Sometime during the next few hours, or was it days, I was unsure, each of the Cullens came to visit me. They each murmured words of comfort and reassurance in my ears, telling me to be strong and that the pain would be over soon. I think even Rosalie spent a good deal of time sitting by my side holding my hand. Jasper was a pretty constant presence. He continually used his power to calm my mind and subdue the pain. Every time that he was forced to leave the pain would multiply in force.

Towards the middle of the second day, a pain even greater than all of the others combined began to throb in my chest. I screamed with such great force that Edward looked shocked and tried without success to calm me. Suddenly all of the Cullens were present. Esme was stroking my hair, Alice was holding my hand, and Jasper was standing there with a look of deep concentration. Rosalie and Emmett stood by the foot of the bed with comforting looks.

"The poison has reached your heart, Bella. The transformation is almost complete," I heard Carlisle say. I had not realized that he was standing by my side. Edward continued to clutch me to his chest. The pain subsided somewhat and I knew that I had Jasper to thank for that.

"Her eyes..." Alice gasped. I knew what she meant by that statement. My eyes were most likely a deep ruby red due to the amount of human blood in my system.

Everyone was silent as my convulsions began to slow and my breathing became less ragged. Edward loosened his grip on my body and I felt a new sensation burning throughout my entire being. It was an insatiable thirst.

I slowly opened my eyes and found Edward's worried gaze. He sucked in a breath and looked at me with intense concentration. I looked around the room at the surprised eyes of my family. Each one of them looked slightly confused.

The pain had entirely faded from my system and I felt immensely strong. "What's wrong with everyone?" I demanded.

Carlisle was the first one to speak. "First of all, you are amazingly gorgeous Bella. Second of all, you have a power."

I looked at him with great confusion. What was he talking about? I hadn't done anything.

"It's so quiet," murmured Edward in a barely audible tone. However, I heard him clear as day. I did not understand what he meant and he caught my bewildered expression.

"Bella, you have quieted the voices in my head. I cannot hear the thoughts of the people around me right now. I am only a prisoner to my own thoughts right now," he stated. I was afraid that he would be mad about this but instead he crushed me to his chest and whispered in my ear, "Thank you."

I pulled away and looked at Alice. She looked extremely bewildered and distraught. I knew that I had taken her visions away from her and she was upset about that. "Don't worry Alice. I will figure out how to control this. It is all very new to me. You can leave if you are that uncomfortable," I reassured her.

However, she gave me an incredulous look. "And miss the fun of your seeing your new body? My visions can wait. I want to see the look on your face!"

I got up from the bed and approached the glass window that made up the southern wall of the room. It was night time and with the reflection of the light in the room it had become an immense mirror. I walked gracefully and lightly over, something that had previously been impossible words to describe my movement. l stared at the reflection for a long time, unable to comprehend the reality that the beautiful goddess looking back at me was indeed me.

I turned around and flew with speeds that I did not know were possible into Edward's arms. For the first time ever I knocked him over against the bed. He seemed happily surprised and held me against him.

"Thank you for this," I muttered. He stroked my hair and we stared into each other's eyes.

A few hours passed, and Edward and I were still laying on the gold coverlet of the king size bed staring into each other's eyes. I knew that my eyes were no longer the rich chocolate color that they had been, and that they had been replaced by a deep crimson. This did not seem to affect Edward in the least however. He had explained to me that the coloring was normal and that it would turn into the golden topaz of his eyes when I began my "vegetarian" diet. He also explained that I would not be able to be within a few miles of humans for the next couple weeks.

"Your thirst is too strong love. If you got even the faintest whiff of a human, that person would be dead in the time that it took you to run to them," he explained. That thought made me cringe and I vowed to stay away from any mortal human for however long it took.

Perked up by the thought of running, I wanted to test some of my new abilities. "Speaking of running, let's see who the faster one is now!" I taunted him. He grinned wickedly at me and scooped me up into his arms.

"You don't need to carry me anymore you know," I complained.

"Relax love. I just don't want you getting a taste for the speed until you can experience it to its full extent," he grinned down at me. I just grumbled and allowed myself to be carried down the stairs.

To my immense surprise, Emmett waited for us at the bottom of the steps. "Did I hear that Bella was going to be trying out her new skills? I want to see this myself!" he exclaimed. I saw Edward flash him a thankful look and I was confused. Why should Emmett have to come with us? Then I looked at Emmett's immense size and strength and I understood. He would be the only one who would have a chance of holding me back if I lost control. My newborn strength was too great for even my true love to restrain me. Coupled with Edward, they would make sure that I wouldn't do anything harmful.

I put on a pouty face and Edward realized that I understood. "It's for your own safety Bella. Please be a good sport for me." I stuck my tongue out at him in a childish jester but didn't object. He took that for acceptance and led me out the door with Emmett following.

Once outside the house, my senses were blasted with a wave of new smells, sounds, and sights. I could hear the sound of fish swimming in the nearby river, a bird chirping two miles away, and the impossibly light footsteps of Edward next to me. I smelled the fresh dew on the trees, the pollen of the nearby flowers, and the sweet smell of Edward's skin, despite the fact that he stood five feet away from me. I could get used to being able to constantly smell him and the thought made me smile.

All of a sudden, a different smell caught my attention. It was a sweet, juicy smell, one that was irresistible. In that same instant, Edward tried to wrap his arms around my waste to hold me back, but I was no longer there. I was sprinting, faster than I had ever imagined through the woods. I did not hit any trees and I kept that smell in my thoughts as I ran. So wonderful, so delectable, I needed to drink all of the glory of that smell!

I heard him calling behind me but I ignored it. My instincts were too strong, too in control right now. Common reasoning had ceased to exist for me. All that mattered was quenching my thirst.

I came into a clearing and stopped. There stood a house with white trim and a chipping paint job. I could smell a human working in the garden on the other side of the house. I lowered into a crouch, preparing to spring. Suddenly, an immense force knocked into me. I was dazed for a half a second before I realized what had happened. Emmett had appeared from seemingly no where and had thrown me back. Arms ensnared my waist and refused to let go. I struggled against Edward's grasp, wanting nothing more than to get at that human's blood. I was winning the fight against him and had almost broken free.

Suddenly large hands encircled my wrists in iron restraints and refused to let go. Emmett held my wrists up in the air and pulled me off the ground to hang in front of him.

And then I heard Edward whisper in my ear, "Bella, stop breathing. Right now."

I cut off the flow of air to my lungs, and the thirst became somewhat manageable. My instincts began to subside and I started to think clearly once more. I looked at his furious face and flinched back from the expression. I had no air to speak but I knew why he was so angry.

"Bella, you are going to have to learn some self-restraint, and it is going to have to start now. If Emmett wasn't here, you would have just drunk the blood of Mrs. Newton and killed her," he spit through gritted teeth. My eyes opened in shock and if I could, I would have started to cry.

He seemed to compose himself a bit and tried to soothe me. "I'm sorry love. I did not mean to lose my temper with you."

I just nodded slightly at him and looked away. I did not dare breathe again in fear that I would become that monster again. I knew what I would do. I would just never breathe again. Problem solved, no monster.

"Emmett you can put her down now I think. She seems to be in enough control for now," he said quietly. Emmett lowered me to the ground but didn't release my wrists. Edward scooped me into his arms and only then did my immense brother release his hold. And then we were running through the trees back to the white mansion. Edward continually glanced at my face as we ran but I refused to meet his gaze.

As the depression sank in, I did not know if I could live with myself again. Was it always going to be like this where I wanted to drink the blood of my friend's mother? What would happen if I got too close to Charlie? I cringed at the thought.

"Antarctica, I promise," Edward whispered in my ear. I tried to smile a little at him but I just couldn't force it onto my face. We reached the house and he ran me up into his room.

He put me down and I went over to the bed and curled up into a ball. I felt his gentle hands trying to comfort me but I ignored them. I let the depression continue to spread and blocked out all words and senses. I still hadn't begun to breathe again and my chest was starting to ache slightly.

I laid there for what seemed like an eternity. Then cool hands were prying me from my huddled form and forcing me to straighten out. I looked up into the eyes of Carlisle bent over me. "Bella, you can breathe dear. We won't let anything happen," he calmly stated. I looked up and realized that my entire family was standing in the room. However I just shook my head and buried my face in the pillow.

I felt a small cool hand on my shoulder and Alice was whispering in my ear, "Bella, I saw you killing Mrs. Newton. But you didn't. You changed your future. You are not always going to be a monster, I can see that, more clearly than anyone else. And I am not lying to you. You are my sister now and I will always tell you the truth." I looked up from the pillow and gazed into her eyes. There was no doubt in her fierce gaze and no hint of a lie.

I slowly sucked in a breath of air and looked around with chagrin. Edward came over to sit next to me and I buried my face in his shoulder. "I'm so sorry Edward. You must hate me now. I wouldn't blame you if you did," I mumbled into his chest.

I felt his icy lips kiss my hair and he clearly stated, "You are ridiculous Bella! How could I hate you? I knew that you were going to have some trouble at the beginning but that's okay. I promise I will keep you out of trouble. I'm sorry that I lost my temper back at the house. You are still the love of my being and nothing will change that."