The days following the incident were freeing, for both Emmett and Bella. The entire family felt the tension in the air dissipate and a wave of calm settle over the house. Kohl and Emmett had spent more time together and even went on a hunting trip, which ended up being a little odd since Kohl's main prey was human. Though Emmett didn't begrudge his son when he found out that he only dined on criminals and Kohl didn't even cringe, that much, when he watched his dad sink his teeth into a huge elk.

"How do you manage the vegetarian thing?" Kohl wondered as he got another whiff of the gamy tainted blood.

Emmett just chuckled as he wiped the small amount of blood from his lips. "Well, it isn't exactly ideal but its just what I've known my entire existence. Humans do smell infinitely better but there's just something about snuffing out a humans light that rubs me the wrong way I guess." His explanation left something to be desired, but Kohl supposed it was the age-old nature vs nurture debate. His father had been raised to believe that human life, no matter how despicable the individual, was precious and it wasn't something he could fault him for.

"Mother said she had felt that way for a bit until she realized that taking out a whole herd of deer didn't satisfy her nearly as well as a single human. Not to mention the fact that she was going through that many deer every other day or so and one human lasted her a month. I guess for her it was a numbers game and if she could do it and rid the world of one less scumbag, it was worth it." For Kohl it was the same idea. It wasn't like they were out there eating woman and children. They kept it to rapists, murders, and the like.

He looked to his father and noticed a frown forming.

"I guess I never thought of it like that. I mean the family does hunt often, to keep the humans safe but even when we are out in the middle of nowhere, we have to go hunting at least two or three times a week."

Kohl just waved his father off. "Don't think too much on it, you have your ways and beliefs as mother, and I have ours. I'm not knocking your lifestyle, just trying to understand it." With that Kohl started making his way back to the Cullen's home and back to his mate.

Emmett took a moment longer, taking in all his son had told him before he tore after him feeling like an idiot for not considering the point of view before. He had noticed, throughout his lifetime, that for a family of seven, they did go through quite a few woodland creatures, but he had never thought more on it. That was most likely because he was surrounded by like minded individuals. He shook his head to clear the thoughts that were clouding his mind and decided his son was right, it was best not to think too much on it at the moment and just focused on enjoying the time with Kohl.

The wind caressed his skin, and he lifted his head to the sky, taking a deep breath and tested the scents in the air. The crispness of the cold, the deep woodsy pine, the slightly human scent given off by Kohl and suddenly he had a deeper appreciation of the world around him and he wondered if this is how Bella felt.

All too soon, for Emmett's taste, they ended up back at the house and a weird sensation ripped through him at the thought of being confined in the house. So, he stayed outside, ignoring his son's curious glance.

Bella had noticed, after the latest hunt, that Emmett was a bit more withdrawn and spent most of his time outside. She had to wonder what had brought down the normally upbeat vampire. In favor of taking the easy way out and asking Kohl, she went right to the source.

"Hey Emmett." She said with a small smile as she sat next to her mate under the pine that had been his primary residence of late. He gave her a half-attempted smile in return. "Bella"

The upturn of her lips fell. Laying a hand on his broad shoulder, she gave a slight squeeze. "What's wrong?"

He gave a wry chuckle. "Oh, nothing really. Just reevaluating my entire belief system."

Her frown deepened. "And what exactly does that mean?"

Emmett briefly glanced out the corner of his eye before his gaze returned to the picturesque view ahead of him. "It's just…" he groaned before attempting to continue his thought. "It's just that I get why you eat people."

Bella cocked her head. "I think I'm missing something here."

Emmett ran a hand through his hair, frustrated with not being able to communicate his dilemma properly.

"Okay, so I've spent my entire vampire life essentially being vegetarian because that was how I was raised, I guess. But that really wasn't who I was as a human. I understood the necessity for food but was also grateful for it. I mean, I was a hunter in my human life. Hunting for me was about being self sufficient but never taking more than necessary and I've sorta realized that I'm not really living the same way that I used to."

Bella was starting to see where he was heading but waited for him to explain himself like he seemed to need to.

"I mean, I eat 2 to 3 times a week and geez I've never seen it before but its so wasteful. I drain the blood and that's it! The rest gets left to rot. I guess I've been made to recognize that I haven't been true to myself is all. And then once I realized that everything just sorta felt like it was closing in on me, ya know?"

Bella nodded in understanding. She had spent most of her vampiric life as a nomad, more or less because it felt right. Staying in one place for too long made her skin itch and her mind race like an animal caged. She had wondered, throughout her time, how the Cullen's had managed it, how they could shove aside the instincts that were so prevalent in her mind.

"There's nothing wrong with looking at things from another perspective. In fact, I think for our kind it is a requirement that we often disregard because time stands still for us while the rest of the world moves forward. We have to examine our views and determine if they are still relevant or if they need to be upgraded or changed all together."

She flashed him a smile as she laid her hand over his. "Not to mention, you weren't really given an option in your belief system. And that's not saying anything against Carlisle, but even human children reach a point where they need to form their own belief systems. And yeah, more often times than not, they take after their parents, but you have found a flaw that is upsetting your own beliefs so something needs to change, or you will continue to feel suffocated."

Emmett just blinked at his mate, wondering where in the world she learned all this from.

Sensing his confusion, she laughed and waved her hand in front of her face. "I'll admit, I tried the whole college thing for a minute and I really didn't see the appeal."

A small smile appeared on his face as he nodded. "Let me guess, you took psychology?"

Her smiled widened. "Yeah, guess I was psychoanalyzing."

They both laughed and for Emmett, it felt like a weight was lifted off his chest. He knew Bella was right and that he may end up shaking off the ideals that Carlisle had set for them. But as he sat with his mate laughing and enjoying the view, he thought that maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing.

A/N Hey guys, I'm back! Sorry for the long wait. I moved, lost my USB that had all my stories on it and then sorta lost interest in writing. But I told y'all I'll never leave a story unfinished; it just may take forever for me to finish it. Sorry in advance for that last bit :'( Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.