Thanks for the great reviews! I'll try to get another chapter out soon.

Chapter 6: Blood to Run

Like a child, Lexie followed Carlisle out onto the terrace and gasped as the sun hit his face; making his skin sparkle like diamonds, then turned to watch Esme and Jasper's skin do the same as they came out of the room. Reaching down, she pushed the sleeve of her sweater up her arm and watched in amazement as it too sparkled in the sun. Looking up at Jasper's chuckle, she watched as he walked over to put his hands on the railing and vaulted over it to land on the first floor. Startled she ran forward expecting to see him lying injured on the ground but instead looked down to see him staring up at her with a big smile.

"Oh, that's nothing! Wait until you see what we can do once we're in the forest." Then watched as Esme did the same and landed gracefully on the ground; confused Lexie stepped away from the railing and looked over to Carlisle. He once again took her hand and pulled her toward the railing.

"Come on, it's easier than you think," then helped Lexie swing her legs over until they both sat on top of the terrace railing, "We'll go together on 3, okay?" She nodded yes and felt his hand tighten around hers as he counted. "1… 2… 3!" Then closed her eyes and felt a rush of air as the ground quickly came closer. Realizing it was over she opened her eyes and smiled at the Cullen's. Jasper just shook his head and teased. "Come on, Lexie, let's see if you can keep up!" then took off through the forest, like a Cheetah. Shaking her head in disbelief, she began to chase after him with Carlisle and Esme following close by. The trees become blurs out of the corner of her eyes as she fixated on Jasper running several miles ahead of her until she pushed harder to close the difference. Now neck and neck, Lexie turned her head slightly to see Jasper's surprised expression, as if he never expected her to catch up to him. She smiled and returned her gaze to look ahead, but her smile disappeared when she realized that they were quickly headed for a cliff and would have to stop. Slowing down, she watched in surprise as Jasper continued to run ahead and then as if he was Superman take a flying leap until he landed on the other side.

"Holy Crap." She said out loud with her mouth hanging open. Then without warning Carlisle and Esme ran past and did the exact same thing, until they were standing next to Jasper. She could hear Jasper laughing as he yelled. "Come on Lexie! Don't be a chicken! Jump!" She shook her head in disbelief, 'there is no way a human could have made that leap,' she thought backing away from the cliff's edge.

"Lexie, you are an Immortal now, you can do this!" called Carlisle from the other side. "Back up to get a running start and try again!" She looked over to Carlisle and nodded in understanding, then ran back into the forest until she was 200 feet away from the cliff's edge. Hesitating, she anxiously rubbed her hands against her pant legs, then thought. "Oh what the hell… I've already died once." Turning quickly around she began pumping her legs in a fast sprint until the edge of the cliff came in sight, then pushed off expecting to fall to her death. But instead she kept on going over the rushing water far below until she landed gracefully a few yards away from the Cullen's.

Exhilarated, she laughed out loud. "Oh my God, that was incredible!"

Carlisle and Esme chuckled at her childlike exuberance, while Jasper smirked and said, "Come on kid, you've got a lot more to learn."

"Hey! I'm not a kid…I'm older than you!" she said feeling insulted. Jasper just smirked again and said, "Lexie, I was born before the Civil War started; trust me you're just a kid." He chuckled at her surprised expression, then he took her by the hand to pull her deeper into the forest. Stopping a few miles later, he dropped her hand and stood behind her, while Carlisle and Esme hung back.

"Now, I want you to stop thinking, close your eyes and listen to the forest around you. Tell me what you hear."

Closing her eyes, the forest seemed to explode around her as the sounds intensified. Deep inside an underground burrow, she could hear a rabbit creating a nest, it's heart beating a hundred times a minute. Above in the trees, she could hear squirrels chatter excitedly as they chased each other around the branches and below her feet, she could hear the clicking of bugs as they scurried across the ground.

"I hear everything." Lexie whispered in awe. "The wind whistling through the leaves, animals in the underbrush, birds chirping from their nests…. I can even hear their hearts beating." Jasper put his hands on her shoulders as he came up behind her.

"Good, now listen harder for a larger animal, with a louder slower heartbeat." He whispered softly in her ear.

Nodding, she closed out the sounds of the smaller animals, until suddenly she heard the rustling of something large moving several miles away through the trees. Her red eyes flew open and instinct took over as she began to hunt her prey; within seconds a large male Elk stood before her. Lunging, she wrapped her arms around its neck to pull it to the ground, and then clamped her mouth over its jugular. She closed her eyes in pleasure as the warm rush of blood surged down her throat, helping to ease her burning thirst, until the animal stopped its struggle. Standing up, Lexie looked down at the lifeless body and felt slightly horrified at what she had just done, yet licked the remaining blood from her lips. She felt full, but strangely unsatisfied as if her body had craved steak but she had eaten a hamburger instead. Turning away from the carcass she made her way back through the forest to find the Cullen family.

"You did very well, Lexie." Carlisle said smiling proudly to his new daughter.

"Does it always taste like that?" she asked.

"Like what?" He asks, but already knows her question.

"I don't know, like something is missing?" Jasper chuckled and replied. "Your body naturally craves human blood, so the animal blood is almost like eating Tofu. You'll get used to it in time."

The burning in her throat flared up again at the thought of human blood, but she forced the craving into the back of her mind. She was a Surgeon for Christ sake! Being around blood was an everyday occurrence and there was no way she was going to let this…whatever… bloodlust rule her life… or death. 'Oh God!' She thought, 'this is really happening to me… I'm a vampire!"

"Lexie" Carlisle said interrupting her internal panic attack. "I'm sure you have more questions, so I'd like to head back to the house and introduce you to the rest of the family, is that okay?" She nodded in agreement and watched the Cullen's head back through the forest.

"Oh, happy day, time to meet the vampire family." She mumbled sarcastically to herself then ran to catch up.