Disclaimer: Let me check in my purse *Digs deep into the endless bag*….ummm….no. Nope, still don't own them. I will keep checking though.

Chapter 11

I pulled up to the trailhead, thinking I was going to be early for once, but Emmett's Jeep was already there, waiting in the same spot as last time. The senseless love-sick little girl in me hoped that it was because Edward was as eager as I was to be together again.

I jumped out of my truck and grabbed my pack from the bed. Looking around, I didn't see Emmett or Edward in the area. "Hello?" I called out; there was no answer. The rain had held off so far, but I wore my raincoat just in case. I also sported a knit cap and gloves this time, remembering how chilly I was during our last hike.

I started towards the trailhead when a flash of white on Emmett's windshield caught my eye. A piece of paper waved gently in the breeze, caught under one of the wiper blades. I picked up the paper and read the note addressed to me.

"Bella, load up your pack with the rocks set beside the Jeep, you will thank me one of these days when you are a hiking champ! Go a quarter of a mile down the trail. When you see the stream, cross it and head northwest for half an hour. We will meet you there, squirt!

Emmett

Below Emmett's nearly eligible scrawl was a side note, written in a more elegant script.

Please, be careful. See you soon.

Edward

I smiled and tucked the note in my jacket pocket, but my smile quickly faded when I saw the large pile of rocks Emmett was talking about.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

An hour later I pushed aside a large fern leaf and saw my boys lounging in a small clearing, grinning at me. "Perfect score again Bella! Did you use your compass?"

I groaned and dropped my heavy pack with a thud. "Yep. I checked it against the map, as well as the other markers showing me where to go." I smiled, more than a little proud of myself as I rotated one shoulder while holding a hand against it. "I think I hate you now though. Did you leave any rocks in the forest or are they all in my bag?" Emmett laughed and patted me on the head. "Aww, come on squirt! Pain is weakness leaving the body!" I just rolled my eyes and scoffed.

Edward walked up to me, an amused smile on his perfect face. This time, neither of them had bothered with jackets or packs. He wore a plain black cotton shirt that hugged his chest and arms. I furtively checked for any drool that may have found its way down my chin.

He reached one hand up and tucked a loose strand of hair up in my cap. His fingers were ice cold, but that wasn't the reason I shivered. "How's your back?" he grinned. I narrowed my eyes at him, but had to fight not to smile back at him. "My back is fine, it's my shoulders that are killing me. This is so much more weight than I had when I wore it last time."

"That's because you didn't have all the proper equipment. Each person on a hike should have everything they need if they become separated from the group." He smiled secretively and leaned closer to me as he talked quietly. "If you want to take a few rocks out, I won't tell Emmett.

I turned to see that Emmett had my bag and was sitting on a log several feet away, adjusting the straps and the bag's contents. Although he shouldn't have heard us, his head shot up and he glared at Edward as if he had. I sighed. "No, that's okay. I have to do it to condition myself, right?"

Emmett buckled my bag shut and stood up with his usual large smile. "That's my girl!"

Edward growled behind me and Emmett just snickered at him. I didn't even ask what that was about.

"Alright Bells, I made some adjustments so you should be able to carry this thing easier." I thought he was going to hold it for me, but he just placed it on the ground in front of me. "When you lift something this heavy, you will get tired before you even take a step if you don't do it right. Lift it up high enough to prop it on your knee, then use your leg to help lift it on one shoulder…then lean forward and pop the bag up on your back, keeping it higher than you would a regular back-pack."

I listened to his instructions, then gave it a whirl. I accomplished my task, but not without some loud grunts and groans and almost falling on my face when I leaned forward. Edward stood to my side with his hands out, ready to help if it looked like I couldn't handle it. Emmett pulled a few more straps then asked how it felt. I walked in a circle around them, and hopped up and down a little. "Better." I sounded surprised. Emmett handed me my map and compass and briefly explained where we were going to go that day. Basically we were going to cut through the woods and join back up with the trail a little later. "Today we have two goals, squirt." Emmett walked on one side of me while Edward claimed the other. We pushed through thick foliage and walked over stones and logs. So far, I had remained upright.

"One is to start getting you conditioned for heavy hiking. The other is to teach you how to live off the land."

I liked the sound of that, it ranked up there with one of the most important things to know in my personal opinion.

We met up with the trail a little later and continued on the path. I walked in silence, willing Edward to start talking to me. I knew he hadn't forgotten what he promised me, and I knew he was waiting for the right moment to tell me. My whole body felt tense, even though at some point along the way I had realized that it didn't matter what he said. I mean, I was curious of course, but no matter what he told me, my feelings for him wouldn't change. I have heard and read the worst possibilities of his explanation over the past couple of weeks, but somehow I still felt impossibly drawn to him…my heart was already with the silent, beautiful, pale-skinned man walking beside me. That fact surprised me more than anything else I had found out in the past few weeks.

We reached a marked campsite and I gratefully took a break. I took Emmett's suggestion and dropped my pack onto a rock so I wouldn't have as far to lift it when we continued. Edward dropped down on the ground near me and we leaned up against some boulders. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, willing the ache in my muscles to leave my body…and trying not to focus on the fact that I still had a long walk back to my truck.

Edward's foot nudged mine and I opened my eyes to meet his. He looked at me thoughtfully. "What are you thinking about, right now?"

I shook my head lazily, "Nothing."

He narrowed his eyes, "I'm sure that isn't true. This is very frustrating."

I laughed, "Why do you need to know what I am thinking?"

"Because I can't." His voice stressed on the significance of that statement, and I sat up a little straighter, waiting for him to continue.

Edward glanced over at Emmett, who was not bothering to conceal his eavesdropping. He nodded at Edward's unspoken request and stood up. "I am going to scope out some food…" And then we were alone.

Edward sighed, "You should eat and drink something."

I laughed quietly, "I don't think I can lift my arms enough to do anything right now."

Edward reached up into my bad and rummaged for the sandwich and apple I had packed. He handed them to me and then unlatched my canteen from my pack. I thanked him and began nibbling on the food. "What did you mean, when you said you don't know what I am thinking?"

Edward gestured to my forgotten sandwich and I took a large bite, waiting.

"I can hear people's thoughts. I can understand what they are thinking all the time…except you."

I was stunned, this was not something I had expected. I was a little disturbed to know I was different from other people, but mostly relieved he hadn't heard my embarrassing thoughts since I met him. "So, you have never been able to hear what I am thinking, but everyone at school…"

"Within a certain radius and based on how much I know that person, I can hear everyone."

"Wow." That was a big understatement. He shook his head and smiled ruefully. "That wasn't the reaction I expected."

"Well, I knew something was…different about you. Though I didn't think it was that."

His face closed down, becoming guarded. "There is more….so much more. This is your last chance to leave. After this, nothing will be normal again."

I grabbed his hand out of impulse, and the action made his face looked pained. I poured all my trust into my eyes. "It's too late. I can't leave."

"What are your theories?"

"Well, I heard some stories and read some things from what I knew about you." I hesitated, feeling somehow ridiculous speaking out loud of the incredible ideas running through my head. "You are pale, too pale…even for Forks. Your skin is ice-cold, you don't eat…at least not that I have seen. Your strength is…unbelievable, and you have shown a few times me how fast you are. Not to mention you disappear on sunny days."

I paused when he stood and moved to lean against a large, shaded evergreen. I closed my eyes as a splinter of sun broke through the clouds, filtered through trees and shined directly on my face. I blinked at Edward, who gave me a wary look across the clearing. "You know what I am." It wasn't a question.

I felt my throat dry up, and I cleared it reflexively. My palms felt sweaty and my pulse raced. "Are….are you a…v-vampire?" My voice squeaked on the last word.

Edward walked slowly over to me, still in the shadows of the trees. He squatted down in front of me and reached his hand out, his sleeves rolled up revealing muscular forearms. I gasped when his hand penetrated the circle of sunlight surrounding me.

All the stories I had read about vampires and direct sunlight flew out the window. Edward's skin didn't turn a charred black, and he didn't burst into flames in front of me. Instead, his skin became even more dazzling than before. Light reflected in thousands of directions off of his sun-drenched arm. Millions of diamonds couldn't have created the amazing effects in front of my startled eyes. I looked up at his face, his eyes contained the sadness of one who was expecting a certain reaction.

I looked back to his outstretched hand and reached up to touch my fingertips to the back of it. His skin felt as smooth as ever, my own hand looking insignificant next to his. "You're beautiful." I whispered. Edward startled me by snapping his hand back from and moving back into the shadows. "Do you realize what you just said?" His voice sounded emotional…and angry.

"You just called a monster beautiful. I am a vampire, Bella! I have killed people!" I jumped to my feet as his voice became louder. Ignoring the warning in his eyes, I boldly stepped up to him, taking his hand again. Even though I knew he was strong enough to stop me, he allowed me to move his hand up until it was placed palm-down at the base of my throat. His jaw clenched and my pulse raced under his fingertips.

"I'm not afraid…I trust you."

He shook his head and gave a humorless laugh. "It's not fair." He moved his hand from my throat to rest against my face, near my temple. "The one person in this world I wish I could hear, and you're silent."

"I am saying what I am thinking."

He closed his amber eyes for a moment, "That's what I am afraid of."

"Edward," I whispered to him and waited for him to open his eyes. "I don't care what you are. I want to be with you…I have wanted that long before I knew who you were. I think I wanted it from the moment I saw you across the campfire that night."

My face heated under his scrutiny and I couldn't make myself take those words back. I hadn't realized I was going to pour my heart out until it was already done. Edward had exposed the most vital part of him to me, and I felt it was only right to do the same.

He tried to shock me again. "Do you know why we don't eat?"

I fought hard not to look away from him nervously. "I get the idea."

"And you aren't afraid?" He stepped closer to me. His blank face became intense and his lips parted slightly…his eyes half-closed.

"Aren't you worried about what I could do to you?" His face inched closer to mine, his cheek brushing against the side of my face. "You have seen how strong I am, how fast I am." His whispered tickled over my ear and then lower and he moved towards my neck. I automatically tilted my head, giving him unlimited access. "You have seen the things that draw my prey to me…and yet you still want me?"

My breath rattled in my chest roughly, and my voice was barely audible. "More than anything."

I didn't even flinch as his mouth settled over my pulse, his lips cool and smooth against my burning skin. I felt him breathe in deeply through his nose and then mutter something in a language I had never heard before.

When he pulled back and looked into my dazed face, I was relieved to see a hint of a smile back on his lips. I managed to ask him what he said.

"Moje prekrasno je pjesma sirena…my lovely siren's song."

He kept his smile, but his eyes still held a trace of sadness.

My brow furrowed in question and I ached to reach out to him, but he pulled back slightly. "My family and I, we aren't like others of our kind. We crave human blood, but we vowed to not drink from them. We hunt animals instead."

That explains why they were in the forest so much.

"So, you are kind of like…. vegetarians?" Edward threw his head back in laughter, and I rejoiced in the sound. "I like that! Vegetarians…you will have to tell Emmett about that."

I hated to go to an uncomfortable topic, but I had many more questions that needed to be answered. "When you say you crave human blood…do you crave mine too?"

Edward's smile faded, but the stone mask did not come back. He looked more resigned than anything. "More than you can imagine, more than any other human I have ever encountered. You don't know how many ways I imagined taking your life from you."

I couldn't help but be afraid, it was instinct. He seemed to sense my emotional change. "Almost a normal reaction."

"That's why you said you shouldn't be around me?"

He turned away from me then, and I let him get to a comfortable distance. "Your life is in danger every moment you are with me. The closer I am to you the more I want you. It's multiplied exponentially if I touch you.

I flashed back to the memory of him flinching away from my injured hand. "When you said you were afraid of blood…"

"I was afraid of what I would do to you when I smelled your blood."

I had moved slowly across the campsite so that I was standing in front of him again, not giving him the chance to shy away from me.

"How did you manage to carry me out of the forest, if my blood was that tempting?"

He smirked at me. "I am apparently a lot stronger than I thought I was. Plus, I held my breath pretty much the whole time. I wanted to help you out of that forest that morning, but the sun was out and I wasn't expecting you to take it this well."

"Thank you." I made sure my expression matched my words. "You saved my life, more than once."

"I hoped that its makes up for the way I acted around you at the beginning."

I waved off his concern, "Water under the bridge."

Edward looked like he was thinking about saying something else when Emmett came crashing back through the brush. He looked at our close proximity. "So, how'd she take it?"

Edward looked back to me and tried to look angry, but his mouth twitched as he fought a smile, "A little too well."

I smiled at Edward, and then grinned at Emmett. "So, you don't want to kill me too, do you?" Emmett laughed but Edward's grumble came from beside me, "Not funny."

Emmett quieted down but walked up to me and threw an arm over my shoulders. "Naw, that's just Eddie. Don't get me wrong, you smell fantastic…but he is the only one that you affect in that way." I peeked under Emmett's arm to look at Edward's serious face, and I knew Emmett wasn't joking. It felt a little weird to have someone comment on how they appreciate the way I smell.

"So now that you know all about us, we can continue our lesson. It's a good thing you asked me to teach you Bells, you picked the best vampire."

I raised my eyebrow at him, "What makes you the best vampire? Edward can read minds…what can you do?"

Edward's laugh came from behind me and I felt my lips turn up in response. Emmett held his hand over his heart in mock hurt, "Ouch! I'll have you know that I can kick Edward's butt, mind tricks or not!"

Edward tossed Emmett's arm off of me. "I have to give it to him, he is physically the strongest out of all of us. He will have to tell you the story about how we found him."

That reminded me of the other questions I was going to ask Edward. "The rest of your family, do they all have special…abilities?"

Edward helped me load on my pack and we followed Emmett off the trail into the thick forest. I watched both of them in fascination as they stepped in and out of light patches, their skin sparkling brilliantly. Edward explained to me the differences in his family members and what talents they had. He talked of Carlisle's compassion, Alice's visions, Jaspers emotional influences and Esme's love. "What about Rosalie?" I asked.

Emmett turned his head to talk back to us, "Rosalie is hot."

I rolled my eyes. "Yes I can see that. What is her special ability?"

"That's just it." Edward said. "She is very attractive to all humans. It's another…lure, for lack of a better term."

"Oh." That made sense, but it also made me feel a little uneasy to think of this seemingly loving group of people as killers.

Emmett stopped in front of a fallen log and behind it was a large bush with bright berries on it. I looked at him with question when he pulled a small book out of his back pocket. "You have a plant guide? I thought you were the master of survival?"

Emmett gave me a smirk. "I haven't eaten berries in over seventy years squirt, you really want me to guess at what you can eat out here?"

Good point. I gestured for him to continue.

"Okay, these are a match for the Mullberry. They are apparently a popular berry to snack on." I looked at the mixture of red and black colored clusters. "They look like blackberries," I observed.

Emmett flipped through his book and apparently found the listing for blackberries. "Ah hah! So they do."

We walked another short distance to another bush decked with small red berries. Emmett consulted his manual. "These are Holly berries. Stay away from these, they are poisonous." I filed that away under the important section of my memory. After several more stops at different bushes and plants I came to the conclusion that I just needed to get one of those handy books that Emmett had.

Eventually, Emmet stowed the book away and turned to me with a mischievous grin on his face. "You ready for the fun stuff?" I put a false sweetness in my voice, "Aren't we already having fun?" Edward chuckled along with me.

Emmett lifted up a rotten log and I jumped back as many tiny little creatures scurried out from under it. Emmett laughed and gestured for me to come closer. I looked to Edward and he just shrugged, unsure of where Emmett was heading…or at least not wanting to tell me. I gingerly stepped over to Emmett's kneeling form and he pointed to a small, fat white worm. "These guys are a great source of protein, and you can eat them as is." He looked at me with his eyebrows raised. I caught on to what he wanted, "Oh, hell no! I am not sure I could eat one of those if I was actually starving! I am not eating one just to amuse you!" Emmett just shook his head in disappointment and pointed to a few other "appetizing" creatures crawling in the dirt. Edward crouched down and poked at the fat little worm, and I felt a little nauseous as it wriggled under his touch. "How do you know all this stuff?" He asked his brother. Emmett grinned at him and winked, "I watched a Survivor Man marathon the other night."

I groaned and rolled my eyes. I needed to research this stuff some more and not leave my eating habits up to a TV show.

I felt the cool wind change directions and rustle the leaves around me. Suddenly, Emmett and Edward's heads both snapped up and they became tense. Emmett dropped the log and stood faster than I could blink. Their heads snapped to look at the trees to my right, but before I could ask them what was going on the sound of something moving through the bushes carried over to me. A large black bear ran out of the bushes and growled angrily. It stopped in its tracks to roar at us some more and I realized that I was close to it…way too close.

I glance at Edward and saw that his eyes seemed to have darkened since I last looked at them and Emmett had a low, menacing smile on his face. Edward seemed to know what his brother was about to do, "Emmett, not now!"

Emmett ignored him, lowered into a crouch and then launched himself at the angry bear. I covered my mouth with my gloved hand to hold back a scream. Edward looked like he was going to spring at the bear as well, but then stopped. I couldn't see his expression, I was too busy watching Emmett wrestle with the large bear. My eyes widened as he bared his teeth, and when he sunk his teeth into the bear's neck I let out that scream I had been holding back. Edward reached for me and tossed me onto his back. I buried my face against his shoulder as we sped through the forest, but I couldn't block out the images of Emmett's gleeful face covered in blood.

Several minutes later, Edward came to a stop. It was still strange to me that he ran all that way and was barely even breathing, but my gasps were becoming faster and faster. I felt like my limbs would snap from the tense pressure of locking myself onto Edward. "Bella?" His voice was gentle with concern. I couldn't answer him, I could hardly breathe anymore. "Can you get down? Its okay, we're nowhere near that area anymore." I just kept clinging to him, my face remaining buried and my eyes squeezed shut. Edward gently pried my arms from around his neck and spun me around until I was cradled in his arms. He unhooked my pack and let it fall, and only then did I open my eyes. His brows were pulled over his now-amber eyes in concern for me, but I also saw a tenseness that wasn't there before. "Breathe deep, Bella." He sat on the ground with my shaking form clutched in his lap. He hummed a sweet melody in my ear, his voice vibrating through my body. Soon I began to breathe more normal, and my shaking had subsided. Finally, my muscles relaxed and I went limp. Edward pulled back and looked at me, probably thinking I had fainted. He reached up and smoothed my hair off my forehead, and I dimly realized that sometime along the way here I had lost my knit cap. I gave him a wobbly smile, trying to reassure him. He just pursed his lips.

"I'm sorry you saw that. Emmett has a …sweet tooth."

"For b-bears?" I stammered, my voice sounding weak even to my ears.

Edward gave me a smirk. "This is the first normal reaction I have seen from you yet."

I knew what he was silently asking me, "I'm not going anywhere. I was just… surprised. I didn't really think about how you said you hunted bears earlier. I pictured something a little more…tame."

Edward sighed, "It usually is small deer or something like that, but carnivores are more appetizing."

I nodded like it made perfect sense to me.

With his help I managed to sit up and he handed me my canteen. Edward cocked his head to the side and I thought he had heard something else coming in the woods. "Emmett?" I asked.

He shook his head, "Emmett went back to the Jeep, he feels bad for scaring you."

"We should go too, I need to talk to him and let him know its okay."

Edward's voice turned to a growl, "It's not okay. He shouldn't have done that in front of you. You were never meant to see something like that." He ran one hand through his hair in frustration. "You don't realize how dangerous that was, Bella. When we feed, we lose all control. We could easily turn on you when we are in that frame of mind."

I laid a hand along the side of his face, and he looked like he relished the contact as much as I did. The tense lines on his face evened out.

"Hey, that bear was pretty close. In a way, he sort of saved me from getting mauled."

Edward shook his head, "I would never let any harm come to you if I could help it."

I smiled, knowing he meant every word. My legs were wobbly as I tried to stand, and I hadn't even strapped my pack on yet. Edward watched me for a moment.

"You are exhausted. I am carrying you out of here."

"No! I should finish the hike…conditioning myself, right?" He looked at me with doubt, but helped me put the pack on my back. When I took my first step my knee buckled and Edward reached out to catch me. "That's it, give me the pack." He didn't wait for me but unbuckled the straps, dumped out the rocks and then re-strapped it to his own body. A huge part of me cheered inside when he lifted me back into his embrace…I may have moaned in relief.

Edward's chuckle told me he heard that.

He told me to shut my eyes and we sped off once again. We reached the trailhead within a few minutes and I looked to see Emmett leaning against the Jeep with his muscular arms crossed over his chest. He pushed himself upright and tucked his hands into his pockets and I noticed he had changed his shirt. For once, there was no smile or grin on his face, and I sadly missed seeing it.

At my insistence Edward set me down and I stumbled over to Emmett, not hesitating as I wrapped my arms around him in a big hug. I knew my squeeze was no where near as strong as the ones he gave me, but after a second I felt him gently return it.

"I am so sorry, squirt," he muttered in my hair. I shook my head against his chest. "Nothing to be sorry for. Besides," I pulled my head back to grin up at him, "I get that way sometimes when I see a warm cinnamon bun."

After blinking at me for a second Emmett threw his head back and let out a roar of laughter. He released me just to ruffle my hair a bit. "You silly humans with your odd eating habits," he teased. I lightly punched him on the arm, and then shook my hand out a little at the sting. "Look whose talking!"

Emmett looked passed me to Edward, who was watching our interaction silently. He looked at Emmett for a moment, anger still evident in his expression, but when he turned to me his gaze softened and he looked almost proud.

Emmett held out his hand and Edward hesitated only a moment before clasping it in his own. "Hey man, I'm sorry for losing control like that." Edward smirked at him. "Just don't let it happen again." Then they did some sort of weird man-hug and all was right again. Edward threw my bag into the back of my truck while Emmett fired up the Jeep and fiddled with the radio stations. He opened the driver's door and I climbed in. Before he shut it, he leaned in towards me, a small hopeful smile on his face. "Can I see you tonight?" I felt heat rising to my face as I thought of Edward in my room again. My throat seized up so I just nodded mutely. His smile got wider and he picked up one of my hands resting on the steering wheel. He removed my glove and was still smiling as he pressed his lips to my knuckles. I still felt the current pop between our touching skin, but held my hand steady until he released it. It took me another moment to calm myself enough to start my ancient truck.

I waved back at them as they flashed their lights behind me, signaling that they were turning off. I grinned to myself the whole way home.

Well….its been revealed! What do you think? Let's see if we can't get some more reviews up in this story!

Oh, and don't quote me on the facts of this chapter because a lot of it was just half-assed research done online. The saying Edward spoke was in Croatian…randomly picked and translate online lol.

His reveal wasn't too cheesy was it?

I have some things planned for the upcoming chapters, but this may change. I will have the weekend hiking trip, throw in some bad-guys, have a smooch or two in there and more fluffy stuff than you can shake a stick at!