Bella's POV

Jake left soon after Alice's news about the rest of the Cullens coming back to Forks, asking us to call him when we learned anything new. He needed to let the pack know about the visit and get some sleep, but as I'd said goodbye to him just outside the back door, he'd made me promise to call him if I needed him. I think he'd been nervous about leaving me, but once I'd sworn to him that I'd call him, he'd nodded and walked out to the woods. I heard him shift, howl once, and then he was gone.

"Jacob went home to get some sleep?" Edward's velvety voice came from a few feet behind me, startling me out of my thoughts.

"Like you didn't hear," I scoffed, chuckling. I knew he'd heard—both with his ears and his mind.

He shrugged sheepishly. "I do try not to listen to other people's conversations and thoughts, you know."

That reminded me...

"Can you hear me now?" I asked, feeling like the guy on that damn Verizon television commercial. I tapped my head, clarifying what I meant.

He tilted his head, as if listening, and then smirked. "Not a thing. Still as silent to me as ever."

Shrugging, I said wryly, "Well, at least some things haven't changed."

Edward stepped closer to me, running his finger down my jaw, and smiled when my breath caught. "No, some things haven't..." His voice was low, sexy, and made me want to kiss the ever-loving shit out of him.

Instead, I frowned and reached up, tracing the dark circles under his eyes, which were dark themselves. "You look hungry," I murmured. "When's the last time you hunted?"

At his shrug, I sighed. "Edward, you need to hunt."

He watched me for a moment and then nodded, holding out his hand. "Come with me?"

I smiled and took his hand, slowly walking with him away from the house. When we got to the woods at the edge of the property, I asked, "What now?"

"Let's run," he suggested. "I've wanted to run with you since the first time I brought you out here to visit."

I dropped his hand and took off suddenly, laughing at his surprised shout. Within moments, he'd caught up with me, and we ran side by side through the trees. I could tell how fast he was now. Jasper had confirmed while we were hunting earlier that newborns were faster than older vampires, but that Edward was the fastest of all the Cullens. He was keeping pace with me—a newborn—so I knew Jasper hadn't exaggerated.

As we ran, I watched my surroundings. The first time he'd run while carrying me, Edward had explained how easily he could see each individual branch and leaf, but I hadn't truly comprehended what he meant until I was changed. As fast as we were moving, I could indeed see the details as clearly—probably even more clearly—than I could while standing still as a human. It was absolutely incredible. I saw the needles from the fir trees, the ants as they scurried up one of the large spruce trees, and squirrels and other small animals as they fled when we came near.

We'd been running for a few minutes when my throat started burning hotter. I could smell deer in the distance. Without giving Edward another thought, I took off in the direction of the delicious scent. When I got within sight of them, they must have realized I was there, because they turned and scattered, running in fifteen different directions as fast as they could.

I skidded to a stop, kicking up a large patch of grass and dirt with my foot in frustration. "Argh!" I screamed loudly. I knew I could've caught them if I'd wanted to, but I was so mad, I hadn't even thought of chasing after them.

Edward, who'd stopped a few feet away from me, raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong, Bella?" he asked softly.

"I have to be the only vampire in the history of vampires to go through the change and be just as loud and awkward as I was when I was human!" I growled, kicking another patch of dirt.

He chuckled softly and then moved up to stand behind me. "Bella," he purred into my ear, "you aren't loud and awkward. It's all a matter of practice and learning, love."

He wasn't touching me, but every nerve ending in my body was standing on end. I could feel his powerful strength contained just under the surface. It almost visibly vibrated from him, exploding outward. Whereas before, he'd been like ice against me, I could now feel the heat of his body as he hovered near. His smooth, velvet-soft voice was caressing my ear, making my whole body feel alive. I felt the warmth of his breath as it ghosted across my cheek and neck. He smelled...God, he smelled just as he always had, only magnified by ten thousand. He was all honey, lilac, and sun bottled into one scent. Back when I was human, he'd just smelled...sweet. Now, the scent wrapped around me, intoxicating me and drawing me in further.

"See, it's all about your senses, my Bella," he continued. "First, close your eyes."

My eyelids fluttered closed almost involuntarily at his quiet command.

"Next, breathe. Take long, deep breaths, tasting all the scents on the back of your tongue," he explained, still speaking in that soft, hypnotic tone.

Without opening my eyes or moving even a twitch, I took several slow breaths, understanding immediately what he'd meant. I could taste the dampness in the air from a coming rain storm, the fresh, clean scent of the grass under our feet; the birds and other small animals were rich scents on my tongue—although none smelled appetizing—and then... Then, I smelled something deep and rich, which made venom pool in my mouth.

Edward must have known when I sensed it. "Smell that?" At my nod, he said, "Good. Now listen. Tell me what you hear," he instructed softly.

We were quiet while I listened. At first, all I could hear were his soft breaths behind me, the whisper of the wind as it blew through the trees, and the same small animals scampering through the forest.

"I hear you," I started, my voice coming out louder than I'd expected, making me jump slightly. "Uh, the wind, and the squirrels and animals in the forest around us."

Then, to our right, I began to hear other things—what I presumed he'd been talking about.

"Off to the right," I murmured. "A heartbeat...and breathing."

"Good," Edward said in my ear. "What else?"

"It's a much bigger animal, from the sound of it. It sounds like it's eating something—maybe pawing through bushes?" I asked, uncertain.

"Very good," his voice rumbled, deep and smooth, as he moved closer so my back brushed against his chest. "Now open your eyes, love. Tell me what you can see."

My mind was immediately assaulted with the forest around us as I followed his instructions. I began to breathe faster, feeling suddenly overwhelmed, and snapped my eyes closed again.

Edward slid his arms around my waist, tugging me against him. "Slowly, Bella. Let it all sink in. There's no rush, love."

His touch, coupled with his words, calmed me immediately. I relaxed in his arms and slowly opened my eyes again. This time, I filtered out as much as I could, turning my head to the right, where I'd smelled and heard the animal. It took a moment, but then, through the trees, I could clearly see the large black bear—much bigger than the one I'd taken down the day I'd fought with Victoria.

I moved to take off after the animal, whose blood I could suddenly hear clearly as it pulsed through its body, calling to me, but Edward's arms locked around my waist kept me still.

"Not yet, Bella," he corrected smoothly. "If you take off now, it'll just run like the deer did. Use your senses and your new body to sneak up on him. Wait until you're close to pounce. Can you do that?"

I nodded, so he let me go.

I missed the warmth and feel of his body immediately, but my attention was focused on the bear. Ignoring Edward, I ran silently through the trees, sweeping around the bear, rather than going straight at it. He was so caught up in rooting out food, he didn't hear or see me coming until I was merely feet from him. I threw myself at him, grabbing him around the neck and twisting, breaking his neck at the same time I sank my teeth through the coarse hair, skin, and muscles until I reached the vein.

As I took long pulls of the warm, thick blood, I lifted my eyes to see if I could spot Edward. A movement about twenty yards to my left had me looking up. I watched Edward as he jumped at a large buck. He snapped the deer's neck and began to drink, watching me the entire time. The deer was nearly twice his size. He should have looked small and overpowered; instead, he looked commanding...sexy.

I dropped the bear, full for the moment, and just watched him. His hair was messy, with a few leaves sticking out of it, and his shirt was ripped, like the deer had gotten in a kick or caught the fabric with his antler. His hands were fisted in the deer's coarse tan hair as he held the animal to his lips. Aside from the shirt, he was clean, which was a far cry from my outfit, I realized as I looked down my body.

My bear must have gotten in a few good swipes with its large paws, because my shirt was also ripped, and I could see long slashes in the front from the claws, my pale skin showing through and casting shimmering light from the few rays of sun that made it through the trees.

I looked back at Edward, who'd dropped the deer and was slowly stalking his way to me. His eyes were dark, even though he'd just eaten, and the look he was giving me made a shiver race up my spine. I felt like his prey, but unlike the deer, I wasn't running.

Much...

I took a step back, and then another, until my back was flush against the rough bark of a tree. By the time Edward reached me, I was breathing heavily—panting, really—and my fingers had gouged holes in the wood behind me.

I whimpered, nearly vibrating with need, as Edward stopped in front of me. He looked ethereal. Looking at him in the sun now with my new eyes was a completely different experience than it had been with my poor human sight. I saw thousands of colors that I hadn't even known existed as they reflected off his skin. They formed a glow around him, much like I imagined an angel's halo would appear.

I tried holding myself back—I really did. But when he reached out and traced one of the slashes from the bear's claws, his finger raked my skin and left a trail of fire behind. I threw myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist as I crushed my lips to his. We fell to the ground with needy moans exploding from both of us as our lower halves rubbed against one another.

Edward sat up, cradling me in his lap with my legs still locked around his waist. He broke from my mouth, trailing kisses down my jaw to my neck, placing a long, hard, suckling kiss to the spot under my ear. He'd never really kissed me there before, and the sensation was almost too much.

I needed more. Feeling him through his shirt wasn't enough. I gripped the back and ripped it from his body, tossing it to the ground behind him. Then my hands were back on his skin, tracing every dip and indentation of his rippling muscles. He felt so warm, so soft under my fingers—totally different than when I'd touched him before. Then, he was all ice and marble. Now, he was fire and silk.

"So sexy," he growled, fisting the back of my shirt. "You have no idea how fucking sexy you looked in the sunlight. Seeing you hunt... Oh, love..."

The purring growl turned into a roar as I dipped my head to his shoulder and raked my teeth across his skin, dragging my tongue out to taste him.

"Bella!" he cried, bucking his hips up against me.

It felt so good, so right, to be in his arms again. My world hadn't been right since the day he'd left Forks. This was the first time in a year and a half that I felt whole—or as much as I could without my daughter in my arms.

"God, I've missed you," I breathed against his skin.

I felt Edward tense before I heard the one thing I never wanted to hear come from him again.

"Bella, love, we should stop."