A/N: Bonjour lovelies and chickpeas. I'm sorry this chapter took so long to get out, but I'm trying to add more detail to my chapters now, and I'm also starting to do more proofreading, editing, and outlining with each chapter. I have a notebook and everything. So, I hope you enjoy it. This one was inspired by the song Fully Alive by Flyleaf. Super awesome song. I am quite stoked for this chapter, and after writing and editing it, I have decided that it is my favourite so far. It is also about twice as long as my usual chapters, coming in at over four thousand five hundred words. So yay for that! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!!
Also, to you, my wonderful readers, thank you a million times over for the reviews and support over the last six chapters. You all get cookies, bunches and bunches of them. I get so excited whenever I check my email and see that there is a new email from the bot. LOOOOOOOVE!!
Disclaimer: I do not own any portion of or ideas from Stephenie Meyer's books . I only wish I did.
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Chapter Seven: Lithe and Dangerous
After Edward had shown me around the house, he pointed out our room -- our room. The concept sent shivers down my spine. He really was mine. He was my husband, with whom I shared everything; all of my worldly possessions, my laughter, my smiles, my anger, my whole self were his as much as they were mine. Everything I had was now to be shared, without question. And of course, it was vice-versa, lest I had to use my newborn strength to hassle him into it. Although it was tempting, I knew that I would never have to worry about that: I knew he was just as crazy about me as I was about him, if not a little more. The room itself was lovely, and had a huge bay window facing the shoreline that the house was on. You could see that there was a forest that winded along the coastline, and my stomach growled fiercely in anticipation. The bed was set on the wall adjacent to the window, and I eyed it with scrutiny. It looked comfortable enough to me. Upon sitting on it, I found that it was luxuriously soft. Even if I could never sleep again, reading on it would be wonderful. And then it could also be used for ... other things... I smiled up innocently at Edward as he laughed at me. "Are you enjoying the bed?" he asked.
My smile became cheeky, and my eyes danced with mischief. "It would be even better if you were on it too..." My voice was singsong, tempting him. I beckoned him to me, crooking a single finger repeatedly. He grinned, swooping down and covering my mouth with his. He pressed me down on the bed and went on to kiss every bit of skin that was exposed to him.
"You, Isabella Marie," he said, pressing his lips to my collarbone. My toes began to tingle, and my lips curled into a smile. "Are a tease, which is unfair..." His cool fingers ran up the length of my leg, nudging the shorts I was wearing higher. His fingers danced on my bare thigh, and my breathing became ragged with anticipation. Edward's lips pressed against my neck now, his tongue dancing lightly on a spot just below my ear. My world began to spin, and I closed my eyes to enjoy the sensations that were overwhelming me now. Now, there was no wonder why Edward always had trouble controlling himself: every touch felt like heaven, magnified one hundred times over compared to the way they were felt as a human. Suddenly, much to my dismay, he pulled himself away. My eyes flew open, eyebrows furrowing, and lips forming a pout. His hand rested on the doorknob, a grin plastered on his face. "But you forget that two can play at that game." Edward winked, and disappeared through the door.
A snort of indignance pitched from my throat, and a growl rumbled in my chest. Ignoring it, I walked to the closet and opened the door. My eyes near popped out of my head when I saw it: my closet was the size of my bedroom in Forks. I rubbed my eyes out of disbelief. Clothes hung everywhere, in every colour imaginable. Shoes sat on shelves on top of shelves. There was an entire three racks devoted to jeans. My jaw dropped. I had never been one to hoard clothes (or anything else for that matter), but this was like a newly recognized dream. I realized that there were none of Edward's clothes in the room, and I grinned at the thought that the closet was all mine.
In my stupor, someone snuck up behind me, tackling me with such force that we slid across the floor and slammed into several shelves. A snarl ripped from my throat and I stood up easily, tossing my assailant from my back. As if by instinct, I posed defensively, my senses in overdrive. However, I could not help but grin when I realized who had jumped me. Alice lay on the ground before me doubled over. She gasped for air as she laughed, her eyes squeezed tight in her fit. "Alice, what were you trying to do, give me a heart attack?" I squeaked, trying to keep the smile off of my face. I sadly did not succeed, and in less than a second, I had joined her on the floor, in my own fit of giggles. Alice truly had an infectious laugh.
A snort resounded from the door, and I rolled over to see Rosalie. "Well done, Alice. You managed to make a bigger mess of the closet than an eight-point-two scaled earthquake could have. Do you have any idea how long this took me to organize?" I stood up, running my fingers through my hair to settle it. I was touched: Rosalie had done this all for me? "Now I'm going to have to do it all again."
I walked over to Rosalie, a smile on my face. "You didn't have to do all of this for me. I have clothes and stuff that I brought." I motioned to the suitcase sitting by the end of the bed. Rosalie rolled her eyes, grinning.
"Please, Bella. It's not that your old clothes weren't nice, but if you're going to be a Cullen female, you need to have enough clothes to fill up at least one closet. Besides, some of this stuff is vintage. Alice, Esme, and I have been collecting over the years." She reached out, her hands coming to rest on my shoulders. "You can go through it all sometime and pick out what you don't like. We'll donate that, and you can keep the rest."
I reached out to her now, pulling her into a hug. I think at first she was surprised, but soon enough, she returned the hug, and Alice joined us. "Thank you, Rosalie, Alice. For all of this. For the wedding. Everything."
"Anytime," they chimed together. We all turned to look at the chaos that was my closet. I took the opportunity use my new vampire speed, and darted to the end of the closet. I placed a pair of shoes on the shelf and crossed my arms, cocking my eyebrow.
"Race?" Rosalie and Alice grinned. Suddenly, the closet was teeming with movement, the three of us picking up items of clothing and replacing them on the rack. We ran around each other, slid through legs, and once, Alice darted off the wall and over my head. It was really organized chaos. In under a minute, we were finished, Alice and Rosalie were arguing over who had won. Alice argued she had won because she had hung up more pants than Rosalie, but of course Rosalie argued back, stating that she had hung up more shirts. As they bickered over the value of shirts and pants, I took the opportunity to find something comfortable to wear to hunt in.
My fingers flicked through the racks of jeans and shirts, trying to pick something appropriate. What were you supposed to wear for your first hunt? Surely nothing too fancy, for fear that it would be ruined by dirt or blood. A note of irony shone in that thought. Here I was, Bella, the girl who damn near passed out in Biology during a blood typing lab, and I was about to go drink the blood of some unsuspecting creature. Very strange indeed. A grin crossed my face, and I continued in my search for something to wear. Somehow, the arguement between Alice and Rosalie ended, and Rosalie excused herself to hunt down Emmett.
Twenty minutes later, I was still rummaging through my closet, unable to find anything appropriate to wear. Alice was perched on a dresser, swinging her legs, her head propped up on her hands. "Come on, Bella. Pick something. You're so picky that I don't even know what you're going to wear. I'm hungry. Hurry up." She sounded like a broken record player, repeating the same thing over and over again. I told her so, and she stuck her tongue out at me, donning a whiny voice as she continued to complain.
"Well, if you three hadn't packed my closet with so many clothes, it'd be easier. I love that you all did this for me, but until I'm acquainted with the things in my closet, I can't pick anything. It's difficult, you know. I'm not picky with clothes, but I don't want to ruin anything too nice. And everything seems, well, too nice..." My ears picked up Rosalie snorting from another room and I grinned. The hungry feeling in my stomach was clawing at it's cage now, and my throat was beginning to burn. So this was thirst. "These will work." I said, picking out a pair of dark wash jeans and a red V-neck shirt.
I tossed the clothes on my bed on the way out of the closet, and stripped down to my bra and underwear. As I passed the full-length mirror, I had to stop and stare. My jaw dropped as I examined myself. My skin was now the colour of milk, flawless in every way I could think of. Even the scars from the motorcycle accident were gone. Looking at my hand, I could see the scar from James still remained, but I didn't mind. It would always be there to remind me of my past. I studied my face intently, running my fingers through my hair. My mousy brown tresses were now luxuriously soft and shiny, and I twirled a strand of it around my fingers. My eyes were dark, almost completely black, but they were still lovely in my opinion. My lips looked soft and full and I pressed them together contently. I looked down, reveling in the fact that I suddenly had curves. "It's amazing, isn't it? The first time you see yourself." Alice said from behind me. I could only nod; I was in awe of myself, and I was never a vain person. Alice laughed and continued, "Wait until you see yourself sparkle."
I was snapped out of my stupor when I picked up Emmett complaining about how hungry he was, and I immediately grabbed the shirt and pulled it over my head. Alice tied it up as I picked up my pants. When she was finished, I put one leg into the jeans, hopping as I went to put my other leg in. To my dismay and embarrassment, I tipped over and hit the floor. Hard. A few strands of hair landed in front of my face, and I dispelled them with a puff of air from my mouth. Alice bit her lip in an attempt to control her laughter. "Graceful as ever I see." she chuckled. I scowled at her, sticking my tongue out at her again. "Come on," she said, her voice choked as she swallowed a giggle down. "Everyone is almost ready to go now, and you don't want to get Emmett angry when he's hungry. He's a cranky boy."
From down the hall, an indignant cry of protest came from Emmett. "I am not a cranky boy when I'm hungry. I'm ... fussy." I grinned, picking myself up from the floor and pulling the jeans up. As I fastened the button and tugged the zipper up, Alice tossed me a pair of running shoes. Lacing those up as quickly as I could, I linked arms with her, and we strode toward the door.
As we walked into the living room, we were greeted by Edward, Jasper, and Emmett. "Esme, Carlisle, and Rosalie are staying back to hold down the fort," said Jasper, a smile on his face. That, I realized, was one of the first times I had seen Jasper at ease around me. "They went to hunt a few days ago." We nodded, and I asked where we were going. "Out into the woods," he said, pointing to the window. "They're having a bear problem here, much to Emmett's pleasure. They've been roaming pretty close to the house lately, so they shouldn't be hard to find. Besides, with your newborn nose, you'll just have to step outside and you'll find a trail." His smile turned into a grin, and I couldn't help but grin back. For some reason, I was excited to go on my first hunt. Maybe it was because I had a new life now. I felt confidant, dangerous even, and I'd never been those things before. It was a thrill. I could take chances now. I didn't have to be careful around Edward. I could do whatever I wanted now and almost guarantee that I'd come away completely intact. "We'll head out in about ten minutes, I think?" he said, and the rest of us nodded. Emmett disappeared, perhaps to see Rosalie? Alice walked over to Jasper, and he took her hands as the gazed at one another. It was beautiful to see them together: they made a perfect pair. However, as always, I turned away from them. When they looked at one another like that, it seemed so private, and I didn't want to stare.
Edward caught me by surprise, his arms curling around my waist. He lowered his lips to my ears, his voice barely a whisper so that only I could hear him. "You look beautiful." I grinned, looking up at him.
"Why thank you. You don't look too bad yourself."
He grinned cockily. "Do I ever look bad?" I rolled my eyes, and he lead me out onto the porch of the house. We looked out onto the water, and I leaned against him. "Are you ready?" I nodded, smiling lightly. Suddenly, I caught something on the wind. It was enticing, and it made my mouth water. I took a step from Edward, my eyes darting around, focusing on the woods. I could see movement in it, just barely, and I inhaled again. Edward's hand found mine, and he stood beside me again. "You caught it too, huh? That, my love, is a bear."
I danced around anxiously. "It smells way too good." I complained. My belly rumbled, and my senses sharpened again. I tugged against his hand, but he held tight. My lips formed a pout, and I looked up at Edward, my eyes beseeching. "Please, can I go?" I asked, my voice almost childlike. "You'll all catch up to me easy, I know it. I don't want to wait. I'm so thirsty." My eyes flew back to the trees, and the movement had disappeared. The scent, however, was still on the wind, and I shifted my weight back and forth. I knew I had to be patient, but the suspense of waiting was going to kill me if I didn't get to go soon. I suddenly questioned him about if I needed to know anything special about attacking. Edward shook his head, smiling darkly.
"You won't need to be told anything. Instinct will take over, and you'll find that the five of us will work together like nothing you've ever seen. When you let your thirst take over, everything will come naturally. I promise." I heard the others slip around us, and it was apparent that they too had caught the scent.
Emmett's voice broke the concentrated silence. "Let's make this interesting. Boys versus girls, first ones there get the first shot at the bear. They're the ones that get to take it down." Alice grinned, taking my hand.
"This one is going to be ours, Bella." she whispered. She was answered by cocky snorts and replies from the boys, who stood behind us now. "Ladies first?" she asked, and we glanced around at the boys.
"Yeah, we'll give you a fair shot." said Emmett, his macho attitude on display for the world to see. Alice and I grinned at each other, and looked out into the forest again. I caught the scent, and my head shot in the direction from which it was coming. With a cry of excitement from Alice, we were off.
There was a profound difference, I found, from riding on Edward's back and actually running. There was no doubt in my mind that running was definitely the way to go. Deciding to test my new muscles, I leapt up onto a large boulder, pouncing off of it gracefully and landing on my feet. "You don't miss a beat now, do you?" called Alice, her voice musical. It was evident that by the tone of her voice, there was a huge smile plastered on her face. My lips broke into a grin as well, and I sped up a little.
"Not any more."
The trees raced past us, and still, we kept up the pace. My thirst had taken over now, and everything in my body went into overdrive. The wind tossed my hair, and it billowed behind me. This was quite possibly the most exhilarating feeling I had ever experienced. The rushing of the air roared in my ears, but did not block out the sounds of the forest. I could hear every rustle of feathers, every scurrying foot step of even the tiniest animals; it was all clear and sharp. It was amazing, and I reveled in the clarity of everything around me. The world seemed more beautiful now.
Suddenly, I could hear footsteps behind me, and I instinctively dashed to the side. I heard Edward, Jasper, and Emmett's raucous laughter as they ran past me. "You'll have to move faster than that, Bella-girl." Emmett called, his voice taunting. I heard a high whistle, and stopped suddenly to look for the source. My eyes scanned the treetops, and I could see Alice perched easily on a high branch about two hundred metres away. There was a grin on her face, and I could see that she was not intending to lose to the boys. I returned the grin, and took off again. I pressed forward, quicker than before to catch up to the boys. A growl escaped from my lips as I leapt forward, perching on Edward's shoulders just long enough to leap forward again. I caught a branch above me, swinging myself up and onto some sturdier ones. After a moment, I joined Alice, and we dropped from the trees. We hit the ground running, well ahead of the boys, our laughter echoing through the forest.
The scent of the bear overwhelmed me now, and I inhaled deeply. It was intoxicating, and I could taste something new in my mouth. It was sweet, and left a tingle in my mouth. It only took a moment to realize that it was my venom that I tasted. Alice ran by my side, and we glanced at each other, wordlessly changing our plans over and over. Her eyes were dark, thirsty and anticipatory for the events that were about to occur. I could only assume that my eyes were the same. Every moment without seeing my prey made the burn in the back of my throat more intense, and I began to crave what was coming, although I did not know what it was like. And then suddenly, we saw it.
The bear was large, covered in shaggy fur. It sniffed the air, eyeing us warily. It stood up on its haunches, making itself seem larger and more daunting. Its teeth were bared, the sharp tools shining, and it let out a bone-jarring roar. Surprising myself, a guttural snarl tore from my throat, and was answered by Alice's. I crouched, preparing myself for whatever was to come next. I could see the boys come to a halt on the other side of the clearing, arms neatly crossed as they watched patiently. Something that resembled a pout sat on Emmett's lips as he leaned against a tree. Alice suddenly appeared with them, crouched, ready to attack. However, she seemed more laid back, as if she were going to play standby. The realization hit me like an eighteen-wheel transport truck: they were going to let me do this on my own.
Instead of feeling the intense and overwhelming fear that would have completely consumed me on a normal day, a smile of satisfaction played on my lips. My arms and legs moved elegantly, completely in sync as they crossed over one another, moving me sideways. The bear snarled at me again, and I answered, another violent sound rumbling in my chest before escaping from my lips. Instinct took over, and I darted to the left, perching on a rock. Without a moment's notice, I leapt forward, locking my arms around the bear. My fingers entwined in the coarse hair, and I held on with ease as it tried to toss me off. My head darted forward, down to the creature's neck. I could almost see the veins and arteries pumping away under the fur and skin, and I relished the sound of the bear's pulse. It was music to my ears, and, as I learned when I sunk my teeth in, to my taste buds as well.
The warm liquid oozed from the wound, and I lapped it up hungrily. The bear dropped to the ground, and suddenly, my family was around me, their snarls filling the quiet air of the forest. The bear was silent now, unmoving as we drank. The taste was indescribable, the metallic taste I knew as a human replaced by an electrifying sweetness that I had never before experienced. Each drop was new, enthralling my senses, enticing me to drink more. And I did. After ten minutes, the five of us stepped back. I felt satisfied, although I craved more now. The taste was still fresh, and I was enjoying it immensely. My tongue darted out of my mouth to catch a stray drop of the liquid. Delicious.
Emmett clapped me on the back, a wild grin on his face. "Fantastic job, really. You should have seen you. You and Alice sure know how to pick them." He patted his belly contently, but his eyes, still relatively dark, dictated that he was still thirsty. In fact, as I searched the eyes of my companions, everyone was still thirsty. There was a chorus of congratulations about my first kill (what a strange and terrible, yet beautiful thing to say), and the creation of plans to find at least one more of something to eat. Edward's eyes caught mine, and they flashed with amusement. He strode toward me, a smile dancing on his lips as always.
"Now that," he said, motioning to the bear on the ground ten metres away. "Was quite the impressive show." His arms swooped me up, spinning me around before placing me back on solid ground. Edward rested his forehead against mine, and I looked up at him. "You were unbelievable. A natural, in fact. The picture of beauty and grace." His lips caught mine, and I was shocked. The kiss was electrifying, unlike any I had ever experienced before. I could still taste our meal, and my tongue danced hungrily against his, searching for more. He crushed me to his chest, obviously feeling the same thing I was. His hands roamed over my back, under the edge of my shirt, fingertips dancing over my bare skin and sending tingles down my spine. My hands tangled in his hair, holding him close to me, desperate for more contact. No one had told me that side-effects of vampirism include elevated libido... A clearing of someone's throat tore us apart, and if I could have blushed, I would have.
"Talk about blood lust..." I mumbled. Edward chuckled, winking at me. We then turned our attention to the rest of the group, curious as to what we missed while we were ... distracted.
Jasper and Alice stood with their arms at their sides, eyes in the same direction. Emmett looked in the direction too, and a grin came across his face. I caught the scent in the wind, and noticed that this time, it was somewhat different than the bear. However, it was enticing nevertheless, and my throat tingled with thirst again. "Caribou?" said Edward, giving his two cents to the group.
Jasper tipped his head to one side, sniffing again. "I'd have to say so. And there's lots of them." Alice smiled, darting over and taking my hand. She dragged me along, and we both broke into a run. The boys caught up with us, and soon the five of us were together, running as a pack. Whoops, laughter, and cries of excitement and thirst rang in the evening air as we dashed through the forest, following the scent of our next meal. Never had I felt so alive or free. I felt graceful, not clumsy and accident prone like I used to be. I was free of inhibitions, fears and doubts. I was now a vampire, strong, beautiful, and dangerous. Never had I thought that I would be someone or something different or extraordinary. And now I was here, running through the forest with my best friends, my family. It was at that moment that I knew the rest of my life had started, and that there was no where else I'd rather be.
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A/N: Yay! That's another chapter for you. Hope you enjoyed it! Reviews earn cookies! I'm sorry I'm starting to take more time to get the chapters out, but it seems that the more time I take, the longer and more detailed they get. Yay!! LOOOOOVE!
