Author's Note: A bit of light citrus in this one. Just a couple paragraphs, about a third of the way through.
- Chapter 24: World Enough, and Time -
It was easier than I feared. I was all grace and lightness, speed and strength. I had never felt so alive before, so instinctive. My body obeyed me almost before I'd even consciously felt an inclination to act.
Edward ran beside me, just far enough ahead to tease me into chasing. I watched him, eyes lingering on his perfect form: the easy strength of his stride, the sharp curve of his smile.
But there was something else beneath his affection—a flicker of feral hunger that made my stomach twist with exhilaration. I darted to the side, about to pounce.
He dodged with effortless grace, laughing softly. "As magnificent as you are," he murmured, voice low and teasing, "that will have to wait."
I opened my mouth to complain—but then a strange, intriguing scent drifted through the trees, halting me mid-step.
It was not quite what I instinctively knew I longed for, but it was somewhat enticing. Adjacent to the craving, perhaps.
Edward's voice hummed beside me. "Go ahead, love. Follow it."
I did.
- o - o - o -
It was an adolescent black bear. I was shocked at how easy it was to take down—the bear barely had time to react to my scent before my teeth sank into its neck, and hot blood flooded my mouth.
It should have satisfied me—should have eased the burn in my throat. But as I drained the creature dry, a hollow disappointment took root. The thirst abated, but not completely. Something was missing. Something essential.
I stared at the lifeless bear with a knot of guilt tightening in my chest.
Edward leaned casually against a tree, watching me with fond amusement. "Not quite what you wanted, is it?"
"Is this what you feel like all the time?" I asked softly, the emptiness still gnawing at me.
He sighed, pulling me close. "It won't be so bad in a few years," he promised. "But it'll always be a bit less than what you crave."
I swallowed the rush of venom at the oblique mention. "How did you bear it, being around Nessie and me all the time?"
His expression faltered, sadness clouding his golden eyes. "It was difficult—with you," he admitted quietly.
We continued on, seeking more game.
After we separated off two elk from their herd and shared a bobcat, my thirst was finally at least somewhat assuaged. At least enough for me to notice what a mess I'd made of myself.
Edward laughed when he saw my gaze drop to the gory horror of my sweater.
"That will get better, too," he said, making no effort to keep the amusement from his voice.
"You're pristine," I muttered in irritation. He shrugged, grinning.
"Decades of practice, darling." Casually, he slung an arm over my shoulder—though I noticed with disgruntlement that he held me slightly away from his side, avoiding the blood splatter. "I think there's a lake not far from here. Come on—you'll want to clean up."
- o - o - o -
The alpine lake shimmered in shades of turquoise under the sun, brighter than I'd ever seen.
I stared in awe. "It's beautiful."
"Glacial runoff," Edward explained, tugging his shirt over his head with fluid ease.
I couldn't help but admire the smooth perfection of his chest. My gaze traveled over his bare skin, heat blooming in me despite the cool mountain air.
He noticed, of course. "Wanton," he teased, smirking.
I rolled my eyes but felt the corners of my mouth lift. "You're the one who insisted I needed a bath."
I wasn't sure where the clothes I was wearing had come from, but I suspected Alice's hand; they certainly weren't mine. I hoped she wouldn't be upset by what I'd done to them; the cream cardigan was utterly destroyed with blood. The things underneath, a sheer navy day dress sprigged with flowers over a silky blue slip, seemed to have fared somewhat better, though I could see a few drops on the skirt.
"The clothes we found you in were rather ruined," Edward said apologetically. "Alice tried to salvage the dress, but…"
"It doesn't matter. They were only clothes."
I fiddled with the buttons on my placket, suddenly a little shy. It had been so long since I'd been bare before him, and only once. And I hadn't even had a look at this new body of mine—with my luck, maybe I was the one vampire in the world who emerged from the chrysalis of the change without the benefit of that otherworldly beauty.
Edward's hands appeared in my field of vision, gently pushing my fingers away to take over the task.
I relented readily. Somehow it seemed easier to let him steer things.
He had the bodice undone in a trice, then gently eased the open collar down over my shoulders. He let his fingers slide across my collarbone, and I shivered.
"This is normally where I'd ask if you were cold, but…"
That made me smile. Edward rewarded me with a small kiss at the corner of my upturned lips.
"Let's get you cleaned up."
He stepped back and attended to his own buttons, leaving me to finish undressing myself.
I tried to hurry, but of course he had far fewer articles to remove, and I was afraid of accidentally ripping fabric with my unfamiliar strength. I was still fumbling with my brassiere when I heard a gentle slosh.
I glanced up to spot him already in the lake, submerged to his chest. He watched me with a half-smile, eyes intent on my form.
It was curious, I thought, that my skin felt heated by his gaze, despite my lack of blood to do the warming. And yet, with so many new sensations bombarding me in this form, I was comforted by the familiar feeling.
So, unblushing, I tossed my underthings aside and stood before him entirely nude.
His gaze darkened, and the smile was gone. He looked fierce now, like the dark angel from the earliest days of our acquaintance.
Gravely, he held a hand out to me in invitation.
The water was pleasantly cool as I slipped in to join him, though it could only be a couple degrees above freezing. In moments I felt my skin come to equilibrium, and it felt like floating in nothing at all. Another benefit of the change: I would never be cold again.
Edward's arm wrapped around my waist as I came within reach, and he pulled me in close to his chest. I loved that his flesh yielded to my touch now—though I had enjoyed its marble rigidity plenty before.
He spoke no words to me, just gently guided my head back until only my hair was submerged. I kept my gaze on his beautiful face as a thin stream of water trickled down my forehead. His fingers massaged my scalp, running through the clouds of my hair floating around us.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could make out blood clouding the blue water around my head, but I didn't turn to see properly. I couldn't look away from the molten gold of his eyes.
When he was satisfied with my hair, he pressed against my spine to right me.
"Your face," he murmured, pulling me deeper, til the water was tickling my chin.
I felt no tinge of embarrassment now. I just dipped my face under and presented my wet countenance to him. He cupped some water in his hand and washed away the remnants from my neck, my jaw, my lips.
"You are unimaginably lovely."
Oh, and I believed him. How could I not, when he watched me with such fascination, such adoration in his eyes?
The clouds parted suddenly, and a ray of bright sunshine sent dazzles of light skimming over the water. And, I was shocked to see, Edward's skin.
I gasped at the sight. "Edward!"
He slipped his finger down my face, following the line of my cheek to my jaw and below, til he skimmed the upper curve of one tightened breast, just barely above the waterline.
"I suppose I forgot to tell you about this part," he murmured. "You've never seen me in sunlight, have you?"
I looked down at my own body, the sunlight dancing across my skin. It was mesmerizing—like I was made of starlight.
"It's why we prefer cloudy climates."
A startled giggle burbled out of me. "I think I would have fainted dead away if I saw you like this…before."
Edward smiled, then dipped his hand under the surface to cup me fully in his palm.
I sucked in a breath, arching into his touch.
"Lovely," he said again, and then he captured my parted mouth with his.
He made love to me there in the water, at first gentle, and then with a ferocity that I goaded out of him in my desperation for closer, deeper, harder. We clung together against the buoyancy of the lake, my legs wrapped around his hips, his hands supporting me, driving me over him in time with his own thrusts.
When we reached the peak, I had no words but his name, which echoed off the mountains surrounding us, intertwining with the fading sound of my own from his lips.
We stayed joined for a moment after, and I nestled my face into his shoulder, pressing my lips into the juncture. He lifted one hand to stroke my hair. I could hear him breathing me in, taking in my scent; I did the same.
"I love you," he said quietly, his voice heavy with the joy of saying it aloud again. I buried my face deeper, as though I could climb inside him entirely.
How would I ever survive being separated from him now?
- o - o - o -
We could have kept at it for hours more—I was surprised to learn that vampires of both the male and female sex had essentially unlimited capacity for the act, and was somewhat mortifyingly keen to test that limit—but Edward wanted to get back to the lodge.
He dressed quickly when we emerged from the lake, but I was loathe to put on my clothes while I was still damp.
"Lay back a while," he suggested, motioning to a sunny spot on a rock down the slope of the mountain. "There's a cougar up that way—do you mind if I…?"
I waved him off—he'd left most of our prey to me earlier, in deference to my newborn thirst.
With great contentment, I lay back on the outcrop and closed my eyes, letting the sun warm my dazzling skin. I breathed deeply to take in all the fascinating scents—an entire world of knowledge I'd never before been able to access. Some were an enhanced version of something I recognized, like the sharp, spicy pines and that lingering dream-like fragrance that was Edward. But so many were brand new.
Like the cougar he'd gone after—musky, with that dark, lively blood that was more pleasant than the elk, I decided. I would have to try that one soon; after all, it was Edward's favorite.
The smell of the blood changed, and I knew Edward had spilled it; something about the touch of oxygen gave it a different quality. It piqued my appetite, but not enough to entice me away from my comfortable rest.
I sat up slowly, feeling languid. I wondered if I might convince Edward to stay for just a little longer. Maybe if I struck the right pose, something to tempt him—
The wind picked up, blowing from the east, just as I inhaled.
Every rational thought was burned from my brain at the unbelievable aroma borne on the breeze.
I was running before I'd even finished inhaling.
Blood.
It was nothing like the animals. It made my mouth water, venom flowing. It made my muscles bunch and quiver. Turned my throat to blue flame.
Surely I would die if I didn't have it.
Some distant piece of my consciousness realized I was still naked, sprinting down the mountain toward the source. But it mattered not—I was little more than a vessel for my instinctive thirst, a slave to the desire.
I could hear the wet, viscous rush of it through ventricles, arteries, and veins now. The seductive drumbeat of that most essential of organs that I no longer possessed, the heart.
I needed it.
My body reflexively slowed as I came near the source; I was a predator in the trees now, planning my attack.
There were two of them, oh God, yes—
Two unsuspecting humans, their blood a symphony in my ears. A man, older, and a youth that could only be the son. Both in sporting togs, carrying large packs. Maybe half a mile across the ridge from me, traversing toward another lake, not the one I'd just left. Hikers out for the first sunny days of the season, but they would never make it home.
I tensed, ready to leap.
"Bella!"
I whirled, snarling at the interloper. They were mine!
He grabbed me around the waist, but I was stronger. I could already feel the ripping sensation of pulling his head from his neck—
Edward, a small voice from the corner of my mind whispered.
It was enough to make me pause, my hands already gripping either side of his jaw.
"Bella, please."
His eyes were desperate. The pale gold sent a twinge through me. Flashes ran through my mind—him, newly awakened, soaked in the blood of a dying girl, the fear and sadness and horror at what he'd done—
Green eyes in porcelain skin, light bronze and copper curls, her dimpled smile and that tiny, delicate neck—
I held my breath, scrabbled at my ears, desperate to block out the inescapable knowledge of the human blood, so near, so mine.
Edward wasted no time. He was already running, carrying me away from that tantalizing, addling scent.
- o - o - o -
I came fully to myself somewhere near the edge of the clearing outside the lodge. I was wrapped in an overlarge plaid shirt and Edward clutched me to his chest with a ferocity that startled me—I was so used to him treating me like the thinnest of china. Though, of course, now I could withstand the crush of his full strength.
I tried to speak, to tell him he could let me go, but I realized I had no breath in my lungs to form the words.
I had been covering my nose and mouth. I didn't think I'd inhaled since Edward grabbed me.
I took a shaky breath and was relieved to smell nothing but Edward and the clean scent of pines and melting snow.
He looked down at the sound. The storm in his eyes made me feel smaller than ever.
"I'm all right," I said quietly. "You can put me down now. I've got ahold of myself."
He nodded stiffly and set me on my feet, but took hold of my hand, keeping me in reach.
A wave of shame threatened to engulf me. My first test, and I'd failed.
I pulled my arms through sleeves of the button down; it was enough to protect my modesty, at least. But the stone-and-log house was empty still when we entered.
"Where are Alice and Jasper?" I tried sound normal, but I wasn't convinced I'd succeeded.
"At the hunting cabin, on the other side of the ridge," he said. His voice was still tight with tension. "We thought it was best to give you space when you first woke. It seemed safer with just me here. Newborns are generally…volatile. "
"I suppose I proved that theory, didn't I?" I whispered, shaking. "I almost—I could have killed them." I thought the misery would make me sick, but I didn't know if I even had that capacity anymore. "I'm so sorry, Edward," I whispered. "I should have—"
He crushed me to his chest suddenly, stroking my hair and face and arms with soothing hands. "Oh, Bella, no," he said vehemently. "This is my fault. I should know better than to let a newborn out of my reach, even in a place so remote. It is an absolute miracle that you stopped yourself."
Dazed, I couldn't come up with a single thing to say. He wasn't angry with me?
He was still talking, his tone shifting to wonder. "I really don't know how you did it. It's almost impossible even for a seasoned vampire to pull out of the frenzy when they're on the scent in that way, let alone hours after waking."
His hands still wrapped around my upper arms, he pushed me back far enough to regard me with a bruised expression.
"I'm sorry, Bella," he said. "I was just scared for you, and angry with myself for putting you in that position. How did you manage to stop?"
I hesitated, trying to parse through all the thoughts and emotions that had flooded me in those crucial moments.
"Well…I heard your voice," I began tentatively. "And it made me think of—of what you told me about your first hours after waking. What you did, how you felt after…I didn't want…I just didn't want to hurt anyone."
Edward's eyebrows drew down sharply, his mouth a thoughtful frown. "Bella, that's—well, it's incredible. But it's not normal."
I felt my heart sink, but he wasn't done.
"It's…beyond anything I've ever known a newborn to be able to do."
"I thought of Nessie, too," I added quietly, surprising both of us. "Oh, Edward, I'm so afraid of what it will mean for us, that I'm not safe to be around her." I was shaking now, the remembered bloodlust straining my frayed nerves. "It helped me fight the instinct in that moment. I couldn't bear it if—"
He shushed me, pressing me to his chest again and stroking my hair soothingly. "You did so well, Bella," he said earnestly. "I couldn't be more proud. You will be safe for her—sooner than anyone could have guessed, I'm sure of it."
My heart was breaking, but I knew what I had to say.
"Edward…Edward, you need to go back to her." My lips were numb, but I carried on. "I'll stay here. If the family can take turns staying with me, to make sure I don't—that I'm—to help me," I finally managed.
Edward sighed, pressing his lips to the crown of my head. "I'll have to go back to Culwoode soon," he said, the words slow and heavy. "But it doesn't have to be all or nothing. We can figure out a way—something that works for Nessie, for all of us. It won't be long before you'll be ready to join us, anyway."
He hesitated, his hand brushing over my hair with a quiet kind of reverence. "That is... if it's what you want."
I pulled away sharply, making him jerk back. "Of course it is!" I said, the force of my words surprising even me.
A slow, radiant smile spread across his face, bright and deliberate, like sunlight spilling over a mountain ridge at dawn. But something flickered behind it—a shadow, a hesitation. He dropped his gaze for a moment, as if the full weight of my certainty was too much to bear.
"Even now?" he asked, voice barely a whisper. "Now that you're…" He trailed off, struggling for words. "Now that you're what you are, you don't need me anymore."
My heart broke—not because he said it, but because he truly believed it.
I touched his face gently, tracing the hard angles that were as familiar to me as my own reflection. "What are you talking about?" I whispered. "Do you think any of that matters? That it ever mattered?"
He closed his eyes briefly, as though bracing himself. "I don't know," he admitted. "I wonder if—if part of you regrets how I handled things. That I ruined too much for you. Took too much from you." His voice grew rough with the words. "I was supposed to take care of you, Bella. And instead..."
I shook my head fiercely, gripping his hand tight enough to break bone—not that it could, not anymore. "You didn't take anything from me that I didn't want to give, Edward."
He exhaled, but the weight of his uncertainty lingered between us. "You're so certain now, but you might feel differently later," he whispered, as if daring to name his deepest fear. "We'll have eternity, after all. You could get tired of me."
I laughed softly—not because it was funny, but because the idea was so impossibly, utterly wrong. "You fool," I murmured, pressing my forehead to his. "I'd stay with you for ten eternities if you asked me to."
"And if I didn't ask?" he whispered.
"I'd stay anyway."
Something in him cracked open at that, and his arms came around me, crushing me against his chest. His voice dropped, rough with longing and hope. "Bella," he said, "will you marry me?"
I smiled into the space between us. "Edward," I whispered, "I will gladly go through whatever ritual you want. I'm yours already."
He pulled back just enough to meet my gaze, his golden eyes wide and vulnerable, filled with something that could only be described as awe. "Will you say it, just this once? Say it out loud. I want to hear it."
I cupped his face in my hands, brushing my thumbs along his cheekbones, memorizing every perfect, familiar inch of him. "Yes, Edward. I'll marry you. Every day, for the rest of time, if you want."
His mouth found mine, soft at first and then urgent, as though kissing me was the only way to make this moment real. And when we finally pulled apart, we knew it in every fiber of our being—we belonged to each other, wholly and irreversibly.
- o - o - o -
And reader, I did marry him.
Barely three months after I opened my eyes in that bed in the wilderness of British Columbia, I was deemed safe to return to Culwoode Hall: a miracle borne of my newly-discovered shield abilities. Eleazar confirmed it, and I spent weeks exercising the ability, sectioning off areas of my own mind until I was sure I could block the burning need to bite at the scent of human blood.
Carlisle presided over a simple ceremony in the rose garden on a bright, sunny day in July. Only only one human was present. Nessie crowed at the beauty of our sparkling skin and pressed herself to my side like she'd never let go.
After, she called me Mama for the first time. I almost wished I could still cry.
The day itself was fleeting, gone too soon, but that didn't matter. Our vows had already been written across every choice we'd made since the beginning—through every sacrifice, every separation, every return. Our wedding day wasn't the start of something new. It was just a quiet moment of recognition for what we already were, what we had always been.
Partners. Mates. Fated to be together.
The years stretched out before us, filled with questions still unanswered, with problems we'd have to solve, and joy I could barely begin to imagine. But whatever lay ahead, I knew this much: I was Edward's, and he was mine.
Together, we had world enough, and time. Always time.
Author's Note: Well, there you have it, folks. The official end of our story. I can't believe I've made it this far—I can tell you this now that I've gotten through the body of the narrative, but I think this is the first time I've ever finished a full-length story.
I will be back next week with an epilogue, but then that's all for the Culwoode universe (at least for now). At some point, I might come back and add more to the EPOV companion, or rework some of these last chapters (I strayed some from my outline and I think the pacing suffered as a result), but for the moment, I'm just gonna let myself be proud that I've got some sort of finished product. :)
Footnotes:
You know I had to include a reference to Jane Eyre's most famous line: Reader, I married him.
The chapter title (plus reference in the last line of the chapter), World Enough, and Time, comes from the first line of the Andrew Marvell poem, To His Coy Mistress.
Had we but world enough and time,
This coyness, lady, were no crime.
We would sit down, and think which way
To walk, and pass our long love's day.
