𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐞

I refused to spend another moment without Isabella by my side. She was being weird for no reason. We both knew the Cullen's secret now, so there was no longer any reason for her to dodge me.

I knocked on her door two days after my date with Emmett. Her car was in the drive and Charlie went fishing with Henry and Billy, so it was the perfect opportunity for us to talk freely without anyone overhearing what they shouldn't overhear. I had texted her prior to showing up asking if we could talk and she said yes.

Bella answered the door after a moment and her eyes widened in surprise as she took me in. "Liv, I-uh, how are you?" She smiled awkwardly before letting me in.

"I'm fine, Is, how are you?" I asked, moving over to the couch where we each sat at one end of it.

"Good," She stared at me for a moment, not saying anything. She was twiddling her thumbs, looking uncomfortable and out of place. 

I let out a sigh, feeling bad for making her squirm. "Look, I'm not mad that you kept the Cullen's secret from me, okay? I understand why you couldn't tell me."

Bella let out a breath and I watched her face relax instantaneously. "Oh thank god, I was worried you were going to hate me. I swear I wanted to tell you, but Edward made me promise and Rosalie, well she's pretty scary so--"

I reached over and grabbed her hands in mine, "Is, it's fine, okay? The only part about it all that hurt was the fact that you were ignoring me, it felt like you were so wrapped up in Edward that you were going to allow his secret to ruin our friendship."

Bella shrugged, "I didn't know how to be around you without feeling guilty about lying."

I sighed and let go of her hands, "I guess I can understand that." It hurt that she felt so nonchalant about nearly breaking off our friendship. While I was upset and hurt by the distance she'd put between us, she was more focused on pleasing Edward than mending things with me.

Still, it wasn't worth dwindling on. We both knew the Cullen's secret, which meant there was now only one thing hidden between us--and unlike her I had no problem keeping a secret and still maintaining our friendship.

So, I pulled a smile and relaxed into the sofa, "so, tell me about Edward."

After spending the majority of the day with Bella, where she proceeded to give me the run down on all that had happened with her and Edward in the last month and a half--including how she found out about what he was; I was back home getting ready for another date with Emmett.

He'd texted me earlier saying he wanted to take me out and offered to meet me at the treaty line. It was going to be hard to make it to the treaty line without raising some red flags with Billy and, especially, Paul.

Paul has been all over me since last night when I came home late. He was waiting outside my house all angry, yelling at me for turning off my phone and not telling him where I'd been. When he asked why I smelled like vampire, I told him I was at Bella's house and since she's dating a vampire, that's probably where I got the smell from--he didn't believe me, of course. But, since he didn't have enough evidence to prove I was lying, he shut up.

Since then, though, he was following me everywhere, he even went as far as to sitting outside my house last night. And this morning we got into another fight when I tried to leave to Bella's house. So, I just knew this was going to prove difficult. 

Thankfully, when we talked a few days ago about vampires and shifters, he'd let it slip that he had to do patrol shifts, which he alternated with Sam and Jared. So, I planned on waiting for him to leave for his shift and then I'd go meet up with Emmett.

Emmett didn't say what we were doing tonight, just told me to dress warm and comfortable. So, I opted for leggings with a cropped tank top and a comfy green crew neck over it. I wore my hair in a high pony and decided to keep my makeup light-- just mascara and lip gloss.

I told Billy that Bella and I were going to see a movie in Port Angeles and that I wouldn't be back till late, if at all. He was okay with this and let me go with a quick 'be safe'. I waited by the door until Paul stalked toward the woods and only after ten minutes passed did I get in my car and drive toward the treaty line.

Emmett's white jeep was easy to spot among the overgrown foliage that surrounded either side of the road. He was parked in the exact pullout we'd agreed to meet, leaning on the side of the jeep waiting for me. My heart rate picked up as I spotted him, he was wearing a white tank with an unzipped grey jacket over it, giving me a perfect view of his chiseled frame.

I tried to cool the hormones that went rushing through my body whenever I saw him. Since we kissed yesterday all I'd been able to think about was doing more, I craved more. But I doubted that would be happening anytime soon.... Emmett seemed pretty certain that he could hurt me if we went farther and the man quite literally pledged to me that he'd never hurt me. 

I parked my car off to the side of the road and quickly hopped out. Even though I'd just seen him yesterday, it felt like too long. I'd barely slept last night, my mind too preoccupied with him. I was wearing a big smile as I walked up to Emmett, a smile that he quickly matched with his own dimpled grin. 

The magnet in my chest pulled me toward him, urging me to get closer. I wasted no time in wrapping my arms around his neck (I had to get up on my tip toes to do so) and placing a quick kiss to his lips, my entire body lighting up at the close proximity. 

I pulled away, falling back onto my heels. I gave Emmett a shy smile, "hi."

Emmett's hands had found their way to my waist during our embrace and he gave my hips a quick squeeze, "hey, princess. You look beautiful, as always." He gave me a quick wink and I blushed in response.

"Thank you," I let my hands fall from around his neck and rest over his large chest, mostly because I loved the feel of his muscles, god he was ripped. "So, what are we doing tonight?"

Emmett's grin grew, "we're going to play baseball." I went to open my mouth to ask more questions but he was quick, bending down to steal a kiss that left me breathless and dazed. Emmett pulled away and opened the passenger door for me, "come on, lets go. My family is waiting."

I'm sure my face was a blushing mess by now and I briefly cursed my pale skin as I moved to get into the jeep. By the time I was pulling the buckle across my lap, Emmett was already in his seat starting the jeep, which was slightly startling. It would definitely take some getting used to before I was completely at ease with his vampire abilities.

As Emmett pulled onto the road, driving in the opposite direction of La Push, he reached over and intertwined our fingers. It was such a simple action, but it had my heart beating into overdrive and I was suddenly worried my hand was clammy or something. But my thoughts were quickly cut off as I recalled what Bella had shared with me this morning.

"Is it hard for you?" I asked, breaking the comfortable silence in the car. Emmett glanced over at me with a confused look, waiting for me to continue. "My blood, I mean. Bella said that Edward has a very hard time not, well, eating her. Is it the same for you?" 

Emmett shook his head immediately, "no, your blood has no appeal to me."

I couldn't help it, I laughed lightly and feigned offense, teasing, "oh, so is my blood gross or something? Does it smell bad?"

Emmett laughed along with me, shaking his head, "No, it's not that." He paused for a moment and a look of contemplation crossed his face, like he was unsure of his next words. "Bella is Edward's blood singer, which means her blood is like a drug to him. Honestly, I have no idea how he manages to be in the same room as her.

"Blood singers are the most tempting to a vampire, usually they don't last very long in the same room. Most vampires kill there blood singer within seconds of catching their scent. Edward has incredible control when it comes to Bella for some reason."

I nodded in understanding, though I was slightly horrified for my best friend. Did she know that she was Edwards blood singer? And if so why in the hell was she putting herself that close to danger? 

"Wait, so why isn't my blood appealing then? Not that I want it to be, but is there something wrong with me? Is my blood like vampire repellent? Cause that sounds like a good defense mechanism."

Emmett chuckled from beside me, "no, your blood isn't vampire repellent."

I furrowed my brows in confusion, "just toward you then?" I asked as Emmett pulled the jeep to a stop. I didn't look at where we were, my eyes too focused on the vampire beside me.

"Sort of," Emmett scratched the back of his neck, "look, I didn't really want to tell you right away... I don't want to scare you off or anything."

Okay, now I was even more confused. "What do you mean?"

Emmett took a breath, his gaze focused out the windshield for a moment before he turned to me, "there's more to vampires then you know. We have soulmates," my breath caught in my chest as he spoke, unable to comprehend where he was going with this, "we only get one but, basically they become our whole world."

He was looking at me with so much emotion, his golden eyes bright as they looked into mine, "we'd do anything for our mate. It's a bond that's deeper than anything else, it's kind of hard to describe, but basically we can't do anything to hurt our mate, it would kill us if we did." 

I nodded slowly, my mouth suddenly very dry, "and what does this have to do with me?" My heart stilled in my chest, waiting for his answer.

"That's what you are to me, 'Livia. You're my mate and I've known it since I first laid eyes on you in that drugstore isle," Emmett stared at me anxiously, waiting for me to say something.

Suddenly it all made sense, the magnetic pull that I felt in my chest, the cosmic rush I got whenever he was around--the fact that my heart, body, and soul freaking screamed for him whenever he was away. I always thought it was weird that I felt so obsessed with him from the moment we met, but now it made sense. 

Part of me wanted to cry at the revelation, he was my soulmate. It was written in the stars that he was my perfect match, made just for me. How lucky was that? I didn't have to worry about whether or not he liked me or if I'd do something to scare him off... none of it mattered because he was already mine, and I was his. Completely and absolutely his.

I took a breath, my eyes wide, "wow," I breathed, unsure how to respond to this revelation, unsure how to process it fully.

Emmett's eyes widened and I could see the fear clearly etched there, "please don't freak out. And don't feel pressured  or--"

I cut his words short, my upper body jumping across the center console and sealing my lips to his. I poured every ounce of feeling into that kiss, everything I didn't know how to articulate properly and everything I wanted to show him. I kissed him deep and hard and it only took him a millisecond to reciprocate.

Knowing what it was between us just made the feelings all the more intense. The passion and spark between us and the way my skin lit up at his touch, it was all so much more now that I knew why it was happening--now that I knew about the connection we shared.

I pulled back only when my lungs were begging for air. I was breathless from our kiss and I could only smile up at Emmett as I took in the dazed look on his face and the lazy smile he wore as he looked down at me.

I brushed my thumb across the skin of his neck, where I was holding onto him, "it's okay, Em," the words slipped from my lips in a gentle whisper, afraid if I spoke louder I'd pop the bubble we were currently floating in. "I was actually starting to think I was crazy for how deeply I felt for you already, but it all makes sense now. It's insane but, so is you being a vampire."

Emmett lightly chuckled along with me, his features going soft as he looked at me. "Well, now that we've got that all cleared up, would you maybe want to make things official? I was going to ask you later but, since we're already talking about all this--"

"Yes," I cut off his rambling with a smile, "we can make it official." I placed a quick kiss to his lips before falling back in my seat with a wide grin. My cheeks were aching from all the smiling I'd done in the last two days, but I didn't mind one bit. Emmett Cullen was now officially my boyfriend and I wouldn't change a thing about it.