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They emerged from the trees swiftly and gracefully. They had a small distance between them but they stood proudly as they walked side by side. The dark male in the middle walked slightly in front of the other two and I assumed he was the leader. The blonde male beside him walked arrogantly as his hand grasped the woman's. Her red hair frizzed out in the breeze and it only made her wild ensemble look untamable.
They walked closer together as they cautiously approached us, seeming to respect that they weren't on their land. As they reached us, I could see how they differentiated from the Cullens. Their stride was similar to that of an animal predator and their eyes were a deep red. Their clothes were frayed and riddled with dirt and their feet were bare. Their keen eyes took in the more polished of the vampires as Carlisle faced them. He stepped towards them carefully as Jasper and Dominic flanked him protectively.
The dark-skinned and haired man stepped towards Carlisle as a smile etched itself onto his face. His smile held an eerie charm to it and I held in a shiver as I looked at him. "We thought we heard a game." His voice unnerved me and I squeezed Emmett's hand tighter. "I am Laurent," he motioned to himself. "And this is James and Victoria." He gestured to the two smirking vampires behind him.
"I'm Carlisle," Carlisle returned the introductions. "This is my family. Esme, Jasper, Alice, Dominic, Rosalie, Edward, Bella, Emmett, and Clary." He motioned to each of us and Laurent observed each of us as he spoke. "We maintain a permanent residence nearby."
"Permanent?" Laurent asked with a small laugh. "How do you manage that?"
"Stealthily," Carlisle answered simply. "Your arrival however has caused a bit of an uproar for us."
"I apologize, James tends to have fun with his food," James smirked at us as Laurent spoke of him.
"The hunters were tracking us east, you should be safe," Victoria commented and I had to glance away from her as her voice echoed.
"Well thank you." Carlisle tried to be friendly.
"Perhaps you could use a few more players?" Laurent asked sociably.
"Sure, a few of us were leaving anyway." Carlisle smiled slightly. He turned and nodded to us and Emmett pulled me closer to him as he walked backward. We had barely made it a few steps away when I felt a breeze rustle my blonde hair. I glanced nervously at Bella as the breeze did the same to her.
"You brought a snack," James spoke eerily. His eyes had darkened and he narrowed his gaze on Bella and me. The others snapped to attention and Emmett crouched in front of me protectively.
"The girls are with us." Carlisle tried to speak calmly.
"The humans?" Laurent asked in disbelief.
"Yes," Emmett growled out. James turned to him with a wide smirk on his face before his eyes met mine. He slowly straightened his body out of its crouch but his eyes never left mine. Well, they did, but only to glance at Bella.
