I felt ridiculous. I was covered in slime, tied up in a tree, alone in the woods, all because I wanted to see something I wasn't supposed to see. And when I had accomplished this, I had to go to stupid Paris. How did I get into these situations? I sighed miserably, relaxing my body against the branches. As Alice had predicted, the wind began to pick up and I allowed the sound and the tree's swaying movement to calm me.

A while later, my eyes were just beginning to close when I heard rustling in the brush off to my right. The sound grew louder and all at once I began to doubt my whole plan. Would Alice's plans really work? Would I faint if there was too much blood? Would Edward see me, and what would he say if he did? I shrank into the branches as much as I could, and stifled a gasp as the bushes shook and a white-tailed deer shot into the clearing. It stumbled and looked around wildly as it clambered back to its feet, but it was too late; the bushes rustled again, and in a streak of tan fur, a mountain lion had the deer pinned to the ground. The deer struggled for just a moment, but stilled immediately as the lion's open jaws found the back of its neck. I blinked; the whole thing had been over in less than two seconds.

The great cat lowered herself to the ground beside her prey, taking a moment to rest after her exertion. I had heard that mountain lions often bury their kill, returning to it now and then when they feel hungry. This lion didn't look particularly hungry – hopefully I would be spared the sight of a bloody dinner.

Sure enough, the lion rose and began dragging the deer over to a part of the clearing with some dead trees and plenty of brush. She paused halfway to her goal, however, and dropped her kill. She raised her head in the air, seeming to listen intently.

Suddenly she was bowled over and fighting for her life against her assailant, and my heart surged as I recognized Edward. His eyes were wide as he focused on his prey. They seemed to wrestle in the dirt for just a moment, and, moving behind her in a blur, Edward had both his hands on her shoulders. A quick snap, and her neck was broken. He flipped the body over as he lowered it to the ground, and, with a moan of relief, sank his teeth into her throat. I watch him in awe as he knelt there, holding his prey to his mouth- his white dress shirt and jeans were hardly dirty and there was no blood to be seen anywhere. I saw his shoulders slowly relax as he drank, and I felt a warm satisfaction that for the first time, I was seeing Edward blissfully enjoying his favorite meal. I also felt surprise at how easy the hunt had been. Would it be like that for me, someday? I casually wondered what my favorite "flavor" would be. As Edward continued to feast on the ground below, my mind wandered. I could see us racing through the woods, sparkling and laughing as we chased a herd of deer.

A movement in a tree across the clearing caught my eye. In the lower branches, another mountain lion was watching the events below. It was larger than the other one – a male, no doubt, and perhaps the mate of the unlucky hunter-turned-prey. As it gathered its haunches and prepared to spring, I clenched my teeth to avoid screaming a warning – I knew it couldn't really hurt him. I glanced down and saw that he was just releasing the body of his prey, lowering it to the ground with one hand, dragging the back of his other hand across his mouth. He froze, his hand still in contact with his face, a trail of blood still at his lips. Then a smile played across his face, and his eyes gleamed as he leapt straight up into the air, twisting to collide with the mountain lion in mid-jump as it attacked.

They crashed to the ground together, in a tangle of fur and denim, just before the cat threw Edward off with its hind legs. He tumbled across the clearing before landing in a crouch, his hands still touching the ground and his lips curled back in anger – but his eyes were still gleaming with excitement as he stared at his opponent. The lion was also crouched low, its ears laid back and the muscles bunched up around its shoulders as it prepared to attack again.

Seemingly on cue, both of them leaped up and attacked. They met head on, the lion's forepaws shoving into Edward's face, and his arms encircling the beast like an embrace. They stood locked in this pose for a moment, as a rumbling growl echoed through the clearing– I couldn't even tell which one was making the sound. The lion tore at Edward's face, and I bit my lip as the sharp claws grazed his eyes. But he was unhurt, of course. Edward threw himself to the ground, pulling the cat on top of him and, quickly rolling again, threw it-rather gently- into a nearby tree.

The mountain lion looked dazed for just a second, and then leapt to its feet and bared its teeth again as it gathered itself for another attack. A few feet away, Edward was its mirror image – crouched low, hands held in claws to the ground, teeth bared. I was struck by how similar they looked, and remembered what Edward had said about how a vampire's favorite prey often reflected their own hunting style. The only difference between the two today was that Edward was clearly enjoying himself.

The lion didn't seem to feel the same way. Instead of attacking again, it relaxed its pose and spun around, intent on escaping. But Edward wasn't having it – in a flash of white, he was nose to nose with the mountain lion, mouth open as he roared his challenge. His prey screamed in response, a horrible piercing cry, and they were locked together in battle again. The lion was scrambling furiously now, its jaws straining for the back of Edward's neck. Edward seemed to be using the same strategy – his jaws were also snapping every time his face came within reach of the lion's head or shoulders. There was blood on its coat now, and Edward's hair was a wild mess. Suddenly, the lion broke free for an instant and, with a swipe of its huge paw and a nails-on-chalkboard screech, the front of Edward's shirt was cut to ribbons. He hissed and jumped over his opponent to land behind it. With a swift chop of his left hand, the lion was a dead heap at his feet.

I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding as I watched Edward fall to his knees and bury his face in the soft fur at the mountain lion's throat. He drank even more quickly than before, this time growling as he fed. When he was done, he fell back onto his hands and drew a deep, shuddering sigh, his eyes still closed and his fingers crunching into the ground. He finally stood up, licked his lips and smiled as he nodded to his prey. Then he looked around the clearing until his eyes rested on a huge, dead willow tree.

With one hand, he dragged all three carcasses to the tree and, with his other hand, pushed on the tree trunk. With a deep, crumbling moan, the tree slowly gave way and tilted, its dry roots lifting out of the ground on one side. He tossed the bodies into the crater left behind, and then pulled the tree back to settle in the ground again. He walked to a grassy spot and cast himself on the ground, crossing his arms behind his head and closing his eyes. The sun was shining fully now, and now that he was still I shyly took in his appearance as his own skin illuminated him.

His shirt was in tatters and smeared with blood and tufts of fur. His jeans were no worse for wear, although there was hardly any blue to be seen around the dirt stains. He was running his fingers through his hair, combing out the dirt and leaves. He looked more relaxed than I had seen him in months, and I smiled as I heard him humming the tune I had heard yesterday. He was playing with the melody, stopping occasionally and restarting to try out a new twist in the song.

I closed my eyes, too, and grew peaceful up in my hiding place as I listened. I felt strangely secure, hidden and yet enjoying the sight before me. Was this how Edward had felt all the times he had secretly watched me? He had once told me about a time he had stayed in a tree above my yard, watching silently as I read a book and fell asleep. He never once seemed to regret his "stalking", and always seemed to take a sort of pride in the fact that he was able to watch me sleep every night, always listening for any thoughts I might whisper as I talked in my sleep. I understood that, now – I felt proud of my accomplishment in successfully hiding from him, but I also felt pride when I had seen his furious energy during the fight with the mountain lion. I knew I had just had a glimpse into his essential vampire nature – the part he was always trying to hide from me. I loved him all the more for it.

I opened my eyes to watch him again, but he was gone. I looked around nervously – perhaps he had seen me after all, and was right now climbing up- but everything was quiet and still. Suddenly, from deep in the woods I heard the telltale scream of another mountain lion fighting for its life, and I grinned, knowing Edward had resumed the hunt.

The End

A/N: I am ending the main part of the story here, as I have no desire to write a chapter about shopping. Anyway, in the interest of canon, let's just say Edward talked her out of the trip to Paris- I really don't think he wouldn't take her that close to Italy while she was still human. There is an epilogue, but it got so long I am posting it as a separate story, Party.