouth. I wanted a human meal and that is exactly what I am going to look for right now.