Blood Lust
Ch. 2 – Predator and Prey

Disclaimer: The last time I checked, Stephenie hadn't transferred the rights of Twilight and New Moon to me yet. Hurry up Steph!!

(A/N: Thanks so much to all of my reviewers and my faithful readers! I went a little overboard on the lyrics the last chapter, but there are none in this one. I promise.)

(Warning: Mild language.)

"Thanks," I said to the bartender as he handed me another drink. I chugged it, and he refilled it. It was the perfect mix of cougar's blood and vodka, and it really hit the spot.

"No problem Bella," the vampire said with a grin.

I tried to match his smile, but it looked more like a grimace. I carried my drink over to where Ayden and the others were sitting, and sat down in Ayden's lap, pulling him close for a kiss, full of passion and fear.

"What was that for?" he asked, his voice husky, after I pulled away.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned my ear against his strong chest, listening to the silence of his still heart. I kept looking behind me nervously, and every time somebody passed us I jumped.

"Are you okay Bella?" Zara asked.

I shook my head weakly, and she glanced over at Felix, who acted immediately. Time slowed down. Everyone around us stopped moving. Then they all began to move backwards, undoing everything that had just been completed. A broken glass flew up from the ground, rejoined with its broken counterparts, and the fluid was gathered from the floor and put back in it. It kept rewinding, and I watched as Rosalie strutted backwards in front of us, reversing her evil grin and wink, causing me to shudder. Then time slowed again, all movement except ours ceased, and it fast-forwarded until we were back to the present.

Zara then closed her eyes and extended a faintly glowing hand towards me, and, placing it on mine, I suddenly forgot everything about Rosalie, seeing what could have been Alice, and the familiar touch of Edward's hands as he helped me up on the stage. My mood improved and the drink worked through my system, calming my nerves and stirring excitement as the next song played.

Zara and Felicity looked over at me, the same excitement in their eyes, as Shakira's 'Hips Don't Lie' was produced at maximum volume from the speakers. A huge grin broke out on my face, and we all giggled as we got up and rushed over to the crowd of people. We tore it up, to say the least, and the circle that formed around us hollered as Ayden, Donny, and Marx broke through the crowd and joined us in our rendezvous of less than chaste dancing. Apparently we weren't the only vampires who craved the wild pulse of the song; 3/4's of the rest of the vampires in the club were dancing, and several even came and joined our circle. The human girls looked on jealously as all the men in the room watched us go, and when the song ended they were basically drooling everywhere.

Laughing, we all went back to our reserved corner where a fresh round of drinks was found waiting for us. We gladly drained our glasses, the warm blood flowing down our throats, and soon my head was spinning, for I had consumed more than the others tonight.

We noticed that some of the people were starting to trickle out the doors slowly to find another nightclub, probably with more live performances.

"Let's give these fools an encore," I suggested, and the band followed me. Zara, Donny, Marx, and Ayden went up to the stage so they could play, and Felix and I grabbed our microphones and sat on the edge of the stage. The music started, and we raised the microphones to our lips, letting our legs dangle over the edge of the stage.

First on the list was 'Crazy Bitch' by Buckcherry, and oh my gosh it drew the crowd like fruit flies screaming the lyrics and dancing like there was absolutely no tomorrow. It was most fun when Felix and I would be dancing in the crowd as we sang, and then stop singing and let the crowd yell "HEY, you're a crazy bitch!"

Second was 'Get Over It' by Ok Go. Unable to resist the urge, we ran up to the bar and danced along the glass top, (A/N: No, they weren't stripping or being whores…this is Bella we're talking about here, and though the drinking and the above song is a bit un-Bella, that doesn't make her a whore.) belting out the lyrics and staying perfectly in-tune with each other.

The night was long and the most fun I had had in months. After singing for another hour and a half, we commenced and let the DJ off of his elongated break.

"Hey, you're a crazy bitch," Ayden whispered in my ear as we were relaxing. This sent me into a fit of giggles, and I clutched my sides as if I were keeping myself together. For some reason this was very hilarious, and I struggled to breathe as the laughs escaped my parted lips.

The bartend kept pouring the drinks, and I lost my head before long. Everything was funny and I wanted to dance to every song the DJ played.

"Come on Bells, let's go sit down and talk with the others," Ayden said after a while. He didn't like to dance for long periods of time.

"Aw come on, one more," I begged, thrusting out my lower lip into a pout. He was used to this though, and he was able to refuse.

"I'm gonna go sit down Bella, come on," Ayden pressed, but somebody with striking bronze hair stepped up besides him.

"I'll dance with you," he said in his sweet velvet voice, and Ayden glanced over at him. We trusted each other a lot and we would both be more than faithful till the end.

"Alright, we'll be right over there okay?" Ayden asked reluctantly, speaking to me as if I were a child and pointing to the corner, where Zara was waving at me.

I waved back, and Ayden walked away. I turned to the person who offered to dance with me, and I didn't care who he was. Yeah, everything about him was familiar, but my brain wasn't working at the moment. A good song came on and we danced and danced, but when he brushed his unmarked left hand against my left hand, clearly marked by the princess-cut diamond wedding band, by accident, I stopped dead. Squinting to make sense of his face, my vision went from blurry to clear and then I was able to focus on the bronze messy hair, the bright topaz eyes gleaming happily from his beautifully graceful face.

"Edward," I whispered, feeling embarrassed all of a sudden.

I stepped back to put some distance between us, but, being me, I tripped over my high heel and was about to hit the floor when strong arms caught me and I looked up into the eyes of Emmett. I untangled myself quickly and took another step, this time to the left, but Rosalie closed in on me. I turned around to go the other way, but Alice and Jasper blocked my departure.

"Bella, we need to talk," Edward said, and my eyes widened in fear.

Twenty-five years.

This could not be happening.

Finding no way out of their circle, I ripped my hat from my head, dropped to my knees and crawled between his legs, yanking my skirt down in the back, and made my way through the crowd of people, crawling underneath them, getting my hands stepped on, and finally I broke out of the throng of partygoers. I stood up too fast and my head swam. I staggered forward, my drunken sprint across the room to get to Ayden as fast as I could looking rather pathetic. He stood up immediately, his face etched with concern and worry, along with Donny, Marx, Felicity, and Zara. The Cullen's were watching me from the edge of the dance floor, and I glanced over my shoulder at them, feeling like predator and prey.

Guess which one I was.

"We need to go," I said urgently. Nobody moved; they were staring at the Cullen's with curiosity.

"Now!" I barked, and they all looked down at me.

"I'll take her home," Ayden said.

"We'll stay here and close up. Feel better Bella," Zara said, and the others bade us goodbye. It seemed like an eternity, but finally we were headed towards the door. I could barely walk because of the alcohol content of my body, and Ayden simply picked me up and carried me across the club bridal-style. To the others there it must have looked like a romantic exit, but to me, it was an escape from something deadly. When he turned around to push the door open with his back, I caught Edward's eyes. They were full of pain, hate, love, jealousy, and a thousand other emotions, and it made me sick to my stomach.

The tinted glass door of the club swung shut, and I could feel all my drinks coming up.

"Put me down, I'm gonna be sick," I whispered to Ayden, and he set me down immediately. I stumbled over to the bushes and he held my hair back for me. As I wretched and the night splashed into the dirt flowerbed, my head cleared since the alcohol was leaving my system. It never seemed to end, I must have drunk more than I realized…

The little bell that hung at the top of the door of the entrance to the club chimed, and I heard Edward exclaim, "Bella!" with worry.

I stood up, my knees shaking, and wiped my mouth on the back of my hand.

"I'm fine," I rasped, and stalked towards my Jaguar, Ayden by my side. Completely sober, I felt refreshed and rather pissed at my ex.

Ouch, I thought to myself as I used the word that I thought would never apply to Edward.

I walked on, wobbling because stilettos and cobblestone just don't mix. My heel caught in a crack and I tripped forward, but before Ayden could react, Edward was there, holding my arm so I wouldn't fall.

"Hey man, back off," Ayden said angrily as he saw Edward, who was not letting go of my arm even though I was trying to wiggle from his grasp. Edward, feeling the anger and protectiveness radiating off of Ayden, obeyed and released my arm.

"What do you want, Edward?" I asked coldly after he refused to leave.

I saw Ayden's expression change from confusion to understanding as he realized that Edward was not just some random guy; he was the Edward.

THE. Edward.

"You, Bella. I want you," Edward said bluntly, but I glared up at him.

"No. Go away," I said. He kept walking next to me, too close for comfort.

"Please, let's just talk," he said.

"No. Go away."

"It's so great to see you Bella, I can't believe you're a vam--," he continued.

"I said go away," I repeated. But he didn't budge.

Stupid, stubborn-ass vampire, I thought to myself angrily

"Bella, just talk to me," Edward pleaded.

"What part don't you get? The 'no' part or the 'go away' part?" I demanded.

Ayden was having an internal battle with himself. His hands were balled into fists, his teeth clenched, and I could have sworn I saw his eye twitch.

We got to the car, and I went to open the passenger door, but Edward reached out and grabbed my wrist.

"Please, Bella, just for a few minutes," he begged.

Finally, Ayden's temper had broken through.

"What the hell is your problem? She said leave!" Ayden yelled, shoving Edward back roughly.

Edward's eyes turned black with rage as Ayden shoved him, and he was advancing forward to kick Ayden's ass when I ran between them, staring at Edward with a look so dirty it would have melted glass.

"Don't. Touch. Him," I spat, and he stopped in his tracks, mid-step.

Ayden grabbed my hand and basically shoved me in the car, very gently, then got in himself, jammed the key in the ignition. The engine purred to life, the only sound available to focus on.

I didn't take another look at Edward Cullen as my husband pulled away from the night club and drove me home.