Turn Scars to Stars [2]

Emmett vs. Paul

Rain tapped steadily against the wide windows of the living room. Mel chose to be productive during the dreary Saturday by reading a novel to de-stress and learn more about Greek Mythology.

The front door slammed, causing Mel to jump in fright at the sudden loud noise. She nearly ripped the page of her book between her fingers.

"That idiot wolf!" Emmett snarled.

Mel rose to her feet instantly with a worried frown on her face. Which idiot wolf? She set down The Lightning Thief on the dark oak coffee table and padded in her socks to the foyer.

"I had her, dammit! She was in my grasp." The muscular vampire slammed his hands against the tall entry table by the door; it cracked and crumbled.

Mel caught sight of his coal black eyes and stopped herself from getting too close.

Rosalie, noticing Mel hesitating in the doorway, hurried over to her and stood as a protective barrier between her sister and her husband.

"Em," the golden-haired vampire warned. Her cold hand grasped Mel's.

"This could have been ended once and for all." Emmett swore and continued to rage until Carlisle stepped inside the mansion to see his foyer full of mayhem.

"Emmett, outside! Go hunt and cool off," Carlisle ordered his son. "Now."

Emmett fumed in place a moment longer, then spun on his heel and stormed off into the night.

Wide-eyed and terrified, Mel looked at Rosalie and Carlisle.

"What the hell happened out there?!"

Mel knew that her family, sans Edward who was still in Florida with Bella, had hurriedly gone out to chase down a nomad vampire who had trespassed. She didn't understand how her teddy bear of a brother would get so worked up over that.

"A misunderstanding," Alice answered, brushing it off like nothing as she came through the front door with Jasper in tow. The atmosphere became less tense as a wave of calm swept the room.

"What wolf did you see?" The knot in her stomach would not be put to rest by Jasper's ability.

"It wasn't Seth," Alice assured before flitting away.

"That wasn't my question!" Mel yelled after her pixie sister. She was relieved by that revelation, yet no where near satisfied.

With a comforting smile, Jasper gently brushed his knuckles under Mel's chin as he passed her and Rosalie to follow his wife.

Esme entered the front of the house with a frown on her heart-shaped face. She slipped her hand into Carlisle's.

"Someone should go after him," Esme said, worry lining her words as she spoke of her son. "Emmett's impulsive and childish, especially when worked up like this. I don't want him to take any chances with the wolves."

Rosalie sighed and released Mel's hand. "I'll knock some sense into him." She left the house to follow Emmett's trail of deforestation.

~*~

The line rang three times before a warm voice answered. "Mel, hi! Are you alright?" Seth sounded as if he was jogging because of the wind fighting his voice for dominance through the speaker.

"Hi, yeah. I'm okay, but uh, are you busy?" Mel flipped idly through the pages of her current mythical book.

"Heading to a pack meeting, but I can talk. What's wrong?"

"Oh, I was going to ask you what happened between my family and yours. Emmett was furious when he came home, and Alice said there had been a 'misunderstanding.' Are you all okay? What happened?"

"Paul's still raging, but we're fine." He launched into an explanation: "There were three wolves out patrolling, just the usual routine around the lands. Then Jacob came across a fresh trail, less than fifteen-minutes old. We were all called in to help chase after the vampire. She must have known about the treaty somehow, because she kept dancing back and forth over the line."

"Wait, wait. This vampire lady. Did she have crazy red hair?" Mel asked with a anxious feeling balling up in her stomach. Her hands stopped moving through the crisp pages as she held her breath.

"Yes. Red hair, red eyes."

"Victoria," Mel breathed. "She really is back already." The nomad that her family had been chasing after was Victoria, the vengeful mate of James.

Alice's vision was starting to play out.

"You know her?" Seth's voice frosted over with worry.

"My family had a run in with her in the past," Mel hedged. She didn't want to rehash the gory details from the disastrous thunderball game to almost dying in Arizona. "Did you get her?" Hope colored her tone.

"No, I was getting to that. Unfortunately, uh, Emmett lunged for her and crossed onto our lands." A gasp escaped Mel's lips. A breach in the treaty meant war. "Paul lost focus and freaked out at your brother breaking the treaty. Jasper used his calming power thing to ease the tension, and Carlisle convinced Sam that it was a mistake in the process of us all reaching the same goal. While we were disputing between ourselves though, the redhead managed to escape."

There was a shuffling sound and a door clicked closed before commotion filled the other line. Mel knew Seth had arrived at Emily's for the meeting, but she didn't want to stop talking with him so soon.

"Thank you for filling me in. After your meeting, do you maybe want to come over?" she asked. Mel had her senior project to finish, but she had been working on it with Esme all week.

Seth frowned, though Mel couldn't see it through the phone. "I doubt Sam will allow that after today. I may have to wait until things cool down between our families," he said regretfully.

"Oh."

"I'm so sorry, Mel." He didn't like making his imprint sad. "We could Skype tonight until you fall asleep, if you want?"

"Yes, please," Mel said quietly. "Have fun at your meeting."

"Mm, yeah. I'm sure I'll be constantly reminding them that the Cullens are part of my family now, so they need to tone it down." He laughed lightly, then sighed.

"I thought we were getting somewhere. When I was living in La Push, it seemed like things between our families would be okay... Do you think we'll have to start all over? Are they mad at me too?"

"They're not mad at you," Seth promised. "You had nothing to do with the treaty the first time around or now. No one got hurt on either side, and that's what matters. I've got to go; Sam's starting the meeting. I'll talk with you tonight, okay?"

"Okay, bye." 

Mel hung up and cried out in frustration. At first, she wasn't sure who she was most mad at: Paul for overreacting or Emmett for being careless, but then she realized that all of it happened because of Victoria.

One thing had led to another. Victoria was angry because of the murder of James, but James was dead because of his desire to hunt Bella... But Mel couldn't blame Bella for her human blood attracting the hunter.

Gah! The youngest Cullen clutched her pounding head. She needed Tylenol and a nap.