Transmute | Emmett Cullen

2. Shifters and Vampires

There were two of them. The one closest to me, just a few feet, was slimmer than the other – less muscular and less burly. He had an unusual shade to his hair, one I haven't seen before: bronze. His hair was untidy. And though he was handsome, he posed a very real threat to me. Vampires and shifters didn't always mix.

The second was obviously the stronger one. He was burly with thickly muscled arms and a certain way his mouth set into a frown. The dark curly hair atop his head was disheveled, as if he'd been running his hands through it too many times.

Growling louder, I tried to back up a little. The distance between us was far too little for my liking.

The bronze-haired one held up his hands in a surrender-like stance. It took me a minute to register the look on his face. It wasn't filled with irritation, anger or anything that said he was here to attack me. Simply put, he looked curious and maybe even eager. The second one looked bored, like had better things to do.

The bronze one noticed my confusion and spoke gently. "It's all right. We aren't here to hurt you. Promise. I'm just... curious."

I could only stare at him. What did he mean, curious? Vampires aren't curious. They're murderous.

"We aren't," he said, answering the thoughts inside my head. Growling again, I snapped at him. He needed to keep his distance. As he took a steps back, he spoke, "I'm sorry – I don't mean to frighten you, honestly. I can read minds. We don't mean you any harm."

You can read minds?

He nodded his head, the smile on his face growing.

Then tell me. Why were you watching me sleep?

"My brother and I-"

Wait a minute. Brother?

He almost rolled his eyes. "There's seven of us total in our coven. We're like a family, and so Emmett here," he paused to slap a hand over the burly one's back, "is like my brother. We were on our way back from hunting when we spotted you. You made me curious because of your interesting dreams."

When he mentioned hunting, I couldn't help but imagine the two of them with their mouths closed over a human's throat. A shudder ran through me. The image in my head made me tremble in anger. But, I remembered they have gold eyes, quite unlike the rest of the vampires.

"Yes, we're different from others. We feed on animals instead. It's what gives us the different eye color," he answered.

Once he told me this, I felt myself physically relax. I dropped the defensive position and sat down. My eyes flickered to the burly one, Emmett. He looked irritated.

A corner of the guy's mouth lifted slightly. "Yes, well, he's a tad annoyed right now. He's tired of hearing one side of the conversation and is wondering why you won't shift into your human form."

If I was in my human form, I would have been blushing twenty shades of red. Almost immediately I was on four paws and snarling at Emmett. There was a line of profanities in my head.

His eyes widened at my reaction and from my thoughts. Rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably, he apologized quietly. And while I was forcing myself to calm down, the guy quickly explained to Emmett what happened – that I wasn't a threat and I was simply embarrassed.

In the midst of my reaction, Emmett ended up taking a defensive position as well.

Once he realized, he turned his head away and refused to meet my eyes.

Well, it's nice to, uh, meet you guys. But my guardian is going to be looking for me soon if I don't show up soon.

The bronze one nodded understandingly. "Well, I'm Edward. I'm assuming we'll run into you sooner or later."