9

There was an overwhelming feeling that washed over Bella as Edward held her. The feel of his arms wrapped around her felt so right, but how could they feel so normal when she'd just met him? He was a stranger, wasn't he? She didn't know anything about him other than the fact that he was vampire and she was important to him.

Yet from the moment she saw him standing in the middle of the street, she had been drawn to him.

"Let's hunt," he whispered, smiling.

"Hunting. Yes, okay. What's good? Your favorite food to hunt for?" she asked.

"Mountain lion, but we're not going to find them up here," he said, slipping his hands into hers. "We can probably find some bears and moose. Caribou if we're lucky."

"Caribou sound delicious," she laughed, nodding. "Okay, show me how a master hunter does it."

Edward snorted and rolled his eyes before saying, "Close your eyes and search for their scent. Just follow your instincts."

Bella did as he told her. As her eyes closed, she could smell the huskiness of the earth, the aroma from the trees. She could hear the sounds of water flowing, birds chirping, the leaves trembling as the wind blew. There was a muskiness in the air that had her throat burning. Her eyes snapped open and she found herself chasing the scent before she even realized what she was doing.

Next to her, Edward kept pace with her, and she could feel his eyes on her, watching her, which just sent shivers through her. It was odd how she could feel him while chasing her prey at the same time. Her prey? She laughed inwardly. She had never used the word prey before, yet she'd been a vampire for all of five minutes, and was already using it.

Bella slid to a stop, crouching on the ground as her eyes darted in every direction. There were two caribou maybe fifty yards from her. She could hear their hearts beating, hear their blood rushing through their veins. Her mouth watered at the thought of their blood, imagining it sliding down her throat. Bella didn't wait for Edward to show her how it was done. She did as he had told her, let her instinct take over. She took down a medium size caribou, sinking her teeth into the animal's neck, somehow knowing that was the most ideal to make it painless for the caribou. The moment the blood slid down her throat, she felt this kind of frenzy inside her, and she couldn't stop until every drop had been drained.

Once she was done, she tossed its dead body onto the ground, and looked around, finding Edward watching her with an intense look. "What?"

"Nothing," he said, smiling as he looked away. "Most newborns aren't as . . . refined as you when feeding for the first time. You didn't spill a drop. It's . . . impressive."

"Oh." She licked her lips. "Do they all taste that good?"

"Most of them," he said.

"This is . . ." Bella shook her head. "This is weird."

Edward laughed. "Weird is a bit of an understatement."

"I suppose so."

Standing, Edward walked over to her, squatting next to her. He offered her his hand, which she immediately took. "Let's walk for a while. Maybe get to know each other, like really get to know each other."

"We could do that," she said, letting him pull her to her feet. "Maybe hunt a little more?"

"As much as you want," he promised, bringing his other hand up to her face. "You intrigue me, Bella Swan."

"And you me, Edward." She paused. "I don't even know your last night."

"Um, I was born Edward Masen, but ever since my change, I've gone by Cullen."

"And when was your change?"

Edward tugged on her hand, and they started walking. "1918. Like you, I was dying, and like you, my mother begged Carlisle to save me." He looked at her. "My father had already passed from the Spanish Influenza, and she was . . . the end was coming for both of us, and she begged him to save me. She had figured out that he was a vampire. He was working in the hospital, as a doctor, and had treated all three of us for weeks. Carlisle was alone, and took pity on her, saved me."

"Did you want to be changed?"

Edward pressed his lips together before saying, "No."

She frowned.

"Don't get me wrong," he said, quickly. "I don't regret the life he's given me, but I wasn't given the choice, like we gave you."

"Oh, I see," she said, nodding. "Would you have said yes? If you had been asked?"

Edward stopped and turned toward her. "You're asking difficult questions."

She just stared at him, waiting for his answer.

"I don't know what I would have said, had I known the real deal. It's been difficult, being alone like I have been."

"Alone?" she asked. "You have this amazing family. Family is the right word, isn't it? You're not like a . . . a clan, or something, are you?"

Edward smiled. "Yes, we're a family, and you're right, they are amazing, but you may have noticed, they've found their . . . their companions, and I . . . I haven't."

Bella bit the inside of her lip as she nodded. "I might have noticed, between the awkward stares and penetrating looks. Did they agree to my change? Because it doesn't seem like it. Especially the blond guy. Jasper, was it?"

Edward laughed. "Yes, Jasper. He's frustrated."

"With me? Why? What'd I do?"

"Oh, you didn't do anything," he insisted, giving her hand a squeeze before they started walking again. "Some of us were reborn with gifts." He looked at her before adding, "Like I can read people's minds."

She stopped and turned toward him. "You read minds?"

Edward slowly nodded. "Everyone's, but yours."

Her eyes widened. "You can't read my thoughts?"

"No."

"Because of Fred?"

Edward laughed, but shook his head. "I thought so, before your change, but no. I don't think it has anything to do with Fred."

Bella frowned. "Then why can't you read my mind?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I actually like that I can't, though. It's refreshing to spend time with someone who keeps me on my toes, so to speak. Like I said, you intrigue me."

"Oh." She nodded as they started walking again. "So you can read minds. Who else has gifts?"

"Alice has visions based on the choices people make." He shifted his eyes toward her. "Such as Carlisle agreeing to change you. She saw it the moment he made his choice."

"The phone ringing," she murmured, and when Edward tilted his head in confusion. "The day I saw you in the street, he was just standing there, watching me. Then his phone rang. It was . . ." She shook her head, grabbing her head, "excruciating. She was calling him, wasn't she? Because she saw that he was going to change me."

"Yes," he admitted. "We thought he'd lost his mind. That's why we rushed over there. To stop him."

"So why didn't you stop him?" she asked, turning and placing her hand on the front of his chest. "What changed?"

"You," he whispered, leaning his forehead against hers. "You changed everything."

"Edward."

"I couldn't say no, Bella. Not to you. Not when you . . . not when you're so important to me."

"What if I'd said no?" she asked, and he pulled away as he flinched. "What if I'd refused to let you change me? What would you have done?"

"I don't know," he admitted, looking back at her. "Held you in my arms until . . . until you . . ."

"Died," she finished. "Until I died."

He nodded, frowning. "We were almost too late."

"I know." She placed her hands in the middle of his chest, but before she could say another word, Edward tensed and pulled her against him as he looked around. "What are you doing?"

"Do you trust me?" he asked.

"In theory."

"We need to run," he said. "In the other direction."

"Why?" she asked, looking around, and that's when she saw him.

The human male who was at least a mile away, if not further. Even from so far, she could hear his heart beating, his blood flowing through his veins, hear his heavy breathing.

"Humans don't usually venture this far out. I'm sorry."

Bella turned back to him. "Is it too much for you?"

Edward slowly shook his head. "I thought it would be too much for you."

She shifted her attention back to the human, who had begun walking further from them. "No, he's . . . he kind of stinks, actually. Like . . . an armpit."

Edward tipped his head back and laughed. "An armpit?"

She nodded. "You know, like when someone doesn't wear deodorant, and you can smell their body odor? That's what he smelled like. It was revolting."

"So you weren't tempted at all?"

She shook her head. "Should I have been?"

"Most newborns wouldn't have been able to keep from draining him," he said, and she turned and looked back toward the human man.

At the mention of draining him, her throat burned, but the temptation to hunt him down just wasn't there. What did that mean?

"We should head back to the house," he suggested, tugging on her hand and drawing her attention away from the human man. "Come on."

"Yeah, okay," she whispered. She wrapped her hand around the top of Edward's arm as they headed back toward the house. "So, um, you said Jasper was frustrated with me. Why is that again?"

Edward laughed. "Jasper is what we call an empath. He can manipulate emotions. You know, enrage a mob, or calm one. When I brought you to the house, before we left Forks, he . . . he tried to ease your pain, but it didn't work. Actually seemed to have the opposite effect on you. That was strange for him, for us."

"Because of Fred," she said, nodding.

"No, I don't think so," he said, shaking his head. "And I love that you named your tumor Fred, by the way."

"You said it was clever."

"It was," he admitted. "He still can't get a feel for you, which is difficult for him. Beside you, Jasper's the newest to our lifestyle. His existence hasn't been easy, but he tries."

"Because you value human life," she added.

"We do." Edward gave her hand a squeeze as they approached the house. He tensed, his eyes shifting to the front door before looking back at her. "Are you ready for this?"

Bella turned and faced the house. "I don't know," she said, grinning. "Are they going to keep staring at me? Because if so, then no."

Edward laughed. "They will, but only because they're curious about you."

She shook her head and tightened her grip on his hand as she motioned for him to lead the way. As she had when they left the bedroom, she kept herself partially hidden behind him. When they walked into the house, almost a dozen pairs of eyes landed on her. There were more people than before, each just as beautiful as the others.

There was only one male, tall with dark hair and butterscotch eyes. He had his arm wrapped around a woman with the same eyes and dark hair. He shifted his eyes from Edward to her, his widening as he pulled away from the woman in his arms, staring directly at Bella.

"You . . . you need to get her out of here," he said, grabbing the woman who'd been next to him and pulling her backward. "Now!"

"Eleazar? What's wrong?" Carlisle asked, looking between them. "What do you see when you look at her?"

The man named Eleazar shook his head as he lifted his hand and pointed directly at Bella, and said, "Nothing. That's the problem. She has power. That's clear, but I don't know what that power is. Just that it's big and dangerous, and going to draw the attention of the Volturi."

Everyone in the room turned and looked from him to her, their eyes wide, and for the first time, fear pouring out of them. Everyone, except Edward.

Thank you for all the AMAZING reviews!