Author's note: Howdy folks! If you get this as a new chapter update, I apologise but there was a continuity error in the first draft which Joleigh13 pointed out, so this is a new version with that mistake cleared up :)

Firstly, I am sooooooo sorry for the wait in posting this chapter. I have no real excuse, except that time management is not always my strong point. Please accept virtual hugs and kisses as my apology to you XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Secondly, I have exciting news regarding my other Twific Let No Man Put Asunder; Kupat, who did a banner and cover for this story, has also done a banner for that story, too and it's awesome! I'll put a link up on my profile for you all to see :)

As usual, thanks for all the kind reviews letting me know what you think.

Chapter forty three

My first hunt was a truly unforgettable experience, mainly because it was the oddest thing I had ever done in either of my lives. Given everything that had happened to me in the past year, it was saying something. Three vampires accompanied me: Carlisle, to show me the ropes and Jasper and Emmett simply tagging along for the ride. I had a suspicion the latter two were also there to act as bodyguards, should I suffer another fit of madness during my time outdoors.

It was the very early hours of the morning, a time Carlisle had chosen specifically to minimise the possibility of any human encounters. The rain had eased off to a fine drizzle and the air was crisp and fresh, with the recent rainfall adding a boost to the scents of my surroundings. I was hit simultaneously by the smell of bark, grass, leaves, mud, stone and…

Blood. It was near, very near. It flowed somewhere close by, through the veins of an unsuspecting animal and my body immediately tensed. A flashback of the dead man in the woods came to me, but, as I properly focused on the scent, a spark of recognition hit and my nose informed me that it was the same kind of blood as Carlisle had given me back at the mansion. The burning in my throat suddenly intensified and I clasped my neck, once again subconsciously trying to brush it away.

Carlisle, who had been watching me intently since the moment we left the house, saw my reaction and lifted his nose to the air. He caught the scent within seconds and I saw his gaze fall on the cluster of trees a couple of miles away. It was fascinating to watch, as I had never witnessed him during a hunt. As much as I had come to know him, including the deeper parts of his personal history, I had never seen this side of him before. Well, not properly anyway. He started to lose aspects of "human Carlisle" and took on a more animalistic quality, although the incredible grace he possessed never faltered. The last time I had seen him like this was during my attack months ago, but hadn't been in the best frame of mind to truly study it. It definitely said something that he was able to hold my attention right now, even with the promise of food nearby.

His eyes narrowed slightly, as he determined a more precise location of the animal, before turning his attention to me. The quick nod of his head told me to focus and follow his lead and I didn't miss the way his eyes glinted with predatory glee. I found myself liking it. A lot. Following his lead, however, was much easier said than done. For a start, he had hundreds of years' experience in his favour and I was still feeling the effects of disorientation, even though they had greatly improved since first waking. Also, I was finding it hard to focus on anything other than him. My new senses allowed me to see him in a way never before realised and, no matter what I did, my eyes always found their way back to him.

Without warning, Carlisle raced off and my latest moment of distraction meant I lost a few precious seconds relocating him. When I found him again, he was crouched behind a gathering of bushes, his eyes fiercely fixed on the prey ahead of him. I followed and was surprised by my own quietness, as well as confused that Jasper and Emmett did not follow. Perhaps this particular animal was just for me, but surely that would be a waste? A battle of conscience began in my mind at that point, as one half felt bad thinking of the others going hungry, with the other half telling me that it was first come, first served and nothing mattered right now, but sinking my teeth into the neck of that deer. A sound close to my ear interrupted the argument and I felt cool breath brush the side of my neck. I turned my head to see Carlisle watching me expectantly and, if I could, I would have blushed in embarrassment.

"Sorry," I whispered.

"It is always hard to focus for the first few days," he offered. "But try your best." I felt his fingers wrap around my right hand and squeeze it gently, before turning back to the task at hand.

The hunt turned out to be, in no uncertain terms, a bloody shambles-literally! I wasn't entirely sure what had happened, but, all I know is that one minute, I was leaping from the trees, ready to pin down a wild deer, the next, I was stumbling through the brush, half chasing, half being dragged and, in the end, it was up to Jasper and Emmett to chase down the animal, before someone (i.e. me) ended up getting hurt.

Carlisle helped me brush off my clothes-and my pride-before the other two returned with the leftovers of my disastrous first attempt. My self confidence was at a rather low point and trying to reason with myself that it was my first attempt couldn't keep the disappointment at bay. I guess I had pictured things being a little different as a vampire. Seeing the grace and poise Alice, Esme and Rosalie possessed made me think that I would be like that too, no longer the awkward, clumsy nitwit, fading into the background. Sadly, it appeared that my special vampire gift was going to be remarkable gaucheness. I tried not to pout.

"Hey," Emmett's voice boomed across to me, the warmth it contained like a lighthouse beacon on a stormy night. "Don't worry about it," he tried to reassure me. "It could've been a lot worse. We tend not to speak of my first hunting trip."

Jasper started laughing, something I'd rarely witnessed, yet had happened a lot more frequently with Emmett around. "Because we're all laughin' too hard at the memory to even talk!"

Well, that caught my interest. Beside me, Carlisle was also chuckling, as Emmett carried the deer over his bulky shoulders.

"Eat up," he urged, dropping the animal to the ground before me. "I'll fill you in on the way back."

It turned out that that was going to be sooner than anticipated, because, just as I was wiping the remnants of my late supper from my mouth, a phone started ringing and Carlisle's silken voice was filled with immediate gravity.

"Yes, we are all here. Understood. No, we can come back immediately. See you in a minute."

With that, he hung up and none of us were in any doubt that the fun and games were over.

"What is it?" Jasper asked, clearly picking up the shift in Carlisle's mood.

"We need to get back to the house," Carlisle explained. "Esme says it's important."

Without instruction, Emmett set about discarding the deer, whilst the rest of us started making our way back to the house. I stayed close to Carlisle and felt the worry building up inside. What had Esme seen? It had to be something that affected us, otherwise there would have been no reason to interrupt the hunt. Emmett caught up quickly and, despite the sudden solemnity of the moment, he appeared as cheerful as ever and immediately launched into the tale of his first hunt.

"I tried to take on a bear," he declared.

"What?" I gasped, a shocked burst of laughter escaping my mouth. Despite the speed and strength of vampires, surely that was quite a feat to take on for your first go?

"Yep. Not one of my brightest moments," he admitted with a grin. "I've always been pretty big, even when I was human. Took after my father with that and the lifestyle I had back then helped. So, after my transformation, Carlisle, Jaz and Rose took me out for my first hunt, pretty much the same way we have for you and, rather than going for the nice, easy prey they selected for me, I caught the scent of something much larger, therefore far more tempting. Without a second thought, I was off, racing through the woods until I reached this massive hulk of an animal. I thought I could handle it and I won't go into detail, but, after the encounter you've just experienced, you can guess how mine went. Almost lost both my arms and one of my legs."

He pulled an "oops" face that I found impossible not to smile at. It really was a stereotypical paradox for the most physically intimidating man I had ever met to be the friendliest and most charming.

"The bear didn't get off lightly, though," he winked and I couldn't help chuckling in return. I'd known Emmett less than a day and already held a great fondness for him. He proved to be a complete contradiction to Rosalie and they really were the perfect example of opposites attracting. I wondered how they had met, but knew that was a conversation for a different time, as the mansion became visible.

As we slowed to a walking pace, Carlisle took my hand and held me back, letting the other two go ahead of us. Once Jasper and Emmett had entered the house, I looked up at Carlisle and he responded by tucking a strand of hair behind my ear and tracing a thumb across my cheek affectionately.

"Um, don't we have to get inside?" I asked, not actually complaining about the attention I received, but knowing that there was something urgent that required our presence inside. "I mean, not that I mind, y'know..,"

Carlisle's lips curved into a soft smile. "I just wanted to check you are alright." He replied. "I know you are unhappy with how tonight went."

"Yeah..," I curled my hand around his wrist and started playing with the bone sticking out. I never knew what that particular bone was called and began to wonder, before realising I really needed to keep my wandering mind in check. "I mean, I know it was my first time and everything, so I can't expect to be perfect..,"

"But..," he encouraged.

"But…I dunno, I guess I just thought things would be different now that I'm…y'know…like you."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I thought my days of clumsiness would finally be behind me," I explained. "I want to be like Esme or Alice, able to skip around a room without missing a single step, but..," My gaze lowered to the ground. "…I'm not."

"Bella," he said, catching my face with both hands and forcing me to look up at him again. "Stop comparing yourself to others. You forget that they both have decades of adjustment under their belts. You have been a vampire for a day and, given the circumstances, I think you are doing very well. You may not possess their level of grace, but that is not such a bad thing." He brought our faces closer until our foreheads connected. "It wasn't Esme or Alice that I fell in love with. It was you, clumsiness and all. Without it, you wouldn't be the Isabella I know and I would miss it terribly."

"Yeah, that's because you don't have to live with it," I grumbled.

"But I live with you and would not have you any other way."

Before I could respond, he captured my lips in a deep kiss and I forgot everything, as I closed my eyes and lost myself in the moment. Whilst not completely satisfied, his kiss reminded me of the truth behind his words, that he truly loved me and there was nothing I could do to change his opinion on that.

Pulling away, he tucked me against his side and held an arm around my shoulders, guiding me through the threshold. Everyone else was congregated in the lounge closest to the front door and every single face wore a pensive expression. My panic increased and I immediately sought out Esme, who was sat beside Alice on the couch. Although a couple of the seats were unoccupied, I elected to remain standing. For some reason, since my change, I hadn't been much in the mood for sitting down.

"Alright Esme," Carlisle said, standing beside me, although his arm was no longer draped across my shoulders. "We are all here, so what is this about?"

Esme wasted no time in getting to the point. "There have been more murders," she explained. "Four, to be exact and each one in a different part of Forks."

My eyes became wide saucers of dismay and the tension rose with such speed that it could have ignited the room.

"Each one has followed the pattern of the others," she continued. "So it is surely the work of the Seattle Ripper."

Everyone took a moment to let the shocking information sink in and the atmosphere could have been cut with a knife. So, the Ripper was still out there, unless a desperate copycat had decided to take over, meaning he hadn't been caught yet, which also meant that Edward hadn't caught the culprit, which meant he must still be-

Quick as a flash, Alice leapt up from the couch and pointed the remote at the television, turning it on. As the screen flickered into life, the audio came before picture, so we were able to hear the harsh tones of the anchorwoman, being seeing what she spoke of.

"In the last few minutes, another body has been discovered less than a mile from Port Angeles. The police are now urging everyone to head back to their homes and stay there, until the situation can be contained. Under no circumstances are people to open their doors or speak to anyone they don't know."

"Five?" Emmett spat. "Who the Hell is this crazy son of a bitch?"

"We don't know," said Carlisle, moving to get a better view of the screen. "But we cannot just sit on the sidelines anymore. They are getting out of hand."

I moved with him and saw images flash on the screen of the victims before their untimely deaths. Three were male, ranging from early twenties, to late sixties. The fourth was a female, thirty five and a manager of the local supermarket. The fifth had yet to be identified and, judging by the footage being shown of police officers pulling the corpse out of the road, it was clear that identification may not even be possible. The attacks were becoming more savage, with the Ripper no longer content to just tear out throats. He or she was now mangling faces, too.

I saw the carnage, saw the blood, but absolutely none of it felt real to me. I would have expected some kind of reaction to what was happening, yet there wasn't even a stir. It was all too beyond sense to me, as even I could see it wasn't the work of a desperate vampire. They were cold, calculated killings that had nothing to do with sustenance and everything to do with malicious sadism.

"Where's Edward?" I heard Rosalie's sharp tone cut through the anchorwoman.

Everyone looked at each other. "We don't know," Carlisle eventually answered. "There has been no contact since..," he appeared to be unable to finish his sentence.

"He's supposed to be tracking this lunatic, yes?" she asked.

"The last we heard, that is correct."

"And, by the looks of these murders," she said, leaning forward to gesture towards the TV. "This seems to be the work of either a reckless nomad, or a newborn."

"It would seem so," remarked Jasper, in a tone that suggested he was following whatever train of thought Rosalie crafted.

"So, Edward has been tracking them for several weeks at least by now, correct?" she continued and I was intrigued to find out where her line of questioning was going.

Everyone nodded.

"And without success. That seems like an awfully long time for someone like him to spend trying to catch someone."

I stole furtive glances at the rest of the coven, wondering if they were as puzzled by Rosalie's musings as I, but the only one to reveal even a hint of confusion was Alice.

"Now," there seemed to be no stopping Rosalie, now that she had started. "I am by no means Edward's biggest fan. However, one thing I do know is that it would take someone very smart or very lucky to evade him this long. Thing is, I don't believe anybody's luck could stretch that far and the only vampire I could imagine capable of evading him would be Jasper."

What was she suggesting? It was a very dangerous and terrifying idea, if I understood her correctly, but was it possible and had anyone else here thought of it before her? I looked at each of them in turn, my glance less subtle this time and wondered. Could they have been ignorant of it? They weren't stupid, I knew that much, at least, so, why hadn't what Rosalie suggested been mentioned before? Maybe it had, but, being the little human, I hadn't been privy to such information. That wouldn't have surprised me, given Carlisle's overprotective nature.

Rosalie appeared to be subjecting them all to her own brand of scrutiny and, from the imperious arch of her eyebrows, I could tell she was unhappy with her deductions. "Please don't tell me this is news to all of you."

Nobody spoke for quite a while, possibly wondering what the correct response could be. Eventually, Carlisle gave his reply.

"If I am completely honest, I did not want to consider the possibility," he said quietly and one last survey of the others told me that it was a notion they all shared. It wasn't that any of them hadn't thought of it, they just didn't want to. Carlisle carried so much guilt for what had happened to Sapphire that he still blamed every single action of Edward's since then as his own fault and I was seriously worried that this latest revelation may prove to be another added weight to the burden he'd carried for over forty years. "However, recently, I have been having my doubts."

That was news to me and I wondered how recent the change of heart might have been. Was it before or after Edward bit me? Perhaps that action was the realisation Carlisle needed to see how twisted his former companion had become.

"Rosalie," chipped in Alice. "Are you seriously suggesting that Edward is responsible for all of this?"

"You disagree?" the blonde bombshell challenged.

"I…I…well…I surely would have seen something of this magnitude-"

"Would you? You've already told us that your gift has been pretty unreliable where Edward's concerned. And there's always the possibility that he is using someone else to do his dirty work for him."

"But the Volturi," Esme joined in. "As a member, there is no way he could get away with it."

Rosalie considered that for a moment, before shrugging her shoulders. "Maybe. Maybe not."

"Let's be honest," Jasper began. "The Volturi may be the police of the vampire world, but they are far from scrupulous. I wouldn't put something this underhanded past them."

"It would be wise, Jasper," Carlisle said. "To ensure that particular comment never leaves this room."

I remained where I was, taking everything in and not entirely understanding all of it. As everyone else threw theories back and forth, I attempted to recap. So, Rosalie reckoned Edward, or someone working for him, was the Seattle Ripper. There was also a suggestion that the Volturi may be aware or involved with Edward's actions, should he be the culprit. The issue of motive had yet to be discussed, but I had a good idea of what it might be. Love had great potential to encourage greatness, but it also had the ability to drive some to madness and, according to Rosalie and Carlisle, Edward very much believed himself to be in love with Sapphire.

Against that was the second option, however unlikely it was beginning to seem, that some crazy, sadistic, yet highly intelligent vampire was behind it all. Which possibility did I prefer? I wasn't sure. On one hand, having someone like Edward hold a vendetta against you was a very dangerous position to be in. Then again, having to deal with a vampire, who even someone as skilled as Edward couldn't catch, was equally scary.

"We must speak with the wolves," Carlisle said, everything about his voice and posture meaning he was in full coven leader mode.

"The wolves?" Rosalie threw the words out of her mouth like a piece of rotting food.

The wolves? I echoed her words in my mind, although my question was completely different to hers. What wolves were they talking about?

"Haven't they done enough damage already?" she continued. "They did let Edward run off with her-" she pointed at me. "-after all."

Wait-what? What did these wolves have to do with me? I certainly didn't remember any wolves being involved with my kidnap...did I?

"We did not have as much information then," Carlisle offered in their defence. "They were ambushed, but they have agreed to help us by patrolling the town's borders, looking for Edward or any other unknown vampires in the area. We are due a status update as it is and they have a right to know if an unstable vampire is on the loose. I will set up a meeting with them immediately."

He turned to leave the room, I assumed to grab his phone, and I was ready to follow him to ask what the Hell he was talking about with regards to wolves, but there was a gasp and everyone's attention turned to the diminutive woman currently stood rigidly still, her eyes bulging and the irises twitching manically in every direction. It was quite a sight to behold and, having never witnessed her in the midst of a vision before, I was fascinated. Besides the eyes, the only other parts of her body that moved were a couple of fingers on her left hand, twitching ever so slightly in rhythm to her eyes. Just what was she seeing? Everyone was waiting with baited breath for the moment she fell back to Earth, stumbling back a couple of steps. Jasper was there to steady her, his long, strong arms going around her in comfort.

She was given a minute to compose herself and, as expected, Rosalie was the first to start the interrogation. "What did you see?" she asked.

Alice inhaled a few times and blinked furiously, before providing the answer in a quiet, quivering voice.

"The Volturi," she gasped, in a voice dripping with fear. "They're coming!"

A/N: Annnnnnd I'm back! Again, I'm so sorry for the delay, but I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. I will do all I can to ensure the next update doesn't take as long as this one xxxx