"I don't want to hang out with you guys anymore," Emmett whispered as he glared at Serafina as she glared back.
"Do you think I want to be here? Shut the fuck up and do your job," she whispered back angrily.
Both were waiting in the garage for Rosalie to return from getting some additional items she needed to fix her car. They tried to keep their complaints quiet to avoid hurting her feelings. But neither of them wanted to be there. Rosalie used them, but they couldn't say no because they felt bad. They knew how much she loved the car, but they got bored very quickly, and when they tried to joke around, Rosalie would scold them for not taking it seriously. So they let themselves be used. Emmett was her lift, while Serafina was her torch.
"Why don't the others ever have to fucking help?" Emmett whined.
"Because those fucking cheaters bolt before my baby is ready to start her day! I bet Alice is getting visions to warn her and Jazz, and that fucking eavesdropper listens in so he can sneak away too!" Serafina complained.
"Well, you're her mate. Why can't you bail when you know she will want to work on the car? You should know by now how to tell when she'll want to," Emmett asked in confusion.
"Because she's my baby. She needs my help. I'm out of luck either way," she grumbled, "I guess it's love." She sighed dramatically as she rolled her eyes. But she couldn't help a small smirk that crept up on her face as she said it.
"Oh fuck you," Emmett laughed.
They continued complaining and joking and soon heard Rosalie return from the store with Esme. Rosalie raced to the garage to meet them, "thank you guys!" she smiled, "I think this is pretty much it. We should be able to finish the repairs today!" she said excitedly.
"That's great, mi amor!" Serafina smiled.
Esme then walked into the garage just behind her, "I hope you two got the f-word out of your system while we were out. I warned you before that you two need to cut back on it. I don't want to hear any of that shit while I'm here." She winked with a grin as she walked into the house. Emmett gaped at her receding figure while Serafina shook her head in amazement. Rosalie just laughed at the two of them.
Esme had finally had enough of the two of them swearing so much. Emmett would work Serafina's temper up to the point where she would start swearing, but the swearing would soon turn into Spanish swearing. This was his goal. He wanted to learn to swear in Spanish, but Jasper and Serafina refused to teach him, knowing he couldn't hold back. He had finally managed to annoy her so much that the two had gotten into a swearing match and were heard by Esme, who rescinded their swearing privileges. She now stated she would limit them to a handful a day. Emmett was resentful. In his opinion, she was ruining his chances to learn Spanish.
The two continued to joke while assisting Rosalie when needed. By the end of the afternoon, they had finished putting the car together, and Rosalie managed to start it up. After months of studying and working on the car, Rosalie fixed it. The others had all shown up for her success. They all clapped as she excitedly jumped out of the car after driving it around the driveway and threw herself into Serafina's arms. Never able to keep her excitement to herself.
Emmett cleared his throat exaggeratedly as he held his arms open with a large grin. The two women looked at him as he waved them over to himself. He was signaling them to embrace himself too.
Rosalie slightly moved about to head over to him but felt a pinch to her waist that pulled her back. She pretended not to feel anything but looked at Serafina as they had a brief conversation with their eyes. Both women held each other, and while Serafina brought her face closer to Rosalie's neck to hide in her hair, she kept her eyes on Emmett as she tried to hide her grin. The other Cullens held back their chuckles, curious about what they were doing.
Rosalie then gave Emmett a perfunctory nod, "Thanks, Em!" Then she gripped Serafina tighter, pretending he wasn't there, as Serafina shoved her face into her shoulder to stop herself from laughing.
Emmett's face dropped. He was about to whine when Rosalie finally gave in and started laughing. She then walked over and dragged Serafina so the two could hug Emmett briefly, "Thank you! I appreciate it. You were much more helpful than others who shall remain nameless." She said, and the three glared obviously at the other Cullen teens.
"We gave moral support," Jasper smiled, "One could argue that our positive thinkin' put it all together."
"It's always a matter of positive thinking," Alice agreed, nodding seriously in agreement with Jasper.
"You have to be present to give moral support," Carlisle said off-handedly as he and Esme walked toward the house, both snickering to themselves. He put his hand on Rosalie's shoulder as he walked by, "I'm very proud of you, young lady. You said you'd fix it, and you did. And it's impressive. Coat of paint, and it'll look brand new. Let me know if you want any help with that."
"Thanks, Carlisle!" Rosalie said with her chin slightly lifted, proud of herself as well.
"We can handle that ourselves, right, Rosalie?" Esme asked, giving her a look as though Carlisle's offer was a joke, "We've been getting everything in town together for the repairs. We've got this."
"You just help with the shopping part. We were here doing the hard work," Emmett mumbled. He looked at Serafina as though looking for support. Serafina looked at him wide-eyed and shook her head nervously as she stepped away from him.
"What was that, Em?" Esme asked with a raised brow as she sped over to him to put her hand on his shoulder.
"Nothing! I didn't say anything," Emmett jumped.
"Right," Esme grinned. She patted his cheek before she returned to Carlisle's side.
"I'll go with you two when you go for the paint!" Alice happily offered.
"No!" Emmett shot down her offer, offended.
Serafina smacked him, "I think that's a great idea!" she began.
Edward's brows furrowed as he tried to walk away, but Serafina quickly grabbed his arm.
"You know, fixing the car should be a family thing," Serafina continued. Edward struggled but couldn't pull her off, "It's almost done. Maybe Alice, Jasper, and our good old fuchi-faced Edward here can help. I know Emmett and I have been hogging all of Rosa's time with this. It'll let you all spend time together too." She said as she wrapped her arm around Edward's shoulder.
"No," Edward said as he kept trying to escape her grip.
"I think that's a great idea!" Carlisle said with a smile. Unsure why Serafina was pushing it but not seeing anything wrong with it.
"Sounds like a good idea to me, too," Esme shrugged, "Family time is good. Just let me know when you're ready." She informed Rosalie as they continued toward the front door. Esme suddenly turned, "And Rosie, I still think we need to follow through with that other thing we discussed in the car."
Rosalie nodded in thanks to the last thing Esme said. She turned to her two helpers, "You guys are okay with this?" Rosalie asked Serafina and Emmett. Emmett looked at Serafina with confusion.
Serafina smiled as she pushed Edward away from herself, causing a glare to be aimed at her from him, "Of course, hermosa! They need to earn their car rides anyways, right?" She said, making her way over to embrace Rosalie. She pushed some of her blond hair behind her ear and kissed her quickly, "Em and I'll leave you guys to go over the paint job plans."
Jasper was pretty confused at Serafina's gloating emotions. He looked toward Alice, who also shrugged. They then turned to Edward, who seemed very upset, "You'll see." He scowled as Rosalie grabbed him and Alice and pulled them into the garage. Jasper followed.
Serafina and Emmett managed to run away. It wasn't until they were far away that Serafina began laughing. Emmett finally had a chance to ask, "Why do you want them to get some credit for helping with the car now? They didn't do anything! It's done!" he complained.
"Do you not know Rosa?" she asked. He just shrugged, "She's such a perfectionist; it will take her forever to get the paint right. She'll probably yell at them a lot. At least Edward."
"Yes! Good idea! So what are we going to do now?" Emmett asked.
"You can do whatever you want. I'm going for a walk," she answered as she began to walk away.
He began to follow her. She rolled her eyes as she heard him lumbering behind her. She decided to ignore him as she continued her walk north. She didn't realize where she was walking. It was almost as if she were on autopilot. She was heading to the cave she had gone to when hungry before.
"This is boring," Emmett complained. Waking Serafina from her daze. She looked back at him, "Let's race! I'll race you to the next lake!" he said excitedly, walking just behind her to her left.
Serafina was now more conscious of her surroundings. She looked back at him, "Where is the nearest lake?"
"No idea. I say we keep going straight and see what happens," he said, pointing straight ahead from their current direction, "and stop when we hit the water."
"I don't like to run," Serafina answered.
"You're no fun, come on! Please? If you win, I won't speak unless spoken to for a week," Emmett offered.
"What if you win," Serafina questioned.
"I get why you want to know," he nodded, "I'm more than likely going to win after all."
Serafina rolled her eyes again. She couldn't help it when she was around the Cullens. Everyone got to her in one way or another, "Right, well?"
"Bragging rights. And I think you should teach me Spanish." Emmett said.
"Spanish or Spanish swear words?" Serafina asked.
"Swear words," Emmett admitted.
"Deal," Serafina agreed. She may not have been as fast as Edward, but she was faster than Emmett. Most of the Cullens were. The slowest in the bunch were Emmett and, surprisingly, Alice. Emmett was more than likely due to his large frame. His muscle mass slowed him down. And Serafina thought Alice was slower because of her more petite frame. She had shorter legs, after all. She never thought she would lose this race. She just wanted a moment of peace, so she agreed.
The two raced in the direction Emmett had pointed in. Serafina had left him in the dust until they reached the lake. Emmett huffed as he angrily approached, where she casually leaned against a tree at an overlook above the lake. She gave him a condescending grin.
"See you," Serafina grinned and waved as she began to leave.
"Fine! But!" he began, immediately standing before her.
"No! No buts! A deal's a deal!" Serafina sidestepped him as she continued.
"Wait, wait, wait! Let's be serious. I have one question for you, and then a deal's a deal," he said. His grin was gone as he looked at her with worry. Serafina looked at him in confusion.
"Why were you going to the cave?" Emmett asked.
"I wasn't," she quickly retorted.
"You were," he answered, "Rosie said you go there when you're hungry. Jazz said you might go there to vent your fire. Edward thinks you haven't been feeling well and thinking about blood a lot. And Alice has been seeing you surrounded by flames more often than not in her visions. Carlisle and Esme are worried. They think I don't pay attention, but I do. Which is it? Why do you want to go there?"
Serafina averted her eyes. She felt guilty. She was making them worry again when she was trying not to.
"When's my intervention?" she sighed.
"Before, it was probably going to be after the paint job. They wanted to see if you felt better after Rosie finished the car. They hoped her happiness would help you since it usually does." Emmett told her. He walked into the tree line, dragged a large log over, dropped it for a good lake view, and sat down. He then patted the seat next to himself so Serafina could sit with him.
"You ever feel like the animal blood isn't enough?" Serafina asked.
"No, I make sure to fill up when I feed. Wait, are you hungry? We can go hunting right now. I think there was a herd of deer a couple of miles back," he said, gesturing with his thumb over his shoulder behind them.
"No, that's not it. I don't know how to describe it," she sighed frustratedly.
"You tell Rosie?" he asked.
"I don't want her to worry," she answered.
"Oh yeah, you're doing a bang-up job with that," he said sarcastically. He then looked at her, "She's gonna be mad when she finds out you've been keeping whatever this is to yourself."
Serafina knew he was right. She was probably going to get an earful already. She had sensed Rosalie's approach since they made it to the lake. Since the bond was completed, it was much easier to perceive and find each other now. On the other hand, Emmett only sensed her after he said that.
Emmett quickly turned around to see Rosalie coming out of the forest. He stood and smiled, "Hey, Rosie! Your lady here admitted to feeling weird lately and was heading to the cave." He said quickly, jumping to avoid the smack Serafina was about to send him, and made his way around Rosalie, "but a deal's a deal. See you guys later!" he said as he quickly ran away.
"I knew it," Rosalie said incredulously.
"It's not that bad," Serafina soothed.
"Why can't you tell me these things? I knew something was wrong, but I didn't know what. I don't want you to hurt. I will do anything and everything to try to help you. You can count on me. Trust me," She said, taking Emmett's prior spot to sit next to Serafina and grabbing her hand.
"I didn't want you to worry. It's not that bad," Serafina repeated. She smiled at her and brought a soft kiss to her lips. She lingered and looked Rosalie in her eyes.
Rosalie was a bit dizzy after the kiss but noticed something she hadn't noticed before. She quickly snapped out of it and grabbed Serafina's jaw to hold her steady.
"Mi amor, you haven't been this aggressive before. What is the word? Dominant? I like it, but are you sure you're okay with doing this here?" Serafina's eyes sparkled with excitement, but she noticed Rosalie wasn't listening to her words. She was staring at her eyes.
"We need to see Carlisle," she finally said.
"Well, that killed the mood," Serafina grumbled—a look of disgust now on her face.
It was only then Rosalie noticed what was said. She gave Serafina a small shove, "Stop, this is serious. I think something is wrong." She said worriedly.
The two ran back, and the other Cullens seemed to have been waiting with Emmett. When he saw Serafina, he made a zipping motion over his mouth.
"Can we make this a permanent thing?" Edward asked, gesturing to Emmett.
"No! He's so boring this way!" Alice quickly interjected.
"I can go either way," Jasper said.
"I agree with Alice. Things aren't as lively as usual this way," Esme added.
Carlisle smiled at their interaction but noticed Rosalie wasn't even paying attention as she quickly walked over to him, dragging Serafina behind. Emmett had already told them that Serafina admitted to not feeling well when he asked. He knew Rosalie would ask. It seemed she may have already figured something out. He watched her as she approached him and waited for her to speak.
"Carlisle, look at her eyes, please. Do you notice anything?" Rosalie asked.
"Come to my study, please," he said. He was gesturing for them to walk in front of him.
They made their way to his study and left the door open. It wasn't that Serafina was nervous anymore. It was just that they knew the others were curious and would want to know what was happening.
Carlisle had her sit so he could look into her eyes. He looked surprised and looked at Rosalie. She knew he saw what she saw, "When was the last time you fed?" he asked curiously.
"Two weeks ago," Rosalie said with her arms crossed. She was standing right beside her.
Serafina felt like a patient going through a consultation with her doctor. She smiled to herself as she realized that was precisely what was happening. Her dutiful wife was going through it all with her.
"Do you remember when her eyes went fully gold?" He continued to question.
Rosalie was ready. She knew everything about her mate now. At least, she hoped she did. She answered quickly, "4 months ago. It took longer than the rest of us because she doesn't need to eat as often as we do."
Carlisle nodded in understanding, then looked at Serafina, "And how are you feeling?"
"Like I'm not full," Serafina answered.
"Like you're hungry?" Carlisle asked.
"No, I'm not hungry. But I feel like I'm not full. Like I'm missing something. And whatever is missing, I need it. It burns more than usual," she admitted, avoiding Rosalie's eye. Rosalie walked over and began to rub her back. She tried to be brave but was nervous inside.
"You mentioned before that you always have a bit of pain from the fire, but it's manageable when you're full and after you've released the fire. When was the last time you let out your fire?" Carlisle asked. He was already taking notes as he sat in his chair opposite them.
"She and Emmett demolished the kitchen two weeks ago. It was around the time she fed, remember?" Esme called out from the living room.
"That's right," Carlisle nodded, only now remembering.
"That was all Emmett's fault," Serafina said as she sat in her seat. She never changed her face.
Emmett scoffed from the living room as he repeatedly shook his head.
The other teens chuckled. They remembered what had happened at that time. Another case of Emmett annoying Serafina. He had burst into their bedroom to see if they wanted to play tag with him and the others and nearly saw Rosalie naked. Serafina managed to cover Rosalie in time, who was incredibly embarrassed. She didn't want to fool around with the family nearby, but Serafina had talked her into it since the parents were out. Serafina had convinced her that they wouldn't know if they kept quiet. Before anything good happened, it was ruined by Emmett.
In anger, Serafina chased him into the kitchen, throwing fireball after fireball. Not actually wanting to literally kill him but still needing to vent. He had managed to dodge, but the wall was destroyed. The other teens were waiting in the forest and didn't know what was happening inside. Esme was in town at the time with Carlisle. They had no one there to stop them. When Rosalie calmed down from embarrassment and went down to see what had happened, the wall separating the living room from the kitchen was missing altogether. Rosalie gasped, grabbing the attention of the two. But it was too late. That was when Esme entered.
Both had their ears pinched as they were dragged into time out by Esme, who looked like she might have a heart attack when she saw the damage. When she questioned the two, Serafina righteously pointed at Emmett and blamed him. Emmett was just as unbelieving of her throwing the blame at him at that time as he was now. How could she think anyone would believe that? The edges were still smoking. But she never once admitted fault for it. And if anyone were to look at the two, they would believe her. He was so upset. But the family still knew better, and the two were both punished.
It did give Esme a new hobby, though. She enjoyed remodeling the damaged spaces. She began to study more about architecture afterward.
Even Carlisle couldn't hold back his chuckles after hearing the teen's laughter.
"Carlisle! It's not hunger, and it's not her need to vent. What's wrong with her?" Rosalie asked impatiently.
"What do you guys keep talking about? What can you see?" Serafina finally asked. She was curious about what they saw that was causing them to worry.
Carlisle reached into a drawer and found a mirror, handing it to her. She began to look at herself when Carlisle started speaking up, "You always had an orange ring around your pupil when you used your fire. Or when you were angry. And you're angry a lot. The orange would take up most of your iris when you were hungry. But your irises managed to turn gold with the diet. It made the orange less noticeable than when they were red. I think that's why we didn't notice it before. But this is still different than before."
Serafina noticed her eyes had a strange starburst effect of the orange invading the gold. She hadn't seen that before. But it did look like she was getting hungry since it still took up most of her eyes. She didn't feel hungry, though. Just incomplete.
Carlisle frowned as he was in thought.
"Do you want us to clear out while you test your theory?" Edward asked.
"Please," Carlisle answered.
Rosalie refused to leave Serafina, but Carlisle told her it might be tricky. Serafina reassured her that she would be fine. That she trusted Carlisle.
"So, doc, what's wrong with me?" Serafina asked.
"You said you don't feel hungry, but not full either. Your eyes look like you're hungry too, but they still don't look how they did before when you were hungry. I think you might be hungry for human blood," Carlisle answered.
"No, I can get by with animal blood. My eyes turned gold. I'm fine," she argued.
"Perhaps I should be more clear. I believe the fire inside you might be hungry for human blood. I think it's also letting you know about it by making you uncomfortable," Carlisle explained.
"Well, then, I guess I'm out of luck. You guys said I can't go out killing people anymore. So, I have to live with it," she shrugged. Brows furrowed in annoyance.
"You don't have to kill people for human blood," he said as he walked over to a painting Serafina always thought was odd. He pulled it off the wall, but behind it was a safe. The thief in her became interested immediately. When he opened it, it was cooled inside like a refrigerator. It probably was, and he pulled out a blood bag, "I'll be honest. I've been bringing a bag regularly in case you or Jasper ever had an incident where you might attack a human. This way, I could distract you with it to allow the others to save the human. I return it before it expires, hoping it can still be used when switching it out for another," He said.
She was confused and looked at him questioningly.
"It's not that I didn't trust you two. It was just a safety precaution. I planned on keeping it up until you both managed to stay gold for a year. It obviously won't be as much as you used to drink before. I think this will be just enough to satisfy the fire," he explained.
Serafina was hesitant. But cut the tube on top and quickly drank the blood. The taste was so good. Just as good as she remembered. But this wasn't enough, at least for herself. But she noticed a long-lost satisfaction creep over her as she emptied it. She felt complete. The pain subsided.
"Destroy the remnants, please," Carlisle stated.
She quickly complied. Knowing he wanted all temptation removed from the home. The two confirmed it was clear, and the family returned. Rosalie was immediately at Serafina's side again, holding her cheek to look into her eyes.
"It worked!" she exclaimed with a smile.
Carlisle also moved over to look, "Her eyes are still gold. The orange is gone, though. It seems enough to feed the fire but not taint her diet." He said, "I'd like to keep you under observation to ensure everything is alright."
"You're going to keep an eye on me?" she asked, not liking the sound of that.
"Not me," he said with a smile to Rosalie, "I know she's more interested in cars now, but her studies in medicine were going well before. I'm sure she can keep an eye on you for me. And you two always know I'll be here to help if you need me."
"Thank you!" Rosalie said as she pulled Serafina out of the room.
The others were curious if there were still signs of the strangeness Carlisle and Rosalie were discussing with Serafina's eyes. But didn't see anything. But they didn't care. They were just happy Serafina was alright. They then began to mock Emmett while never actually directing any of the conversations to him so he wouldn't be able to speak. Annoying Emmett to no end. But putting the other teens in a good mood. Making it a very fun end of the day for them.