Disclaimer: I;m not Steph. But you already knew that.
A/N: Okay, this chapter is WAY overdue, but here it is. The whole story is completed, but I won't be posting the rest up until I start getting some reviews. So please leave me a review when you're done :) Hope you enjoy this chapter.
10. Bloodlust
A piece of white flew in my direction as Jake tore off a chunk of the vampire's marble exterior. The vampire screamed in response and grabbed hold of Jake's hind leg, his intention to crush it. I tore down the shoreline, my voice echoing Jake's name as I tried to warn him about the vampire. Jake's reflexes reacted instantly and he grabbed hold of the arm attempting to crush his leg with his mouth, sinking his sharp teeth into the white granite as the vampire let out another cry of pain.
Vivid, white figures joined Jake, moving at lightening speed to pin the blood-thirsty beast down. I kept running towards them, but a pair of hands grabbed me from the back and held me. A hand covered my mouth, muffling the scream building up in me.
"Shh," soothed a male's voice. "It's me, Nahuel."
I stopped struggling and gently teased Nahuel's hand off my mouth.
"Thank goodness," I started towards the scene again, but his hands on my shoulders held me back. "What are you doing? Let go, we need to help them!" I motioned to my family in exasperation. Why was he keeping me back?
"You don't need to see any of that," Nahuel said quietly, though his eyes burned; a mix of concern and frustration which could've melted metal.
What the hell, did he think I was… too young or something? Would witnessing a vampire being ripped to shreds give me nightmares and leave me emotionally scarred?
No. Being just a baby, I had the Volturi after my blood. I was pretty sure that I could handle this.
Nahuel was now on his phone, his voice too low for me to hear exactly what he was saying or even figure out who he was talking to. I used this distraction to pry his hands off my shoulder and take off down the shoreline again. This time he wasn't prepared for it and I raced ahead of him towards Jacob.
When I reached the scene, everyone was surrounding the vampire; but when I got a closer look, I realized that it was actually pieces of the creature. With Jacob's and my family's bite marks embedded in all of them, there were different shapes and sizes. It reminded me of one of those puzzles I used to do when I was younger. The moonlight made the pieces sparkle as the light bounced off the surface. But then I turned towards Jake and saw the head of the vampire.
It was still alive and the head looked as though it was writhing in pain, its eyes rolling backwards, mouth shaped as though it was screaming but no sound escaped his lips. Lines crinkled the smooth marble of his skin which was covered with fang and teeth marks. From each of the dents on his face and from his neck dripped blood.
Red, oozing blood dripped drop by drop into the beach sand, disappearing beneath the grains.
Human blood.
But this blood wasn't like normal human blood. It had a strange, inviting scent. A scent that demanded my attention. I couldn't think about anything else, I just wanted to drink that blood; to taste it, to feel its texture on my the source of it was lying only a few feet away, crumpled on the sand, weak and unconscious.
"No, Renesmee," Dad hissed, and grabbed me before I could get any closer to the body of the human girl. "Jasper, a little help?"
Besides assisting to hold me down, Jasper also helped drain the urge of bloodlust that suddenly consumed my mind. Serenity surged through my thoughts, and just for a second I almost forgot about the girl and her blood.
'Take her to the hotel, Jasper," said Dad. "She can't stay here."
"Sure thing Edward. But I'll have to stay up with her; what if the bloodlust comes again?"
"I'll go with, if you don't mind," Nahuel's voice requested, "I'll stay with her till you are done with… this."
A growl interrupted the quiet voices. Jacob wasn't happy.
"No, Jake," said Dad, "We need you here. There is something we need to discuss."
Nahuel looked into Jake's eyes when he addressed him, "I'll take care of her; don't worry."
Jacob bared his teeth in response as Nahuel took my hand and he and Jasper led me back to the hotel room.
I couldn't understand what had just happened. When I'd caught scent of the blood, it caused me to almost… go into a frenzy. Into bloodlust. I couldn't think of anything else. All I wanted was that blood. I could still get the scent of the blood as we walked up to the hotel, but with Jasper controlling my emotions, I could think clearly and not give in to the scent.
"Now Nessie, this is going to have to look natural as we pass the humans at reception," said Jasper as we reached the entrance of the hotel, "Think you can handle it?"
I nodded, shrugged off Jasper and Nahuel's hold off me and walked in to the hotel. Opting for the alternative, I walked off towards the stairs and took off at lightening speed to our floor. Jasper and Nahuel met me at the front door of the chalet in a second.
Jasper told me I looked exhausted and sent me straight to my room to change and get some rest. I had a feeling that his interference with my emotions caused me to feel tired as I removed my outfit and put on a new pair of pajamas which Alice bought me. Outside I could hear Nahuel and Jasper talking.
"You sure you'll stay here. Don't you want to get some rest?"
"I'll be fine, Jasper. It's Renesmee that we need to worry about. She has seen a lot this evening. I don't think the first night is going to be easy."
"What do you mean?"
"She is a half-vampire. She sleeps. After what she saw this evening, even after I told her not to go see it, she will have nightmares. I would know…"
There was a pain silence.
"Alright then, if you insist," said Jasper and walked out the chalet, closing the front door behind him.
"Are you alright in there?" called Nahuel, his voice slipping through the space under the door.
"I'm fine," I said as I scrambled into bed, not wanting to be caught eavesdropping. "You can… uh… come in if you like."
Nahuel smiled as he walked in. I motioned towards the couch in the room.
"You know, if you are tired, you can always crash on the couch," I said. Then I teased him a bit to relieve the tension. "I won't tell anyone you were slacking on the job."
He laughed and sat down on the chair beside the bed. "I'm fine, really."
Nahuel's face seemed so concerned and caring; I couldn't help but blurt out, "What do you mean I'll have nightmares?"
He sighed, the smile gone, and laid his hand on mine. "That scene… well, it's not something you see everyday, now is it? It may give you nightmares, but you'll probably get over it…"
He looked away, taking his hand with him. Lines formed on his forehead, frown lines which contradicted with his alluring face. I reached out and made him face me again.
"I'm sorry," I whispered, "I didn't mean to upset you. You have had these experiences before, haven't you?"
"It was long ago," he said, "I've gotten over it. Don't worry about me."
We sat there in silence, looking at each other.
The ring of Nahuel's phone broke the silence. He reached into his pocket to retrieve it and motioned towards the clock, "Its way passed your bedtime. You need to sleep."
"Alright," I pulled the covers over me. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight," He replied, shutting the door behind him.
I don't know how far away from the door he had gone, because even with his voice low, I could hear exactly what he was saying.
"What was wrong with him?" Nahuel's frustrated voice carried into my room. "I know it's the middle of the night, but didn't we warn him?"
"No, it is his own fault. He deserved what he got… Yes, I think they'll destroy him… Listen, next time we recruit another one, we need to explain to them the dangers of this. This advantage also comes with dangers… Yes, it will… Oh, they seem fine. Except this all probably wouldn't have happened if they hadn't brought their mutt with them… Yeah. Listen, I've got to go now. I'll speak to you later."
As the beep of the button cut the call, I closed my eyes in false slumber. But the weight of my lids carried me away to dreamland, far away from what I'd just heard…
***
"What the hell is going on?"
"Shh, you'll wake Nessie."
Not true, even though they tried to keep their tones measured, their voices still woke me. My eye remained shut though, not willing to open a millimeter.
"Sorry, but you also feel the same way, Alice."
"Yes, when Carlisle is back he'll explain. I'm sure."
"Edward, Carlisle mentioned something about the blood, but he was in such a hurry, we barely made sense of his words. You read his mind, what did he mean?"
"I don't I'm the right person to explain. Besides, I think he would like to do that himself."
There was an awkward, pained silence.
"But that blood… there was something about it. The scent wasn't normal."
"There was something in it… you don't think –"
The sound of the door shutting cut off the person speaking.
"Carlisle," said Dad, "He'll explain."
Carlisle opened the door softly and stepped in the room. The others, even Dad, hadn't picked up that I was awake. I supposed that what they were talking about was really worrying them.
"Renesmee still sleeping then?" asked Carlisle.
"Looks like it," Jasper said, "Carlisle, what is going on?"
"That blood…" Alice murmured, "It wasn't normal."
"And what about Renesmee?" Mum's voice was thick with worry. "She just…"
"Bloodlust," said Dad, "That's what was on mind. Her senses all focused on the blood. Like a newborn's bloodlust."
Through my lashes, I saw Carlisle lift his hand up and silence enveloped the room once more.
"What happened last night was unexpected," said Carlisle, "I cannot tell you why that vampire was doing on the beach, but I can tell you why Renesmee reacted the way she did. It was the blood."
Another silence; all eyes fixed on Carlisle as he sat down on the chair beside the bed. The chair which Nahuel occupied before I'd slept.
"The human girl died on the way to hospital due to a loss of blood. Yes Alice, her blood wasn't normal; it was HIV infected.
"Before they took her to the morgue, I took a sample of her blood and had a closer look at it. The vampire had not yet bitten her as there was no trace of venom in it. So I added a bit of mine in it; just to see what the effects would be –"
"And?" Jasper asked.
"The venom and blood reacted immediately. From what I saw, the venom and the HIV bacteria worked together, fusing to form a new substance. I tested it on several materials. It broke through everything, consuming whatever was in its path. In comparison to vampire venom on its own, it's stronger."
"But Carlisle," my mother interrupted, "Renesmee? Her reaction?"
"This is one thing I'm not entirely sure about. However, I do have a theory…"
"That would make sense, Carlisle," commented Dad, probably reading the theory through his thoughts.
"What I think," continued Carlisle "is that the blood's appeal was stronger to her than to the rest of us. I'm you must have found some attraction from the blood's scent?"
Everyone nodded. They were so engrossed in what Carlisle was saying, that they didn't notice me shift to my right, still in false slumber, to get a better view of what was happening.
"Well, I think that the appeal of it affected her to a point that it sent her into bloodlust. It didn't have the same effect on us as it did on her because she is only half a vampire…"
"But then why didn't it have the same effect on Nahuel?" Jasper inquired. "He is also half."
"He wasn't standing as close to the blood as I was."
Those words came from my lips. I was fully awake now, my eyes opened wide and curiosity probably showed on my face.
"Morning," I added, smiling.
"Yes, but he did come towards us later, did he not?" Jasper argued, "To bring you back to the room."
"That's why I said it's just a theory," Carlisle reminded him, "I could be completely off for all we know…"
Another awkward silence aroused, but I couldn't handle the tension.
"So, what are our plans for today?" I asked, changing the topic.
Aunt Alice smiled. "Well, the weather is miserable. It's overcast, windy and rains are expected shortly. If you can wake your boyfriend up, I'm sure we can go down to the beach. Unless you want to go there without him…"
She winked at me, pulling the curtains open to reveal a very dreary looking sky. I jumped out the bed as fast as I could and raced towards Jake's room, not bothering to knock before I entered the room and jumped on the bed.
A/N: Oh yes! Forget to mention that the whole story was given (in hard copy) to my friend Priyanka as part of her birthday present. I shall post a picture of it soon :) Don't forget to review!