Harvest Moon

Chapter Two

By: Jana~

XXX

Crimson eyes grew wide soon after they opened. Unmoving and unblinking, she stared straight ahead, above her and at the ceiling. She was likely trying to understand, attempting to piece together some kind of logic to explain what she was experiencing.

But she would find no reasonable explanation. Nothing to reasonably explain why she could see details and colors she couldn't before, or hear sounds that no human should be able to. Nor would she be able to dismiss her other heightened senses.

She already knew we were in the room with her because of them. She could taste our scents in the air around her. Would mine hold any significance to her, given that I had spent every moment of the last three days with her?

Hers was already ingrained in me. It had changed subtly throughout her transformation, but had stabilized about four hours ago. I had been inhaling her continuously since then, memorizing her. I wanted my scent ingrained her memory as well.

I could feel her panic starting to rise through Jasper. He focused on calming her, but the effort wasn't enough to stop her actions. Alice saw it only a moment before it happened.

Bella leapt off the chaise, ending up across the room and against the glass wall. It cracked a little with the impact; the sound of it splitting caused my family's thoughts to become alarmed. If it weakened further and gave way, it would offer Bella an escape route.

Emmett considered pouncing on her, but when Alice saw them both crashing through the wall and falling to the ground outside as a result, I held my hand up to stop him. That would certainly scare her, more so than she already was.

"Bella, come away from the glass," I said, purposefully sedate. She seemed confused by my words. Disoriented, I assumed.

"Who are you? Where am I? What did you do to me?"

All reasonable questions. "Come away from the glass, and I will tell you anything you wish to know."

Warily, or so it seemed, she took two steps away from the wall, more into the center of the room. I could hear Emmett contemplating how he might slip in behind her if she became distracted.

"My name is Edward Cullen." I introduced myself only, though I did gesture to the rest of my family as I continued. "This is our home. We didn't do anything to you but bring you here."

Answering her questions succinctly, with little elaboration or emotion, did nothing to deter her. Not that I expected it to. I was stalling.

"Why? What happened? What's wrong with me?"

She deserved to know, I just wasn't sure how to say it. I remembered when Carlisle told me, and how I had scoffed at the absurdity of it. Or I would have scoffed, if I hadn't been insane with agonizing thirst.

I felt that familiar agony now, through Jasper. He could feel her as easily as he could anyone, but it seemed he could only partially influence. He was able to manage her fear, reducing it to an intense curiosity and minor concern, but the pain of her thirst would not abate.

She needed to hunt, and I needed her to understand that and trust me so that I could take her. Earning that understanding and trust would not be easy, though. I was about to speak the most outrageous words she had ever heard in her life.

"You were attacked. By a vampire. He bit you…" That seemed to spark some kind of memory for her. She immediately looked down and ran her index finger along the crescent shaped mark on her forearm.

"I don't feel like I'm asleep," she muttered, like her musing was meant for her ears alone.

She thought she was in a nightmare. In a way, she was, just one she would never wake from.

"You're not asleep." Even though my voice was soft like hers had been, she startled as if I had shouted at her. Her eyes, full of uncertainty, locked on to mine.

"Vampires aren't real?" This was asked rather than stated. Her grasp on the typically believed notion was starting to slip.

"Yes, Bella, vampires are real."

Would she piece it together and come to the conclusion on her own? That she was now a creature she believed to be mythical? If she didn't, I would have to tell her, though I dreaded the idea of doing so. I didn't want to frighten her. I didn't want her first impression of me to be negative.

She didn't seem frightened now, however. She seemed confused. Her scowl deepened as she continued to stare at me.

"I'm assuming my name is Bella?"

My family's thoughts turned chaotic. I focused on Carlisle's alone.

Amnesia. Trauma induced, most likely. It should be temporary.

"Yes," I answered, surreptitiously in response to my father, openly in answer to Bella's question. "You don't remember?"

She huffed. "Obviously not, or I wouldn't have asked."

Feisty. Good luck with that.

I stopped myself from rolling my eyes at Emmett. I would rather deal with 'feisty' than Rosalie.

Her thirst is agitating her. She needs to hunt.

Jasper was right, I agreed, but the subject would have to be broached delicately.

"Can you remember anything? About yourself, or about what happened to you?" I asked her. We would start with that. I could then ease her into what she couldn't remember. What I knew of her, that is, which wasn't much.

Her brow furrowed, and for a moment she was silent. "Fire," she said finally. "I felt like I was being burned alive. But then it felt like I was in an endless black pit for a while. Until the fire came back."

Interesting.

I supposed it was, but I pushed Carlisle's opinion aside. We would get back to that later.

"You don't remember being attacked? When I mentioned him biting you, you touched your scar."

"When you mentioned it, it tingled. A psychosomatic reaction, maybe?"

I raised one eyebrow in response. "Maybe," I said. Not only did her word choice indicate intelligence, but the way in which she attempted to analyze her reaction did as well.

Interesting.

Indeed. This time, I acknowledged my father with a subtle nod.

Maybe I hadn't been giving Bella due credit. Maybe she would handle the news of what she had become better than I expected. Better than any of my family members, myself included. I decided to test my theory.

"You understand what has happened to you, don't you?"

"I might have amnesia, but I'm not an idiot. What I don't understand is… besides being Edward Cullen, who are you? Why am I here?"

The animosity in her tone took me by surprise. So much so that I found I was unable to answer her. Alice did for me, not that I was pleased by her doing so.

"He saved your life. Twice. He tried to a third time, but he was too late for that."

I growled at my sister, trying to silence her, but of course she ignored me. I had wanted to wait to tell Bella those details, later, when she wasn't feeling so overwhelmed.

"In what ways did he do that?" Bella asked.

Alice's thoughts turned smug. She honestly believed she had done me some kind of service, simply because Bella's tone was less harsh now.

"He stopped the nomadic vampire from killing you, he stopped the wolves from killing you, and then he tried to save your humanity by sucking the venom out. He obviously wasn't successful, but he did try."

Bella's deep scowl returned. "What wolves?"

I hissed at Alice, in irritation and in warning. I didn't want to compound Bella's emotional stress by introducing another complicated subject. And the wolves were a complicated subject. Added to that complication was her friendship with the alpha, Jacob Black, and probably with the rest of the pack.

How much did she know? Did she know the Quileute could phase into wolves? That her friend, Jacob, could? Even if she were privy to that fact before, her amnesia now likely interfered with that memory. Learning that vampires exist, and that she was one now as well, was enough of the fantastic for the moment.

"They're unimportant," I answered. Alice immediately disagreed, but in thought only. "For now they are," I amended. "We have all the time in the world to educate her on the mutt pack, all right?"

I was so focused on Alice, and she on me, that neither of us realized what was happening, or what was about to happen, until it was too late. In a split second decision – evidently, or Alice would have seen it – Bella chose then to make a break for it.

Emmett's sharp reflexes prevented her from escaping, but they both ended up crashing through the wall, falling to the ground outside. Shattered glass rained down on them as Emmett pinned her beneath his immense frame. It was not unlike Alice's earlier vision.

I leapt out of my room to join them. Everyone else in the house followed.

Jealousy burned inside me. I had to fight the urge to rip my brother off of her and claim her as mine. Emmett was just trying to stop her from fleeing, I reminded myself. His thoughts confirmed that, of course.

"Careful, Emmett," I growled, my anger tethered only by a thin, fraying thread.

I think I'm in more danger of being hurt here than she is!

"You're scaring her."

"I'm not scared!" she snapped, persistently struggling for her release. "I just don't want to be here!"

The idea of her out in the world, unaware of how to appropriately behave within her new circumstances, was truly frightening. "Bella, don't be absurd," I scolded her. "Where would you go?"

Her combativeness finally ebbed. "I don't know."

She sounded defeated. I sighed as I knelt near her, still under Emmett. "There are many things you will need to understand. I can help you, teach you, but first, I need you to promise to be a little more cooperative. Can you promise me that?"

That irritated her. She glared up at me. "Do I have a choice? I'm a prisoner, right?"

"You're not a prisoner," Alice said, interfering again.

I knew my sister meant well, but I wanted to be the one to deal with this. I shot her a firm, disapproving look.

I don't see her running now, Edward. I'm sorry I missed it before, but she decided it spur of the moment. You should tell Emmett to get off her. He won't listen to anyone but you.

I knew she was right about that. Emmett's thoughts were always simplistic and straightforward. He believed it was time to let her up as well, but was just waiting for me to say so.

"You're not a prisoner," I said, repeating Alice's words as I signaled to Emmett. Standing, I offered her my hand to help her up, but she ignored it and glared harder, though at the ground.

She stood, crossed her arms over her chest, and then she stared back at me defiantly.

So much for first impressions. It seemed I had been right and Alice wrong from the start. Bella hated me. It was understandable that she would. I could not begrudge her that hatred.

"We only want to help you," I explained. "Once we have, in time, you will be free to leave."

Alice panicked. Edward, no! Her vision showed Bella, her eyes golden in color, leaving us as I watched. I looked devastated in the scene playing out inside her mind.

"In time? For how long were you planning on helping me?"

"That depends," I answered, my eyes stern and locked with hers.

She didn't even flinch. She held my gaze, her tone still indignant as she asked, "What does it depend on?"

"On how quickly you learn." I hid my amusement when she scoffed. Emmett's assessment of 'feisty' wasn't entirely comprehensive. She was far more than that. She was headstrong and stubborn as well.

In the seconds between my answer and her response, as I had predicted she would, she rose to the challenge I had subtly extended.

"I'm sure I can manage."

Idiot has lost his mind.

I'm not so sure pissing her off is the way to go here.

I will respect your right to handle this as you see fit, but be cautious, son.

She's just acting angry because she's scared. The poor girl.

She might not be my best friend yet, but I will rip your head off if you hurt her!

Hunting, Edward. Now.

Of course I considered my family's opinions – well, except for Rosalie's; she had merely insulted me – but I didn't acknowledge any of them apart from Jasper's. While Bella was distracted, her thirst seemed a distant annoyance, but that had only bought us time. Soon, it would be all she cared about, and that would make her difficult to reason with.

"Are you?" I asked her. She raised an eyebrow at me, as if looking for me to elaborate. So I did. "Are you sure you can manage? You don't yet know what I might ask of you."

She huffed dramatically, like I was the most aggravating individual she had ever known. I supposed that was probably true, at least to some extent. But I would rather her be aggravated than frightened.

"Are you planning on asking something ridiculous of me?"

"No," I answered, "but we might hold opposing views on that."

After glowering at me for a long moment, her gaze then shifted to each member of my family. It seemed she was assessing them, trying to determine what roles they would play in her life as our prisoner. I took a step closer, bringing her attention back to me. I wanted her to know my family eventually, but for now, as she adapted to becoming a vampire, I needed to be her primary focus. The one she relied on solely. If they were too accessible to her, because she hated me, she would soon ignore me and depend on them.

I didn't want that. I couldn't have that. Maybe Alice's envisioned future wouldn't happen – the one where Bella was my mate for all eternity – but it would not be from my lack of trying.

I would start by being her teacher. In time, she might come to see me as more, but if not…

If not, I would let her go. This would be devastating to me – I didn't need Alice's visions to know that – but I would not force her to stay with me. I could never force her. The decision must be hers.

"Your first lesson starts now," I told her firmly, but with a hint of kindness. Her being aggravated with me was one thing, but to alienate her further could cause her to shut me out completely. That would benefit no one.

Who gets to go with you?

"You, Alice, and Jasper." My eyes never left Bella's as I said this to Emmett, who had silently asked me the question. He clapped and howled his approval.

Rosalie's thoughts indicated that she was offended, but I knew she didn't actually want to go. She just didn't like being excluded from any form of invitation.

"What about me, Alice, and Jasper?" Bella asked, now more confused than irritated. She had assumed I was speaking to her. "Who of them are Alice and Jasper?"

Her eyes shifted to the left when Alice and Jasper tentatively raised their hands.

"And that's Emmett," I added, gesturing to him. "They will be joining us."

Her hostility redirected onto my bear of a brother temporarily. "Him I know," she muttered.

Emmett smiled sheepishly as he gave an awkward wave. "Sorry about tackling you and all. It's kind of my job, what with me being the strongest. Well, strongest besides—"

"Emmett." I cut him off abruptly, knowing by his thoughts what he was about to say.

No good could come from Bella learning that she was stronger than the rest of us right now. With her desire to escape, even with nowhere to go that she could think of, she might use such knowledge to her advantage. Emmett might have been able to hold her himself this time, but it was a struggle. He could have become injured in the process. If she had known of her full capabilities, he most likely would have been. If several of us were needed to subdue her, even if we were cautious, she might become injured.

Granted, injuries healed quickly amongst our kind, but the pain was often unpleasant.

Then there was the potentiality that such an ordeal might traumatize her. I could imagine the fear she might feel, terror emanating from her as four to seven strangers sprang on her. Instincts would kick in, and she would thrash and fight for her freedom…

Neither scenario appealed to me in the slightest.

I offered her my hand again, though I knew I wouldn't give her a choice on whether she actually accepted this time. Already she was predictable. She glared at it, and then she glared up at me.

"We will be running, Bella, and that might be disorienting to you at first." What's more, there was no way I would risk her attempting to flee again.

And because she just had to be insolent…

"You offer lessons in how to run?"

I couldn't stop the brief smile from appearing on my face. "No. The lesson will take place once we arrive. After running." I extended my hand a little further and waited patiently. I could wait for all of eternity, if need be.

Thankfully, I didn't need to wait nearly as long as that. She might have been stubborn, but she also seemed to have a shred of common sense. There was no moving forward, with lessons or otherwise, until she cooperated.

She rolled her eyes and placed her small hand in mine. The electricity that arced between us was instantaneous. I knew she felt it. There was no way she hadn't. Her expression confirmed that, but as quickly as our eyes met, she lowered them and looked away.

It seemed she either didn't understand it, or was refusing to acknowledge it. Whichever, I decided not to mention it, since it would probably embarrass her. We needed to go hunting, anyway, before Jasper lost his mind.

Edward? Are you testing to see how long it'll take her to snap and thin out the locals? Because she's about to fail this particular test.

I doubted that. While I couldn't read her thoughts, I could sense her emotions through Jasper. She was edgy, yes, but in no immediate danger of snapping and feasting on the locals. But to be safe, we would hunt far from the human hiking trails. To catch a hiker's scent while in a less controlled frame of mind would be difficult for most members of my family to resist. For Bella, a new vampire, it would be next to impossible.

I glanced down and noted she was watching me, not with hatred, now, but with curiosity. Hope swelled.

"Do you trust me?" I asked her. I knew she didn't, but the question would let her know that I wanted her to.

And since I knew what her answer would be, I didn't wait for it. She struggled to keep up with my first few bounding strides, but after that, we were running…

To be continued…

Author's Notes:

Okay, here we go! Chapter two. What are we thinking? Good direction? Sucks so bad we couldn't possibly read another word about it? Please let me know, 'kay?

For those who have asked… still not smoking! Yay me!

Did anyone go over and check out the videos I made and uploaded onto YouTube? Just curious. And, actually, I have more than just the two Twilight videos. I mostly have (the TV show) 'Friends'/Matthew Perry tribute videos, but I also have the 'A Baby Story' episode my youngest son was born on, and family trips to amusement parks and such. Oh, and me doing karaoke (rolls eyes). What the hell was I thinking, posting those? Temporary loss of brain function.

Anyway… if you're interested, my username there is: janaonwheels

As always, I am humbled by all your kind words. Thank you so much!

MTLBYAKY