CHAPTER 23
Alone in our room, he paced for the longest time, glancing down at me occasionally and then running his hands through his hair again.
"Edward," I said, nervously biting my lip. "Please." He paused in his pacing, but still wouldn't look at me properly.
"Bella, are you sure about this? I mean, it is going to really hurt. I don't want to hurt you, my love."
"Will it hurt like James hurt me?" I asked, a little hesitantly. Edward looked down at me and then gave a curt nod.
"But the venom will flow through your whole body, not just your stomach. And then your heart will stop. Your skin will tighten until you become like me, cold and heartless."
"Edward, you aren't heartless..."
"You might not believe that after you have endured the change," he muttered. "You might hate me when it is done."
At that moment, my phone beeped again. Reluctantly I opened it and read the text.
I cannot wait to taste you Isabella.
Edward read it over my shoulder and growled. His eyes went black and he grabbed me, wrenching me to my feet. I gasped at the sudden violence of his touch and he looked straight into my eyes.
"I love you, Bella. Remember that whatever happens next; I love you."
And then he threw his head back and reared forward so quickly that I didn't see him coming, just suddenly felt his teeth rip into my throat. The pain made me scream, as hot liquid dripped down my neck. He kept drinking and I remembered his words just days earlier when he had said if he drank my blood he would never need to drink again. My hands pushed weakly against him.
"Edward," I whimpered. "I love you."
He growled and then withdrew from my neck. I slumped against him and he carried me to the bed. He then lifted his wrist to his mouth and bit until his own blood flowed. He clamped his wrist to my mouth.
"Drink," he ordered, grabbing the back of my neck and holding my mouth to his wrist when I tried to move away. He was strong; much stronger than I had ever realised; his grip like iron on me. Finally, he let go of me and moved away from the bed. A scream wrenched from my throat as my whole body started to burn with agony. No movement or stillness stopped the agony that flowed through me. When my throat ached too much for any sound to come out, I sobbed, still opening my mouth to scream silently. Edward leaned against the doorframe, watching me and I saw tears gathering in his eyes. My eyes blazed with fire and my lips stung from the sudden sharpness of my teeth.
Suddenly, it stopped and I sank down. Edward was there, catching me before I touched the floor. He held me in his lap for what must have been hours, days. Daylight and moonlight passed as I lay there, my head cushioned by my love's body. He never moved, as my human body died around me. My last heartbeat, my last necessary breath all going, with piercing agony so great I could not move or cry out. It burnt through me like ice now; sensations I had never felt before.
One moment I was lying inert and then suddenly I was at the window. I had thought to move and then I was there. Edward got to his feet and watched me tensely.
"Bella, love, how do you feel?" he asked.
"Thirsty," I said, hoarsely. And then I wanted to see myself. Again, the thought came as quickly as the action and a mirror was before me. I stared at my reflection. My hair was thicker than it had been before, thick with red, gold and brown highlights. My skin was like porcelain, creamy and pale, without a blemish and my eyebrows were perfectly arched. I brought my hands to my bust and found that my breasts were firmer and fuller than they had ever been. Hesitantly, I lifted my top and saw that the scars I had been frightened of Edward seeing were gone. My skin there, as everywhere else was smooth as marble. I glanced up and met my eyes reflected in the glass. Panic washed through me and Edward was suddenly there, his hands on my hips, holding me steady.
"Why are my eyes red?" I asked. "Why do I look like him? Why am I not like you?"
"You need to feed. At the moment you still have some human blood in your system; that is why your eyes are red. When you have fed on animal blood, they will become like mine."
My throat burnt at the mention of blood and I rushed to the window, thinking only that outside there were animals; a source to cure my thirst. Edward's strong arms wrapped round me from behind before I could leap through the window.
"Bella, no. Patience, love."
"I need to drink," I growled. Edward grabbed my face in his hands and forced me to look at him.
"We will go and hunt, but first I need you to listen to me."
"I don't want to listen; I want to drink." All I could feel was the thirst burning and his prevention of me achieving my aim to drink was making me angry. He moved his hands down to my arms. I struggled, but found he was surprisingly strong.
"Isabella, you will do as I say!" he said, firmly. "We will go hunting when I decide. First, you will listen to me!"
I struggled and managed to turn myself, but he pulled me close to him, my back resting against his chest, one arm around my neck, while the other pinned my wrists behind me.
"When we go out to hunt, you will stay close to me. You will only drink what you need and you will pay attention to when you are full. Are we clear?"
"I just need to drink!" I hissed. He tightened his grip on my throat.
"I asked if we are we clear?" he growled.
"Yes! We are clear! Please, can we go now?" I whined.
"We will go when I say so. The woods should be empty, but if there is anyone there, you will come back to me immediately, whatever you are doing. Understood?"
"Fine, back to you," I said, though in truth I barely heard his words, the thirst was raging through me. At that moment, if he did not take me outside to hunt, I would have his blood, any blood to satiate that need. He shifted his grip to my hand, holding me firmly.
"Come."
He led me out. If the others were in the house, I did not see them; all of my focus was on getting outside.
"Now remember, Isabella, you are a lot faster and a lot stronger than you were. Try not to cause too much damage to our woods. And like I said, only take what you need. Stop drinking when you have satisfied your thirst; do not be greedy."
I growled in response. Why was he torturing me with all these instructions? I wrenched my hand free and looked around me, revelling in my stronger senses as I realised I could see further, hear more and smell... I could smell blood. Suddenly alert, I padded silently into the trees and saw a deer looking away from me. It twitched as if aware it was being watched, its large eyes surveying the area nervously. The part of me that was human rejoiced in the simple beauty of its lithe form; the vampire in me attacked before the deer had time to react, taking it down instinctively, as my new teeth ripped at its throat. The deer made a strangled sound and then its blood poured into my throat. I drank and drank, feeling the life draining from the animal into me. Despite my reluctance to listen to him earlier, Edward's words played in my ears and I remembered him telling me to stop when my thirst was slaked. I tipped my head back and dropped the deer's carcass on the forest floor and then turned to face my maker.
"You didn't waste any time," he said, with dry humour.
"I was thirsty," I replied, wiping my mouth on the back of my hand. Edward came across to me and lifted a cloth to my face, wiping all traces of blood from my skin and then he gently wiped my hand in the same way. His touch made me freeze and when I met his eyes, I saw they were black.
"You need to hunt," I observed. He laughed, darkly.
"Yes, you took a lot from me, Isabella," he said. "How do you feel now that you have fed?"
"I feel, different... not so angry... does that make sense?"
"Yes. It is difficult to focus emotions when you are thirsty."
I remembered him the night I was attacked in the club; his eyes black, his stool knocked back and felt a stab of recognition. My own fury had engulfed me and had he not held me in the bedroom, I would have leapt through the window in an effort to quench my thirst.
"I have to say, Isabella, you are very calm for a newborn," he commented, suddenly, surprising me.
"What do you mean?"
"I had expected to have to restrain you a little more..."
Before I could respond, a scent caught my nose that alerted my inner animal and I snarled, as a wolf appeared around a tree. The wolf phased and suddenly a familiar figure was standing before me.
I hope you are liking Bella the vampire. I'm just going to say though, as relates to what Edward just said, famous last words hehe! He might be changing his mind very soon...