A/N: Again and again I say thank you and give kisses to all my wonderful reviewers! And thanks to SM who makes all my chapters possible.

CHAPTER 10: BREATHLESS

She made sure she was outside before she stopped to draw in a long, deep breath, shaking her head as if to clear it, although she knew that wouldn't help. The sun was settling just beyond the city walls and the sky was flushed with purples, lavenders and blues. She watched the stars come out, one by one, dotting the coming night like solitary lanterns in a dark ocean. Twilight was her favorite time of day.

The Cullen family found her there, gathering tightly around her in a silent little group. Carefully, she met each of their questioning looks.

"Everything's fine - we'll talk later," she managed a wide, open smile, deliberately catching Edward's eye. "Carlisle? I believe this is your tour?"

Carlisle stepped away from the circle and motioned for everyone to follow him. There wasn't a corner of Volterra that wasn't familiar to her, but she found Carlisle's personal memories of the place very enlightening. She had only really seen Volterra from the eyes of its keepers, Marcus, Aro and Caius. Carlisle had a completely different way of seeing the stone streets and twisting alleys.

His voice was soft, probably only a whisper to humans who might be close by, but the city was quiet. Most of the day's tourists had returned to their hotels outside the city. Of the ones who had chosen to stay, the majority of those were with Heidi. Her throat caught fire with the thought.

Edward was by her side, the rest of his family had divided into couples, leaving them together. He hadn't spoken yet, but she could tell he was trying to read her even though he knew he couldn't see her mind. Two humans, a man and a woman, out enjoying the evening most likely, were coming toward them.

"Thirsty?" His mouth hardly moved as the word slipped out of it.

"Yes," she replied, just as quietly. The humans passed by them, unaware of any imminent danger. Their sweet smell tickled her nose and made her thirst ignite in flames. "I am still not positive about this whole... animal thing."

"Me, neither," he chuckled, a low, gruff sound that she immediately loved.

The moon had begun a slow ascent above them as they left the walled city and entered the forest beyond.

"Edward," Carlisle's voice was part of the wind that wrapped around them. The vampires were shadows among the trees. "You take Bella with you. The rest of us are pairing off to spread out and bring less notice to our activities. We'll meet back at the city gates an hour before sunrise. Alice predicts a beautiful day tomorrow and we don't want to take any chances." With a nod from Edward, Carlisle and everyone else was gone without a sound.

"Shall we?" A crooked smile greeted her as she turned to face her companion for the evening. If she'd had one, her heart would have melted at the sight. Did he know this? Did he feel it too? Carlisle probably just paired them up because Edward was the only single one in the group. She made herself focus on the task at hand: time to hunt.

They ran through the forest, away from the city and the others. Edward spoke as they moved, effortlessly avoiding obstacles, on alert for prey.

"I prefer mountain lions, but there aren't any in Italy. In fact, Italy doesn't offer a wide variety of choices, unless you include reptiles, which we certainly don't. Feeding from warm-blooded mammals is definitely preferred, and meat eaters are better then herbivores. There are brown bears and wolves here, but they are endangered. We try to only feed on animals that have a reputation of overpopulation," he paused. "Poor Emmett, he loves bears – but he'll just have to wait until we get back home."

Bella groaned unintentionally. "None of it sounds good to me. Why would Carlisle, or you, for that matter, choose such a life?"

But Edward didn't answer. His hand was out as if to stop her from going forward and his nose was in the air. In a split second, they were both crouched on the ground, ready to spring if necessary. All conversation forgotten, she turned herself over to her vampiric nature. The smell that hit her was wild, warm and pulsing, but definitely not human. "A deer," Edward said in her ear. Then he was gone – with her right behind him.

He sprung gracefully into a tree, moving high in its branches. His eyes were wide and completely black. She joined him and he pointed down to a small clearing in front of them at a lone good-sized buck. The scent that filled her nostrils wasn't appetizing, and nowhere near as wonderful and delicious as a human, but it wasn't terrible. Instead of a demanding sweetness, there was more of a musky, forest-type smell, as if the deer's blood was made of wood and grass. As the sensation tingled through her body, she thought of another word - uninteresting. The desire to drink was there, but not as strong as it would be if she was getting ready to prey on a human. She could easily pass an animal in order to go after a human and never even notice the animal was there.

"Ladies first," she could hear the smile in his voice. Unsure of how exactly to proceed, she let her instincts take over and she pounced, jumping swiftly down from the tree onto the back of the buck. He didn't even struggle, going down immediately as she sank her teeth into his hairy neck. The new taste exploded in her mouth, satiating the hunger but not quenching it. The grass and wood flavor made her feel like she was swallowing the forest itself. In no time at all the buck was dead and she was still thirsty.

"Well?" Edward was right next to her and she felt uneasy for a moment. No one had ever watched her hunt before - she preferred to go alone. The feasts Heidi provided at the castle were such a free-for-all no one really paid attention to anyone except the victim at hand.

"Not bad, but not great," she said, wiping her mouth even though there was nothing there. Being nervous around another vampire was so strange to her.

"As I said, carnivorous prey is much better," he said as he helped her up. "But it doesn't matter, it will never be the same as a human. It keeps the thirst at bay but never really makes it go away completely."

"I am starting to see that. I am definitely still thirsty," she responded. "So, you never answered my question earlier. Why make the sacrifice in the first place? I know Carlisle said something about it keeping you more human..."

"Let's keep hunting and I'll explain," he took her hand in his, stopping her with that half-smile of his again. The electric current she remembered passing between them before was nothing compared to what she felt now. A force rippled from his hand through her entire being and she saw nothing but him. Before she could blink he was leaning in, closer, and she was drowning in the dark black pools of his eyes.

Wait! A tiny voice trilled in the back of her mind. If you kiss, then Marcus will know and Aro will know. There will be a time for this but not right now.

It took every once of willpower she had ever had to look away from him. "You're not going to distract me that easily," she hoped by teasing him he wouldn't be too put off.

Still, she saw disappointment and rejection flutter across his face, so she gave his hand a hard squeeze. She couldn't answer the questions in his eyes right now. Soon, she promised silently, soon.

He responded by pulling her into the night to continue their hunt.