I want to say I'm sorry! It's been a crazy week trying to figure out what Pre-K eLearning is. Thanks a lot COVID-19. I will try to continue uploading though I might not be very consistent. Working from home and my sleep schedule has me all messed up. I hope everyone is well and is staying home. Thanks for all the reviews and follows. They mean a lot.


BPOV

Would you care to join me?" He asked politely, staring into my eyes. I nodded dumbly before gathering my wits and thanking him. Did I just agree to go hunting with this godlike man? Oh, please don't let me embarrass myself.

"Would you like to go now or wait a while longer?" He asked politely, closing the distance to just a few feet between us. The tension in the air was thick, trying to distract me from his question. I shrugged, "I don't mind really, now is fine if you're not busy."

Edward smiled and nodded, "Follow me." He walked at a human space to the door before opening it for me. I smiled at him and thought, Hmm.. a gentleman. I passed through the front door, but paused at the bottom of the porch steps to wait on his guidance.

He smiled at me, making my dead heart want to beat. I would be blushing if I was still human just from his smile. "We'll go across the river and deeper into the woods. There won't be any humans," he explained.
I nodded and he took off. Woah, he's fast. I took off to catch up with him. He turned when he heard me approaching and I saw a bit of surprise pass across his face. Ha! That's right I'm fast too, bud.

I enjoyed running with Edward, it was fun and relaxing. I would have kept running if he hadn't stopped. He chuckled as he watched me turn around to come back to him. His eyes met mine and his reflected the excitement that I knew mine held.

"Ok, animal hunting," I started looking around as I spoke. He chuckled again and placed his hands on my shoulders to settle me. Our eyes met at the contact. My body was alive, warmed by the simplest touch of his hand.

Edward cleared his throat before speaking. "Close your eyes," he stated gently. I had to concentrate on not shivering at his voice. A small part of my brain knew something had changed. Instinctively, if a newly acquainted vampire placed their hands on you and told you to close your eyes, you'd attack.

But with Edward, it was different. My instincts were haywire, but not because they sensed danger. I had never felt these feelings in my whole existance.

With my eyes closed the only thing I could concentrate on was his presence and his touch on my shoulders. I almost couldn't contain my huff when he asked me to reach out with my senses to the world around me.

It took a lot of concentration, but I was able to focus on the sounds he wanted me to. "The heartbeat to the right?" I asked.

"Good. Listen closely and to it's footsteps. It's small. A rabbit." He murmured.

I made a mental note of this and continued listening. "There. By the stream. Four of them." I stated confidently. These heartbeats were stronger. The wind changed direction and brought the scent towards us. My nose wrinkled and I couldn't help, but to open my eyes at Edward.

He threw his head back and laughed at my reaction. "I promise you will get used to it."

I shook my head. "I hope so." I muttered. Closing my eyes again and refocused on the animals by the stream. "Okay. Now what?"

"What do your instincts tell you to do?" He asked.

My eyes opened and I took off toward the stream. I slowed as the deer came into the view, my eyes roamed looking for my target. I found the biggest buck and lunged.

The animal put up a bigger fight than I thought. It was awkward to figure out where the prime artery was. I wrinkled my nose as soon as the first taste of blood hit my lips, but I didn't stop. When it was dry I dropped it and noticed just how messy I had been.

"Oops." I muttered. I had one outfit in my backpack, maybe the Cullen's had a washer and dryer I could borrow.

The chuckle that rang through the woods made me raise my head. Edward was lounging against a tree and smiling at me.

"I could have done that a bit neater." I agreed.

Edward offered me a kind smile and shook his head. "No, I was chuckling at your reaction when you tasted the blood. Was it as bad as you imagined?" He asked.

"No, not at all. It put up more of a fight than I expected. But it wasn't.. inedible." I say thoughtfully.
"Would you like to hunt some more?" He asked, politey. On the inside I grimaced, but I knew I needed to so I nodded. He helped me discard of the carcass before we moved on.

"The herd went this way."

I watched Edward hunt before I claimed my next meal. He was elegant and… beautiful. I took pointers as I stared shamelessly as he hunted. My next attempt went much better. I still had a face full of blood, but no new blood got on my clothes.

When we agreed we were finished, Edward led us back to the house. I noticed a few times, he would open his mouth to speak only to decide against it. When I glanced at him as we ran, I noticed he seemed to be deep in thought. I didn't want to bother him with my endless babble, so I stayed quiet.

When we arrived at the house, Alice was waiting for us at the door. "I have you some clothes laid out in my room, you can freshen up in my bathroom." I smiled at her gratefully and went to follow her up the stairs.

I turned to Edward, "Thank you, Edward for taking me hunting. I hope I wasn't too much trouble."

Edward smiled at me politely, "No, of course not. If you want to go again, do not hesitate to ask me or anyone else in my family."

I smiled and nodded. She showed me where a towel was and welcomed me to take a shower.

A shower! I thought gleefully. Logically, a vampire didn't need a shower. However, showers were just something so… normal. I took one every time I could. Alice had prepared me everything I needed in a new outfit. A blue knitted sweater that hugged me nicely, paired with a pair of jeans.

When I exited the bathroom, Alice reappeared and took my old clothes. "Here, I'll have this washed for you."

"Oh, thank you so much Alice. You have been so kind to me."

Alice beamed at me. "It's no problem. You look great by the way. But I don't know why you wouldn't wear the dress I originally picked out for you."

I cocked my head to the side completely confused. She didn't pick out a dress… Then it hit me. "You saw I wouldn't wear a dress." I chuckled. Alice pursed her lips at me.

"Alice! I don't like dresses. They are hard to run in." I defended myself.

Alice rolled her eyes at me, "Yeah, I saw all your excuses. So I decided to just give you the jeans."

"Thank you, Alice." I said, truly grateful.

She chuckled and put her arm through mine. We walked down the stairs to join the others in the living room. They were all in separate conversations in the house and outside. I noticed Edward sitting at the piano, speaking with Jasper.

Carlisle turned to meet my gaze when I heard us approach. He gave me a kind smile, "How did the hunting go?" He tone quiet, so that only people in the immediate room would hear. It was thoughtful that he was trying to keep our conversation at least as private as vampires could.

I smiled, "It was interesting. Not as terrible as I feared. Edward explained it is an acquired taste and I must agree."
Carlisle chuckled and nodded. "If you want to go again we are happy to assist you." I thanked him and noticed a familiar face in the corner on the back porch.

I couldn't help, but smile. "Garrett!" The man turned and surprised crossed his face before he grinned. Shaking his head, stood and flashed over to me. He draped his arm over my shoulder, and stated "I heard a newcomer had gone on a hunt with Edward, should have known it would have been you." He joked. I rolled my eyes. "Don't let her innocent aura fool you, Carlisle. She's a little spitfire."

I sighed, "He hasn't gotten over being put on his ass when we first met."
Garrett tried to act scandalized, "I was being friendly. Came to say hello."
"You snuck up on me while I was hunting! My instincts reacted. I apologized!"

Everyone in the room was chuckling at our banter. I couldn't help, but risk a glance over to the piano. Only to feel the weight of confusion and disappointment to see Edward running out the backdoor. Jasper was watching him leave with a surprised look on his face. He must have felt my emotions because he turned to look at me, but I turned my attention back to the conversation at hand.

I haven't seen Edward much since after our hunting trip. It had been three days. I was beginning to wonder if he was avoiding me. It bothered me more than I'd like to admit. I didn't understand why. I have had many people not like me in my human life and in this life. Why was I letting some man affect me so?