"Even when we first met Tanya's clan in Denali - all those females!" - Rosalie, Eclipse, p. 165 (Stephenie Meyer)

Quick note: I loved writing this chapter hehehe. It's a lot more cerebral and emotional so not a lot happens per say but I definitely think it's important in character development as Rosalie and Emmett's journey to each other is not without obstacles. In chapters to come, expect some ExR developments, some shenanigans with the Denali clan, and... we haven't seen the last of Dorothy, or the new Rosalie McCarty and her life in Rochester... ;)

Please consider leaving a review. Every word means the world to me! Thank you immensely for your words thus far.

Queen of Peace

Oh, the king
Gone mad within his suffering
Called out for relief
Someone cure him of his grief

His only son
Cut down, but the battle won
Oh, what is it worth
When all that's left is hurt

Like the stars chase the sun
Over the glowing hill, I will conquer
Blood is running deep

Some things never sleep

And my love is no good
Against the fortress that it made of you
Blood is running deep
Sorrow that you keep

Suddenly I'm overcome
Dissolving like the setting sun
Like a boat into oblivion
Cause you're driving me away

Oh, the queen of peace
Always does her best to please
Is it any use
Somebody's gotta lose

Carlisle: Trust

Edward was driving now, keeping stiff posture and both hands gripping the wheel as we sped down the road. His eyes stared straight ahead with a frown, so I imagine not being able to escape mine and Emmett's thoughts for this long string of hours on the road was getting a little old.

We were close, after almost three full days of driving.

Emmett was folded into the back seat in a way that looked unnatural and uncomfortable for his height and brawn; his knees bounced incessantly like a bored child's so it practically vibrated the car. I could only imagine his thoughts were just as invasive and annoying. He was unsettled and radiating with pent up energy.

It also didn't help he was desperate to be with Rosalie again. Rosalie had expertly manipulated the car pooling situation so that she and Emmett would be in opposite vehicles. It seemed she was avoiding him, even after what had appeared to be immense progress between the two of them.

I couldn't help but notice Emmett reach for Rosalie's hand as we made it back to meet Esme at the house we'd called our home for a couple years now and the home he'd been born in, but before he could close his fingers around hers Rosalie had pulled away without a glance in his direction. Emmett had seemed surprised she'd retreated, though of course Edward and I weren't. Now, she didn't want to be in close quarters with him and give him the chance to try again.

She kept Emmett at arm's distance physically and emotionally as we all imagined she would, no matter how much I had hoped against it. I wanted that to be the one bright spot to all that had transpired lately.

Whatever was happening between them though seemed to look to her like a high speed train she couldn't slow down, so it appeared to make her nervous where it made him more confident to be forward.

It was evident she felt it was necessary to pump on the brakes with him now, and so.… she pulled away.

The world flew by around us, scenery changing rapidly across the country, but not so rapidly we didn't notice as it started to snow.

Emmett childishly grinned, the change distracting him enough to please him momentarily from the torture of staying still.

Snow really was beautiful, but since I'd been around for centuries, I'd begun to slowly become immune to the beauty of the world around me…

I didn't notice it until moments like this.

Emmett still possessed childlike wonder in a way that the rest of my companions did not, and it was oddly refreshing. As I watched Emmett marveling at the snow, I saw the weather newly through his eyes and I noticed how beautiful it truly was once again…

"Have you seen snow before, Emmett?" I asked him, thinking about weather in the South.

I awkwardly tried to make conversation with him, but it was forced and off.

He was different now.

"Not like this." He responded easily, fixated on the intricacy of the beautiful crystalline snowflakes.

His eyes had never seen snow with vampiric senses and the thrill lightened him momentarily.

The light in his crimson eyes glistened with enthusiasm, but I had to look away as I was reminded of all that had transpired in the past few days.

That same childlike enthusiasm as he looked at the snow was present in his eyes for a fleeting moment after looking at the severed body parts he'd left in his wake that night…

I worried about him in a way I didn't worry about the others. He was unapologetically violent. Sure, I knew Edward had sought to be a figure of vigilante justice and Esme had slipped a couple times in thirst. I also knew Rosalie had indulged in theatrical violence for her own pleasure and pursuit of justice, but Emmett's indulgence in violence didn't just please him, it fueled him.

It was different with him, and his latest digression had been crossing a line of sorts.

I'd seen it in his eyes.

I'd heard it in his voice amidst the awful litter of those bodies in the grass when he told Rosalie he couldn't stop himself. He wasn't remorseful when he'd said that. He was… in awe.

He was in awe that he'd been able to do all of that on instincts he didn't know he'd had.

And, I'd let him do it…

No matter how just it seemed to give them their deaths, he was still let to run wilder than he should have.

He couldn't stop himself, and he didn't want to. Like a child that had never been told no, Emmett was left to utter recklessness, and I worried that this would be the beginning of his ruin.

I wondered if this had sent him over a moral edge he couldn't return from. Then, I wondered if he had any moral boundaries to begin with.

For someone so open, he was still very much a mystery to me.

I didn't know him.

None of us did really.

He was wild in a way none of the rest of us were. Not that I blamed his socio-economic class for this - I'd seen enough in my time to know that some of the most monstrous people were from the wealthy elite and trained in the best of manners - but Emmett had grown up in pursuit of survival in a lawless, rural land.

I imagined it had become habit for him to do what he had to do.

Now, it was probably hard to depart from that.

Discipline is essential in maintaining a lifestyle like ours, and as hard as it would be, I had to talk to Emmett about his wrong doings and I wasn't looking forward to it.

The first time we'd made him detoxify from the blood in his body had been bad, but this time… This time would be worse.

This had been fresh blood. From what I'd learned of his first transgression, the people Emmett had fed on first had been starving and anemic. Edward had told me this had affected the taste, and Emmett hadn't realized it until he fed on someone who had been well-fed themselves.

Like pigs fattened for the slaughter…

Now, he knew…

Now, he was different.

I'd understood the risk and danger that a newborn vampire was, and though Emmett was every bit of that terrifying loose canon and more, he seemed more in control when Rosalie was around. It fascinated me how easily he didn't snap at her when he was so blood drunk, but I didn't want to keep testing his limits…

I wondered though if her presence would soften the blow of our conversation about his wrongdoings, or just make it worse. After all, she had been the one to enable him…

I wondered what was going through Rosalie's mind then. Why did she encourage him?

I was then lost in thought about how it terrified me that Emmett's violence was cathartic to Rosalie.

I worried the worst… That they would leave again, choosing an immortal life of violence and blood, and I would be responsible for the people they left in their wake…

Edward looked over at me with a raised eyebrow and shook his head, a private conversation as if he told me this wasn't something I should be worried about, or at least shouldn't fixate on.

He showed genuine care and concern in his eyes then, knowing I was deeply troubled.

I sighed.

The three of us had successfully avoided conversation of any sort of substance in our car, though I could see Emmett's usual weightlessness looked a bit more burdened on the drive to Alaska.

Emmett's father's death and the gutting of his family had been buried under the violence of Emmett's latest kills, and I wondered if he was avoiding processing this pain by reverting to that violence. I wondered if amidst the newborn emotional overload, he could even realize if this was the truth.

"Are we there yet?" Emmett asked enthusiastically and lightened.

"Almost." I said expectantly with a little, careful smile.

"Who 're these people we're goin' to see anyway?" Emmett went on, again impossibly light.

"Well, I first heard of them years ago very briefly; there were rumors around the Volturi of an older coven that had success in a lifestyle built on animal blood and familial structure for a coven." I went on. "I think that meeting them will provide a nice model for an ethical diet and prove productive for your transition. And Rosalie's…"

I added the last bit so he wouldn't feel singled out, and I had to remind myself Rosalie was still very much a newborn even though she didn't much act like it. She had expressed little to no interest in human blood since the beginning.

"How many of us are there?" Emmett asked. "How many people like us? Vampires I mean? And, Vol-what?"

"Well, it's impossible to know really, but a great many more than you'd expect. The Volturi… Well, they act as a governing body over vampires, making sure we don't expose our secrets to humans, act irresponsibly in changing new vampires, things like that…" I went on carefully seeing him process this with disinterest now. "I spent a brief period of time with the Volturi, but left over differences in preferred diet. I needed to find more to this existence. So far though, the coven in Denali are the only others I've found that survive on animal blood."

"How'd you find 'em?" Emmett wondered.

"Lots of digging and rumors. Following leads and whatnot…" I shrugged.

"How'd you find Rosalie?" Emmett asked me, changing the subject so abruptly it made my head spin, but as I looked to Edward he still wore a sour look so I imagined it had been brewing in Emmett's thoughts for quite some time and he finally asked this heavy question. "When she died I mean."

"Well…" I exhaled, looking out the window at the snow and thinking about how it had been unseasonably cold that horrible night.

I tried not to reveal any information that would prove too personal while also maintaining evenness in conversation.

"I was a doctor in Rochester at the time, and I… smelled the blood." I answered as straightly as I could.

Emmett clenched his jaw, obviously displeased, but not necessarily at my answer. The look in his eye made it obvious the thought of Rosalie being hurt absolutely killed him.

It revealed humanness in him that transcended his newborn instincts, but in anger, he'd still first resort to violence and chaos…

I saw it in his eyes.

"It was bad?" Emmett asked, his voice low and dark.

"Unimaginable." I answered, wincing. "That's why I had to intervene. It was… too much... too much waste. I'd known who she was before… We'd been in Rochester for a bit."

He stayed quiet for a second, and I could tell he was thinking vividly as Edward's fingers wrapped around the wheel tightly.

"She told me what she did. Do you think it was a fair trade? Her life for theirs?" Emmett asked, his voice full of darkness.

I felt his eyes heavy on me.

I wondered then if he knew…

Edward frowned a little, and I noticed this. She'd told Emmett a little, but not a lot.

It was enough to make him curious, but I remained distant.

"No." I swallowed, turning over my shoulder to look straight into his vermillion eyes.

"To avoid breakin' her confidence… She thinks y'all both do." Emmett furrowed his brow, obviously not anticipating my answer, but the opposite. "I think it hurts her."

"Really…" Edward breathed, but it wasn't ironic.

This was a thought she had kept even from him.

There was something marvelously victorious about Emmett revealing something about Rosalie only he knew, but this was no time for that. It was heavy and awful to realize that this was something burdening her. I took a deep breath.

"There's no justice for what happened to Rosalie. I know that. Edward knows that." I made sure to tell him. "But, I made a judgment call that night thinking that if she didn't die that it could assuage some of the tragedy, and…"

Emmett nodded, starting to accept this even though this wasn't a conversation we should be having with him. It was a conversation I should be having with Rosalie…

"Emmett, there's something you have to understand." Edward interrupted me, obviously speaking to Emmett's thoughts that clouded the communication of the truth.

Emmett's vermillion eyes were alert and fiery at the shift in tone as Edward entered discussion.

"Rosalie doesn't look at this life like you do." Edward said. "That's why she'll never think anything's a fair trade for what she lost."

"What do you mean?" Emmett stopped in his thoughts and shifted forward inquisitively.

"You see this existence as a gift - an after life alternative if you will. But, she… doesn't." Edward clarified aloud. "Rosalie's… not glad she didn't die that night in New York."

"Why?" Emmett puzzled, asking pointedly this brewing question.

His eyes came to me now, not the one who could read her mind.

I cleared my throat.

"Rosalie knows that I would never give this life to someone that had another choice." I explained to him in a somber way. "It was a risk I took when I changed all of you, and when it turned out how it did with Rosalie… I promised she would be the last." I told him.

"But she wasn't." Emmett observed.

"No. She wasn't." I said plainly.

Edward's expression changed a little and I could see Emmett was forthcoming with his thoughts because he was more than forthcoming with his words.

"Rosalie asked for my change." Emmett began.

"And… you couldn't say no after what you did to her? Knowing how she hated you for it?" Emmett recalled, seeming to test my boundaries a little with his tone and his fiery red eyes.

"Emmett, your death would've been long and unnecessarily painful… You would've suffered a lot before you died because the medical technology required was inaccessible at the time." I explained. "I felt it was inhumane so…"

"So you made it up to her by changing me." Emmett tried to get me to say it. "Am I your peace offering to her?"

I furrowed my brow.

Something in his eyes told me he was challenging me.

"Rosalie would have tried to do it herself if Carlisle hadn't agreed." Edward said, seeming to push back against Emmett in a way that felt defensive.

I was on edge.

"Do you think that I'm a fair trade, then?" Emmett pushed. "Do you think she believes you're even now?…"

"Well, that's up to her." I gave a little smile trying to lighten things as I entered a very difficult conversation.

"But, I asked you." Emmett challenged me.

He challenged me in a way that I didn't understand. I'd never been a father, but I imagined Emmett was testing me to see how far he could push before I'd push him back. I wasn't falling for it.

It wasn't hostile, but I was afraid that it could be.

"Emmett, she deserves the best of you, wouldn't you agree?"

I tried to guide him into realizing the wrongfulness of his previous actions and the standard of this existence that was required of him. I tried to put this in the context of his relationship to Rosalie and how following the rules was the best way to maintain relationships built on the emotional spectrum of humanity.

"You're talking about what I did?" He didn't respond to my lightheartedness as he positioned his words in a half statement half question. "It makes me less of a bargaining chip when I act up?"

His eyes glistened with darkness and it gave me a chill.

"No. I want you to try to follow the rules. For Rosalie. For this family. For yourself." I countered.

"I did something you didn't like." Emmett stated, but it was framed like a question.

He didn't think what he'd done was wrong, and as horrifyingly awful as those people might have been, I didn't know if it was right to meddle in human affairs. It was a slippery slope of godlike power deciding who gets to live and die…

I worried immensely for him.

"You are not what you've done. You can be better." I nodded, trying to keep my voice full of compassion and forgiveness, even though I didn't really answer his question.

"What if I can't?" He asked as if he wanted me to give up.

"You will." I insisted, a little more powerfully than I'd anticipated and our eyes burned into one another's.

The deep red of his eyes taunted me. Yes, Edward had rebelled, but it didn't feel like he was rebelling against me. Edward rebelled against concepts and institutions like diet, loneliness, and existential purpose, but with Emmett it was much more simple than that. He was rebelling against me.

I wanted to know why.

It didn't seem like it bothered him to be used as a 'peace offering' or a 'bargaining chip' for Rosalie's happiness with me. In fact, it almost had the opposite effect because it made him aware of how she wanted him changed even if he didn't understand why.

"We're here." Edward announced easily, happy to be cutting off that conversation.

The Denali coven's home became visible on the horizon.

Emmett was like a lit fuse then, ready to explode. His weightiness was immediately a thing of the past and he was filled with unbridled joy.

His eyes darted out the window, wanting to jump out of the moving car and run the rest of the way, so he did.

His feet barely left an imprint in the freshly fallen snow as he ran, speeding past the limitations of the car.

Emmett was radiating with pent up energy, his eyes darting around and drinking in every detail, but no detail was as important as Rosalie.

He made it immediately to her door, opening it in his newborn speed before her fingers had even touched the handle.

As she met his eyes with surprise, she stepped out of the car and stood under his adoring gaze.

The night sky glowed with stars, but Emmett beamed a celestial smile at the sight of her, immediately forgetting the heaviness in which we just spoke.

He was doomed.

Rosalie was acutely aware of his presence and she gave him a small, controlled smile. But, it was more pleasant than she'd ever smiled at anyone else so I considered it a success.

I exhaled.

"Thank you. That was kind." Rosalie acknowledged lightly and removedly as she batted her long black eyelashes against the falling snow.

"I know how a beautiful lady should be treated." Emmett promised her with a smile.

I could tell obviously that he was straining to keep his voice even and unbothered by the way it vibrated in his throat.

Rosalie wasn't as pleased with his advances as I would've imagined and she just breathed a little laugh at his forwardness before she looked away.

He tried to maintain an image of being cool and collected, but he was far from it. He was still blood drunk, and I worried it was heightening his emotions to manic levels. His mood swings were enough to give anyone whiplash.

"Stop worrying about anything other than how bad he is at romance." Edward put his hand on my shoulder, giving me a half smile of comfort as he whispered this to me. "At this rate, it'll take them a half century to get together."

He saw how rampant my mind ran; how much weight I harbored.

I allowed a little laugh at Emmett's attempt at sweet talking before I looked over to find my own love.

I myself had truly missed the sight of Esme's beautiful face and as she smiled, my world shifted back into orbit and I felt a little lighter already.

"I missed you." Esme grinned as she laced her fingers through mine.

I felt her weightiness immediately.

"What's wrong?" I asked, my eyes darting over her face in search of clues.

"Is Emmett all right?" She asked, genuinely full of worry and care as she shot her gaze toward him as he followed Rosalie like a puppy. "Rosalie told me about his father."

Rosalie kept her fingers interlocked and her posture far from open as they talked. Her eyes fluttered to the ground often in nervousness and distance resembling that of an early teenager.

"As he can be…" I admitted. "I'm worried he's sublimating and he'll snap soon."

"Me too." Esme breathed. "He needs us, as a family, now more than ever."

Her kind, considerate heart was one of the most beautiful things about her, and I couldn't help but kiss her porcelain cheek in comfort after seeing an ounce of rain in her eyes.

"Esme, Emmett… Well, he… tried something with me in the car a little earlier. He pushed back a little." I admitted, for the first time having the threat of true conflict with one of my creations.

Esme comforted me with just her presence, but her hand on my cheek was even more of a haven from the stress.

It was a harrowing feeling, like there was something inherently wrong with me because I felt him begin to challenge me.

Did I deserve to be leading him?

"What do you mean?" Esme frowned a little.

"He started asking questions… about Rosalie. About purpose. About whether or not I changed him as a peace offering to her." I exhaled, feeling absurd even saying it out loud again.

"Oh no." Esme swallowed nervously. "Is he… resenting this life?"

Her eyes were unimaginably gold and full of concern and love.

She centered me.

"No… It's strange." I exhaled. "It's like he… just resents me."

Edward seemed to have some insight, but I hated using him as a spy or a translator.

Before Edward could even look over at me, Tanya emerged from the house and shot a glorious smile in our direction.

"Friends!" She called with glee.

Immediately, I felt the camaraderie, and I noticed how even acknowledging the two new vampires in our coven, Tanya's eyes still landed on Edward.

I still had hope, even though he'd snubbed her the first time.

Tanya was joined then by her coven sisters Irina and Kate.

I couldn't fight my smile. It pleased me to no end to be reunited with friends, and I was optimistic that our newly minted coven of five could one day find the bonds these five also shared.

"Thank you for hosting us, Tanya!" I said as we made our way forward.

I clapped my hand on Emmett's shoulder, in a way claiming him as my own, and motioning him forward.

His eyes dropped to my hand on his shoulder for a moment in a way that made me retract it from contact with him. No one noticed the awkwardness between us, but I certainly felt it.

He didn't accept my contact and more than he accepted my leadership. I thought briefly of what Edward had told me about Emmett's father's tendencies toward violence. I wondered if this made Emmett skeptical of my intentions and caused the constant burning of his eyes when I tried to lead him.

"Oh Carlisle, of course it's no trouble." Tanya smiled, seeming to take in Emmett's intimidating size and red eyes. "We always have room for you. Though there are a couple new Cullens since we last saw each other."

"Rosalie Hale." Rosalie introduced herself without offering her hand. "How do you do?"

She gave a little, pleasant smile and a nod of her head as would be required by perfect social graces, but nothing more.

That was Rosalie in a nutshell.

"Oh, it's just lovely to meet you, Rosalie." Tanya smiled warmly.

I would have been lying if I said I hadn't noticed during the exchange of perfectly mandated pleasantries between Rosalie and the others that Emmett's eyes were trailing heavily over Kate before he looked back to Tanya with a charming, dimpled smile.

He was a vampire yes, but he was still a man and Kate was still exquisitely beautiful.

All of these women were.

He couldn't be blamed by anyone but Rosalie, and of course she noticed his fixation though it was nothing compared to the way he looked at her.

She couldn't see that from the inside though, and the first shred of insecurity I'd ever seen in Rosalie's face flashed like a horrible shooting star over her expression.

"Emmett." He reached out his hand with open friendliness shaking Tanya's hand as he would any man's. "The other new kid."

The corner of Kate's mouth turned up in a way that looked amused.

She offered her own hand to Emmett.

"Kate. Charmed, I'm sure." Kate said in a voice that was obviously lowered slightly for him to notice.

He pulled his hand back immediately from hers.

"What was that?" He frowned, looking down at his hand with wide eyes.

Edward exhaled through his nose.

"Psychic electrokinesis." She winked, ancient traces of her Russian accent weaving through her words as she giggled.

"Now, wait a second 'cause those words definitely don't sound like English." Emmett joked, his accent emphasized to make him more charming.

And he knew it.

If I didn't know any better I'd say he was flirting with her.

"Oh, it's just a spark." Kate smirked, obviously flirting with him.

I thought Rosalie was going to spontaneously combust as her jaw clenched in a way that made it obvious she was straining to keep calm.

"Come on Kate, stop showing off to our guests. It's rude." Irina rolled her eyes. "I'm Irina. It's a pleasure."

Emmett gave them both another grin, but again he was enchanted with Kate. Kate's hair was long, straight, and white blonde as corn silk that complemented her snowy skin and darkening amber eyes. She was tall, though not as tall as Rosalie, but Kate was of a more athletic build so she seemed to make Rosalie seem smaller than her. Kate was obviously beautiful, exquisitely so, but nothing compared to Rosalie.

However, men were simple and Kate's attention to him was enough to distract Emmett momentarily.

With greetings and pleasantries all around, and Emmett's wayward eyes indulging in the scenery both of Denali's natural beauty and Denali's beautiful inhabitants, we followed the rest of them toward the house.

"Carmen and Eleazar are out hunting for the moment." Tanya explained. "They'll be thrilled to see you and meet you all."

Emmett paused before the front door his gaze taking in the magnitude of their residence as he stood on the front steps.

Rosalie watched him with curious eyes as the live wire began to fizzle in him.

"I'd sooner burst into flames than be cooped up again." Emmett exhaled impatiently under his breath. "I swear I'm 'bout to go stark ravin' mad if I don't run. Why don't y'all show me around?"

"I'm due for a hunt anyway." Kate jumped at the opportunity before Rosalie could even open her mouth, giving a little smile.

Rosalie didn't play this game. She wasn't aggressive, and she'd been bested this round.

"Emmett, I don't think you should go hunting." I spoke up, disciplining him now with the slightest bit of nervousness.

"But, I'm… thirsty." His eyes grew darker as he pushed back against my authority a little, challenge in his eyes.

"Carlisle, we've been hunting animals for centuries. Longer than you've been alive. We can handle monitoring his transition." Kate tried to comfort me, but really just undermined me and what I was trying to do with Emmett. "We helped Eleazar and Carmen after all."

We needed to put up a united front if we were going to get control over Emmett, and right now it was obvious he saw our disparity in approach, like disagreeing parents.

"Absolutely. We can do this." Tanya nodded in agreement.

In many ways they did exhibit far more control than I did, but I worried they were too lax for someone like Emmett.

He'd run over them. He was headstrong.

"I'll go with you." Edward offered, completely uninvited, but reading the thoughts around him caused him to volunteer.

He knew he was needed to make sure Emmett didn't cause any trouble and that he behaved himself in more than a few ways.

"Me too." Tanya jumped in.

"Rose, what about you?" Emmett wasn't subtle, and he assumed it was gentlemanly to let the other ladies know he was spoken for, or at least hoped he was.

It didn't deter Kate's confidence one bit. She didn't even flinch, but Rosalie on the other hand seemed affected by his question.

"No, thank you. I need to get settled." Rosalie said icily, rejecting his offer as a shallow punishment for giving a shred of attention to anyone else but her.

"I'll wait for you." He insisted.

"That won't be necessary." Rosalie said, looking straight up into his eyes as she stepped by him to follow Irina inside.

You didn't have to be a genius to see that Rosalie was testing to see how far he'd chase her.

"Oh come on, Rose. It'll be fun." Emmett grinned at her in a way that was all at once hopeful and acknowledging of his losing battle with her.

"I'm sure it will." She challenged him before she turned her back.

"Roooose, come with us." He pushed her again. "I've never seen Alaska. I want you to see it with me."

This time, he grabbed her hand, claiming it in his.

Though it was hardly a groping grab at her with bad intentions, and was actually more like a child playfully grabbing for the attention of an adult, Rosalie was still pushed to an edge she was less forgiving at because he had grabbed her.

No one but those who knew would have been able to see the tension. Esme's fingers tightened on the crook of my arm, but everyone else was still smiling pleasantly.

Emmett had chased her to a point she wasn't happy with. He misunderstood how she wanted him to display his devotion, and it was going to cost him.

"Excuse me." Her eyes had flared with alarm and her voice only rose slightly as she withered away to dip under his gaze and head inside.

"Rosalie?" He called after her, but she ignored him.

Emmett took a lingering look at her back, but there was frustration and annoyance in the tight way he held his jaw and the long exhale through his nose.

"She's missing out. You haven't hunted until you've hunted in Denali." Kate pulled him back to the conversation at hand.

I worried. They hadn't surveyed the area. So much could go wrong.

His eyes darkened by the second as he imagined hunting, but he darted his gaze toward the open door.

"Yeah, all this carryin' on's worked up quite a thirst. Let's get goin' on this so called legendary huntin'" Emmett charmed Kate easily as he leaned into his Southern accent, giving her a wink.

"Try to keep up." She offered her hand, and he smiled a dimpled smile in her direction before he took it and they both took off running toward the Denali wilderness in a race of sorts.

"Be careful." I insisted with an unwavering stare in Emmett's direction, but he didn't notice before he was gone, so Edward just nodded on his behalf.

"Oh Carlisle, stop worrying will you?" Tanya snickered, running after them.

I wiped a hand over my face, exasperated before Esme and I walked back toward the house, shutting the door behind us.

I imagined Rosalie had been in eye sight and she had seen what had happened between Emmett and Kate through the window. She wrung her hands, but overall she showed no true emotion as she took in the beauty of the Denali house and pleasantly conversed with Irina.

She was avoiding my eyes as she looked over the ceiling's high beams.

"Come on, I'll show you your rooms." Irina encouraged with a smile and the three of us followed her down the hall.

"Rosalie, you could've…" Esme began to tell her she could've gone with them.

"I didn't want to." Rosalie's eyes darted her way in a warning of sorts, dismissing the conversation quickly.

Irina led Esme and I to a room on the first floor that was decorated with emphasis on minimalism and functionality, looking much different than a modern American home, but instead taking influence from Nordic aesthetic. Clean lines and light colors all around the room made the home feel as snowy as its exterior.

"I hope this suits you." Irina was a lot more reserved than her extroverted sisters, and she operated with a melancholy calmness that exuded from her.

"It's just lovely!" Esme complimented. "We just so appreciate you opening your home to us in this time of transition."

The women were immediately enthralled in conversation, and I knew Rosalie was participating sheerly because she was avoiding conversation with me.

Rosalie avoided my eyes the rest of the night, and I knew it was obvious that her earlier choice was a difficult one because it was either give in to Emmett or be subjected to prodding conversation with Esme and I. After Rosalie was shown her room, and the sun began to rise as she tinkered with settling all of her things in, I knew I had to finally ask her.

I felt Rosalie's reticence as if she knew when I inhaled to speak what was coming.

"Why did you encourage Emmett to kill his father?" I asked as evenly as I could.

Esme tried to look unbothered as she helped Rosalie hang up clothes in the closet.

"I didn't. I just went along with it." Rosalie dismissed. "He needed babysitting. That's why I went with him."

She kept her back to Esme and I as she arranged some scarves into a drawer so we couldn't see her eyes and tell if she was lying.

"No, you wanted him to do it." I argued with her to see how she would respond.

She wasn't used to me challenging her and her eyes went wide with guilt before she turned away again.

"It doesn't matter." She sighed under her breath.

"Sure, it does." I argued. "You ran away from home because of it."

"It was only supposed to be temporary." Rosalie mumbled, frowning a little as she perceived my pain over them leaving us. "We didn't plan on staying gone…."

"He's not accusing you of anything, Rosalie. We're just trying to understand…" Esme spoke calmly, more eloquent than I could have been.

She knew just how to connect with people.

Rosalie fiddled with folding and unfolding a scarf as she took a long pause to think.

"We need to understand this because we're trying to understand Emmett." I added on.

"I don't know why you're asking me then." Rosalie added coldly.

"Because you know him better than the rest of us. You know his family." Esme said, presenting a united front with me as she took my hand. "You have insight to his upbringing that we don't have."

Rosalie sighed, not wanting all the heavy insight that she had.

"The ease of Emmett's transition directly affects you, too, if you're pursuing a relationship with him." I added pragmatically.

Rosalie wrinkled her nose slightly, but I could tell the distaste was for show.

"Then maybe that'll become Kate's problem." Rosalie said tartly.

She was being difficult because she felt vulnerable.

"Is that what you want?" Esme asked the difficult questions.

"I want to stop being interrogated." Rosalie huffed exasperatedly, rolling her eyes.

"You pushed him away." Esme perceived, raising her eyebrow.

Rosalie's hands fell idle and she clenched her jaw, signaling she was done talking to us.

"He needs you right now Rosalie, now more than ever. He needs this family." I tried a softer approach. "We need to know him and his motivations to help us choose the best approach in aiding not only his diet transition, but his transition into this family, however that may be."

Rosalie still didn't turn around, but I saw her shoulders rise with tension.

"There's a real possibility he might go his own way, Rosalie, and if we don't want that to happen we have to act accordingly. He's already proven to question my intentions and authority… He doesn't believe I'm trying to help him… He…" I went on.

"He doesn't trust you." Rosalie said finally, her words cracking like a whip.

It physically pained me to hear these words that Rosalie believed to be true. She knew him in ways we didn't and it saddened me that this was her conclusion.

Her eyes burned into mine, satisfied with what she'd said.

"Rosalie…" Esme began to scold sadly.

"His mother was weak and too afraid to do what it took to take care of her own children. His father was a drunken fool that couldn't provide for or protect his family. He'd hit them. All of them. The people that were supposed to take care of him didn't. I'd imagine Emmett doesn't trust you - ANY of you - to have his best interests in mind."

She said this to me with burning golden eyes full of suppressed anger. Even though she was talking about Emmett, I couldn't help but think she was talking about herself too.

I'd been so worried about him, I hadn't bothered to look at what was happening with her since she'd returned from killing her attackers.

Her jaw clenched before she turned back to keeping her hands busy.

"Do you?" I asked calmly. "Trust us to have your best interests in mind?"

Rosalie didn't respond.

I felt Esme's sadness and heartache fill the icy air.

"Rosalie, I truly hope that one day you'll find it in your heart to forgive me." I breathed.

She turned, her eyes darting over my face to read me so she wouldn't be blindsided. She hated that. This had blindsided her.

"I made a judgment call the night I changed you. I thought that maybe if you didn't die it'd assuage some of the tragedy… That…"

"That I'd make Edward happy." Rosalie spoke through her teeth angrily and her eyes held a glassiness to them that reminded me of human tears, but she wasn't sad... She was irate.

"Well…" I frowned.

"You just changed me to please him and you didn't even try to hide it. The moment I wake up and you're both pushing Edward on me? And it's obvious not once did you think about how that would bother me?!" Rosalie's voice rose slightly as she exploded with loads of pent up emotion. "I was beautiful and you thought that'd be enough to make Edward like me… That's what got me killed in the first place, being beautiful. You were using me... And now, you're using me again to get your way with Emmett?! God, am I not good enough for anything else in this world?!"

Rosalie tossed a vase across the room so it shattered behind my head.

She was in pain.

The insight she let us in on was shocking and I stood there staring at her for a long moment.

"Rosalie… I was just going to say that yes, in the beginning, I hoped you and Edward could find what Esme and I had found in each other, but more than all of that I hoped you could find happiness and peace in this life." I spoke as calmly as I could to counter her rage. "I hoped that you could find purpose in this existence - someone to love you, truly love you to make up for all the hurt and heartache you experienced in your human life."

Esme's eyes were wide as she looked between us.

"No." Rosalie shook her head, disagreeing in a blanket way to all that had been said.

"And we love you, Rosalie. We do." Esme breathed. "We love you with our whole hearts, so no, we are not using you to get our way with Emmett, but your way. Frankly dear, he was changed for you. For the hope of your happiness. We want him to be better for you. We want him to stay for you."

Rosalie inhaled, taking swift shallow breaths as she turned away from us in anger.

But, Esme was right.

"This existence is a lonely one without someone that loves you, and no amount of vengeance can fill that hole in your heart, Rosalie." I said softly, not daring to push any harder. "There is no justice for what happened to you. No matter how many people die for it…"

Rosalie's fingers curled tightly around the edges of the dresser and her shoulders rose in tension.

"There's no justice for any of the tragedy of our human lives…" Esme added, speaking from personal experience. "But we can love… We can find family… someone to pass the decades with, smile with, laugh with, try new things and watch the world change with. That's the only way to find meaning and purpose in this life. Not revenge…"

Esme's heartache directly throbbed in my chest, and I put my arm around her shoulders.

"It will keep you lonely." Esme finished, speaking tenderly to Rosalie's back.

Rosalie's hands shook in what I imagined to be anger and rage and the way she clawed her fingers had imprinted upon the edges of the vanity, but after a long lingering moment of silence, she finally softened.

"It's a ridiculous reason… Really…" Rosalie snorted, slowly turning to face us as she finally answered my earlier question. "I can't believe...

Esme and I exhaled in unison, in awe of Rosalie's looming attempt at honesty.

"The only thing that's ridiculous is that you'd believe we don't love you. Unconditionally." Esme assured her. "You can talk to us about anything."

"All right, well, I thought… I thought that if Emmett would kill his father it would prove he wasn't anything like him and he rejected everything he was and everything he did. That Emmett would never… he would never hit me like his father hit his family." Rosalie said through her teeth, finally opening up to Esme and I.

Esme and I both stood in shock, unsure of how to respond.

"No one will ever put their hands on you again, Rosalie." I promised in a dark covenant.

Esme and I looked at each other in deep sadness over Rosalie's afflictions.

Rosalie nodded and sat down on the edge of the fainting couch with perfect posture folding her hands in her lap and looking down at her fingers.

I worried about Emmett's violence, how it affected her. How it must've frightened her...

"I think I'm beginning to believe that." Rosalie nodded, but her eyes were hollow.

"You know, Emmett killed those people that way because they… they hurt his sister. Dorothy. Like I'd been hurt." Rosalie said in the softest voice I'd ever heard her use. "He didn't kill those people for me. He doesn't even know… but… but it feels like he did."

I understood immediately what had actually happened that horrible night.

It was more than thirst for him…

It was vengeance…

And for Rosalie, it was the moment she realized she loved him.

And now, she was scared to death.