This was written for the HeroinExchange over on LiveJournal. My assignment was to write the story of Bella's transformation, especially the pain and the blood, and the first few days afterward in a realistic manner, all from Edward's point of view. I wound up focusing mostly on the transformation and how I imagine it could happen rather than the aftermath, but I still thought it turned out pretty well. Let me know if you enjoy it.
When He Bit Her
October 15 1:00 PM
Chief of Police Charlie Swan stood at the edge of the road, looking down at the car that had plowed through the trees and felt the first stirrings of unease. The glint of sun showed that the car was silver, a small silver sports car. "What kind of a car is it?" he barked at the deputy but before he could answer, the silver car exploded and the action at the top of the cliff increased ten-fold. The fire truck started pumping water down onto the fire and the ambulance men rushed down the side of the hill, hoping that someone may still be alive in the inferno. After a few minutes, when the worst of the chaos had died down, the deputy ran past Chief Swan and finally answered his question.
"It's a Volvo, Chief! A new one, I think. Two people in there, extra-crispy now!" He ran off to his car and Charlie gasped, leaning against his squad far for support. Was it possible? Could it be his Bella in there?
He made his way down the hill, praying that it was someone else, anyone else, who was driving this car besides his son-in-law of two months. He knew that it was selfish for him to think that way because someone loved the people in the car, whoever they were, but right now, he didn't care, as long as it wasn't Bella. When he saw the license plate, though, laying on the ground where the explosion had thrown it clear, he knew his worst fears were realized. Bella! He fell to his knees, cradling the license plate, and the entire world seemed to slip into slow motion. His daughter, his beautiful daughter, was dead!
October 15 7:00 AM
Bella moved against Edward in that sexy way she always did in the morning, her eyes opening slowly and focusing on his face. She smiled and Edward grinned back at her. Sleeping with her naked in his arms was one of the good benefits of marriage, and having her wake up naked in his arms was the best. "Good morning, Edward."
"Good morning, love." He kissed her gently and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing herself against him.
"What time do we need to get up this morning?"
"In an hour or so."
"Mmm. Should I go back to sleep? Or do you think we can occupy ourselves for an hour?" She batted her eyelashes at him, and he laughed outright, despite his anxiety about what the day would bring. If she wanted to make love again, he wouldn't complain. He wondered if she would want to, though, after last night. He had cooked her a fancy dinner, taking much more effort to prepare than the usual TV dinner she made for herself, but she deserved it. They had danced a bit together to the music on his CD player. They had taken a long hot bath together, kissing and laughing and joking and trying not to think about the next day. Then, he had taken her to bed and they had made love, slowly and thoroughly. She was the most fascinating creature on the planet, in his opinion, and she approached sex just like she did everything else. She was fearless, trusted him implicitly, and was willing to try anything. He had used every trick in his quickly-expanding repertoire to give her all the pleasure he could wring out of her. Finally, as she lay sweaty and panting in his arms, she had looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you, Edward. That was marvelous." She hadn't said anything about it being the last time or anything. She hadn't cried. She just snuggled with him like always, pulling his arms tightly around her, and falling to sleep almost instantly.
She grinned now, in that way that meant she was definitely up to it and he lifted the covers off her to let her slide out of bed and have her "human moment." She crawled back next to him a few minutes later, and Edward turned his thoughts toward the rest of the household, but no one was thinking about coming upstairs to their room at the time. They were all thinking about Bella, of course, but that was to be expected. It was going to be a busy day for all of them, a day when their lives would change permanently. His thoughts snapped back to his wife, as she pushed him over and straddled him, kissing her way down his chest. She had ways of making him stop thinking and he gladly surrendered to her seduction.
She had been right before their marriage when she said that they should try to have sex before she was changed. The first few times he had been terrified of hurting her and he still had to be extremely careful, but feeling her warmth beneath him, watching her skin flush, feeling her heart race as he pushed her over the edge (again) was the most erotic thing he could have ever imagined.
October 15 9:00 AM
Bella had showered and dressed in the outfit she had chosen the week before on a shopping trip with Alice. She was sitting comfortably at the kitchen table, drinking a glass of chocolate milk. Esme had made waffles and Bella had eaten as many as she possibly could. No one had to say anything about it being the last time. They all knew. Edward was keeping one eye on Bella, watching carefully for any signs that she wanted to change her mind and the other eye on Alice, to make sure that she still saw things playing out the way it was all planned. Bella seemed unaffected by the tension in the room and Edward wondered for the thousandth time today what she was thinking.
"So, when are we leaving?" she said brightly.
"I thought we could head out in a couple hours. It's not a very long drive."
"Not the way that your drive, Edward," she teased. "I am just waiting for the day when you get a speeding ticket – and don't say anything about your built-in radar detector, because you aren't always paying attention when I'm in the car."
"That's true. You do have a habit of distracting me." He kissed her warmly, pulling her close even though she smelled of maple syrup. "But you know I have excellent reflexes."
"Right. Well, I'm ready whenever you are." She pulled away and headed up the stairs. Edward just shook his head. He wondered if he ever would understand her, even after a couple hundred years or so. Probably not.
October 15 2:00 PM
Edward helped Bella out of the car that afternoon, guiding her wordlessly to the little bungalow he had reserved several days before. She was crying now, trying not to break down completely. The plan had worked as expected, and an hour ago, as they were starting on the road to Seattle, Charlie had been called to the scene of an accident. When the old chief of police had realized it was Edward's car, he had been too far away to hear Charlie's thoughts. Both Jasper and Alice had reported that he was crushed and that he had not even questioned whether it was Bella's burned body that had been taken to the funeral home. No autopsy was planned or anything which was a relief for Carlisle as falsifying those sorts of records could be difficult. Bella had started sobbing when Edward told her what Alice had said, and now he wasn't sure what to do. He had promised he wouldn't ask her again about stopping with their plan, but she seemed so devastated by Charlie's pain that he wondered if maybe she wouldn't want to go through with it.
"Bella, love, what can I do?"
"Just hold me for a minute, okay?" He pulled her close to him and settled her on his lap. Her sobs quieted after a while. "I feel so terrible for him having to go through this."
"I do, too." He wanted to say he was sorry about this, that it wasn't too late to go back, but he bit his tongue and just waited. She stirred and wiped her eyes.
"I'm ready, Edward. I'm ready to have you change me."
"We have to wait for Carlisle. He'll be here in a few minutes to give you the morphine."
"He's not going to be giving me morphine, Edward. Not at first. And I don't want to wait any longer."
"What?!" Edward put her onto the couch and stood up, staring down at her in shock. They had gone over the plans just the day before and he definitely remembered Carlisle talking about dosing her with the morphine before Edward bit her.
"I made him promise."
"Why would you do that?" He could hear his voice getting louder, and he took a deep breath, forcing himself to listen to her answer, crazy as he was sure her reasoning was.
"You would taste the morphine in my blood. I don't want you to have to taste it."
"Bella-"
"No. I can handle the first few minutes. Until you've finished all the bites."
"Bella, that's –"
"It's what I want, Edward. You only get to taste it once, and I want it to taste good to you. Not of morphine or anything else. Just me."
"But, Bella, knowing I'm hurting you – how can you expect me to enjoy it?"
"Maybe you won't. But you'll remember the taste forever. And I want it to be that way."
He knelt down near her and grabbed her hands. "You're insane, you know that?"
"Yeah. You've told me that before. But Carlisle said the first little while isn't too bad, really. I'll be all right." She touched his face. "It's the only thing I can offer you, Edward, that isn't already yours."
"You gave me everything I ever wanted when you married me." He bent and touched his forehead to hers. "Please, let Carlisle give you the morphine. I'm not sure I'll have the strength to –"
"Stop?"
"Start. Knowing you'll feel so much pain."
"You can. I trust you. And I trust you not to drink too much either." She smiled faintly, knowing that was something he worried about.
"You've always trusted me when you shouldn't have, Bella."
"And I've always been right, haven't I? Carlisle will be here soon. I want it to just be you and me, right now. Please?"
Edward picked her up carefully and carried her to the bedroom. The lights were low and the bed turned back. Alice had arranged the room for comfort and practicality earlier today and the sheets were the smoothest cotton she could find, the pillows soft as they cradled her body when he laid her down. There were luxurious towels near the bed with buckets of ice and pitchers water everywhere in case her throat needed soothing. Everything belonged to them, so that they could carry away the evidence of blood and leave the bungalow spotless. He looked down at her, wishing he could avoid the next three days and somehow just wake up miraculously on the other side of them, but knowing that he had to be with her for every minute of this. She was doing it for him, and everything she would feel, he would feel, too, as much as possible. He lay down next to her, stroking her arm carefully, willing her to know how much he loved her.
"I love you, Bella. I will love you forever."
"Yes. Forever. That's all I ask." She kissed him and then tilted her head a bit away from him, like she had this morning, and the song of her blood got louder, drowning out all of the other voices in his head.
He felt the venom rise in his throat, and he didn't fight to suppress it this time. Instead, he focused on the throb of her pulse, her smell, focused on the way her heartbeat was strong and steady under his hand. He let his craving for her, so long denied, come to the forefront of his mind and felt the excitement of the hunt push its way into his conscious thought. Human blood! Nectar to his starving soul! And this blood, this sweet, heady scent! How had he ever denied himself this pleasure? Why had he wanted to? He opened his mouth and breathed deeply, taking in the scent of her skin and her blood. He placed his mouth carefully on her jugular and bit down, sharply. Bella gave a little mew of surprise but he barely registered it. Blood filled his mouth quickly and he swallowed. It was as perfect as he knew it would be. He swallowed. Swallowed again. And again. He licked the wound then, pulling away, forcing himself away from the blood that still pooled there. He looked at her face. It was very white and her teeth were grinding together. He knew it was too late to stop now. The venom was in her bloodstream and the kindest thing he could do was finish what needed to be done.
He tilted her head the other direction and bent quickly to her neck again. This time, as he bit, he knew what to expect and he welcomed the rush of hot blood into his mouth. This was better than he ever could have imagined. Her heart was racing faster now because of her pain and he had to swallow quickly to keep up with the force of its spray. Four swallows was the amount Carlisle had told him to drink from her jugular vein and carotid arteries. But four was not enough, Edward realized. How could he stop? This was like cold water in a desert – he could never stop! On the sixth swallow, Bella's groan of pain hit him in the gut and he forced himself away from the fountain of blood. He pushed a towel against it and forced himself to look at her. He tried not to think about what he still had to do, but concentrated instead on her face. She tried to smile, but the agony was quickly becoming too much. Edward stretched his mind to see if he could find Carlisle nearby, but Bella gasped and he snapped back to the present moment. He picked up her right wrist, the light blue veins fluttering delicately under his fingers. "Oh, Bella!" He bit quickly into her flesh and she tried to pull her arm away. Two quick swallows and he moved to the other wrist, looking at the wedding ring on her finger as he held it up to his mouth. Her blood still filled his mouth with every bite and he swallowed it greedily, licking it where it spilled onto the sheets, jealous of the towels that absorbed the red liquid after he retreated from each bite.
Biting the femoral artery was probably the hardest for him. That is why Carlisle had insisted he save it for last. Biting the inside of her leg reminded him of their lovemaking, and he felt a dry sob in his throat as he bit carefully into the now-white skin of her thigh below the shorts she was wearing. She cried out, this time loudly, and the rapid, thready pulse he could feel there conveyed the level of agony that was quickly spreading through her body more thoroughly than her words every could have. He took three deep swallows, unable to deny himself that last pleasure, and then he pulled away, pressing yet another towel against the wound to stop the blood. He heard the door of the cottage open and Carlisle's presence intruded on the feeding instinct.
Carlisle's sharpened senses immediately registered the scent of blood and Edward felt the panic in his thoughts as he wondered why Edward had already started. As he entered the room and saw them on the bed, he calmed down. 'So, you started without me? She told you she didn't want the morphine? How much pain is she in? Have you finished?' Edward nodded sharply. He couldn't bite her again, although the plan had been for six bites in the beginning. Five would be enough. It would have to be.
"She needs the morphine. She's hurting a lot." He felt Bella's hand grasp his and he looked at her beloved face. She was sweating now but she shook her head.
"One more. You're supposed to do one more. Don't do the morphine yet." Her voice was low and Edward thought that if he weren't a vampire, he never would have heard her.
"I can't. I really –"
"Six bites. You're supposed to do six."
"I drank too much, Bella!" He tried to move away from her, but her hand tightened on his wrist, surprisingly strong.
"One more."
He glanced at Carlisle, who was preparing a syringe. Carlisle thought at him. 'I don't think she has lost too much blood, Edward. Bite her the last time so she can relax and I can give her the drug. Then she can sleep tonight. It's a mercy for her.' Edward felt a little awkward as he bent toward her inner thigh on the other leg as it was a position a lover would assume, usually not in front of an audience. But Carlisle looked away and Edward bit for the last time into her warm artery, feeling the still-strong spurt of blood into his mouth. Three deep swallows again and Bella pulled away from his teeth. He raised his head and Carlisle nodded. 'Good. You've done it, Edward. The rest is up to her.' Another towel covered the bite mark, and Edward leaned away from her as Carlisle pushed the needle into her upper arm.
"Here you go, Bella. This will help."
"It hurts! It burns! Oh, Edward, make it stop!" and he felt his stomach plunge in fear of the next three days. She lay there, paler than ever, her blood surrounding her on the sheets and the towels, thrashing in her agony, calling out to him.
"I'm here, Bella! I'm here." He lay down next to her again, trying to hold her as close as he could. Carlisle slid an IV needle into the crook of her elbow, efficiently ignoring her protests and struggles. He set up the drip for later and then started checking her wounds. They were still bleeding a little but he moved the towels aside and wiped them with a warm cloth. Edward watched the drops of blood but resisted the temptation to lick them. He had the taste of her fixed in his mind. If he tasted her now, he would taste the morphine and he didn't want that. She didn't either. He felt a rush of gratitude for her selflessness. She had truly given him a gift beyond compare.
Again, Carlisle's thoughts came at Edward as he cleaned the wounds. 'The bites are deep and clean. The venom is spreading rapidly and hopefully by morning her skin will be healing. You did a good job. This will be as quick as possible.'
"Edward!" she screamed again and then the morphine must have kicked in because she immediately went limp and like a rag doll dropped to the floor, she collapsed onto the pillows. She wasn't exactly asleep. Her eyes were moving behind her lids and she was agitated, but she didn't seem to be in pain, and she didn't respond to either Edward or Carlisle when they spoke to her.
'Let's clean up the bed. You hold her, but be careful of that IV.' Edward lifted her carefully into his arms. She seemed lighter somehow, even more delicate than usual. Carlisle gathered the bloody towels together quickly, placing them into a bag he had brought for the purpose from the hospital. He then changed the sheets with speed and efficiency that surprised Edward. He was pretty sure the nurses usually did that sort of duty, but it was obvious Carlisle had taken his turn more than a few times. The bloody sheets went in with the bloody towels, and Edward swallowed the venom that rose in his throat as the scent of her blood wafted past him again. 'Put her back down. Over here more so that you can lay next to her. That will help her feel better when the pain gets to be too much.'
"I thought we were going to keep her unconscious?"
'Not for 72 hours! That could kill her before she finishes changing. She'll be conscious most of the time, just hopefully not in agony.' Edward felt another spurt of dread. 'Don't worry. She'll do fine. You're what she really wants, you know, not the drugs. I'm going to call Esme and let her know that things are going well and see what's happening at home. I'll be in the other room if you need me.'
Three Days
The cycle of pain and relief afforded through the IV stopped after the first day, but Carlisle admitted to Edward that they were trying something new here. There had never been guarantees. The morphine had no effect after that, and although she was well into the process of changing, her pain had not abated. In fact, it seemed to be worse. Edward was beside himself with guilt and worry. Alice had reassured him that everything turned out fine in the end, but Edward had stopped answering the phone. She had things to do at home, like mourning their deaths, and he was tired of hearing how perfectly everything was going, when his one true love, the only thing that made his existence worthwhile, was thrashing on the bed, begging to die, begging for him to kill her. The irony of it seemed to escape her, but he recognized it and swore that if they both lived through this, he would tease her for a very long time. The second day she had wanted ice chips to soothe her sore throat, made raw from the screaming, but on the morning of the third day, she pushed them away when they were offered, and he saw that as a good sign. She thirsted for blood now, not water, and the tickle in the back of her throat would not be satisfied until she had it. There were moments of lucidity now, brief at first, but increasing and when the pains hit, they seemed less severe. She would open her eyes occasionally and the deep blood red of her irises was obvious, even from the quick glance or two he could take. Her heart rate was erratic, sometimes beating so fast that he wondered if it would explode, then a few minutes later being so slow that he expected it to stop completely. Carlisle had told him that the process of changing would not be complete until her heart stopped beating, so every time it got slower and slower, he would think it was over, only to have it speed up again a little later. He knew the end was close though, now.
Her scent had changed, subtly. Her scars had faded as he had known they would, and her features had shifted slightly, her face had narrowed a bit, her lips were fuller, her cheekbones more obvious. He had noticed that her figure had, um, adjusted itself, making her waist smaller, her chest larger, and her muscles were more defined. Her skin was cool and firm and when the light would hit it exactly right, she glittered. It was late afternoon when it finally happened. He had his head pressed against her chest, listening to the very quiet beat of her heart, enjoying this last bit of humanity in his wife. The pain was finished now, basically. She wasn't quite all there with him yet, but she was stroking his head and running her fingers through his hair just as she often did before, after they had made love or when they were just cuddling on the bed together. Her heart rate slowed and slowed and this time, instead of speeding up again in response, it simply came to a halt. It beat a few more times as though experimenting on whether it wanted to restart and then, it was still. Completely and utterly still.
Her eyes opened a second later, as though that last heartbeat had been a signal of some kind. "Edward?"
"I'm right here, love."
"I . . . I made it, didn't I?"
"Yes." He searched briefly for some indication of what she was thinking, a connection that would allow him to finally hear her thoughts like he did everyone's, but her mind was as blank to him as ever and he wasn't sure whether he was happy or sad about that. He knew Bella would be happy when she found out, so he resigned himself to eternal ignorance.
"I'm a vampire now?"
"Yes, you are.. You're like us." He hadn't expected to feel so relieved now that it was over, but he did. She was his now, for eternity. If she could adjust. But as soon as his mind had that idea, he pushed it away. She would adjust. He would fight for her and she would. He wouldn't even let there be an alternative.
"I feel . . . strange." She moved to shift a pillow under her head and it ripped in two, scattering feathers in a sudden spray of white life-blood across the bed and floor. She stared in amazement at the half of the pillow held in her hand. "What the . . .?"
"You're strong now, Bella, remember? Really strong. Stronger than I am, actually."
"Wow." She cleared her throat. "My voice sounds different."
"I think that's just the strain from . . . the change. I think it will feel better soon." He didn't actually know if that was true. Her voice did sound a little deeper, but clearer in a way, very pleasant in his opinion.
"My throat . . . itches. Like I'm – oh." Her voice dropped and she stared again at the pillow crumpled in her hand. "I guess I'm thirsty." She scrunched her fist and looked surprised again as her fingers ripped through the flimsy material. She glanced up at him and flinched.
Edward wondered why, but then he remembered – his eyes would still be red from her blood. He gathered her close to him and kissed her gently on the forehead, just like he had always done before. Then, he raised her chin and looked into her red eyes, knowing that behind them was his gentle Bella, scared and unsure of what was going to happen now. "That's normal and expected. Emmett and Jasper will be here soon and then we'll go hunting. We've got a place lined up already." He had to admit to some curiosity about watching Bella tonight as they went hunting. He hoped that she would take instinctively to hunting like they all had. If he had to tell her what to do, he wasn't exactly sure what he would say. He glanced down at her clothes, the same ones she had changed into three days ago. They were wrinkly, sweaty, and a little bloody. "Would you like to change before they get here?"
"Oh, uh, yes. I guess so." She climbed off the bed, and Edward was pleased to note that although she didn't fall, she didn't move with the natural grace of Rosalie and Alice. Of course, that might develop over time, but he personally hoped not. He liked her a little clumsy and now that she was virtually indestructible and unable to kill herself, he wouldn't have to worry so much about what harm she could do when she tripped. She looked back at him with a vaguely confused look on her face. "Where are we?"
"Near Seattle. Have you forgotten?"
"I guess so. I remember driving here, but I couldn't remember where we actually are. Where would we go hunting?"
"There's a woods nearby. It's got some small animals as well as a few bigger ones, if you're in the mood."
"Okay." She started taking off her clothes and Edward watched her with some interest. Her body looked the same, but different. More curvy, as he noted earlier in the day, more toned. He bit his lip to keep from smiling at the thought of taking her to bed. She looked down at herself with curiosity. "I look different, don't I?"
"A little. Not too much. You've always been the most beautiful creature in the world to me." Bella smiled and Edward missed the swift rush of pink that normally would have colored her cheeks.
"But better? I look better?" Edward thought for a minute before he said anything and Bella started to look rather frantic before he answered.
"You are as beautiful as ever, just perfected now. No scars, figure curvier, hair shinier. Like Bella, redone, by someone who wanted to recreate the original but absolutely perfectly." She looked at him and laughed.
"That is the most nonsensical thing I think I've ever heard you say! Since I'm a vampire now, do I have to sound as sappy as you do?"
Edward laughed, too, relieved as she stalked off to the shower. He knew how fretful she had always been about somehow not looking like she was good enough for him. He didn't understand that logic, but he did know she felt that way. So, what he had said there could have been disastrous. But he was really happy that she looked basically the same because he had loved the way she looked before. He heard the water start to run and then she called to him. "Come join me, Edward. You've got to be as grimy as I am!"
They were both clean and dry before Emmett and Jasper arrived, but Bella was wearing her third pair of jeans. She had ripped the first two with some over-enthusiastic tugging and the shirt she was wearing had a tear in the collar where she had tried to move her hair from under it. Edward had noticed that her clothes fit differently. The shirt was tight and the jeans were loose and a little bit too short. He didn't complain about the shirt at all, but he thought that a different pair of jeans could capture her tighter rear end more effectively. He would have to send Alice on a shopping trip for new everything, including new clothes for him, as he hoped that Bella ripped most of his off over the next few days as she adjusted to the new strength in her hands and arms.
Emmett and Jasper whistled when she stood up and Edward growled at them. Bella laughed and stalked over to Emmett. "Edward told me once I could beat you at arm wrestling now!"
He inclined his head. "I imagine you probably could. We'll try. Some other time. Right now, I think you need to eat." Edward watched the two of them carefully while they bantered with Bella. They were both thinking about the funerals that afternoon, despite the light conversation they were having about what sort of animals they would find in the forest. Emmett was concentrating on Charlie and Renee, replaying their reactions through the day at top speed. Jasper was focusing on Bella's various friends, and particularly the werewolves, and their suspicions about what had really happened. Edward absorbed it all, nodding at his brothers as they followed Bella out of the cottage. There would be a time later when he could tell her about it, but not today.
"Do you want to run, Bella?" Jasper asked and Emmett nodded enthusiastically.
"Run?" Bella looked somewhat amused at the suggestion. Edward took her hand.
"You can run now without falling down, I think. It'll help loosen up your muscles for the hunt as well. You'll enjoy it."
"Okay. We'll run." And she took off, suddenly, She was just gone. Edward threw back his head and laughed, breaking into an immediate run after her. He caught up with her quickly because she didn't know where they were going and had stopped to wait for them. He led her instead to the park where they had planned to hunt and Jasper and Emmett caught up a few minutes later. "That was incredible, Edward!"
"Wasn't it, though? You're a pretty good runner now. You can even race Emmett. He's a sucker for a bet."
All three of them laughed, but Emmett scowled. "Not a sucker. Just enthusiastic."
Bella turned her head quickly around, and Edward could tell she was tracking something. "What is that?"
He sniffed the air, also. "I think it might be a squirrel."
"Squirrel? It doesn't smell like squirrel." Bella wrinkled her nose. "It's coming from –" and she pounced. Edward heard her cry of triumph and a rustling in the underbrush. A minute later she stepped from behind a bush. "It was a squirrel. It tasted good, though." Edward grimaced slightly. She had blood on her mouth and her shirt and he personally hated the smell and taste of squirrel blood. Of course, he wasn't sure that anything would ever taste good to him again after Bella, but he thought he would probably avoid the squirrels completely for today. In fact, he probably wouldn't eat at all. He wasn't really hungry.
The evening progressed slowly. Bella chased everything, catching most of what she attempted to get although she didn't always bite it. She had accidentally crushed a chipmunk as she picked it up to sniff it and that had distressed her, but generally, she seemed to accept that this was what her life was going to be like and didn't mind the nuts and bolts of it. She had tasted raccoon, another squirrel, rabbit, hedgehog, and had taken a taste of a coyote that Jasper had caught. She had passed on porcupine and chipmunk and fox. The fox had smelled divine to her but she had babies nearby, Emmett said, and she had let her go again before her sharp teeth pierced the fox's neck. "Fox, though. Yummy. I'll get one another time."
Emmett caught a deer and Bella had a long taste of that, declaring it fairly adequate, if not wonderful. "Sort of gamey tasting, but not bad, really." Edward decided that was enough hunting for the night. She was fairly blood-spattered and it was in her hair and all down her front. He knew that it would take her a while to get used to making the kills cleanly, but the combination of all the odors was getting very unpleasant. He imagined if she looked in a mirror now, she'd be horrified. With her red eyes and the blood, she looked like the worst kind of vampire.
Emmett and Jasper gladly called it a night as well and all four of them returned to the bungalows. Emmett and Jasper were rooming with Carlisle in another bungalow nearby. Edward was glad to have them close in case he needed help with Bella. So far, she had been easy to convince and easy to guide, but that didn't mean things couldn't change at a moment's notice. He opened the door to their bungalow and followed Bella in. She immediately crouched onto the floor, bending to sniff the carpet. "It smells good in here. What is it?" She didn't wait for an answer, but moved at top speed into the bedroom. He heard a frightened scream and was there a split second later. The maid, with an armful of towels, was pressed against the bathroom door, with Bella sniffing at her enthusiastically, her tongue licking her own upper lip as the venom flowed and her sharp teeth worrying the bottom one, getting ready to bite.
Edward pulled her away. "Bella! Stop that!" Fortunately, she moved easily enough. He knew that if she had fought him, he couldn't have moved her at all. He then pulled the maid away from the door and slipped a hundred-dollar bill into her hand. "I'm sorry, miss. She's, um, entranced by your perfume." The woman looked terrified, and no wonder. Bella was still bloody although Edward wasn't sure the maid could really see it against Bella's dark clothing.
"There's something wrong with her eyes!! My God! She was attacking me like a rabid animal!
"She's an albino, okay? And she's got some mental problems. If I want the linen changed, I'll call. Don't come back!" The door was shut and locked behind the terrified maid before she even had a chance to answer. Bella sniffed around the room a little bit more, her nose pressed up against the spot where the horrified woman had stood a few seconds before.
"She smelled wonderful! What was the perfume she was wearing? Because my extra-sensitive vampire nose really overreacted to it. I'll have to get some!" She licked the woodwork tentatively and Edward pulled her away again.
"She wasn't wearing perfume, Bella. She just smelled human. And not that good, really, in my opinion." He hoped he sounded reassuring, but Bella's face crumpled.
"She just smelled. . . average?" Edward nodded, "But, she, I, she –"
"Look, Bella. The smell of human blood is the best thing you'll ever encounter as a vampire. It's what you're supposed to eat, so it smells like chocolate and wine and peppermint candy all rolled into one. It's going to tempt you. You knew that in advance. We all tried to warn you." She still looked depressed and shocked, so he pulled her into his lap.
"I would have eaten her, I think. I mean, I felt like biting her. She smelled so good and my mouth was watering."
"I don't think you actually would have hurt her. I think you've probably had enough to eat today. You left her alone easily enough when I pulled you away."
Bella wrapped her arms tightly around him and held on. "But if you hadn't been here, I may have lost control."
"Maybe. But I won't be leaving you alone, ever, for a very long time. In two or three years, when you've been around humans more, we can start weaning you to being away from one of us. The important thing is that you didn't lose control, you didn't bite her. You only bared your teeth, which was pretty good considering she caught us unprepared. I certainly wasn't expecting anyone human to be around tonight. You're just acting normally, really. Don't worry quite so much."
He kissed her softly and then more enthusiastically. He wasn't sure she would feel comfortable making love tonight and didn't want to pressure her. But he had missed her dreadfully for the past three days and he at least wanted to cuddle with her. But only after he got her cleaned up. Right now, she smelled rather ripe with a whole mixture of different scents and Edward tried not to let his nose wrinkle. He was pretty sure that she would notice. "Why don't we get you into a nice warm shower and get some clean clothes on you? Then we can talk some more."
"How do you always stay so spotless when you hunt?" Bella asked, eyeing the large sprays of blood across her shirt.
"Well, I've had years of practice. You did pretty well tonight, for the first time. Did you . . . enjoy it?"
"Not particularly. But it was okay, I guess. She smelled much better." She indicated the door the maid had gone through.
"Yes. She did. But the fox smelled good to you, right?"
"That's true. Maybe fox would taste good to me."
"Maybe. We'll have to see." He started undressing her, throwing the bloody jeans and ripped T-shirt into a corner. He would destroy them tomorrow along with the bloody towels and sheets that were now in Carlisle's room. He marveled again at the changes in her body and she laughed, suddenly, pressing herself against him.
"We can really kiss now – with tongues and everything!"
"Yes, we can. Believe me, I'm looking forward to that! But first, a shower for you." They got in the shower together, and Edward washed her. She reacted with surprise as he ran a washcloth over her skin, at the smell of the soap, at the feel of the shampoo in her hair. He didn't have to be very gentle with her anymore, and he let his hands roam over her curves in ways that told her he wanted to spend several hours exploring each of the subtle differences in her body. She didn't seem adverse to that idea and let her now-sensitive hands trail over him with equal curiosity.
After the water started getting cold, Edward dried her off and dressed her in the loose cotton scrubs which she had brought for nighttime. She hadn't been quite sure what to bring to wear after she was changed and Alice and she had had a long, frank discussion a week or so ago about what she and Jasper typically did during the long hours of the night. Alice had talked about reading and watching movies and long talks and walks. Bella had nodded solemnly and Edward had noticed a rather large stack of new books in the suitcase she had packed.
However, considering they had only been married for two months now, Edward was seriously hoping to convince her that there was something else they could do during the long dark hours of the unsleeping nights and as he kissed her neck at the junction where just a few short days ago he had bitten her the first time, she sighed, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back with extreme enthusiasm.
Edward smiled to himself and swung her into his arms, carrying her quickly into the bedroom. Oh yes, lots of things were different now that Bella had become a vampire, but lots of things were still the same, and he intended to enjoy them all.