Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight- Stephanie Meyer does.

I also took a little inspiration from Bella's first hunt in Breaking Dawn.

Could it be true? Were the Volturi coming?

The burn in my throat was forgotten as a near hysterical panic built up inside me. Edward's arms tightened around me at the mention of the Italian vampires and I knew he was remembering the last time we had seen them.

Then I felt the calm placed on me by Jasper and it seemed to affect everyone in the room. We all seemed to relax slightly, but we were still tense, worried, even if it was pushed to the side by Jasper's influence for the time being.

"Are you sure, Alice?" asked Carlisle, the only one who could remain fairly calm at the mention of the Volturi.

Alice nodded her head, eyes wide and worried. "they wanted to sort out the newborn problem, but now they just want to check up on Bella." Her topaz eyes turned to gaze at me and they were uncertain.

"But I'm a Vampire now, right?" I asked, laughing humourlessly, "There's no need to worry?" my voice sounded hopeful even to my own ears.

For a while, no one answered and I was beginning to feel the burn at the back of my throat again as I waited but I pushed my own need to the side as I focused on a more dangerous problem.

Then Edward seemed to snap out of his daze and he looked at me, "Come on, love. You need to hunt."

"Hunt..." I murmured, feeling the burn return at full force, making me screw my face up and cup my throat.

Edward looked at me, agony visible in his perfect gold eyes before he clasped my hand and brought me close to him in a tight embrace.

After a second, he pulled away, tugging me towards the door. "Come on, love." he said, a smile on his face, but it seemed a bit forced.

I followed him willingly, the burn in my throat rising to unspeakable levels as I thought about the prospect of hunting. I had no doubt in my mind that I could kill an animal right now. Hell, I was close to tracking down a human to get rid of this burn. I couldn't wait a moment longer.

I barely registered the fact that I was already running as fast as I could go towards the forest, caught up in my blood-lust induced haze until I came across a wide river. Edward stood next to me, watching me out of the corner of his eye, waiting to see what I would do.

I stood at the edge, staring into the fast flowing water, and at the other bank about fifty yards feet away. Could I do it? Could I jump the river? Even though I felt powerful as a vampire, I still doubted my abilities and there was certainly no way I could jump anywhere in this dress Alice must have put me in when I was changing.

But my throat burned hotter. I had to get across this river and hunt before I went on a rampage.

"Would you like me to show you?" asked Edward, waiting patiently for me.

I nodded, still not believing it was completely possible. But I stood corrected when Edward took two steps back, before stepping forward quickly with one long stride, kicking off from the bank in one fluid movement.

He landed gracefully on the other side, watching me with an encouraging smile on his face.

I could do this. As a newborn I was stronger than him so if he could do it, so could I.

I took four steps back, but instantly found that my dress was getting in my way, so I tore it up the sides to the top of my thigh. Much better I thought and prepared to jump.

Edward was watching me from the other bank. "Bella? Would you like me to show you again?"

I ignored him, more focused on the future positioning of my feet and the burn in my throat to pay him any attention. I remembered exactly what he had done – how he had jumped. Every split second of it in perfect quality.

I could do this easily.

I ran forwards and launched of the edge of the bank, hurtling through the air, watching the river and Edward fly by underneath me. It was almost too easy for me, although I was suddenly worried about the trees that stood in my way. I would hate to knock any over, and I hoped Esme wasn't particularly fond of any of them.

But as I fell gracefully to the ground, it was very easy for me to catch a branch with my hand and halt my descent.

I hung one-handed from the branch, silently marvelling how easy it was to do so. I felt almost no strain on my arm, and my legs swung gently beneath me. I could certainly get used to this.

But as soon as I had thought that, my throat, which I had momentarily forgotten, began to burn with renewed fever. I gasped, and I dropped from the tree to crouch on the ground, feeling less like myself and more like an animal as I growled softly in my throat, smelling every scent of the forest and hearing every tiny insect moving, each individual leaf brushing against another, the distant rushing of the river and the rhythmic thumping of each heart, be it large or small.

Recognising the sound of heartbeats, my mouth began to water and my throat burned hotter than ever before. I didn't care about anything else in that moment, I just wanted to kill and slaughter and let the blood gush down my throat.

I felt the last shred of rational thought disappear as a young doe skidded to a sudden, terrified halt in front of me, frozen with fear at my presence, its eyes wide and its heart-beat loud in my ears. I could see the tiny vibration of the jugular in its neck as the blood flowed in powerful pumps and the way its chest expanded and deflated as it took in panicked breaths.

~X~

The next thing I knew, I was standing in the middle of a scene of carnage. Carcasses littered the forest floor with jagged holes ripped from their necks. Blood spattered the ground and what was left of my dress. I could taste it around my mouth and I could see the blood on my hands. I was a monster.

I didn't cry. I just stood there, head bowed, and arms limp at my sides. I felt sorry for killing the animals, but I didn't regret doing it. It was better them, then some human, somewhere, who would never see their family again.

I knew he was standing there, watching me. Eyes full of sadness and pity. I didn't want to look at him, but I did, and he walked slowly over to hold my hand. "Its okay, love." he told me.

I nodded silently. I had to do it. I needed to survive, if not for myself, then for Edward and my new family.

"Come on," he led me away from the destruction I had caused, and we began to run again. I could feel the new blood running through my veins, and it made me feel stronger, made my legs move faster and with more strength behind each stride I made across the ground. I could appreciate the running now, and it was wonderful.

Maybe I had been right earlier. I could get used to this.

A/N: I hope this chapter was okay. Sorry once again for taking so long to upload, but school really takes up a lot of my time. Please review and tell me what you thought!