LEGO HOUSE

eighteen.          our list

▬▬ THERE WERE FOUR OF THEM, each one looking more smug than the next. Demetri and Felix, the muscle. Alec, who looked no older than thirteen. Then there was Jane, leading them in the absence of their kings. Cori swallowed the lump in her throat and gripped Emmett's hand a little tighter as she shuffled closer to him. All four came to a stop not far from the Cullens and removed their hoods, the fire crackling next to them.

"Impressive." Jane mused, but her tone was flat. "I've never seen a coven escape an assault of this magnitude intact."

"We were lucky." Carlisle replied simply.

"I doubt that."

"It appears we missed an entertaining fight." Alec mused.

"Yes, it's not often we're rendered unnecessary." Jane added.

"If you'd arrived a half hour ago, you would've fulfilled your purpose." Edward muttered, and Cori was slightly shocked by the bitterness in his tone.

"Pity." Jane stated, though there was nothing sincere about the word. Her crimson eyes scanned the group before her, she took note of the fact that Cori was now a vampire before her eyes settled on a new face - one even Cori had yet to notice. "You missed one." Jasper moved to the girl's side protectively.

"We offered her asylum in exchange for her surrender." Carlisle informed the young blonde.

"That wasn't yours to offer." Jane told him before settling her eyes on the confused girl. "Why did you come?" But before the girl could answer she was screaming in pain as she hit the ground and Cori flinched, leaning into Emmett's side as her hand tightened around his. "Who created you?" She asked, not letting up on the searing pain that shot through the girl.

"You don't need to do that," Esme stepped forward, her big heart getting the better of her. "She'll tell you anything you wanna know.

A sick smirk pulled at Jane's lips and she stopped torturing the girl. "I know." She hummed and the girl stopped screaming.

She panted a little, choking out her response, "I don't know! Riley wouldn't tell us. He said our thoughts weren't safe."

"Her name was Victoria," Edward told her, a bite in his tone. "Perhaps you knew her."

"Edward," Carlisle jumped in. "-if the Volturi had knowledge of Victoria, they would've stopped her. Isn't that right, Jane?"

But they all knew she was lying as she answered, "Of course." A moment passed then she turned her head to the side just a little. "Felix." The name nothing more than a command and he took a step, only for Esme to intervene.

"She didn't know what she was doing." She told them, pleading for the girl's life and Jane held her arm out, stopping the big vampire. "We'll take responsibility for her."

"Give her a chance." Carlisle tried, but he knew it was futile.

"The Volturi don't give second chances." Jane stated, her tone firm as her eyes moved to Edward and Bella. "Keep that in mind. Caius will be interested to know that she's still human."

"The date is set." Bella told her.

"Very well." She hummed, her red eyes moving to Cori. "At least one of you has kept good on your promise. Aro will be pleased to hear of your newborn status." Emmett tugged on her arm, stepping in front of her and Jane smirked at the small action before she moved on. "Take care of that, Felix. I'd like to go home."

The big vampire moved again, stalking towards the girl on the ground and no one made a move to stop him, they all knew it would only cause more trouble. Cori tucked her face into Emmett's side, her hands fisting around his shirt as he tucked his nose into her hair and wrapped his arms around her. Felix easily lifted the girl up and in a swift move, her head rolled across the grass.

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▬▬ CORI HAD HER EYES closed as she laid on the forest floor, her hands behind her head as a sort of pillow and a dead bear to her side. Emmett chuckled as he neared her, but he didn't question it. He simply sank to the ground next to her, one arm behind his head as he crossed his ankles.

Cori smiled a little, her head lulling to the side so her temple just barely rested against his shoulder as his hand took up residence on her thigh.

"Edward told me why she did it, why she made you wreck." He stated, his voice quiet and she took a breath but didn't speak. "She wanted to turn you, use you against Bella. We got to you before she could." Still, she didn't say a word, only opening her eyes to look up at the unusually blue sky through the trees. He could tell that just the thought bugged her, "You were amazing today." He decided to change the subject.

She let out a soft chuckle. "Embry was pushed into me and I turned into a wolf."

"Yeah, and you saved my ass." He squeezed her thigh a little and she moved her head to look over at him.

"I went on a rampage."

"A rampage that saved a few of us." He nodded. "Just accept that you're a badass." He nudged her a little and she let out a soft sigh.

"Fine. I'm a badass." She hummed, a smile pulling at her lips.

"Damn right, you are." He rolled, holding himself over her and she giggled as she moved her hands to the sides of his face. "I love you." He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers.

"I love you." She mumbled against his lips and he grinned before rolling them over, she let out a soft giggle as she straddled his waist. He sat up, kissing her jaw and down her neck as he slipped his hands under her shirt. She laughed as she gripped his wrists. "We are not having sex in the woods."

He stuck out his bottom lip. "Why not?" He tried to move his hands but she held them in place. "I wanna see if we can add a tree to our list."

"Our list?" She raised an eyebrow and he nodded his head, a proud smile on his face.

"Our list of things we've broken."

"Oh God." She muttered, her eyes closed as she shook her head but the smile never left her face. "You're crazy." She rested her forehead against his, letting go of his wrists and wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

"Crazy for you."

"And cheesy." She giggled, toying with the hair at the nape of his neck.

"You love it."

She hummed, leaning forward to press her lips against his. "I do. But we're still not having sex in the woods."

He let out a breathy chuckle, but didn't argue. "Then can we go home?"

"Your house is full of vampires who can hear us, and Travis already has enough to bug me about for all of eternity. And even if my house is empty, my room is still a disaster from last time."

"Right." He nodded his head then he leaned forward and kissed her cheek. "That's it. We're moving out."

"What?" She giggled, her eyes wide.

"I need more time alone with you." He mumbled, pecking her lips. "And I need you naked."

"I think both of those can be arranged." She hummed, ghosting her lips over his and when she pulled back, his grip on her waist tightened and he pulled her across his lap, pressing his lips firmly against hers in a bruising kiss. "Sex in the woods sounds a little more appealing." She mumbled and he chuckled as he quickly jumped to his feet, the girl still in his arms then her back was against the biggest tree he could find. He pressed himself against her as she tugged him closer, their tongues locked in heated battle for dominance, which stopped when the sound of wood splitting echoed around them.

"The list grows." He mused and she rolled her eyes, a smile on her lips as she pulled him back to her. Not caring that they were, in fact, about to have sex in the woods.