AN: Well, I must admit, I was pleasantly surprised at the response to Chapter 5…apparently the rest of you were looking for Bella to get bitten just as much as I was. :) As always, I appreciate all of you who took the time to review. You guys are great.
The good news is that I'm feeling much better, and it's the weekend, so I've been able to get a new chapter out in a timely manner. Hope you enjoy! – Campbell
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There were no fangs, as I had somehow anticipated - only the tearing of my skin under the crushing force of his jaw. At first it was pure ecstasy, every nerve in my body seeming to flare with devastating pleasure. His teeth remained fastened to my neck for what seemed like an eternity, when a heart-rending scream ripped from his throat and I watched foggily as Carlisle tore him away.
"That is enough," Carlisle barked vehemently to his adopted son, whose blazing amber eyes were wild with the taste of my blood. "Perhaps you ought to leave, Edward."
He was gasping for breath as he wiped his bloodied mouth on his sleeve, refusing to meet my eyes. He shook his head at Carlisle. "I'll be fine. I shouldn't leave her."
"In a few moments she won't know the difference," sighed the older vampire. Edward shrugged, but stayed put.
And then there was pain. Livid, gnashing pain that my mind couldn't begin comprehend. I could feel all of my injuries now, despite the fact that my spine was most thoroughly fractured. I writhed and twisted as the pain from the wounds on my flesh was pushed aside, swallowed, burned up by the terrible new sensation that had begun to fan out from my neck.
Edward's bite was alight with agony, the fiery pain spreading unremittingly over my face and shoulders. I was gagging-gasping-whimpering-trembling with pain. My throat clenched as I tried to scream, and the only sound that escaped was a thick gurgle. I retched and tasted blood, faintly registering that my stomach must have been among the organs breached by my crushed ribcage. I wanted to die. It was time for me to die. Why wouldn't they just let me?
Then beautifully, miraculously, my mind seemed to detach itself from my body. I was still. The pain became part of me, and I a part of it. I was Nothing and Everything, Dead and Alive, Joy and Despair. But mostly, I was Pain.
"Her heartbeat is getting sluggish. Let's take her upstairs and make her as comfortable as we can."
I was lifted, carried. It was so very, very cold. So much fire, so much pain, this was certainly Hell. Then blackness. Beautiful, beautiful blackness.
As if in a fever, I began to drift in and out of consciousness. I woke up as I was being placed gently in a soft bed, three blurry people standing over me. Edward. Edward. Edward! But he wasn't there.
"Ed – " I moaned, unable to form the 'W' with my numb lips.
"Hush, little one," came a soft, dulcet voice. The word 'Esme' floated around uselessly in my head as a cool hand stroked my forehead. "He's hunting for you. You will need to feed once it's over."
The words seemed to split themselves and fuse together randomly in my pain-torn mind, making them impossible to understand. I tried to shake my head, to indicate that I didn't comprehend, but it seemed an impossible feat for my fraught muscles.
The voices continued speaking, and slowly awareness crept over my weak consciousness. I was able to struggle against the heavy grip of Pain, strong enough to move my lips. I remembered that I was lying down. I remembered that someone was with me. I remembered that I was hurt. Edward. I remembered my name, and the names of the voices that were talking quietly above me. After a few moments, I remembered what had happened and where I was. The faces of Carlisle, Esme, and Jasper swam into focus. Carlisle seemed to notice that I was becoming lucid, for he came to sit on the bed. He had a look of fatherly concern on his face, and I found myself wondering if all of this meant that I had become a Cullen.
"Bella, can you understand me?"
"Edward? Where –" I demanded, though my voice was little more than a whisper.
"There isn't time. There are things you need to know before the pain takes you again," Carlisle insisted apologetically.
"Over?" I whimpered, my voice rigid with dread. I couldn't take anymore. Death. Please, please, just let me die. I want to die, can't you see?
"Not yet, Bella, but we're nearly there. Jasper has been absorbing a good deal of your pain, which is why you've been able to black out during some of it. Very soon now, the venom will reach your heart, and you will, in effect, die. After that, there will be no more pain. Not ever again."
I somehow found it in me to grin. "Good," I remarked.
"Indeed. As for Edward, Bella, he wants to be with you – "
"Hurts," I concluded. I had always known this would be hard for him. I prayed that he would still be able to love me. The thought him rejecting me caused a twist of pain in my gut that had nothing to do with his bite.
"Yes," agreed Carlisle, patting my hand. "But we're nearly through the worst of it." He thought I was referring to my own pain. I tried to shake my head, to ask Carlisle to send Edward reassuring words, but I was being dragged down again. Fingers of wicked, hideous pain peeled me apart, eviscerating me until I forgot what had happened, where I was, who I was, and most horribly of all, Edward.
Time lost meaning to me as my body was consumed by Edward's venom. I had begun to feel a strange hunger blaring from my mind rather than my stomach, something that was only satisfied when fingers lifted my chin and poured thick, warm blood down my throat. Nearly there, my love, we're nearly there, he kept whispering to me, his hand clenched around mine. Drink this. It will make you strong until you can hunt for yourself.
I didn't know how many days had passed when I began to go cold, when the pain began to ebb away, when vision returned and I regained control of my nervous system. All I knew that everything about me was different. I was a stranger in my own body, and the sensation was hard to cope with.
Edward was there as I opened and blinked my eyes, pressing a cool kiss to my forehead as he sat down beside me on the living room couch.
"There you are, darling. How are you feeling?"
"Is it finished?" I asked, a little surprised by the smooth sweetness my voice had acquired. How much had I changed?
"Yes. You were so brave, my sweet," murmured Edward, kissing my knuckles. "Ah, you are so cold," he added in a whisper, clearly not intending me to hear. I hoped he didn't regret his decision.
"I must be a mess," I joked gently, imagining the state of my appearance after this whole ordeal.
His eyes met mine then, and he stroked my jaw with a forefinger. "Oh, Bella, and I thought you were beautiful before." The subtle awe in his voice surprised me, and I reached up to touch my face. Nothing was out of place, but my skin felt like silk. I shakily got to my feet, stepping into the half bath nestled beneath the stairway and looking into the mirror.
It was essentially the same face, but every feature I possessed had somehow been heightened, intensified. The new, gleaming amber of my eyes was the most obvious change, but my nose was more pert, my skin smoother, my lips fuller, my brows sleeker. What a babe, I chided myself. The corner of my lovely new mouth lifted at the thought.
"Don't smirk like that, you little vixen. All of this comes with a price, you know," Edward warned. I wasn't in the mood for warnings. I was beautiful, and he was beautiful, and I felt new.
"Yes, I'm well aware. But I feel amazing."
Edward smiled reluctantly at me. "You glow."
I stepped towards him and he wrapped me in his arms, crushing me to him as if I might disappear at any moment.
"I almost lost you. Oh, God, I almost lost you," he whispered fiercely, his hot breath against my neck making my skin prickle with sensation. I praised heaven that I had not lost this, this giddiness and wonder and passion he made me feel. His touch still made my skin flush with heat, although I was now just as could as he was. If anything, it was intensified, and I was on fire for him. I stepped away for a moment, struggling to keep my head.
"But you didn't. And now you'll never have to worry about losing me again."
The emotion in his eyes was veiled by the sweep of his lashes, but I could see that the words meant everything to him. He reached for me again, and our lips met in a kiss full trembling with urgency, relief, and rapture. I pressed myself against him and he pressed back, clinging to me, exploring, and for once I knew what it was like to kiss him without fear, without restraint, without the knowledge that we only had a few seconds before it would have to end. Now we had all the time in the world.
He pressed his tongue against the seam of my mouth and I parted my lips to admit him, my cold skin burning at his purr of dark seduction.
"Ahem," came the sound of intrusion from outside the bathroom door. Edward was reluctant to release me, and the sound came again. "Ahem!"
I managed to disentangle myself, surprised at my new strength, and turned to sheepishly face Carlisle, Esme, Jasper, and Alice. All but Jasper were sporting barely concealed grins of happiness for us.
"How are you feeling, my dear? It appears you have regained some of your strength," said Carlisle, his hands folded behind his back as he observed me.
"Quite well, thank you," I turned to Jasper. "Oh, and I wanted to thank you, Jasper, for your help with the…transition."
"It was no problem," replied Jasper, giving me a reluctant smile. I smiled back, reaching over and holding tightly to Edward's hand.
"Where's Rosalie?" I asked softly, knowing it wasn't a topic the others cared to discuss just now. But I needed to know. How badly had I interfered with the Cullen family?
"She is gone, for now. Emmett is with her. Bella, I am so sorry about what she did to you. I can't – "
"Don't," I cut Carlisle off. "In the end, it was what I wanted. What's done is done. Are you in contact with them? Rosalie should know that I don't harbor any anger against her."
"Oh, but I do," said Edward, his voice rough with sudden anger. "Quite a lot, in fact."
"Edward, she wasn't herself. She didn't know what she was doing," I argued, touching his shoulder gently.
"She killed you, Bella. She made a choice. I will not pardon her transgressions so casually." Edward's voice was vehement, his stance threatening, his face tempestuous. I shivered at his raw ferocity, and let my hand drop back to my side.
"There isn't any use in arguing," Alice soothed, stepping towards us and putting an arm around me. "We must think of something to tell Bella's parents. We must think of something to tell the whole town."
"Quite right, Alice. Settle down, Edward, save your anger. Rosalie is horrified at what she did, so be content for now that she is torturing herself in your absence."
Edward did not reply. Alice smiled kindly at me, and somehow I knew everything was going to be all right, as long as I had the Cullens to look after me.