Chapter 6
"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be." -Douglas Adams
Tanya stood in the middle of the field, listening carefully for any sound, any suggestion of what was happening. Bella had been gone a while and Tanya could only hope this was good news. If his power had worked on her, she would've been back much sooner. She stared intently at the evergreens that hid them from view.
She stared hard on the spot where Bella had disappeared into the trees, just for something to focus on, to keep her thoughts at bay. It didn't work exactly, but she was able to keep the gnawing loneliness from consuming her.
Her senses perked when she saw Bella's petite, dark haired shape emerge from the thick boughs. Stumbling and quite obviously leaning heavily on her, was probably one of the most gorgeous creatures Tanya ever laid eyes on. Even from this distance, she could see the wide breadth of his shoulders, and bright blonde hair that was similar in style to Edward's- uncontrollable, longer...and sexy. He was quite tall, judging by how much his body was bending as he leaned forward against Bella.
Suddenly ashamed at how she was staring, she loped to Bella's side.
"You look like you could use some help." She looked shyly through her eyelashes at the vampire.
"Thank you for coming back to me."
Her face brightened when she heard him, almost reminding her what it was like to blush. She tried not to read much in that statement, but was lost in his scent—bay and the clear, crisp smell of ocean breeze. She inhaled deeply, and smiled in response. "Let's get you some sustenance." She looked past the blond vampire to focus on her cousin. "Bella, did you bring your cell phone? We should call the others to let them know we're on our way."
"I didn't. I hadn't thought it would work out here."
Tanya sighed. "You're probably right. I've never tried from here. I suspect Edward will know when we're a mile or two away anyway."
Together, the women moved quickly back to the cabin, each supporting the weakened man between them. Tanya considered just carrying him, but assumed that it might offend him; Machismo followed vampire men from their human lives. Emmett being a perfect, if extreme example.
The group moved quickly through the snow, light reflecting off the women's skin, and only twinkling off Fred's weakened as he was. It was with a bit of relief that they saw the cabin with its chimney smoking in the distance.
"We're nearly there, Fred," Tanya murmured, her arm wrapped around his marble waist.
They could see a number of vampires come to the porch as Edward let them know they were coming in. Tanya thought to her cousin that Fred would need some sustenance, and she could see Eleazar and Kate run off in the direction of the local herd. A sincere thought of thanks, and a verbal explanation to the two at her side was all it took for Edward to meet them from the house.
"Fred, this is my cousin, Edward, Bella's...What do you call him, Bella? Your husband? Your mate?"
A dip of her head let Tanya know that were she still human, she'd be blushing furiously, "He's my everything."
Edward grinned, while Tanya made hacking sounds. "Ugh! Who needs Fred around? You two are enough to gag anyone!" she laughed. Fred gave a hoarse chuckle.
"You need more blood, Fred," Edward spoke sympathetically. "My cousins, Eleazar and Kate have both gone to uh...cull the herds," he finished with a bit of a smirk.
Bella tightened her arm around the waist of the blond, adding support, "You're still too weak to hunt on your own." She turned her head to look at the ashen man and in an additional, quieter voice, she whispered, "Remember what I said. Predators taste better. Herbivores are more plentiful...but..." her grimace finished the statement for her.
"Do you want to talk before or after you feed, Fred? We can wait, if it would be easier for you to concentrate, and they should be back soon," Tanya added quietly. She had had periods where she didn't feed before, and remembered how hard it was to keep your thoughts straight. In all honesty, she was surprised at how well he was holding up.
That was until he collapsed to his knees, even their combined vampire speed unable to keep him upright.
"Well, I guess that answered that," Tanya responded sadly. "Best to just wait out here then, till Eleazar and Kate come back." She paused for only a moment, unsure, before sliding down next to him, and letting his head fall into her lap as she began to stroke his hair like a child's. A raspy but contented purr arose from the man. Tanya just smiled.