DISCLAIMER: As always, these beautiful and amazing characters are the property of Mrs. Meyer. Thank you for letting me borrow them and satisfy my muse ; )
Edward and Bella spent hours in bed, memorizing every detail, every tiny inch of each other. For so long they had desired to see and touch and taste each other; it took them the greater part of the night. When they seemed content for a short while, Edward held Bella in his arms, stroking her hair with one hand while his other arm wrapped loosely around her waist, tracing mindless patterns on her hip.
"Tell me what you're thinking," Edward whispered in her ear.
Bella grinned, her eyes closed, trying to remember how her body and mind felt the past few hours. "I'm thinking that was simply the greatest thing I have ever experienced. Are you sure you haven't been with someone like this before?" she mumbled happily.
Edward chuckled. "How did I know you were going to ask that? Funny, you seemed to know exactly what you were doing as well."
He felt her semi-shrug. "I think our bodies are more in tune with our minds than we realize." She paused for a moment, thinking of possibilities. "Do you think…" she trailed off, suddenly too embarrassed to ask.
"What? You can ask me anything. I promise I won't laugh," he insisted.
"Well, I always thought of Rosalie and Emmett having, like a physical connection. And Jasper and Alice definitely have a strong emotional connection. Do you think we've got… like the best possibly hybrid of both kinds?" Bella almost laughed as she said it; it sounded slightly ridiculous but it felt right to say.
Edward buried his nose in the crook of her neck and mumbled, "I think so. It sure felt that way."
Bella felt a tingle as his lips began to nip at her neck. While the feel of his lips on her made her body react, it sometimes forced her brain into overdrive. Being turned with such little time to prepare or finish things in her human life made Bella feel… empty. She had wanted her first time with Edward to be when she was human, when she would be able to feel the heat pulsing through her and the warmth exploding from her center as he caressed her. The feeling of Edward's icy lips on her hard neck felt delicious, but at the same time made her realize her warmth was forever lost.
But she would never confess those thoughts to Edward. He felt guilty enough as it was; no use placing another burden on him. They were so connected now that to share this bit of unhappiness with him would cause him pain, and in turn her pain, so Bella pushed the thought from her mind and tried to enjoy the pleasure of his body against hers, held together for eternity.
And then the hunger struck.
It came on so quickly and so powerfully, Bella wasn't sure how to react at first. The normal side of her was enjoying this moment with Edward, savoring their first time together; she was angry that this thirst suddenly was becoming more powerful than her will. She tried to contain it at first, biting down hard on her tongue, but Edward could sense it almost immediately. Her body had become too rigid, even for their dead bodies.
He didn't need to glance down at her to confirm it, but he wanted to. Though it was still fairly dark, her eyes had regained the faint ruby glow and she was glaring up at him.
"Get up, get dressed. Let's go," Edward said as he swiftly tossed back the sheets. He had his pants and sweater on in seconds. Bella was already dressed and by the door before he had gotten his shoes on. He couldn't help but grin; this was his Bella, or at least his new Bella.
"Could you take any longer?" Bella mumbled, racing down the stairs.
Edward didn't take personal offense to her grumblings; this was the way a newborn was: extremely moody, especially when they were hungry. Instead of being upset, Edward just sighed and smiled. "That's my girl," he whispered to her, putting his arm around her shoulder.
At the bottom of the stairs they ran into Alice. "Edward-" she began, but she didn't need to finish.
"Oh god," Edward breathed, reading her thoughts and trying to process them.
This confusion coupled with her thirst almost irritated Bella into a rage. If it weren't for Edward's protective hold on her shoulder, Bella would have already taken off out the back door. "What?" she gritted through her teeth. "If you don't mind, we were out to-"
"I know, and I'm sorry, but this is important Bella," Alice interrupted. "Rosalie just called. She ran into Victoria a couple miles from here and they… had an exchange."
"What kind of exchange?" Bella asked. She glanced between Edward and Alice who were sharing their own private look, likely their own mental conversation as well. "Hello? Am I invisible here? What the hell is going on?!" She was shouting now but she wasn't really aware of it.
Her tone and decibel brought Jasper to the front hallway. "What's going on?" He glanced at Alice and Edward. "Oh, you heard from Rosalie?"
Alice nodded. "How did you…?"
"Carlisle, Esme, and Emmett just left to go meet her. Is she going to be ok?" Jasper asked Alice, requesting her to use her foresight. Alice nodded, slowly. "Well obviously. Now who's taking Bella and who's going after Victoria?"
Up until this point, Bella had been gripping the wooden handrail to keep herself from running away. But the further lack of answers in this conversation was driving her absolutely insane; the railing crumbled beneath her grip.
Jasper took one look at the sawdust floating to the floor and the flash of scarlet in Bella's eyes and said quickly, "Well, they'll need both of your talents in tracking Victoria."
"No," Edward said forcefully, tightening his grasp on Bella. "I'm going to take her now. I have to take her."
Alice grimaced. "Edward, please, we don't have time. And Jasper's right. I know you think you're protecting her, but if we don't get a lead right now, Bella will be in even more danger."
"It's not that," Edward said quietly towards Jasper. "I trust you. But I promised… I would be with her."
"Edward, just go help Rosalie. Go kill Victoria. I don't care who the hell takes me, just let me go, please," Bella pleaded. Her eyes were practically glowing an electric red now; she didn't have much time left before the hunger became painful. Edward stared at her for a moment, reluctant but ready.
"Are you sure?" he asked. Bella practically roared; there was no other way to describe the guttural noise that erupted from her from the inside out. Edward released her from his grasp and commanded, "Stay with Jasper. Listen to him, and don't do anything stupid."
Bella snarled at him, words having lost their meaning at this point.
Jasper nodded to Edward and held his final gaze for Alice. "We'll be fine, I promise."
Alice gave a small nod. "I know you will."
Edward caught a glance of Bella's dark hair bouncing behind her as she ran out the back door, Jasper keeping right behind her. Worry creased in his face; he couldn't help but feel terrified having let his precious, angry prize out to hunt with the weakest member of their clan.
Alice put her hand on his arm. "I know you're worried, but Jasper is a good leader too. She'll be fine. And we need to help Rosalie."
Edward nodded but the worry never washed from his hard face.
Out in the woods, Bella could feel Jasper behind her as the forest flashed by her, the faint signs of the sunrise creeping above the treetops and streaming down around her. The normal Bella, shoved roughly in the back on her mind by her hunger, was thinking of how wonderful it would be to finally sparkle in the sunshine. But there was no time to sparkle now- it was feeding time.
Mid-way to the hunting corral, Bella caught a whiff of something… delicious. She stopped abruptly near a fallen log, whipping her head to the left, her nostrils flaring as she inhaled sharply. She tried to identify the smell but it wasn't familiar to her; definitely not any kind of animal she had killed yesterday.
"It's a coyote. We don't get very many of them up in this area. They're a little salty for my taste, but you might enjoy anything now," Jasper spoke, his lips turning up at the corners. She almost turned and punched Jasper when he spoke; she was so hungry and all she wanted was for him to shut up. "Well what are you looking at me for? Stop being bitchy about it and just go eat," Jasper hissed roughly.
As Bella darted away towards the coyote, Jasper felt slightly remorseful. He shouldn't be this hard on her when she was experiencing such a hunger pain. Of the entire clan, he knew that feeling the best. It would take months before she would be able to control it slightly, and even then it would take a decent amount of concentration. Everyday was a struggle for Jasper, but coming from his harsh back ground, he wasn't used to being patient with newborns. He would apologize to her for his rudeness later, although it wouldn't be necessary since she probably wouldn't remember anything before she fed.
Jasper heard a yelp close by and he knew Bella had caught the coyote. He was thankful that he had fed earlier with Alice or else he would be itching to lose himself and feed as well. But he resisted the flow of venom in his mouth. Thinking about struggling for resistance, Jasper smiled to himself. Maybe he and Bella wouldn't be so bad as brother and sister- at least they could commiserate on one thing.
He walked along slowly between the trees, his mind lost in a mixed memory of various pasts. The attack from his side caught him completely off guard. He immediately turned defensive as he was tackled to the ground, snarling and growling, trying to rise to his feet but finding himself pinned to the ground. Nothing, nothing was strong enough to keep Jasper on the ground- not even Emmett could do this. His grunts of frustration and anger grew louder and his struggle increased- he couldn't even lift his head to get a glimpse of his attacker.
Jasper paused for a moment in his struggle; his attackers at first felt challenged when they had tackled Jasper. Now, Jasper could tell they were feeling victorious and accomplished. They had come here to do something and whatever that thing was, it was finished. A streak of fear ran through Jasper. Bella. Oh god, what have they done?
A/N: Thank you all for the kind reviews! I've got the story mapped out to about 13 chapters, so we're nearing the end : ) PLEASE keep reviewing! I appreciate all reviews, regardless of length, criticism, etc. Thank you!!