Vanity and Patience: A Rosalie Hale & Emmett Cullen Story

Chapter 12: Reluctant Hero

The orange glow of the setting sun lined the unforgivable cloud-speckled sky, which now seemed to stare down at me, complacent and unhelpful. The uninviting bumpy surface beneath me was cold, slick and covered with snow, rocks, and dirt. Sticks and leaves were poking through my attire and tearing the fabric of my favorite silk blouse as I fought the demon attacking me. Sheer terror and panic resonated deep within my soul as everything around me seemed to spin in chaotic disarray, my limbs reactively trembling beyond control.

Like a dog, Viktor snaked his foul tongue out of his mouth and ran it from my neck to my ear in one long stroke. I quivered in disgust, squirming and struggling underneath him to be free of his weight and the tight hold he had on my wrists. In theory, he was still stronger than most vampires even though his first year was closing in on him. I was not strong enough to get this newborn off of me.

Newborn. At the term, Emmett's face invaded my mind again in seconds. Where was he? I was in a panic that he was nowhere to be seen. I had to find a way to get out of this and began to resent that Emmett was not around to help. Could he not hear my struggle? Surely this man would be match for him. Did he not care to rescue me?

My mind could not linger anymore on a single thought. I refused to let this happen to me another time. After the occurrence of that dreadful night in Rochester, my self-preservation was one of my strongest assets. My mind was fast at work again as I searched for another tactic to get this man off of me, and then I found it. I saw that I was able to push my head up from my neck to curl inwards, making a mental calculation of my next move. In preternatural speed, I opened my mouth as wide as I could and leaned in to take a large chunk of his flesh from his neck. With my blade sharp teeth, I sunk deep into his neck until I shut my jaw, tearing the large piece off rapidly. A loud screeching sound of the tearing iron skin echoed in the distance. I growled loudly, spitting the vile flesh several feet to the side.

"You bitch!" he screamed in serious aching pain. He let go of my wrists, grabbing his neck.

At this point, I was able to kick him swiftly in his crotch and wiggle my way out from under him, scrambling to my feet and running toward the forest. Even as I fled at my fastest speed, I could still sense him trailing behind me.

Jumping onto me once again, his weight caused me to crash onto the rocks and leaves of the forest floor. He flipped me over with preternatural speed, and with his newborn strength pinned me once again against the ground.

"No!" I cried. "Get the hell off of me!"

He moved both of my wrists under one of his large hands and with his free hand punched me in the nose. Before I had time to even react to his blow to my nose, his hand furiously clawed at my face.

I screamed the center of my face and nose growing numb, the feel of his short nails digging into my flesh.

Within seconds, however, Viktor's head was abruptly lifted from me—an action I found out of place in his fight against me. I looked passed his wretched devil face to find the cause of his sudden distance from me, and my heart leaped out of my chest as a large and familiar body materialized above us.

Emmett.

He stood growling, his silhouette shaking angrily with the orange sunlight behind him as his large hand pulled Victor up by his ponytail. "I believe the lady said she doesn't want you," he snarled. Grabbing him by the shoulders, Emmett threw Viktor several feet away. Viktor landed with a thunderous thud on his back on the other side of the clearing.

My dead heart seemed to flutter, and my body and mind were instantly at ease. I gasped in relief, watching Emmett come to my rescue. I suddenly felt foolish for doubting him. My hand subconsciously covered my cheek, checking my already healing skin of its scratches left by Viktor's nails