Chapter Six

Thirst

Thump. Thump. Thump.

A low growl hissed out of my mouth as I felt it fill with venom, the sound of the beating heart and the smell of its rich blood...it was enough to make me forget everything. With a blood curdling roar I jumped forward and landed on its back, forcing the deer to the ground. Right now the only thing that matter was blood. I let out a low moan as I bit into its neck and felt the warm blood dripping down my throat, the burning dimmed slightly as I fed. I knew there was no point in hoping that it would totally disappear, the only thing that would make it go away was human blood. Rich, sweet human blood...

"Hey kid, slow down. Didn't anyone ever teach you to chew when you eat?"

Dropping the deer corpse I spun round and crouched while bearing my teeth, this was my food.

"Hey, hey" Emmett said as he held up his hands and took a step back "It's all yours"

I hissed in warning once more before I finished what was left of my dinner, even thigh I knew Emmett was not a threat to me my mind made me watch him as a drank. No matter how much time I spent with these people I still stood by the rule of never trusting anyone. The only person I had come close to trusting- well, he was gone.

With a final mouthful I dropped the deer once more and stood up, suddenly aware of the blood stains on the new dress that Alice had gotten me. I pushed away such an unimportant thought and instead looked at Emmett with a small feeling of amusement. As much as I didn't trust them I could still feel myself warming to them slightly, even Jasper. Ever since Jasper and Emmett had started to take turns in taking me out to feed I had even warmed to Emmett, something that because of his size I had never thought would have been possible. Once you got around how threatening he looked he was really...kind of sweet.

"Didn't anyone ever teach you to not sneak up on a new born while their feeding?"

Emmett laughed.

"Well someone once said that to me but, then again, I do recall you trying to tell Jasper that you weren't a new born anymore" he said with an amused grin "something about being stronger now. At least, that's what I thought I heard"

I scowled and started running back to the house, I was still hungry but even the pain of needed food seemed like a better option than standing here and listening to Emmett make fun of me. Everyone had been aware of my bad mood the last few days after Jasper and I had yet another fight. I had asked to go hunting on my own and without even listening to my reasons why he had said no. Just like that.

Like I was some kind of child.

Emmett tried to call after me but I ignored him as I carried on running, we both knew that for the time being I was still faster than him. I was faster than all of the culle- red eyes. I moved myself fasted as I got closer to the house, the trees started to grow thicker and I enjoyed the feeling of the wind rushing past me as I ran. Sometimes I thought that running was the only enjoyment that I had left. I slowed down as I finally reached the river, I was still mad with Emmett for teasing me and I knew that going inside wouldn't be a good idea right now. I didn't think I would even be able to open a door right now without breaking it. I thought about how much damage I had done to their house in the time I had been here and cringed, who knew how much money just having me in the house had cost them.

"Bree, come on! I was joking"

Within a second Emmett was next to me with him normal laid back smile. I briefly wondered how long it would take me before I would be like that. Maybe one day I could trust people too. If I lived that long ofcourse.

"I know" I replied as I sat down on the grass, it was wet but I couldn't bring myself to care, Alice was already going to kill me for ruining another one of the new dresses she had gotten me anyway. "But that doesn't mean that I have to like it"

Emmett took an unnecessary breath and sat down next to me.

"Jasper has his reasons for saying no Bree"

"And I have my reasons for him to say yes but he won't even give me a chance to explain! As soon as I open my mouth he thinks that I'm lying! Nothing I do it ever good enough for him! I can't even go for a walk without having to be followed!"

"Bree you were left in our care-"

"By the people who could very well show up at any moment and kill me!"

He said nothing for a moment and I tried to pull my anger back in, as much as I wanted to hit something right now I wasn't as far gone that I forgot what the odds were. If it came down to it I knew that I would lose. I always lost.

"I'm a prisoner Emmett. Nothing more"

" Bree you must know that we wouldn't let them hurt you"

"Then you're a fool. You have a family whom you claim to love and yet now you say that you would all protect me? You and I both know that you would die before you even really had a chance. If it came down to it you would all let me die to safe one another...and I would be a fool for thinking anything different"

I stood up and looked out towards the woods, trying to pick up the heart beat of something close to the house; suddenly I had changed my mind about not eating anything else.

"You all keep on telling me how we're all the same but we're not. In fact you and I couldn't be any more different. You lie to yourself everyday...I don't. The last time I lied to myself the boy I loved died. I will never lie to myself again"

The sound of a beating heart reached me and I smiled as I breathed in its scent.

"Now if you'll excuse me I'm starving"

As soon as I starting running I heard him follow but I simply did the same thing as I had always done.

I ignored him.

I watched in silence as the first light broke over the tree tops, to my displeasure I forced myself to stay as I was, hands behind my back as I took in the sight in front of me. No matter how many days I spend in the sun light there was always a small voice in my head telling me to run when I first saw it. The small chance of danger made my body tense and I tried to relax, Vampires were nothing if not careful.

Trying to distract my mind for even a second I looked across the river to the tree line as I counted down the seconds along with the seemly loud ticking of the clock.

Tick...5...tock...4...tick...3...tock...2...tick...1...tock...

Just as he did every morning Edward stepped through the trees and slowly made his way up to the house. I frowned in frustration as I watched him once again do the same thing that he had done every morning since I had arrived. Just as I knew he would he was wearing different cloths that he had left in the night before. He had never mentioned why he did this but then again he didn't need to; I already knew why.

He would never risk me catching her scent.

I thought back to the first time I smelled it, the mere memory of it making a small shiver run up my spine. It had been something that was hard to forget. I moved from the window and sat down of the queen size bed in the middle of the room, as much as it was not needed I couldn't help but love it slightly, even closing my eyes and laying on it relaxed my mind. It almost made me miss being human.

Almost.

I picked up the book I had left there and opened it randomly, attempting to look lost in the story as Edward entered the room. He paused in the door way for a second before taking off his coat and closing the door behind him.

"You'll have nothing left to read soon"

"I'm sure Alice would get some more for me before I even had time to notice"

"True" Edward admitted with a small chuckle "but that doesn't mean that they'll be anything you'll want to read. Could you really see Alice coming home with a good book?"

I thought about it for an eighth of a second before I dismissed him comment; I had read some of the worse books in the first few weeks of my second life. I'm sure I could handle anything Alice chucked my way.

"I'm sure I would make do. After all there's not much else for me to do around here"

Edward nodded.

"You like to read then?"

I opened my mouth to reply when the sound of Alice yelling stopped me.

"No, Edward stop her!"

Suddenly everything stopped. As soon as the smell hit me nothing else mattered, Edward voice fazed into the background as I sprung to my feet, my mind screaming at me to find it, find that sweet smell. A sharp pain seared in my throat and I screamed as it almost blinded me. Edward said something but I ignored it, nothing else mattered right now but that smell.

As soon as I went to move I felt something grab me round the waist, the very weight of the person made me fall to the ground as I screamed in frustration. I was so hungry. I needed it. I needed that sweet smell. I continued to thrash in Edwards grip as Emmett and Jasper entered the room to help their brother hold me down.

"Bree stop" Jasper said as he leaned down and held onto my arms "You need to stop or you're going to hurt yourself"

"I don't care!" I said as my voice came out in short sobs "I need it, please! Let me go!"

Alice came in the room a second later and looked between Jasper and I with concern.

"Jasper, their coming. We don't have much time"

Jasper frowned at me for a moment before he gave a sharp nod.

"Alright. Edward, Emmett I need you to help me hold her down, we need to move her. She can't be here"

I yelled out once more as the pain in my throat seemed to grow, I need to feed. I need blood.

"Alice why didn't you see this sooner?" Edward asked as he helped life me from the floor.

"You know it doesn't work like that. It wasn't in till a moment ago that they even decided to walk down that foot path. Get her out of here. Now."

Edward nodded.

I carried on thrashing but it made no difference, in under a second he had me over his shoulder and was walking towards the window with Jasper and Emmett at his side.

~Haraldzidla