Chapter 7: Hunting

"There's another way Edward," I told him. "You don't have to feed on humans. Animal blood works just as well."

Edward was angry that I had cost him his prey, but in reading my thoughts, he seemed curious. "Show me," he commanded.

Hold your breath, I cautioned silently. We ran, not towards the street, but into the trees behind my house. And we kept running, until we were far from even an outlying farmhouse. I only stopped when I had no trace of a human scent in the air or on the ground. But there were plenty of deer around.

"Why do you drink animal blood?" Edward asked. It was odd for him to hear my thoughts. It left much out of the conversation. But it wasn't necessarily a bad thing when I came to explaining difficult concepts.

I replied mentally, thinking about the feeling I had towards drinking human blood, the mild satisfaction that came with drinking animal blood, and the happiness I felt that I could still protect human life, even though I was a vampire.

"Close your eyes Edward. What do you smell?" I waited as Edward's eyelids covered his blood red pupils and he took a deep breath in through his nose.

"What is that awful smell?" he gasped, covering his nose. "It smells like moldy cheese!"

"That would be herbivore," I corrected. "I agree it isn't as good as a carnivore."

Edward wrinkled his nose, but nodded. He would try.

"Tell me where it is," I said. I already knew, so Edward did too, but I wanted him to pinpoint the deer's location with his senses.

"North of here, about 500 feet. Grazing in a meadow." He began stalking the deer, like he had with the human. I tensed again, but relaxed when I remembered what he was hunting. Deer. The right thing to hunt.

Edward stalked the deer, crouched over like a mountain lion hiding low in the grass. The trees opened into the meadow where the deer were grazing peacefully. The wind was blowing our scent away from them. I had noticed that whenever an animal caught the scent of a vampire, they'd run away. It all came back to survival instincts. Humans' instincts told them to run too, but animals were more prone to act entirely on instinct. Human psychology told them it would be rude to do something like that. So they remained, but they kept their distance.

I followed him, crouching below the grass' top so I didn't ruin this hunt for him. Edward crept forward, completely silent. Not a blade of grass was out of place, not a rustle reached mine or the deer's ears. Edward was a natural, which both scared me and made me feel proud. When Edward was within leaping distance, he sprang, a ferocious growl tearing the silence of just a moment before.

The deer didn't even have time to react before Edward tackled it and clamped his jaws around the deer's throat, teeth sinking into the lean meat. I took the opportunity to bring down my own deer before the herd bolted. Edward had gone for the buck; I went for a weak doe on the fringes of the herd. I bit through the skin and muscle easily, nothing standing up to my vampire teeth, as hard as or harder than diamonds. As I fed, I kept an eye on Edward. He was greedily lapping up the blood that flowed from the buck's neck. The animal kicked a little as he fed, but soon it was still. I had broken my doe's neck before feeding, preferring not to make the animal suffer as I drained it of its blood. I made a mental note to suggest thus to Edward before feeding again.

I finished with the doe quickly. Years of practice had allowed me to feed without even creasing my shirt. Not a drop of blood spilled on my doctor's lab coat, that I'd yet to remove in three days. Edward on the other hand, looked like he'd been mauled by a bear. Blood splattered the clothing I'd changed him into as he'd transformed. The light blue shirt was ripped where the buck had tried to tear him with its antlers. Edward wasn't harmed of course.

"It doesn't taste much better than it smells," Edward commented, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand.

"I know," I admitted, "But it keeps you strong."

Edward nodded. "I need some more," he said. He didn't wait for me to walk him through the steps of finding prey again. Just in case, I took a deep breath to make sure no humans had wandered too close when we were feeding off of the deer. The range was still clear. Better yet, a male black bear was foraging nearby. Bear tasted better than deer, and were a little more challenging because of the claws and teeth.

Edward was off, running low through the trees. I followed close behind, ready to stop him if he got distracted by a more appetizing scent. Ahead I could hear the bear's paws thumping softly on the ground. This bear was big for a black bear. Perfect. As we got closer, I remembered what I'd wanted to tell Edward.

Try snapping the neck before you start feeding, I suggested. It's more humane.

Edward barely nodded his head in acknowledgement. He was intent on the hunt. The bear had begun to climb a tree, probably to settle down. Edward crouched out of sight, watching its progress up the tree. Bears were excellent climbers. But so were vampires.

Edward darted up the tree, not even rustling a leaf. He was so good at stealth. The bear didn't even see him coming. Edward leapt on the bear's back, grabbing its head. With a resounding crack, the animal's neck broke and the two of them went tumbling through the branches to land with a Thud! on the forest floor. Edward was already feeding before they hit the ground.

He finished with the bear quickly, sitting back on his heels when the carcass was empty of blood. "I think I'm full for now," he announced. "But I'm still thirsty."

"You always will be," I told him. "That's part of this life."

Right now, I'd like to take the opportunity to thank those who've stayed with me thus far. It's been a long process of providing the early parts of Carlisle's life, but now that the Cullen family will begin to form, things will start to pick up. So keep reading and don't forget to review, because that's the only way I can get any better!

-WishingOnMyStar