No Longer The Prey

Chapter 11: Back In The Family

I collapsed with my head in the crook of her neck before lavishing the delicate area with sweet kisses as she tightened her arms around me.

"I love you, my Bella." I whispered into her skin.

"As I love you, my Edward." she whispered back.

And if it was possible, I could have sworn I felt my heart beat once at her words. Only she would be capable of doing that to me.

BPOV-

It was amazing. More than I could have ever dreamed. We always had to stop before. Edward was always so afraid that he would lose control, so worried about my safety. There was also the fact that he was very old fashioned. I never expected him to consummate our relationship until much later. Maybe even after marriage. Also, my blood didn't seem to affect him as much as it used to. For some reason it hurt a little to know I was less appealing to him in that way, but he quickly changed my mind when he showed me how much I appealed to him in other ways.

I'm not stupid, I know something is changing in me. They were only small things at first. The sore throat, the random burning sensation in my muscles that seemed to run straight to my bones, the solidness of my limbs; more than just strengthened muscles. The fact that the deep incision on my side had healed completely within two days.

Then there were the big things that really confirmed my suspicions. The excess strength; more than a human should have. The breathing; I once held my breath for eight minutes and was perfectly comfortable. The lack of sleep I needed to function, and of course, the weird power blast in Volterra. There was no denying it. I was becoming a vampire.

Obviously, Edward had not mentioned my 'power' to the rest of them. I'm sure if he had they would be bombarding me with questions that I was unable to answer. Aro had described it as a strong sensation of being stabbed, and I had Jane collapsed on the ground in pain. I have a strong power that I somehow instinctively know will only grow stronger with time.

As I said, I'm not stupid, and neither are the Cullens. They know I'm changing. Albeit slowly, I am turning. I'm being reborn as someone like them. I don't know why they haven't brought it up. But then again, I don't know why I haven't brought it up either.

I had considered how this could be possible, it's nothing like the change I had heard described occasionally before I joined the CIASA. Every bite I had ever received burned, but the burn never spread past the area bitten. The shots of V416 I was given, however, I could feel a burn running through my veins. I suppose it must have been a combination of both.

After all, I had always wondered how it was possible to create an 'anti-venom', without first having 'venom'. it's not possible.

I also wondered why every hunter that had been with the agency for more than five years, no matter the skill level, always died in the field. I have my suspicions but I can't be certain. It's something I will have to discuss with Carlisle. But for now, I just wanted to enjoy my after glow.

I was laying on my stomach staring at Edward as he smiled at me and trailed his fingers gently over my spine. He hadn't stopped smiling in over an hour. It was infectious, I couldn't stop smiling either. My body was still humming with electricity.

When I was younger, I had always heard that a girls first time was painful and never ended in satisfaction. But it was wonderful with Edward, and so very satisfying. He was so sweet, tender and loving. He worshipped every inch of my body as if it was something treasured. He made it incredible, he was incredible. In that moment I really couldn't fathom how I had lasted so long without him.

As our lips pressed together and his arms encircled my body, ready to begin yet another round of passionate love making, we heard the front door of the beach house open and delicate footsteps make their way down the hall. I really didn't care if there was someone in the house or not, and Edward didn't seem to care either. There was no one else in the world besides us in our happy little bubble, nothing else mattered.

"Come on you two! It's been nearly a day and there are things to be discussed!"

"Go away, Alice!" We yelled at the same time, then giggled before resuming our fervent kisses.

"If you guys don't come out, I'm coming in! make your choice!" She announced from the other side of the door.

I rolled my eyes and looked to Edward.

"Is she serious?"

"Unfortunately." He huffed.

"Damn it. Well, lets just go get this over with." I grumbled as my eyes swept the room in search of my clothes.

Suddenly, Alice threw open the door and took a couple of steps into the room with an arm full of clothing, and her eyes closed.

"Alice!" I hollered, throwing a pillow at her head. "Haven't you ever heard of privacy!"

"Hey, watch the hair!" she yelled, ducking out of the way of the pillow.

"Alice, what the hell!" Edward shouted as he pulled the cobalt blue sheet over our nude bodies.

"What! My eyes are closed! I can't see anything!" She said as she dropped the pile of clothes on the end of the bed and turned around to leave.

"Besides, I've already seen most of it and will have to bleach my brain to rid myself of the images." She mumbled under her breath as she closed the door behind her.

"I swear, I'm going to dump all of her designer clothes into the ocean." I grumbled to myself as I looked through the clothes she had brought.

"Bella, don't you dare threaten my wardrobe!" Alice bellowed from the living room.

Edward snickered at my aggravation as I attempted to put on the thin white sundress she had left for me. I shot him a murderous glare and he immediately put his hands up in surrender. Do I seem like the type of person who wants to wear a fucking sundress? I have never liked wearing dresses. I didn't feel comfortable in a dress. Arg, I want to rip the damn thing to shreds, but Alice would probably just bring me something pink if I did that. Fuck, I give up.

Soon, the whole family was convened in the living room. Emmett was slapping Edward on the back, congratulating him on 'losing his v-card', as he called it.

"Shut it, Emmett!" Edward said, jokingly slugging him in the shoulder.

"So, we're all here. Let's get this over with." Rose mumbled to everyone.

Edward stared daggers at Rosalie and shook his head minutely.

"Fuck you, Edward. She needs to know." She suddenly hissed as the rest of the family turned towards her.

The venomous tone of her voice showed that whatever she was talking about, was not up for discussion. Apparently, Edward did not agree.

"We don't need to discuss this right now. Can't you just give us some more time?" he sneered at them all.

"Son, there may not be much time left." Carlisle spoke calmly, obviously not liking the tension that had befallen the room.

I thought I knew what was going on but there was always a chance I was wrong. For fucks sake, who knew when it came to my ridiculous world full of vampires, werewolves, super powers and covert government agencies! For all I knew, the Loch Ness monster could be on our trail!

Either way, it was pointless for them to try to keep anything from me now. I hated when they did it before and I still hate it now.

"Tell me what's going on. I don't need to be protected from anything, I can do that myself." I said without wavering. I looked Carlisle and Rosalie in the eyes since they seemed to be the most forthcoming.

"Bella, maybe you should sit down. This may come as a shock." Carlisle said in what I could only think was the same tone he would use when telling a patient they had a terminal disease.

"I prefer to stand, thank you." I said, narrowing my eyes slightly as the others looked on in concern. Edward's fingers tightened around mine as Carlisle continued.

"Bella… You are changing. I believe that the injections you received did not render all of the vampire venom that was forced into your body inactive. Although, it seems to have slowed the process substantially." No one moved, breathed or blinked as they awaited my reaction.

"I know" I deadpanned, as my eyes swept the room full of half shocked and half confused vampires.

"Maybe she doesn't get it." Rosalie interjected, seemingly not satisfied with my response. "B, you are turning into a vampire. I don't find it fair that you've figured out how to do it in such a painless way but it is happening."

I smiled a little at her casual use of the name I had grown used to over the years and her comical envy of our compared changes.

"Yes, Rose. I get it. I figured it out a while ago." I answered her slowly, enunciating my words as if I was speaking to a child. It always pissed her of, it was funny.

"You… You know already?" Edward asked, taking both my hands in his.

"Yeah, it's kind of obvious. But there are some things regarding my change and the agency that I need to discuss with Carlisle. Some theories I have, some questions I was hoping he could answer." I said as I looked to Edward's pseudo father.

"Of course, Bella. Would you prefer to speak privately or is now alright?" he asked, still in doctor mode.

"Now is fine." I gave Edward a pointed look as I spoke. "We shouldn't hide things from each other."

Edward immediately appeared contrite as he rubbed the back of his neck and sighed.

"You are right, Bella. It won't happen again. I'm sorry." I smiled at his apologetic statement as I gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. He seemed truly sincere about not keeping things from me anymore and I was glad to see that things may indeed hold more equality that they had in the past.

Jasper made a whipping sound as Emmett gave a full bellied laugh. Suddenly, Edward pounced on Jasper throwing him over the back of the couch, catching him by surprise. Jasper and Edward were now in an all out wrestling match, tossing each other around on the hardwood floors of the living room.

"Not in the house!" Esme shouted, although you could see the joy of seeing all her boys together and happy showing through.

"Banzai!" Emmett cried out as he threw himself atop the dog pile.

Rose was shaking her head in embarrassment as Alice and I giggled at the scene unfolding before us. A lamp which appeared to be quite old crashed to the floor because of the roughhousing, which really set Esme off.

"Knock it off now or get outside before I whip your behinds!" She growled.

With the vision of the soft spoken Esme growling at her children who were for once acting the ages that they portrayed I clutched my stomach and fell to the floor laughing uncontrollably. I hadn't laughed like this in forever and it felt nice.

I felt like I was part of a family again, not just a number, not just a hunter. I wasn't completely B anymore. I was nearly Bella again, just a better version of her. I never expected B and Bella to be able to coexist, and truly they didn't. I was the same as both, but also different than both. Either way, I was me.

The boys straightened up immediately and stood shoulder to shoulder looking repentant. As soon as Esme turned her back Edward punched Jasper in the arm sending him flying into the wall beside him, cracking the plaster. The look on Jasper's face sent Alice and I into yet another fit of laughter as Esme placed her hand on her cheek and shook her head.

I had never seen Edward interact with his brothers in such a playful manner. Sure, I had seen them interact like brothers before, but it was never like this. Edward was never like this. It was as if a tremendous weight had been lifted and he was finally able to relax. The joy I felt for him at that realization was something I will never forget. I could only hope it could be replicated many times throughout our future together.

Carlisle sat down in the white leather armchair and motioned for me to take a seat on the sofa across from him. As I did , Edward sat down beside me and kissed my cheek. The small action made my now slow heartbeat quicken to nearly a normal human pace.

"So, Bella. You had some questions, theories?" Carlisle implored.

"Yes, I understand that I'm changing, and I believe you are right about the injections. The bites were probably part of the reason as well. But, I think the anti-venom was a bigger part of it."

I went on to tell him of my suspicions about Agent V416's possibly venomous qualities and how the hunters, after a certain time period, would all be declared deceased.

"I think that the hunters were disposed of when their superiors recognized the signs of the change. They could have taken venom from the changed hunters to use in research and to create the anti-venom" I explained, looking directly at Carlisle. I wanted his opinion as a vampire and as a medical professional.

Carlisle stood up from his seat and began pacing the room. One hand behind his back and the other placed across his forehead. Everyone's eyes followed him across the room and back again. Waiting for their father and leaders thoughts.

"How could I have not thought of this? Of course they would first need venom to create any sort of a counter acting agent. Although, they don't seem to have gotten the formula correct as of yet. However, it is intriguing that they have come so far in their research. Maybe if I can isolate the compound that delays the change I can figure out how to fully stop it. I have centuries worth of research that I can easily compare to their findings. Perhaps… Perhaps one day I will be able to create a compound with a reversal effect!" He was muttering all this to himself and seemed to have forgotten that anyone else was in the room, completely absorbed in thoughts of his research.

At Carlisle's last comment I saw looks of excitement and joy spread over most of the faces of our family. The thought of possibly gaining back what many of them longed for more than anything bringing them hope. I hated to be the one to halt their collective moment of hope and happiness but there was more we needed to think about right now.

"Carlisle." He stopped his pacing and turned his attention back towards me, the families excited whispers and happy smiles ceased at my tone. "I've gone over this in my mind many times. Even if the agency has been using the venom from changed hunters for the V416 and then disposing of them, they have to have had venom from somewhere to begin with. It would have been impossible for an untrained human to get any venom from a vampire and survive. The only thing that makes the least bit of sense to me as how this is feasible is that… a vampire is, or was, willingly helping the CIASA."

Authors Note:

Dun dun DUNNNN! Oh, my, where could this be leading? Could Bella be right, is there a vampire helping the agency? And, if so, who could that vampire be?

Review and tell me who you think it may be, I love to hear your theories. Betcha won't get it right. ;)