EMMETT'S POV
"I won't let anything happen to her," I insisted, handing Esme back the first aid kit. She had tried to give it to me discreetly. Esme looked at Bella embarrassed, because she knew Bella was ashamed of her known clumsiness.
"You know how she is," whispered Esme to me. Bella looked at both of us, her face red. Carlisle, whose hearing was sharper than Bella's, chuckled.
"I don't try to get hurt all the time," Bella said.
"On second thought..." I grabbed the first aid kit and stuffed it into the already bulging bag.
"We'll be back before eight," I said to Carlisle and Esme. She was fussing over Bella.
"Oh, please, do take good care of yourself. Bella. Emmett can get...enthusiastic on hikes. He doesn't know how much you can take, so any time you need a break, tell him. We don't want to send you back to Chief Swan in bad condition."
"I know she's not a camel, of course she'll need to stop for a drink and food," I laughed and rolled my eyes. "Don't worry, she'll be fine."
Before Esme could make any more protests, I looked at Carlisle and gave him a pleading look.
"Esme, she'll be fine. She's in good hands," he said to her. Esme looked at me and smiled gently.
"I know, Emmett, I'm sorry. It's just I wouldn't want her to wind up staying in bed for the rest of the vacation. We have so much more time here."
"Okay, okay, bye now," I said, rushing Bella out the door before Esme could change her mind.
"Why are we taking so much food? We're not going hiking for a month. I don't eat that much," Bella asked, offense clearly in her voice.
"You'll see. Ready?" I asked.
"For what? You don't expect me to think you're going to carry that heavy bag and me? That thing is as big as my laundry bag!" I looked at her amused.
"Bella. Vampire, remember? Unhuman strength. Plus, this is me we're talking about. Not only tall, handsome, and muscular, but strongest." I tried to make her laugh as I pointed at myself.
"Okay, okay, I get it." She climbed onto my back when I kneeled down. I wrapped the strap of the bag around my arm so I could hold onto Bella's legs. "Ready."
She wrapped her arms around my neck. I smiled as it brought back memories of last night.
"Hold on tight," I said as I ran towards the trees. The animals that came out at night were different than in the morning.
"So where exactly are we going?" she asked again.
"I have a nice day planned out. But first I want you to meet two of my friends." I ran around and past trees, making sure not to pass any low branches that could hit Bella.
"How do all these animals survive while you guys are gone?" she asked. I wasn't sure if she was genuinely curious or didn't want any awkward silences.
"Well, I won't lie and say that most of them are just for 'decoration.' When we can't find a good hunt or our favorite animal we hunt down the ones here. That means we have to make sure they're healthy so we have to bring animals that they can hunt. And just like humans and vampires, they have sexual desires, so they mate and reproduce. If we kill one, chances are there will be others. So we don't really worry if we hunt one or two on our visits." I paused and adjusted the bag. I had slowed down, but my pace was still faster than a human's. "We all brought our favorite animal here, except for mountain lions. They're way too dangerous for the other animals."
"Interesting," she said. I noticed she had stiffened when I mentioned vampires having sexual desires.
"Here we are." I began to slow down, then stopped right at the foot of the small cave I had made for the cubs. I made sure Bella had her feet planted firmly on the ground before putting the bag next to her, then got down on all fours to look into the small cave.
They weren't there. Maybe the hole I'd made went deeper than I thought. I stuck my head in . Bella giggled.
"Emmett, what are you doing?" she asked. I realized how stupid I must look with my head and shoulders in the cubs' home. Her voice was faint and created a small echo with the walls of the rock. I crawled back out and saw that Bella had opened up the bag to set out the blanket I had brought.
She sat down and pulled out the small Tupperware container in which I'd packed lasagna, one of many things I'd brought along. I watched as she took a bite of it, closed her eyes, and smiled.
"Mmm. This is good, Em."
"There's a lot more in there," I said, looking around for the cubs. "Where are they?"
"Who are you looking for?" Her gaze shifted to something behind me, and her eyes widened. I turned to see what she was looking at, guessing maybe one of the panthers or other wild animals had
smelled the food and come.
But instead I saw the small cubs sniffing the air. They'd smelled the food, alright.
"OH, EMMETT! THEY'RE ADORABLE!" she exclaimed.
"There you guys are!" I said, walking to them, but they ran past me and towards Bella.
"Aww, they're hungry." She petted one; they both fought over whose face would dig into the container first.
"Hey! Hey, hey, guys, no! That's Bella's. I brought you guys your own food." I knelt down on the blanket and reached into the bag to pull out some of the ham I had packed. Bella giggled as the cubs ran towards me and snatched the whole bag of ham.
"Wow, they're really hungry," she said. I chuckled as I watched them scurry off to eat.
"They forgot their honey," I said and pulled out a small container I had poured it into.
BELLA'S POV
"So did you bring me all the way out here to show me bears?" I asked. "Not that I don't like them or anything like that."
"Yes, Bella. I brought you all the way out here to stare at bears for hours and hours," Emmett grinned.
"Really? Well, I was going to say I've been seeing this one bear around for a while now." I smiled at him mischievously.
"Are you calling me a bear?" he asked.
"Perhaps," I said, watching him crawl on all fours growling. I watched as the two small cubs popped their heads out from between the bushes, curious. Emmett turned to look at them and growled again. I assumed they would run away in fear, but they charged right at him instead, roaring back.
"Oh, shit," said Emmett, surprised at their attack. He sat back quickly in a speed that not only surprised me, but the cubs as well. They scurried away again.
"Awww, looks like Emmett the big bear is scared of his little cubby friends," I said in a baby voice. He got on all fours again and growled at me. The sight of it made me giggle.
"You think this is funny, huh?" he said. And then he pounced, which made me scream and fall back. I felt his hand catch the back my head before it hit the ground.
"Rawr." He made a face at mine. I continued to laugh so hard that I could feel myself getting hot and my stomach was beginning to hurt.
"Ow," I said in between laughs, as I grabbed my sides. When I finally managed to control myself, I looked up at Emmett. "What?" I smiled and watched him study my face.
"Your face is red."
"Oh." I felt embarrassed. Again, I was so human.
"You look beautiful," said Emmett. I snorted.
"You're married to Rosalie. She's the beautiful one." I waited for his response, but he was silent, which I understood to mean that he did think Rosalie was prettier. It made me feel self-conscience; I knew I wasn't nearly as pretty as Rosalie, but no girl ever wants to hear an agreement on something like that, even if they know it's true. Finally his face lit up with a smile.
"Can I ask you a question?" I asked him slowly, still hurt. He nodded, his eyes focused on my neck. I could see his jaw tighten as he swallowed hard.
"If I accepted…would you bite me?" I asked him. He looked away from my neck to my eyes and paused.
"No."
When he said this, I felt an overwhelming serenity come over me; I felt secure and safe.
He was close enough for me to smell, that thrilling, dangerous, controlling sweetness. All I wanted to do was kiss him again. I licked my bottom lip.
"Why not?" I asked. Wild ideas ran through my mind, things I knew wouldn't, couldn't happen with Emmett. But even this knowledge couldn't keep me from getting excited, like I had with Edward last night.
"Why would you want to become one of us?" he asked. I could hear the curiosity burning in his question.
"I'd be beautiful, strong, and able to live a long life with you guys." He looked away, thoughtful.
"You have your own beauty to me, Bella. And without a doubt for Edward as well." I thought back to my thoughts about Rosalie. So maybe he didn't she was more beautiful, just beautiful in a different way.
"Like?" I asked, looking at his lips. I could feel my eyes narrowing slightly. He reached out to touch my neck with his cold hand, and I shuddered. I bared my neck to him even more without it even registering in my mind.
"Every single pulse and heartbeat that sounds through your body makes you beautiful. The fact that I can see every, single, enticing vein that carries a sweet flow of blood through your every limb, and the way every second draws you closer to a new age makes you...irresistable. You blush when you're embarrassed and your cheeks get rosy when you run out of breath. You're so fragile among a group of vampires with superhuman strength that we have to be aware all the time. The way you accept us so easily...really, I can go on and on."
The entire time he spoke, his voice grew softer and he came closer to my face. He ran his hand back and forth on my neck. I closed my eyes, and then felt his cold lips on my neck.
"Mmm," I let out. "Can I ask you another question?" He adjusted his position so he could look in my face, and brushed some of my stray hairs away.
"Anything."
EMMETT'S POV
I waited for Bella to ask me her question.
"You smell so sweet to me." She paused, and I smiled at her uncertainty.
"Is that your question?"
"No…I know vampires smell sweeter to us. But you...your smell is hypnotizing. You smell sweeter to me than Edward ever did."
I froze…had I heard her right? I felt my eyebrows narrow in surprise.
"Did you just say I smell sweeter to you than Edward ever did?"
She nodded. I got up from on top of her and sat on the ground next to us. My mind wandered off to a past memory:
Rosalie, the beautiful angel who saved me...a conversation I had with her after…after the day I had my first hunt...
"EMMETT, STOP! PLEASE STOP! YOU'RE JUST HURTING YOURSELF MORE!" begged Rosalie as she pinned me against the side of a tree. I struggled to push her off. I wanted her to let me go so I could run far away and die.
She only held on to me harder.
"Emmett, please." My beautiful angel's soft, pleading voice took away the last of my strength. I stopped trying to break away from her strong hold and looked up to the dark sky. The back of my head scraped against the tree trunk.
I could still smell the sweet blood on my clothes.
I swallowed hard and felt that distant, familiar feeling well up, but something inside of me had been lost. I wanted to cry, but I couldn't remember how to anymore.
"I couldn't help it, Rose! I just couldn't." I hung my head in defeat and self-loathing.
"I know. Oh, Emmett, I'm so sorry. I wasn't fast enough. I couldn't smell her as quickly as you did. Your senses are more sensitive than mine right now."
I banged my head back into the tree, making a loud thud.
I closed my eyes. I could still picture her. The tiny little human girl with golden curls. I had been so strong, and for the first time since my transformation, Rosalie had agreed to take me back out into the world, even if that meant the woods behind our home.
It had all been amazing. I was able to hear every single sound, from hearing the bee miles away, to smelling the nectar in a flower a city away. I was still like a newborn, so alert and easily startled by loud noises. I had yet to get used to these new sharp senses.
Rosalie thought it would be safe to start out in the woods. What she didn't plan on was the little girl who had became separated from her family...
"WOOOOO!" I howled, as I jumped from one tree to the other. I could hear Rosalie laughing from down below. I looked down at her and smiled. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen; I couldn't believe how lucky I had been to have my angel save me. I continued to jump from tree to tree, going further and further away from Rose.
Then I heard someone crying. I turned towards that direction without waiting for Rosalie. I still had human instincts; I heard crying and I wanted to help. I ran towards the cry and stopped on a tree branch right above a child.
"Moooommy!" screamed the little girl into the woods. Tears streaked her face, and she looked around in terror. She was wearing little black boots and brown shorts. Her black tank top had a butterfly on it, and her top was wrinkled and dirty. She'd been lost for a while. She had blond hair that fell around her face in tight curls. I looked down at her, intrigued. It had been such a long time since I'd seen a human.
"Why are you crying?" I asked from the tree. The little girl snapped her head up and squinted to see me even as the sun was hitting her face. Her round, blue eyes were red and watery, but when she saw me she gasped. Her mouth hung slightly open.
"Are you my guardian angel?" she asked, amazed. I gave her an odd look…her guardian angel?
"No." She stared at me a little longer.
"You're so beautiful," She sniffed through her tears. I looked down at myself and saw the sun hitting my skin. Of course I looked like an angel. I was sparkling. "Please help me find my mommy."
"What's your name?" I called down.
"Megan…I just want my mommy." She started crying again.
"How old are you?" I asked, curious.
"Seven."
I decided I'd jump down to get a closer look. When I landed, the little girl jumped back, frightened at the sudden and quick movement, and she fell. She gave a small yelp of pain.
"Ow." She lifted up her arm, and I could see a small cut on her elbow.
And then I smelled it. I inhaled hard, closing my eyes to take in the tempting scent. Her blood smelled so sweet I could almost taste it.
My mouth watered. I exhaled sharply, and opened my eyes. I vaguely remember trying to resist, and in the split second I allowed myself to think, "Maybe..." I gave up every last ounce of humanity. I pounced at her, and she gave one last frightened scream.
I lost it.
I swiftly dug my fangs right into her small neck. Her blood streamed into my mouth like a fountain. I could hear her gasping for air, struggling, thrashing around. I snapped her neck with my fangs still in her...
"Emmett, you couldn't help yourself. It's not your fault. It's who you are now. You just have to learn how to resist." Rosalie had tried to comfort me.
"How did you do it?" I was absolutely disgusted with myself. How could I have done that to anyone, much less such a beautiful little girl?
"Did what?" She tried to caress my face, but I shook her off.
"How did you save me? Didn't the blood make you hungry? How did you control this...appetite?" She loosened her grip on me and came closer.
"I smelled you from a distance. A female always becomes intrigued by the man she feels she's destined to be with. I had never smelled anything like you...your blood was so tempting to me. You were an object I wanted to keep, just for me. Only for me." She smiled gently...
I snapped back to the present. Bella was staring at me, worried.
"Are you okay?" she asked. I nodded and told her what Rosalie had said to me, leaving the young girl out.
"But I'm not a vampire."
"No, but I am. Maybe it worked the other way around with you. I mean, you're not exactly like other humans. There's something special about you. We can all feel it." She paused to think it over.
"Does that mean I'm...destined to be with you?"
I was silent.
"I…" But I couldn't think of any words to follow.