Edward and I were lounging in bed, feeling very satisfied. I had taken control in this coupling – I was obviously more possessive as a vampire, and needed to mark my territory, as such.
I was about to lean in to give him another mind-blowing kiss, when we heard the crash of the front door being opened, and the loud laugh that obviously belonged to Emmett.
'He's coming to tease us'. Edward said, rolling his eyes, 'we'd better get dressed'.
It took longer than normal to get dressed as we had to find all of our clothes that were scattered in random places across the room (I had to go commando – I didn't know where my underwear had gone...). We left the bedroom; hand in hand again, feeling very contented and went to curl up together in the living room, where the rest of the family had congregated.
I was hit by Alice running in to give me a hug – this seemed to happen every time we saw each other, now – squealing 'I'm so proud of how you dealt with Tanya!'
I smiled, 'thanks'.
Emmett grinned, 'I bet Edward's glad, too. He got a great shag afterwards!'
Rosalie hit him on the back of the head. He turned to her, giving her a heart-warming smile, 'I like having your scent all over me – it makes me feel wanted'.
Her stern expression melted as she leaned in for a long, sensuous kiss, 'we'd better replenish my mark, then'. She got up, leaving a stunned Emmett still sitting on the couch. Rosalie swaggered seductively out of the living room, obviously going into their bedroom. Emmett followed like a lost puppy.
I chuckled, pulling Edward in for another kiss, 'I know what she means, marking your territory'.
Jasper smiled, 'I wouldn't be able to distinguish between the two of you; your scents are so mingled. You really must have been-'.
'Jasper!' Alice shouted, shocked.
'What?' he asked, the cocky attitude gone.
'I know what you were going to say', Alice's surprised turned to a sexy smile, 'and I liked it'.
She took his hand and led him to their wing of the house, skipping sweetly.
I looked around, expecting Carlisle and Esme to be canoodling in a corner, but they weren't there.
Edward cringed, obviously guessing my thoughts, 'they went straight to their bedroom'.
'Oh' I acknowledged.
'I have to get out of here – should I take you for your first hunting trip?' Edward asked tentatively.
I thought for a minute, 'sure. Is thirst like a burning at the back of your throat?' I asked, curious.
Edward considered for a moment, 'yes, I suppose it is'.
I thought for a minute. 'I have that kind of feeling now', I said, 'my throat feels dry'.
'Let's go then', Edward grinned, 'not a minute too soon, I might add'.
He took my hand and led me out of the door and began to run. I followed behind, naturally, not wanting to let go of him.
I was shocked at the speed at which we were travelling, and with the grace! I felt like I was floating three feet off of the ground. The roots, which littered the forest floor, had once plagued my nightmares and were the main cause of my falls. Now, however, my feet seemed to glide over them effortlessly. I darted in between the trees without any realisation that they were there in the first place! It was exhilarating; I felt alive; I felt powerful. This was the first time, I think, that I truly realised what I was: a vampire. A vampire with unparalleled senses, with unbelievable speed and unbeatable strength. For the first time, I didn't feel like a weak, vulnerable human being. I felt like an undefeatable warrior, ready to face anything in my path.
The wind whipped through my hair, past my face. I closed my eyes, revelling in the sensation, yet kept running. I had almost expected to collide with one of the huge trees, but my body simply took control, weaving me in and out.
I was enjoying myself so much, I didn't even realise the scent until it hit me, full on.
I stopped running immediately, and crouched down into an offensive pose. I let out a snarl, my teeth bared, ready to face whatever was behind the bush, in the clearing behind.
Edward came up behind me, and touched my shoulder. He whispered, 'it's a bear. I suggest we move on; it's better to start small and work our way up'.
My first instinct when Edward touched me was to turn around and rip his head off – it was my prey, mine. I had found latched onto the scent first, I had claimed it for my own. At once, I was ashamed and afraid of these new found emotions – this was Edward – my husband, my lover, and my soul mate – and I wanted to kill him? That wasn't normal. I didn't want to say anything to him, and I knew that if I asked him, he would blame himself, bringing the word 'monster' into the equation. I could never let that happen. Instead, I concentrated on clearing my mind, clearing my senses to curb my high-tuned defences.
I released myself from the crouching position, but refused to look into Edward's eyes, fearing that I would betray my shame and fear if I did. He took my hand and I grabbed it willingly, but still didn't make eye contact. We started running again, hands entwined, although our thoughts were obviously in different places.
I could tell that Edward was taking me into the mountains. The relief of the land changed, sloping steeper and steeper upwards, and the ground became rockier and rockier. We were scaling a jagged face of rock as if it were a flat sidewalk.
Edward started to slow, tugging my hand to tell me to stop. He grabbed my other hand, bringing me around to him and kissed me fully on the lips. I gladly complied, but didn't surrender completely to him – I was still afraid that I would lose control and hurt him.
He seemed puzzled by my lack of passion, but gladly let it go. He silenced me with a finger to his lips and brought me behind a giant rock. I peered around it, where a herd of mountain goat were grazing. Their scent hit me like a battering ram and I struggled to suppress a snarl. I clenched my jaw, grinding my teeth in order to gain control.
Edward glanced at me and let go of my hand, motioning towards them with a flick of his wrist, 'give into your senses', he said before disappearing, presumably to find his own prey.
With the thought that Edward was gone, I let myself go. I crouched down and kept low. I had my eyes latched onto a fairly large male. His horns were huge and nearly covered his eyes. I could hear his fairly slow, strong heartbeat, and my mouth filled with a syrupy sweet substance that I assumed was venom.
The goats were obviously wary, sensing a predator in their midst.
I decided to wait for the opportune moment.
After a while, the wariness eased and the herd went back to their grazing. As soon as the large male had dipped his head, I went for him, snapping his neck with ease.
I had expected the death at my hands to make me feel ashamed, make me mourn the action, but instead, it made me power happy and urged me on. In a space less than ten seconds, I had killed three sheep: the large male, a smaller male and a fairly large female.
I dove for the large male first, my greed taking the better of me. My teeth pierced the thin skin at his neck easily, and I sucked enthusiastically. The hot liquid slipped down my throat, rich and sweet. Gone was the queasiness I had experienced as a human; gone was the dizziness; instead, the satisfaction of the kill hit me, but I still wanted more.
Once the large male was dry, I turned to the smaller male. His blood was cooler, but nonetheless, just as delicious. His youth made the blood more tender, less aged. It was like drinking a cup of honey: impossibly sweet, but with a bitter taste in your mouth afterwards.
I eagerly finished my meal with the female. Her blood was almost cool now, and had settled in her veins. It was more refreshing, than anything else, and reminded me, bizarrely, of sorbet. It was the same fruity sweetness and satisfying melt-in-the mouth sensation like that of ice cream.
Once she was sucked dry, I sat back on my haunches, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. The burning at the back of my throat was gone, but I could tell that it would reappear soon; my tongue had tasted blood, and I knew my palate would want more.
My head whipped around at a rustle in the bush behind me – there was something there. Crouching down again, I sniffed the wind, and then relaxed – Edward. His reassuring, musky scent always filled me, made me feel whole. I walked towards him; arms outstretched and wrapped myself around his waist. He responded eagerly, placing one hand on the back of his neck and the other on my head. He tipped my head back for a kiss. I accepted it eagerly, all guilt and frustration gone.
'Shall we head back now?' he asked, eyes burning.
'I guess so. Have you fed?' I asked – his eyes were still fairly dark, not the cheery gold I had grown to cherish.
'No. I was watching you'.
Immediately, I froze. He was watching me? He had seen my act of power, of cruelty against those poor, innocent animals? The guilt and shame set in again, burning under my skin like invisible fire.
'Bella, Bella – what's wrong?' he asked, surveying my face, desperate for a reaction.
'Nothing. I just-'
'Just what? Please, let me into your mind', he pleaded.
'I feel bad knowing that you saw me. Like that', I mumbled.
'Bella', his voice grew impossibly soft, 'I have come to accept what we – you and I – are. I appreciate your concern, but was almost glad to see you like that; I now have no fear of hurting you when we touch and have now truly realised that you are one of us now, that you are, officially, mine'.
'I have always been yours', I muttered, ashamed, 'you knew that'.
Edward ignored me, continuing his speech, 'besides, it was surprisingly… hot'.
I was taken aback by Edward's confession, I'll admit. I was expecting him to be hurt, fuelled with self-hatred of what he had changed me into; a 'monster' as he called his kind – our kind, now.
I smiled shyly at him.
'we should probably get back. They'll want to know how I did'.
Edward smiled, pressing his lips to mine.
'yes. But then I want some time with my wife – alone'.