A/N:

I'm telling you again here that Destiny in the Mountains was nominated in this year's Twific Fandom Awards! The previous "Not an update" chapter was deleted!

This story is in this category: Drop Everything Fic

If you'd like to support the story with a vote, the link is on my profile!

I was also personally nominated in a few categories as well.

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In this chapter, you will get the first meeting with a certain pack of mortal enemies ;-)

Title: Origins: Destiny in the Mountains

Author: MarieCarro

Beta: Alice's White Rabbit

Pre-reader: BitterHarpy

Genre: Family/Supernatural

Rating: NC-17

Summary: Emmett Brian McCarty never had much in life, but growing up poor didn't stop him from enjoying life and all its pleasures.

However, always seeking thrills most often means it will end badly, and one day, while hunting for game in the mountains, Emmett meets his destiny. Canon. ExR

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

CHAPTER 12

TUESDAY,OCTOBER 12th 1937

"Don't you dare tell Esme we broke another table," Rosie threatened as we ran from our house in Portland toward the family's house in Hoquiam. "I know you think it's amusing, but I don't want her to give me 'the look' for the entirety of this hunting trip."

"'The look'?" I asked her with a snicker.

She rolled her eyes at me. "You know which one I mean. The one that says while she still loves us, she kind of hates us."

I ran up behind her, grabbed her by her waist, and made us both tumble down into the greenery that surrounded us. Since I knew from experience she'd throw a fit if I sullied her dress, I made sure to shield the fabric from the ground with my own body.

"Emmett," she sighed. "I'm not in the mood right now." She made a move to get up, but I stopped her by holding her to me.

"Just stop for a second, angel. You're getting worked up for no reason at all. It's still just you and me here, so relax," I said. I was an expert at seeing the signs my wife displayed in times of stress by now. She was, by no means, embarrassed by our passionate approach toward the physical aspect of our relationship, but it didn't make the guilt-tripping more fun to deal with. "I would bet my arm that Carlisle and Esme had their share of fun in the beginning."

"Most likely only on their honeymoon, though," Rosie argued.

"And I'd say that was because of Edward being in their lives, and you know how uncomfortable he gets as soon as you even mention sex in a casual setting. That man needs to get laid and get off everyone else's backs, and you know it," I argued back. "Had it only been the two of them, I can promise you they'd have been at least as bad as you and I are."

"I can't see it. They're both so controlled and restrained all the time while you and I act crazed. This … need between us never seems to stop."

I shrugged underneath her. "So we're more fun. That's not a crime." I stood up and brought her with me. "We broke a table in our house. Esme is under no obligation to replace it. We don't entertain guests, so we don't really need it either." A stray leaf had found its way into Rosie's golden locks, and I gently plucked it out. "Baby, you can't compare us with them. Be proud of what you and I have. I am."

She rolled her eyes at me, and I knew the disaster had been avoided. "I know you are."

"Can you blame me?" I winked at her. "I mean, have you looked at yourself and seen what I was able to catch in my net?"

"You're such a flatterer." We took each other's hands and started to run again.

"And you love it," I retorted with a grin.

She sighed, but it was a happy sigh. "Yeah, I do."

When we reached the house in Hoquiam, the others were already waiting for us. We had planned a weeklong hunting trip together, and our intended destination was to cross the Canadian border to try out the wildlife up there. We would also explore the Olympic Park, as we hadn't truly checked out that area yet despite having lived in Washington for over a year.

We ran in silence, but occasionally, when one of us caught a scent we liked, we would stop. It was sunset when a sudden rank odor pervaded the air.

"Do you smell that?" Edward asked us all when the stench could no longer be ignored.

All of us nodded simultaneously, but Carlisle appeared to be the one most confused. "Yes, it isn't a smell I've encountered before. Perhaps it's an animal that only lives in this area."

"It's making me sick," Rosie complained from my left. "I don't know if I'll be able to hunt here."

"I'm too thirsty to care," I said. I hadn't had a single drop yet, and I was becoming impatient, as I always did when I allowed too much time to go in between hunts. "We don't have to stop for long. Let's just hunt here this one time."

While the others were reluctant, they eventually agreed with me, and we collectively took down an entire heard of deer when they passed. With the odor still in the air, the deer smelled surprisingly good, even for a grass-eater.

I had barely sunk my teeth into my kill's neck when all of us froze at the sound of a twig breaking. Normally, I would have waved it off as another animal in the forest, but the others' reactions, and especially Edward's, prevented me from doing that this time.

He was staring intensely in one direction, and then he abruptly rose up, his kill abandoned on the ground. With the smallest movement possible, he gestured for the rest of us to stand up as well, and I could instantly detect that the odor had grown stronger as if its source was close.

Carlisle and Edward exchanged a look, and then Carlisle stepped forward. "Who's there?"

His question was met with silence, and the rest of us walked closer to him, uniting our family to easier protect each other because we could all feel the tension in the air. It crackled with it and made it clear we weren't alone.

After a few nerve-wracking minutes, three men, who reminded me of the Cherokee tribe members I'd met in my human life, stepped out from the trees. What surprised me the most was that despite the October winds, much too cold for a human to be outside without layers of clothing, these men were bare-chested and only wearing their tribe's traditional warrior outfits, and their dark eyes glimmered with hatred.

It was also strangely obvious that the foul smell was coming from them, as it got even stronger the closer they walked.

Everything about them confused me, and something, maybe it was instinct, caused my skin to crawl in their presence, and I lowered myself into an offensive position, and I noticed Rosie, and Edward, do the same.

Carlisle took a step forward, effectively blocking us, but I refused to relax. I got my proof of it being a good thing I didn't when one of the men started screaming in what I assumed was the tribe's language. I was as tense as a coil spring as I waited for a sign or word to attack.

Ever the intermediator, Carlisle gestured in surrender. "My name's Carlisle Cullen. My family and I have lived in Hoquiam for a little over a year, and we're just passing through."

It didn't appear as if talking worked. I had one of the man locked with my eyes, and I was sure it would take less than a second for me to take him down. All I needed was one single word.

"Do you think they know what we are?" Edward asked Carlisle.

"I don't know," our leader answered. "They clearly don't want us here though."

"Maybe we should just leave," Esme suggested from the back. "I have a bad feeling about this, Carlisle." I was clearly not the only one who knew something wasn't right, and I would be more than willing to stay behind while the others left to make sure they got away okay. None of the three men looked like a particularly challenging opponent. I was about to say so when the men tensed up and focused on Esme, who had started to back away.

Edward growled at them in warning.

"Just say the word, Edward," I thought. Maybe Edward's gift could give us an advantage. "I'll back you up."

"Edward, I want you to back away and stand with Esme," Carlisle ordered. "You're too hostile, and it's making everything worse." Edward reluctantly did as he was told, and I was glad Carlisle kept me up front. At least, he recognized he needed some protection as well. "Please, we don't want to fight," he said to the strangers. "I can see we don't understand each other, but we will leave now."

The three men looked at us for a long moment, almost examining us, before the one who appeared to be the leader stepped forward. He didn't exude the same air of peace Carlisle did, so I remained in my attack-ready position. "You're different," the man said in heavily accented English. "Yellow, not red. What are you doing on our land, blood-drinker?"

I tensed further when I realized they knew what we were. I didn't like it. If they knew that, what else could they know?

"We were hunting," Carlisle explained softly and gestured toward our abandoned food on the ground.

"Animals?" the leader asked with confusion in his tone.

Carlisle nodded, clearly relieved he was getting through. "Yes. That's how we live."

"No humans?"

"No."

They didn't know what to make of us; that much was obvious. "How can we know you're telling the truth?" the leader asked.

"You can't," Carlisle told them truthfully. "You'll just have to trust us."

"Trust vampires?" It was another of the three men who spoke. "Not likely." His tone pretty much said on its own "when hell freezes over".

I was done with the talking. I was getting impatient, especially since we weren't getting anywhere.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but how did you know we're vampires?" Carlisle asked, and I wanted to roll my eyes at him. Why did he have to be so curious about everything? Why did it matter that they knew? Their knowledge was dangerous to us, and a threat like that was all the incentive I needed.

"We can smell you," the second man replied as if it were obvious with a wrinkled nose. "You have a sickly sweet smell. It makes me nauseous."

"That makes two of us," I thought, and the corner of Edward's mouth twitched in amusement.

"I was under the impression humans liked our smell," he said to disguise his snicker.

The man huffed. "Your smell is repulsive to us," he retorted angrily. "And we're more than human."

With a simple gesture of his hand, the leader stopped him from saying anything else. It was actually quite impressive. He seemed to have his men on a tight leash. "Our kind was created to hunt vampires like you," he explained, and I was once again a hundred percent focused on them, in case it came down to a fight. I didn't like what they were implying.

"What do you mean?" Carlisle asked, and I felt eased to hear the guarded tone in his voice. He was getting worried. Good. He needed to be in order to see that talking wasn't enough.

Two of the men loosened the cords that held their clothes together, and suddenly, a huge amount of muscle and fur exploded from their bodies, and they grew tenfold until humongous wolves had taken their places on either side of the leader. I knew I had only seen a fraction of what was really out in the world, but nothing could have prepared me for the sight before me. It was natural that I acted on instinct when I pushed Rosie behind me and backed up several yards. I didn't want her anywhere near the monsters before us.

They looked like wolves, but I had seen many wolves in my life, and these were not wolves.

"Hold it," Carlisle ordered once again, and I realized Edward had lowered himself into attack position, much like I'd been the second before.

"I am Ephraim Black," the leader spoke up calmly. "And these are my men Levi Uley and Quil Ateara. We are men from the Quileute tribe. We are our people's protectors, and if you have no interest here, we want you to leave right now."

"Of course," Carlisle agreed. "We don't want to bother you, but I need to ask something of you." Ephraim nodded for him to continue. "Your people know of our existence, but other humans don't. We need to keep our existence a secret, and I was hoping you wouldn't tell anyone outside of your tribe."

"We don't keep secrets with vampires," Ephraim replied with narrowed eyes. "Leave this place and don't come back."

"We promise we won't come back here," Carlisle insisted. "As I said before, we live a hundred miles from here, in Hoquiam."

"Then go back there and don't ever put a foot on our land again!" Ephraim said aggressively. "If you do, we will have to kill you."

"That won't be necessary if you keep our secret," Carlisle said. "Neither my family nor your people can risk the exposure. Maybe we can come to an agreement. We won't cross over to your land as long as you don't tell anyone outside your tribe about us."

I was looking at the exchange between the two leaders with interest. It was aggressive, but somehow, Carlisle's way had worked, and in order to not make it any harder on him, I acknowledged there would be no fight. I unlocked my tense muscles, but I made sure I was still in front of Rosie.

"We'll keep your secret if you can promise us that you won't ever hunt humans again. One single bite from any of you, and there is no agreement," Ephraim countered, and I wanted to protest badly. Who was he to rule over how we lived our lives?

Rosie must have felt my discontent because she grabbed my hand and made me look at her. She was shaking her head at me, silently telling me to let it go. And I did; for her.

Carlisle held out his hand. "We promise that we won't bite a human, and we will stay off your land. In return, all we ask is that you keep our secret for us."

Ephraim walked up to Carlisle and took his hand in his. "Keep your promise, and we will not tell the pale-faces about you."

All of us made the same promise, albeit me a bit reluctantly, and then we made a long detour toward the Canadian border. Our hunt in the Olympic Mountains had been cut short, but most of us were still thirsty. We just needed to be certain our backs were free of pursuers first.

Naturally, I volunteered to run in the back.

A/N:

Was that what you had in mind? Was there anything you felt I missed and would have wanted included?

Let me know your thoughts! Both Emmett and I appreciate them :-D

Until next week,

Stay Awesome!