Edward parked the car in their driveway and paused as he turned off the engine. He grimaced and turned to them, expression grim. He cocked his head to gesture for them to get out and they cautiously went inside the house. He whispered as low as he could that only their super hearing would be able to catch it, "We're in trouble."
For what? Emmett raised both eyebrows at his brother. We didn't do anything.
As they stepped into the living room, Carlisle and Esme were seated on the couch. Esme looked concerned while Carlisle was pinching his nose between his fingers and seemed to be praying to a deity for patience.
"Hello, children," Carlisle intoned. "Please take a seat."
They all took a seat on the big grey couch. Carlisle got to his feet and faced them as he began speaking again, "Can any of you explain why Sam Uley just called me to arrange a meeting with us?"
Edward and Emmett both looked at each other in surprise. Alice didn't seem perturbed at all and was reading a fashion magazine. Jasper just leaned back in his seat and waited. Carlisle gave the full blunt of his glare to Emmett.
"I didn't do anything!" he said. "I swear!"
"Then why did the Alpha of the Quileute pack specifically ask for your presence?"
"I don't know. I never even met the guy."
Esme sighed. "Emmett, if you did anything to the pack you're not just endangering yourself."
"But I didn't do anything! Do I look like the type of guy who would piss off a werewolf pack just because I was bored?"
"Yes," everyone replied to him.
Emmett was aghast at their casual betrayal. "Nice to know what you really think of me. Excuse me while I disown myself from this family."
Carlisle turned to Edward who nodded. "He's telling the truth. He didn't do anything."
Jasper gave Emmett a two fingered salute. "Innocent for once in your life, brother."
It was nice to know his siblings had his back even if they were being still snarky shits about it. He asked Alice, "Any visions, shortcake?"
"No visions of our impending deaths," Alice replied. "Though I guess if the pack would be doing the killing I wouldn't be able to see it."
It had been terrifying when they learned Alice's blind spot. She couldn't see visions involving the werewolves. They had no idea why that was and it made the werewolves such a formidable opponent. They could not see an attack if the Quileutes decided to break the treaty.
The pack had nearly doubled in size in the past two years and there seemed to be more being added each day. If they ever went to battle with them, it would be a bloodbath on both sides. Jasper was the only one with actual combat experience and that was limited to dealing with other vampires. Things could go wrong for them very quickly.
"You said he asked for me specifically?" Emmett questioned. "Why me? I don't have a unique ability like Edward or Alice. I'm the boring one."
"You couldn't be boring if you tried, my love," Esme told him with a gentle smile. "Maybe they want you there at the meeting for your charming personality."
"We should staple his mouth shut then," Edward remarked. "The moment he opens his mouth, they'd kill him out of frustration alone."
Emmett threw Edward into the wall and he hit the surface like a cannonball. Plaster rained through the air as Emmett ran towards his brother and got him into a headlock. Edward tried to escape his hold and wiggled like a wild weasel. Emmett had been the older brother to two boys and did not let up, aiming a punch to Edward's ears that made him snarl.
"Boys," Esme called out. "Quit it and clean up that mess. We don't have time for this."
Emmett rolled his eyes but let Edward go but not without another punch to the ear. Edward got a shot into his side before he scurried off to get a broom and dustpan.
Carlisle informed them, "We have to be in La Push in an hour. Don't make us late or I will throw your Xbox into the river."
Carlisle and Esme were taking his car while Emmett rode with his siblings. They took Emmett's jeep as it had the most room and was best for the terrain going to La Push. They were normally forbidden from stepping foot into wolf territory but whatever was important enough for them to be let in was hopefully not lead to their executions. They were all going as they wanted strength in numbers and Emmett would never admit it but he felt safer having his whole family with him. Carlisle had run through a quick plan with them if things went south, distract the wolves so Alice and Esme could escape, run if you can get away and don't look back.
He'd been with his family for over seventy years. He knew the difference in their gaits and could scent them from a far. He knew their likes and dislikes. He didn't know what he would do if he lost any of them.
The meeting was being held at Sam Uley's house. They found the one story house easily on La Push Road. There were other cars parked nearby and on the porch were some of the pack members, teenage boys only wearing cut-offs. Emmett parked the jeep and paused, turning to his siblings who were all serious and trying to hide how freaked out they were.
"Guys, just in case I die…"
Edward groaned. "Emmett, don't."
"This is serious, Edward," Emmett insisted. "In case anything happens today, I want you all to know that Alice has always been my favorite."
Alice smiled brightly. "I already knew that, silly man."
"I've never said it and it needs to be said," he continued. "I didn't want to go to my grave with people thinking that Edward was my favorite sibling because that would be a sad, terrible lie. He used to be but that was by default."
"I hate you," Edward responded. "I wish I left you in the woods for that bear to eat."
"I hate you too," Emmett nodded to his siblings. "Any more things we need to say before we go to our deaths?"
Alice declared, "You're my favorite sibling too."
Emmett rubbed the back of his neck abashed but flattered. He might've blushed if he could. "This is why you're my fave, shortcake."
Carlisle knocked on the car window and gestured for them to get out. It was time to face the music. If Emmett Cullen knew this was going to be his last day, he would've hired an orchestra to play in the background as he battled an army of werewolves. Instead he would have to make do with the awkward silence.
The teenagers on the porch begrudgingly led them inside the house and to the back yard where the rest of the pack and tribal leaders were waiting. It looked like they were having a cookout. The tallest of the Quileutes must've been Sam who was grilling burgers. When he saw them, another member of the pack took over at the grill and he went to them, still wearing an apron. He was flanked by the tribal leaders and a Quileute woman who stayed close to him.
"We weren't expecting you so early," he said. "Just ignore the teenagers stuffing their faces. They act like their parents don't feed them."
There was a chorus of "Hey!" from those teenagers. Emmett looked past Sam to a table where two girls were seated. One of them was Quileute and the other was Lauren Mallory. What was she doing here? Why were they both glaring at him?
Edward closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. "Oh no."
Emmett hissed, "What is it?"
"I just found out why we're here."
Sam and the tribal leaders led them to a long table and they sat across from them as they began an explanation about werewolves, magic, and imprinting. It sounded something out of a story, fanciful and romantic. Emmett listened even as he snuck glances to where Lauren Mallory seemed determined to ignore his existence. He was still trying to figure out why she was there.
Was she an imprint of one of the wolves? There were shirtless teenage boys everywhere. Which one was it? Maybe it was the kid almost as tall as Sam, the one assisting the tribal leader in a wheelchair.
"Which brings us to why you are here," Billy Black intoned. "This is the first time in our tribe's history that a wolf has imprinted on someone of your kind."
"Are you saying one of your wolves imprinted on one of us?" Carlisle questioned. "How is that possible?"
"We don't know how or why, we just know who," Billy answered, turning to Emmett. "And there's no way out of an imprinting."
Emmett wanted to slide down in his seat as he felt the full attention of everyone in that lawn on him, wolf, human, and vampire or stared at him like he had committed a crime against nature. He wanted to say something in his defense but he didn't know what he could say in that situation. A wolf imprinted on him, a vampire, and it was so insane that nobody knew what to do about it. No one had the answer to why nature decided two enemy species would be good together.
He swallowed, feeling self-conscious with all the staring and asked, "Who is my…I mean…who is it ?"
Sam cocked his head in the direction of the table with the two girls who both looked bemused at the swell of attention. "The blonde one."
Emmett felt like his head was about to explode. "Lauren Mallory? But she's not Quileute, is she?"
"No, but she is part of our pack," Sam answered. "She's a different kind of wolf from what we are."
Billy continued, "I believe they call it 'Child of the Moon'."
If Carlisle could've gone paler he would've. He looked absolutely terrified. His golden eyes were wide as he looked at Emmett as if he'd just invited the Grim Reaper himself to the cookout. Emmett had never seen his adopted father so unnerved. And it was all because of a teenage girl.
They went home not long after. Emmett never had the chance to even speak with Lauren directly. Carlisle wanted them to pack up and leave Forks immediately. He didn't shout or look frazzled, he was composed as he urged them to pack their things and start loading their cars. His siblings looked apprehensive but did what they were told. Emmett stayed still at the bottom of the staircase.
"Emmett, we need to leave," Carlisle insisted. "This isn't a joke. We can't stay here."
"We lived beside wolves before and we avoided war with them," Emmett pointed out. "What's so scary about Lauren freaking Mallory?"
Carlisle sighed and gave him a beseeching look. Emmett stayed put and crossed his arms over his chest stubbornly. He was taller than Carlisle and hovered over him by a few inches even with his father's perfect posture. Carlisle sighed and began explaining about his time with the Volturi and how Caius encountered a Child of the Moon and nearly died.
"Hundreds of years ago, the Children of the Moon could be found around Europe and Asia, inspiring legends and horror stories," Carlisle expounded. "Until Caius decided to wipe them out, a bloody genocide, the few that escaped went deep into hiding. And the Volturi are still under order to kill any Child of Moon they find."
"What would they care about a teenage girl?" Emmett replied. "She's not a threat. As far as we know, there's only her."
"The Volturi won't care about that. They'll find her and the Quileutes and wipe them out too."
"How will they find out? None of us are on speaking terms with them last time I checked."
"Aro sees me as a threat," Carlisle countered, looking more exhausted than he'd ever seen him. He took a seat on the stairs and Emmett followed him. "I have too many friends and I have two children with extraordinary gifts he wants to collect. I know how he thinks and he is waiting for an excuse to bring hell upon us."
"That's not going to happen. We won't let him," he tried to reassure his father. "He has his creepy mafia of weirdoes. If he tries to go after you, we call on all those friends you've made over the years and have our own army. And you know what Sam Uley said, one of their wolves imprinted on me, I am under their protection now too."
"There is no glory in war, Emmett," his father's last plea for reason. "Whether it's magic or biology dictating this imprinting, it will not end well for both of you."
"This isn't Romeo and Juliet, Dad," Emmett snorted. "Or Hamlet. I don't think the universe gave me the wolf version of a soul mate only for me to lose her."
"The universe has never been fair." Carlisle looked up to where the large crucifix hung on the wall, an echo of his human life. "It takes away as much as it gives."
"Trust me then. You know me. I would never do anything to put our family in danger."
It felt like Carlisle was looking straight into his soul. It felt like a decade until his father nodded and patted him on the back. "Okay, then. You have until graduation to see where this goes. I wish you all the luck in the world, my son."
Emmett grinned. "I don't need luck."
His father would turn out to be very right about one thing. He would need all the luck in the world when it came to Lauren Mallory.
