BPOV
"Wait!" I squealed making Tanya halt. "You have to tell me how to do it! I've never done this before."
She smiled at me and shook her head. "It doesn't need to be taught. Trust me. It's all in the instincts. As soon as you smell the blood you'll know what to do. Kate and Irina are going to run ahead of us and find a spot where there are no humans. We'll follow their scent out and your instincts will do the rest," she told me.
Irina and Kate left the room moving faster than I ever thought a person could move. They were literally gone in the blink of an eye. I turned to Tanya in slack jawed awe.
"Will I be able to move that fast?" I asked.
"Faster. Since you're what we call a newborn and you're still running on your own human blood, you'll be faster, stronger and a little moodier," she explained.
I sighed and tried to wrap my head around what she was saying. I knew that I was a vampire because I could tell the difference from how I used to be but I was still in disbelief. Vampires just didn't exist. I wondered what else was out there but before I could ask Tanya wrapped her arm around my shoulders.
"Come on, let's go. After you've hunted we'll give you a crash course in Vampire 101," she said. I nodded my head and followed her. As we left the bedroom I took in the rest of the house. It was huge. I don't know what I expected but it surely wasn't this.
The upstairs hall was overlooking what I guessed was the living room. The house was fit for Royalty. The walls were all in shades of white, beige and yellow. There was gold gilding everywhere without being gaudy. Marble floors were covered with what had to be priceless rugs, beautiful paintings and grand flower arrangements were scattered throughout. There was so much light thanks to all the windows with their fancy drapery. This was not a house one would expect to find in the middle of Alaska. It was elegant and pristine.
"Do you think it's too much," Tanya asked nervously as she watched me take in the beauty around me. "We decorated it like the palaces back home in Russia."
"No, it's not too much. It's breathtaking. I've never been in a place this luxurious," I whispered.
"This is your home now," Tanya replied. "I hope that you can be comfortable here."
"Trust me, I will be," I said. It definitely looked like a palace and knowing that I would be living here made me feel regal. I stood a little straighter and held my head a little higher. Tanya giggled at the posture adjustment and led me out of the palace-house.
"You'll love running. It's so exhilarating!" she gushed as we walked to the edge of the forest behind the house. "Now, can you smell Kate and Irina?" she asked.
I inhaled the air and found that I did smell them along with everything else outside. Tanya urged me forward with a hand on my lower back. "Run. Follow it."
I nodded my head and took off after the scent. I gasped in shock at how fast I was moving. I could feel the wind on my skin and blowing back my hair as I went. I was surprised that I could still see my surroundings just as clearly as if I was standing still and nothing escaped my eyes. I could see every bug, animal, leaf, twig, and flower. I was more agile and graceful than I had ever been. I was moving at this blinding speed, not crashing into anything, seeing everything, and still following Kate and Irina's scent with no problem. I giggled at the thrill of it all.
When the scent led me to Kate and Irina themselves, I stopped and threw my arms around Kate who was closest to me. "That was amazing!" I screeched. She laughed but hugged me back.
"I'm glad you liked it," she said amused at my enthusiasm. I kept giggling because I just felt so alive and free. I felt like I could do anything! Tanya appeared behind me with a stunned expression.
"Bella I've never seen anyone move so fast in all my years!" she breathed. "And that was more than just you being a newborn. That was just crazy!" she exclaimed.
I felt my smile widen with pride. This being a vampire stuff was better than I could have imagined. If everything else was...
Fire exploded in my throat and a feral sound resembling a lion's roar ripped out of me in response. I could smell something in the air. Something sweet yet tangy and I wanted it. The smell was getting closer and now I could hear it. It was throbbing in my ears and it was wet and intensified the burn in my throat. I hated the smell for causing me pain but I wanted it! I had to find it and taste the source.
I forgot all about the others and took off after the smell moving as fast as I could. I stopped when I spotted a bear lapping up water from a stream. We were facing each other but he didn't see me. I scaled the nearest tree and moved quickly across a branch until I was right over the bear. I made sure not to make a sound as to alert him to my presence. I inhaled deeply taking in the aroma again. I needed it!
I dropped down out of the tree and into the stream right before the bear. I was drenched but I couldn't have cared less. Before it could react I pushed it back so that it was on it's back. It let out a loud growl as it hit the ground and I pounced on top of him. I could feel his paws clawing at my back but it didn't hurt me. I could barely even feel it at all. I did feel it's heart beating through it's chest into mine though. It was a lovely feeling. I opened my mouth wide and bit into it's neck. My teeth sliced through as easily as hand through water.
Blood gushed into my mouth and the taste consumed me. I moaned in a way that would have embarrassed me if I was not so wrapped up in the pleasure of the taste. I pressed my face further into it's neck. If I let one drop go to waste it would be the biggest mistake of my life. I had to have all of it. It relieved the scorching heat from my throat and I couldn't drink fast enough.
Eventually the bear ran dry and the burn returned. I pushed off the bear enraged that the burn was back. I needed more. I took off into the woods again in in search of something else to drink. After a moose and a small herd of deer, I felt sloshy and the fire in my throat was all but gone. I didn't know how far I'd traveled away from Tanya, Kate, and Irina but I found my way back to them easily.
I found them lounging in the snow lying on their bellies side by side and looking through some magazine. They all smiled up at me as they heard my approach.
"How'd it go?" Irina asked. "We stayed behind because we usually get territorial on hunts. You would have attacked us if we didn't give you your space."
I didn't doubt her words. I had been inexplicably angry while I was hunting. I probably would have attacked them. "I got a bear, a moose, and four deer."
"Feeling sloshy?" Kate asked.
I rubbed my stomach and nodded before dropping down to lie on the other side of Tanya.
"You didn't even get dirty," Kate smiled proudly. "On my first hunt I got blood everywhere! I'm not even sure I even actually drank anything!"
We all laughed and I rolled onto my back. I was lying in snow and found it to be comfortable. It was the same temperature as me and it smelled wonderful. It was smooth and maybe even a little fluffy on my skin.
"So tell me everything about being a vampire. What else can I do?" I asked glancing over at them.
"The most important thing is what you can't do. You can never let the humans find out about us. There's a governing coven of vampires in Italy that will execute you if you do," Tanya said.
"They'll tear your body apart and burn the pieces. That's the only way we can be killed and if no one kills you, you don't die," Irina interjected. "We don't get older, we don't get sick, and we don't change at all physically other than our eyes. Animal blood will make your eyes gold like ours. Human blood makes them red but yours will change soon enough if you stick to feeding off animals so don't worry. And they turn black when we are either thirsty, furious, or very aroused," she said the last part waggling her eyebrows suggestively.
I giggled and Kate nudged Irina playfully with her elbow. Not letting the humans know about us seemed like a given. Of course I wouldn't tell anyone! They filled me in about the Volturi and I listened with rapt attention. They sounded pretty badass.
"So wait, what about these special powers? How come we don't all have one!" I asked feeling a little disgruntled.
"Because some vampires are just destined to be boring," Kate sighed looking between Tanya and Irina with mock remorse. Irina smacked her lips and pushed Kate's shoulder as Tanya rolled her eyes.
"Kate here has a little special power of her own. She can make you feel as if you've been electrocuted," Tanya explained.
I shot up sitting in an upright position. "Really?"
Kate nodded her head with a smug smirk on her face. "Want to feel it? I promise I'll use a very low voltage," she said sitting up as well.
"Kate no! No matter how low a voltage you claim to use, the shit hurts!" Tanya snapped.
I loved Tanya for trying to protect me but I kind of wanted to feel it. I couldn't believe any of this was possible and I just wanted to experience all that I could.
"How long will it hurt?" I asked.
Tanya and Irina looked at me as if I was crazy but I ignored them and focused on Kate.
"Just for a second. It only lasts while I'm touching you and I'll just tap your hand really quickly," she replied.
I took a deep breath and extended my hand to her. She tapped my finger and while I felt something I didn't really feel a shock.
"Do it again," I said. "I didn't really feel it."
Kate knitted her brows and tapped me again letting her fingers linger a little longer. Again I felt something, but it wasn't a shock.
"Are you sure this is supposed to hurt?" I asked.
Kate glanced quickly at Tanya and Irina before grasping my hand in hers and looking me directly in my eye. It still didn't hurt. What I did feel was something like a thin warm bubble wrap tightly around my entire body. It wasn't painful and in fact it felt good, like a hug or something.
"You don't feel anything at all?" Tanya asked looking between me and Kate.
I shook my head and told her what I did feel. Kate let go of my hand and grinned excitedly at me.
"You must have a gift of your own. Some kind of shield, maybe. I've never met anyone who didn't feel me before besides Renata from the Volturi and she's a shield too!" Kate gushed.
"A shield? You mean I might be special?" I asked feeling the beginnings of a smile on my lips.
Kate shook her head still grinning wildly, "Might? No. You are definitely special. I wonder if you can project..."