Chapter 3: Family History

"Your Cousin!" Edward growled, glaring fiercely at Mike. "You're related to that disgusting trash?"

"Edward! Mind your tongue." Esme scolded.

"No, it fine. I can't stand him anymore than you can." He said, smirking at Edward who seemed to relax a bit when he heard this.

"I do not understand." Carlisle interjected. "Laurent told us that he was over three hundred years old. How exactly is it possible that he is your cousin when you yourself are a newborn vampire?"

"Well, he's not like my immediate cousin. Our parents weren't siblings. No, it goes back many years ago. This is a story that truly haunts family, and it's because of Laurent that we are even here in North America. As I'm sure you realized from his accent, we are Jamaican."

"Yes. We had learned that from him when we had first met him when his Coven mate, James, was trying to kill Bella." He explained, nodding his head slightly in the direction of the human.

"Wow. What, you got some type of vampire bounty on your head or something?" Mike chuckled as he turned to the human, Bella, and grinned. Of course, that didn't sit too well with Edward.

"This isn't funny." He growled in a low voice. From his stance, and the anger that dripped from his words, I thought he was about to pounce and attack Mike. Then again, it could just be the paranoia that you suffer when you just lived the last three months of your life having to pretty much always look over your shoulder and be sure someone wasn't about to rip you apart, or light you on fire just for the hell of it.

"Michael." I scolded, elbowing him in the side a little. "Please, excuse him. He has a tendency to say the wrong thing to people. He didn't mean to upset you." I spoke quickly, trying to apologize for my idiotic friend.

"No worries. I thought it was pretty funny." The biggest of the group said, chuckling a bit himself. I smiled a little, glad to see that someone in this group had a sense of humor similar to Michael's. Hopefully, that'll keep us on their good side, and won't make them want to finish us off (though I'm pretty sure that blonde chick wants us dead either way).

"Sorry, sorry. Anyway, three hundred and fifty years ago, my great, great, great grandfather, who was the head of our family, was blessed with two sons: my great, great grandfather, Jeremiah, and his brother, Joseph. He was as happy as could be, and was proud to watch his two sons grow into fine young men and help him with the family business."

"And what exactly was your family's business?" Carlisle asked.

"Security. We were known for being the best at protection. Everyone on the island knew we were who you wanted to guard something. Whether it was a noble from another country, priceless treasure, or a common thief, we were the ones to call upon to handle it. Through many generations, we watched over the island, and were praised for our loyalty and commitment. It was more then we could have asked for, and we were grateful to everyone who had faith and believed in us.

"Then, when he was at the fine age of thirty five, Joseph fathered a single child, a boy, that he named Laurent." His voice grew darker when he said his name, and to me, it was understandable, for he had told me this story before, and I could tell that having to tell it again only increased his fury and desire to kill Laurent.

"Laurent grew into a fine young man and was one of our clan's best when it came to security. He was known far and wide for his cunning and smooth talk. If you wanted to get information from someone, he was who you would contact.

"As the years went on, it soon became time for my great, great, great grandfather to choose someone to take his place as the head of the family and the family business, as his time was short. After many months of deliberation, he chose Jeremiah to take his place. Everyone was happy, and believed that he'd made the right chose. Even his brother Joseph was happy and told his father that Jeremiah was the perfect chose, and that he would indeed lead the family to true greatness. Everyone, except Laurent. Everyone in the family knew that he secretly resented the fact that his uncle was chosen over his family to be head of the clan. He believed that his father deserved it because they worked so hard to protect everyone, and that they deserved the respect more than he did.

"Some started to worry that Laurent would leave the family and try to start his own organization. Other's worried about his loyalty, fearing that the lust for power would overcome him, causing him to try to do anything he could to convince the rest of the family that Jeremiah wasn't worthy of the position. But Jeremiah feared not. He had faith that his nephew would stand by him and his brother and lead the family in the proper ways necessary.

"One day, while on a security mission to spy on a group of criminal bank robbers, Joseph was captured, and killed. This devastating lose to the family was hard not only to Jeremiah, but mostly to Laurent. He was angry that Jeremiah had sent his own brother on a spying mission, calming that Jeremiah wanted to be rid of Joseph. This not only angered the family, it pained Jeremiah.

"'You actually believe that I would purposely send my own brother to his doom?' He shouted, slamming his fist down on his desk before bringing his eyes up to look at his nephew who was breathing in and out heavily with nothing but pure anger in his eyes.

"'What other reason could there be for sending someone so important to the family then to remove him from ever trying to take his rightful place as the head?' he retorted, causing an angry silence to fall over them and the other who had witnessed the exchange.

"'Your father was indeed a noble and very important part of this family. Yes, he could have been chosen instead of me, but he wasn't. He also could have held a grudge for it, but didn't. He took on his duties as second in command with honor and ride, and what do you do? You taunt his death and sacrifice by disrespecting his wish for you to take his place!'

"Laurent was shocked to hear this. He had never known that his father wanted to make him second in command. 'That makes no sense. The only way for me to become second in command is by his death! Do you expect me to believe that he gave his life for me to take his place!'

"'No. He did not intend for it to happen this way. He approached me many weeks ago, asking me to allow you to take his spot as second in command. I was ready to deny him, when he explained to me that he believed that this would not only help restore the family's faith in you, but also help you to gain the power and respect that you truly desired. He was proud of you, and said that he would gladly step down to allow you this. We were preparing for this when we were summoned about the robbers. He voluntarily took the job, saying that it was an easy mission, but that the robbers were very experienced, and that it was better safe than sorry. Unfortunately, the robbers got wind of our plan, and were ready for him.

"'I…can not believe it. He really had that much faith in me that he was ready to step down and allow me to be second in command.' He said, eyes closed as he tried to hold back his tears. 'Thank you father. I shan't disappoint you.'

"Things calmed down for a while, and soon, they were better than ever. Laurent stepped up, and took control of his duties as second in command with great pride and enthusiasm. All thoughts of him betraying the family were gone and everyone had a new found faith in him. But soon, our new found peace came to an end.

"Soon, a new group came around, and they started drug trafficking through Jamaica. This caused a great stir of panic throughout the country, and we were soon called upon to investigate. Laurent was called upon to lead the investigation the trafficking, and was told to find a way to put a stop to it. He agreed without a second thought, and took to it immediately. But soon, weeks went by without any change. People started to question the effectiveness of our family. Laurent calmed that he was trying his best, but that they were coming up with almost nothing and that when they were able to stop trafficking in an area, they would just resurface again not long after. Jeremiah warned him that if he wasn't able to get this under better control, he was going to take him off the case, and assign someone older and more skilled to it.

"Not long after, Jeremiah was assassinated. It was a great tragedy, and worried many of the people in the country. Because he had no children at the time, that left the duty of being head of the clan to the second in command, or Laurent. He was more than willing to take on the responsibility of being head of the family even though he was only recently made the age of twenty eight, making him one of the youngest head's of our clan in the history of our people.

"Many people believed that Laurent had planned it all. That he secretly still wanted to be head of the clan, and planned to have Jeremiah assassinated. Others calmed he did it himself, while others still, calmed that it was the action of angry criminals that our family had taken down before or even the drug traffickers, wanting to put an end to us by taking out the head of our family.

"Once he was in control, Laurent changed things around that he calmed were for the better, when they were only better for him, and not the family. He lessened the rate of our activity, allowing more and more drug trafficking to go on in our country. He had made a deal with the drug lord, telling him that we wouldn't interfere with them so long as we received a portion of the money. He gladly agreed, stating that doing business with them was the best decision for the country.

"Some of the family fell in proudly behind Laurent, saying that power was always a good thing, and that with him, it was guaranteed. Others were disgusted by this, calming that he had taken all that our ancestors had worked so hard for, and destroyed it in an instant. Laurent laughed at them, stating that he was destined to become the head of the family. 'You know, it really is too bad that Jeremiah didn't have any children to carry on his part of the bloodline. They would have made a very good bunch of followers with mine being the head of the clan of course.'

"The people of Jamaica soon became furious with us, disowning us, calling us traitors; saying that we were just crooks from the start. Laurent didn't care about our family's reputation, now that he had the power he always dreamed of. He had all the power he needed and was in with the drug lord, expanding his power beyond the country. It got to the point that the people in Jamaica were starting an uprising against our clan, taking their anger out on all of us for what he did.

"The remaining family members who hadn't joined Laurent's rein had band together, deciding it was best to leave before things got out of hand. They soon fled, hoping to one day return to their home land. Eventually, the families spread out across the country, and mine happened to end up in Seattle. As you can see, it ends with me." He finished, a bit of sorrow in his voice as he thought about returning to Jamaica one day, hoping that his family will be forgiven for what Laurent did.

"We aren't exactly sure what became of Laurent. We figured that, he eventually died, and all that stayed to follow him, followed suit. Or that's what I thought before I became a vampire." He growled.

"What do you mean?" Bella asked.

"Like I said before, my creator was different then Bree's, but she was created by the same person, that Victoria chick. They were told that they were not to attempt to create their own vampires, though she and Riley didn't actually believe that they would have the strength to resist the taste of human blood enough to actually do so. When they found out about me, they were furious, and nearly killed her on the spot. Luckily, she convinced them that if she was given the chance, she could convince me to join them, stating that a bigger coven was better and stronger, especially considering how often we lost a member anyway. Riley seemed to think that it was a fair enough point to leave her alive, but Victoria wasn't as convinced."

"I see. So, is that how she was killed, your creator?" Carlisle asked, a hint of empathy in his voice.

Mike chuckled a little as he smiled a sad smile at the memory. "No. Victoria said that she was to bring me to them when I awoke, and then, she would pass judgment onto us. She said that she'd best hope that she was in a forgiving mood or that I be useful, or else, it was going to be the end for us both. When I had finally woken up, and was brought to them, Victoria was stunned. She stared for a moment, before asking me my name.

"'Michael Taggeston.' I said as she slowly moved toward me. Something inside me told me to run or to fight back, but I was told earlier not to make any sudden movements, for it could cost me my life. I watched as she looked at my face, my features, almost as if she was comparing me to someone.

"'Taggeston, huh?' she asked, turning around and walking away with a smile on her face. 'Do you know of a man named, Laurent?' When she spoke his name, nothing but pure shame and anger coursed through my body. I punched the stone pillar next to me, putting a giant hole in it, and nearly causing the overpass above us to fall.

"'Yea, I know of the bastard who cause my family nothing but shame and pain. The same bastard that forced us to flee our home and tarnished the name Taggeston. Why do you care?'

"'Because young one, I know of him. He's a close, how should I put this…associate, of mine.' She said with that same twistedly pleased smile on her face.

"'What! That bastard is still alive! I'll kill him!' I roared in pure anger of the thought of the one person who was the cause for all of the things gone wrong with my family still walking this Earth, living a carefree life no doubt.

"'Hmm. Interesting. Well I can see that she,' she said, pointing to the girl who created me, 'clearly cares a great deal about you; enough that she would risk her life for you. And I can see the blood lust for revenge, pure in your eyes. Stay, help us, and in return, I will help you fing Laurent.'

"The thought of getting the revenge for my family on that bastard ran cold through my veins. I didn't really want to stay with them, but I didn't want to abandon my friend. She and Bree, whom she had told me was also there, where the only ones I had left. I knew that I couldn't go back to my old life. That wasn't possible. But being able to get revenge for my family, not matter what the cost; that was more than enough to put an evil, twisted smile on my face as well. Now that Victoria's dead though," he sighed, closing his eyes while gripping his fists angrily, "it's going to be a lot hard, if not impossible, to find him."

"No, it won't." Edward spoke.

"What do you mean? Do you know where he is?" Mike asked, excitedly.

"Well…he, Victoria, and her mate, James, came through here a while back. That's when I was first attacked by a vampire." Bella said, shifting uncomfortably next to him while rubbing her arm over what seemed to be a crescent shaped mark. It looked oddly familiar, almost like a bite mark. "After we killed James, Victoria swore revenge on us; determined to kill me and make Edward feel the pain she felt when her mate was killed. That's why you were created." She said, looking at me for a couple of seconds, pausing. "I'm sorry. I'm sure you must me pretty upset."

I shook my head, and smiled a bit. "No. it's not your fault that she was a psycho bitch. Besides, my life was kinda crappy anyway. Becoming a vampire is the highlight of my fifteen years of existence. She and Riley made that a big deal when we hunted; only hunt those who no one would miss. People who are not important or have a pathetic life."

"Sorry to break up the little love connection, but can we get back to Laurent!" Mike interrupted.

"Asshole." I whispered, knowing he could hear me. He rolled his eyes, and waited for someone to continue.

"Right, so, anyway, a couple months after my eighteenth birthday and after everyone here had left, I went into the forest and was in a field Edward and I used to go to, and I ran into him there. He said Victoria had sent him to see if the Cullens where still here and still protecting me. He had gone to live with some other vampires we know in Alaska. He said that he was hungry, and that I looked and smelled delicious. He said, she wanted to kill me slowly, painfully…" she stopped, shuddering on the thought of being hurt and killed my Victoria. I could relate. Even though she's dead, the thought of her looming over us, and controlling Riley, was a bit nerve racking. It also brought up a vivid thought of how Diego must have felt and looked like as she killed him; breaking him apart, piece by piece. It brought the pain of his death back into me, and if I could, I'd have a few silent tears falling down my face. But sadly, my eyes stung with none existent tears.

"He said, he'd make it quick, and painless. I knew there was no reason to try and run or fight, so I stood there, letting what I thought would be my last few memories flow. As he was about to strike, he turned and was staring down an army of wolves the size of full grown human men."

"You mean the ones who were here earlier and were helping fight off the rest of our coven?" Mike asked.

"Yes. They chased him down, and…killed Laurent." She finished.

"So, he's dead?" Mike asked for conformation. Bella nodded. "Wow. I can't believe it." he said, looking at the ground.

I placed my hand on his arm, trying to consul him as best I could. This was all he talked about for the past two months; killing Laurent, getting revenge for his family. I can't imagine how he must feel, knowing that the only thing he wanted to do with his eternal life, was taken away before he even got a chance to pursue it. "Mike…" I started, "I am so sorry tha-"

"Sorry! For what? He asked, completely confused. "I'm happy as hell!" he cheered.

"What?" now I was really confused. "I thought all you wanted was to get the chance to face him and get revenge for your family?"

"I did. But now that I know he's dead and that I won't have to waste my time searching for him, I couldn't be happier! I only wish I could have been there to watch it all happen." He said as a huge smile spread across his face.

I shook my head and smiled. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Speaking of the wolves," Carlisle said, removing himself from Esme's side, "I should get to La Push and check up on Jacob's condition. Edward, take Bella home. It's been a long day." Edward nodded and turned them toward the direction that I'm guessing was her home. "Emmett, Jasper, I want you two to take these two hunting. I'm sure you can handle it." they both nodded. "I'll be back soon." He said before he disappeared into the forest."

"So, do we get to meet these wolves?" Mike asked excitedly.

"Um…maybe. But I gotta warn ya, there not exactly vampire friendly." The big guy, whom I'm assuming is Emmett since I obviously know who Jasper is, said with a low laugh.

"Oh. Ok. So, where we hunting?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Right here." He said, opening his arms and spinning around a little.

"The forest? Um, I don't really think that there are going to be many people in the forest." Mike said as he looked around. Apparently, they found this funny because both he and Jasper were laughing. "What?"

"We don't drink human blood." Jasper said, suddenly turning serious.

"Then what the hell do you drink?" Mike asked.

"Animal's blood." Emmett said with a big smile.

"WHAT!" I shouted.

To Be Continued….