The Huntress – Chapter 21

I apologize if you run into any errors. I do not own any of the Twilight characters used in this story except for Emery.

The Date – Emery's POV

Kate and Irina have been driving me crazy with this date. Constantly teasing both Tanya and me. They will drop just enough intrigue about Tanya's plans but never give me an official answer. My curiosity has been high ever since. If they never intended on answering any of my questions than I rather they stayed quiet. That's the thing about sisters.

I can see the excitement in their eyes for Tanya. She is the oldest and has been a stable pillar for them since turning.

The only thing Tanya would tell me was to wear comfortable clothing that I wouldn't mind tearing or getting dirty. Which makes me wonder. Tanya chased them both off earlier today muttering something about to many roasters in the hen house.

Making my way down to the main living room I walk by the girl's room and notice they both have lasered in on a book that Bella had pointed out to them last week. It's a cross between Nancy Drew and a teenage witch fighting the forces of evil. As I approach the stairs my ears perk up as I hear The Love Bug movie playing on the tv for Chris. It has recently become a personal favorite of his. Carmen and Eleazar are responsible for watching the trio today. Kate and Irina decided to take a sisters shopping trip this afternoon and haven't gotten back yet. I am pretty sure Tanya sabotaged the car somehow. Leah is getting caught up with Seth and her mom. Bella usually spends the day writing or meditating but I noticed that she has spent a majority of today outside. Rosalie is tinkering or pacing.

Not wanting to disturb anyone in the living room I head to the front porch where Tanya designated as are check point to start the date. We decided not to lure the attention of the cubs with the fact that we maybe kind of dating or at least going on A DATE until it is a little more serious. The three have had a lot of change. This shouldn't be something for them to worry about.

It's now getting closer towards dusk as I lean on the railing of the porch waiting for Tanya.

She doesn't keep me waiting long but instead of coming from the house she is arriving from the tree line west of the property. I give her a dubious look as she gets closer. And it looks like if a vampire could get sick from nerves than I think Tanya would be the first. Tanya is displaying every anxiety tick I would think belongs to a solicitor pleading her case to the King of England. I also noticed that she is wearing just as laid-back type of clothing that I am. Her legs are enclosed in a decent pair of tan khakis and a thick wool sweater. I however have a pair of holey jeans and a black crew top with a set of chucks on compared to Tanya's boots that come up to her knees.

I find it endearing that a vampire with years upon years of walking this earth has such a nervous reaction to a first date. I am about to make a smartass remark to relieve some of the tension when I realized that to Tanya this is the first date with her Mate. If I reject her there will be no other person that she could love and devote herself too as deeply than she would to me. She has a lot riding on this date and what the future may bring. That puts a lot of pressure to make everything perfect.

Instead I just clear my throat and ask, "Do I get to know where we are going on our date now?"

Tanya shuffles her feet and gives me a shy smile before answering "I thought that it would be a good idea to have dinner and a show for our date." She straightens her back and looks a little more confident. "I believe that we could add our own twist of course."

She glides a little closer towards me and reaches tentatively for my hand. "We'll have to run to get there. I didn't want to go the route of a fancy restaurant and stuffy movie theater for our first date. I wanted a natural environment for us so we could be more of ourselves without having to perform for the masses…"

"Will you run with me?"

Tanya trails off a little after the invitation, awaiting my response to her plans for the evening.

I tug her hand towards me, forcing her to step a little closer before answering.

"I would like very much to run with you."

With a brighter smile I motion for Tanya to lead the way. She offers to wait for me in case I want to shift into another form. I choose to stay in my human appearance to match her. Without further ado she takes off like a bullet. Shaking my head, I sprint after her. She leads me back the way she came, west of the property. Soon we are surrounded by tall pines and thick brush.

After thirty-minute Tanya starts to slow. Before I know it, we arrive at a clearing that was covered like a canopy on a bed by tall healthy trees. But straight ahead is a view of the hot springs. Tanya must have set some sort of lighting and dropped it to the bottom of the spring because a glow is emitting different colors from the bubbling water. She has a blanket and a basket set up atop a section of moss to the right and paper lanterns providing a soft light in the clearing. Tanya was able to provide a romantic and intimate setting for this date even in the wilderness.

Tanya steps next to me leading me by the arm towards the blanket "What do you think?

"Its beautiful Tanya. You didn't have too but I appreciate it." I plop down as soon as we reach the blanket still taking in the lighting reflecting off the water close by.

She sits gracefully by the basket at the center of the blanket and opens the top. "I figured that we could share a meal. I know that we don't consume the same byproduct of an animal, but I liked the thought of providing for you." Hesitantly she pulls out a coffee thermos filled with hard cider for me and then separate containers filled with grilled vegetables and a meat steak by the smell I would have to say Elk. Lastly, she takes out an additional thermos. She must have seen my inquisitive look because she goes on to say "Blood for me, I thought that it would be awkward if I just sat here and watched you eat. I'm sure that could be creepy and off putting."

I get it now, this way we were truly having a meal together. "That's thoughtful of you." My stomach decided to step in and make itself known. She smirks and hands me the utensils along with the containers.

The food was still warm and cooked just how I'm inclined to grill my own. The steak was cooked just enough to warm but leave it juicy and bloody on the inside. I make my way through the food steadily while Tanya sips from her thermos. We make small talk about the household and general atmosphere of the coven and pride.

Once we finished our meal, I decide to take a closer look at the springs and invite Tanya to join me. The water is clear and with the chill in the air it created a mist above the surface slowly pouring over the rim. I sit near the edge and roll up my pants followed by taking off my shoes and socks so I can dip my legs in. Tanya copies my actions and scoots a little closer to me.

"How about we play a game? I ask you a question, you answer and vice versa. No topic is off the table and there is no limit to questions. If we don't feel comfortable answering for any reason we can decide to pass with no further questions regarding that topic."

Tanya laughs while nodding her head "I think that is a great idea. This would be a good way to get some of those burning questions I've had since I first saw you back in Forks."

Tanya POV

With Emery's hand in mine I begin the game. I choose to start with something small but try sidestepping being cliché like 'what's your favorite color?'

"Hmm. This is going to be harder than I thought. I don't want to dive into the serious questions right away so I will start with something simple."

"Where were you born?"

Emery huffs and rolls her eyes. "Something small sure. Okay, I was born on a remote island in the South Pacific far from civilization and surrounded by members of my mothers' pride. I don't even think the island has a proper name. I like to call it the Ashen-Rock Isle because of the cliffs near the beach."

I absorb this little piece of information and realize its Emory's turn. This is like a double edge sword. Its great I get to learn a bit more about Emory and can make direct inquiries with her permission. But I might not like where her questions lead…

Emory knocks me out of that thought process with her own questions.

"What did your human parents do? Or I guess back in those times what was their trade?"

It takes me a minute to think that far back. I haven't spent a lot of time thinking of my human relatives after a few decades of being a vampire. I had Sasha and then my sisters.

"My father was a fisherman. We lived close to the Baltic Sea. Mother would repair the nets while watching me and my two brothers. At least until my brothers got old enough to join my father. By that time mother had died from a sickness. I think that these days it would have been diagnosed as pneumonia. After that I would fix the netting and prepare for the trading at the towns market."

I shake my head to dislodge the thoughts of that time. I have to be delicate with my next question but it's important "How is your mother an ally of the Volturi? Especially with the laws associated with killing werewolves?"

I run my thumb over her knuckles to let her know I meant no ill towards her family. She furrows her brow and takes a deep breath before answering.

"Originally the law to kill all werewolves was brought about by Caius. He has a certain degree of hatred towards were-creatures. His thinking is that vampires should be the superior race. Were-creatures can be just if not more special than vampires. He has been pushing the prerogative to slaughter every Were that walks this earth. Even before he became one of the Kings of the Vampire nations.

I believe that is how he was noticed by Aro and his sister who were amongst the original members of the Volturi coven. They were looking for a brute that they could sent out to wage war if need be. At first, they allowed him total control to wage his war against Were-creatures because they didn't have a lot of interaction with them. It was a lot of speculation, not factual evidence back then.

The problem is vampires are turned because of venom. That has very changed. Were-Creatures are turned because of a bite or your born with the virus. But just like any virus it can mutate over time. Were-Wolves have a different mutation than Were-Felines. To add onto that the were-wolf virus became corrupt almost two thousand years ago. Its like a litter of pure-bred puppies. If a pup in that litter was born with an unexpected quality like short legs, different eye color or any other deformities like that. Most breeders would kill the pup or at least ensure that is did not bred in the future and possible pass on the deformities to a new litter. If it did then soon you would have a whole different dog breed. Sometimes the different breed works out.

But in this case, it didn't. It can be traced back to one man that cause the corruption in the were-wolves. According to the stories he was born Were. When he got older the pack was able to see that he was more aggressive and violate to his packmates. Prone to attack at the slightest thing. He did not follow the Alpha command or his sires. Eventually he was kicked out of the pack as a teenager. In retrospect the pack should have taken care of the situation with him another way.

Not even a decade later rumors started reaching packs and prides that were some distance away about entire villages being wiped out by some animal. A decade is all it took for that wild dog to gain a pack of his own that was just as wild and blood thirsty. He kept members in place with violence and gore. It was pure chaos. They fed off anything they could find even each other if you had fallen in fight. This gave a platform to people like Caius to wage war against were-creatures.

What he didn't consider was other Were groups at the time waging their own war against the corrupt group to ensure the survival of our race. Or that a "tamed" were-tiger making friends with a certain Queen of the Volturi. That was the start of the alliance of the groups. Caius was taken out of the talks by being out voted. The rise of the corruption was too much for even the Volturi to handle so it made sense to work against the common enemy.

If you notice the law now is to report a were-wolf sighting not engage. After the sighting has been confirmed the were-wolf is supposed to be investigated. If the were-wolf is feral and out of control than this is cause enough for them to be put down. I believe it's the same for feral vampires."

And that is how we spent the rest of our evening well into the twilight hours. Just getting to know each other on a more personal level. The drive behind actions and passions. It was a perfect date. I want to know everything about my mate, and this was a huge step.

At the end of the night before we break the tree line at the manor Emery stops me by gentle putting her arm around my waist and bringing me to her side as we slow. I turn towards her wondering if we left something behind.

Emery just smiles leans and angles her face down but towards the side. Listening to the occupants of the house for a moment. And then very slowly she moves closer to me with a clear purpose. I'm given enough time to pull away or avert the angle if I wanted to.

Within seconds my world has been knocked off its axis again. Tenderly Emery kisses along my jaw line towards my chin. I feel a quick peck on my lips almost feather like. If I wasn't so focused and tracking her movements, I could have written it off. Soon there is no mistaking the action because Emery is firmly kissing my lips. It takes me a moment to comprehend the sensation. Its like liquid fire spreading throughout my body resonating deep in heart. I can't help but purr and groan at the feeling of my mates' lips on my body. I feel more than hear the rumple coming from Emery.

All to quickly the kiss ends with Emery pulling back for air. She keeps me close and I can't help threading my arms around her neck and tuck my head into her neck.

She has her hands joined together positioned on my lower back and squeezes a little tighter before releasing me. Leaning her head atop my own she says "After a first date like that I thought it deserved a goodnight kiss. Especially away from the vultures inside."

With a little encouragement from Emery I'm finally dislodged from her neck. We walk hand and hand to the front door where we depart with a quick peck on the cheek before disappearing to opposite ends of the manor.

I open the door to my room and am caught off guard by finding both of my sisters sitting on top of my bed. Both are sporting large smiles.

I get the feeling that the kiss wasn't as private as Emery hoped it would have been.

Thoughts?