A/N: Yup, it's a filler. Nothing really pivotal in the plot is in this chapter, just some talk between Edward and Alice. And by the way, this chapter is for Silverlake Elf. She gave me a really great review. There was some awesome advice in that thing. Much virtual love to her.

xx

His muscles stretched and contracted, rippling along the strong lines of his body. The motions were no challenge for him; his figure could be twisted and lashed at for days, yet no scars would appear.

Hunting is for animals.

He stopped at a thick patch of shrubbery, nestling quietly into its tangles of leaves. Instead of waiting for his prey to stop its chase, he sprung quickly. If he wanted to be there when his love's pain ceased, there would be no time to squander. His teeth snapped the neck of the woodland predator quickly, knowing that if he savored the drink, he would only force it into more suffering. And he knew what suffering was like for an innocent creature; after all, he had been watching it for two days.

The decadent liquid flowed down his throat like cream, soothing the fire that had been raging for so long. Resistance had been a brittle wall for him in the last few days. Never before had so much blood been split before him. He had seen three transformations, stayed calm in all of them, but not once had it been so hard to restrain himself. Why had her blood been so alluring, so enticing? Had he been able to control himself, to silence the longing buried within the folds of dead flesh within his chest, she would be wholly human. Completely mortal, and happy. But would she have been satisfied? Both of them had been joined in an unseen way. A link stronger than fate, or even love. Tearing a bond such as that would be unthinkable.

Hunting is for animals.

Once the fire in the cavern of his throat had been tamed, he wandered back slowly to the pixie woman and her. Each step was deliberately taken, his thoughts wandering to the prospect that if he never came back, she would have no more troubles. How can I even think that? he thought. Leaving Bella when she's just gone through something like that would be the single most selfish thing I could to do to my angel. And I couldn't leave her even if she asked. I've dug in too far to do that.

After arriving back to his love and the pixie woman, he sat on the earthen ground, crossing his legs in a kindergarten style. "I'm . . . I'm sorry, Alice," he sighed, staring at the red-brown dirt and grasses he had kicked up.

"It's okay," she said. "We all know how hard this is for you. Having such a strong pull to her blood must be so unbearable. And even to me - the one who isn't that strongly attracted - she smells good. Kind of floral." She frowned as he growled quietly. "Now, Edward, don't be absurd. I'm not going to eat your girlfriend."

Hunting is for animals.

He forced out a chuckle, making it sound like a hysterical moan. "I know. But seeing her like this has made me feel so much more-"

"Possessive? Over-protecting? Over-"

"Yeah, I get it, Alice. No need to go find a thesaurus," he laughed genuinely. "Seriously speaking, I'm really wondering if she'll regret it. Had she not gotten herself so entwined with me, she could be safe at home, nestling in her warm bed. Instead, of done this to her. I've made her one of us. Now she has no soul. Can you imagine it? My Bella, soulless, thirsty. But I have to wonder whether or not she'll really lose herself like that. Being the Bella she is, I have faith that she'll be able to maintain a certain amount of humanity even in her early days."

The pixie woman laughed, shaking her head. The movement made longer strips of her hair sway gently, as if in a wheat field. "You'll never learn. How could she have not gotten herself entwined with us? Not almost getting herself hit by a van? Not making small talk with you in class? I don't think you can understand the fact that no matter how much you deny it, you would have ended up together anyway. Maybe she wouldn't have ended up as one like this of us if we had changed some planning, but I know she would have despite that fact. I saw it."

Hunting is for animals.

"You knew? You knew she would end up like this?" he hissed.

"Yes, but not in this manner. In my vision, you two were married, still so wildly in love with each other. She asked, gave conditions, and compromised to get this. You accepted, because she wanted it so badly. Because you loved her."

"Me?" he asked, jerking his thumb toward the his sculpted chest. "Why would I have done something such as that? Killing her," he laughed, though there was no humor in the rich sound. "Though I will say that I love her more than you can comprehend, I don't think I would have done that. Never would I have done that."

The pixie woman's lips tugged into a small smile, her head shaking once again. "Whatever you say, Edward, whatever you say."

Hunting is for animals.

xx

A/N: Is anyone reading this willing to be a beta? As expressed in Silverlake Elf's review, I need one. There are some mistakes that I need smart people like you guys to fix. Any takers?