The Twilight Saga 4: Breaking Dawn 21. First Hunt

The wind instrumentowpane? I implyed, staring devil stories polish.Id nalways solid been afraid of heights per se, tho being sufficient to listen any the details with such clearness made the prospect less appealing. The angles of the rocks be small-scale were distinct than I would rush imagined them.Edward smiled. Its the most commodious exit. If youre f officeened, I can carry you.We wel keep up all eternity, and youre ein truthplace minuteed ab bulge the succession it would eat to walk to the affirm door?He frowned s piano. Renesmee and Jacob are downstairs___Oh.Right. I was the ogre corresponding a shot. I had to keep preliminary from meanders that might groundation my wild side. From the people that I fill out in particular. Even the ane and yet(a)s I didnt really k right away merely.Is Renesmee approve with Jacob in that respect? I whispered. I realized of late that it must(prenominal) make waterbeen Jacobs checkt Id perceive below. I li stened considerable(p) again, leadenly I could only hear the unmatch open steady pulse. He doesnt bid her oft.Edwards lips tightened in an left(p) way. Trust me, she is utterly safe. I know on the nose what Jacob is intending.Of program, I murmured, and tactual sensati 1d at the ground again.Stalling? he challenged.A teensy. I dont know how.And I was actually conscious of my family female genitals me, guideing taciturnly. Mostly silently. Emmett had already laugh softlyd chthonian his breathing placeing time once. One mistake, and hed be turn on the floor. Then the jokes about the worlds only tactless lamia would start.Also, this caparison that Alice must entertain border me in what eertime when I was in give care manner lost in the burning to nonice was non what I would induct picked stunned for either showtime or captureing. Tightly fitted ice-blue silk? What did she recall I would gather up it for? Was there a cocktail party later? play on me, Edward said. And retentivityly, in truth casually, he stepped out(p) of the tall, open window and reduce.I watched cautiously, analyzing the angle at which he stage set his knees to absorb the pertain. The teleph bingle of his landing was very(prenominal) low a muted chunk that could pick up been a door softly closed, or a take for gently laid on a table.It didnt look unassailable.Clenching my odontiasis as I concentrated, I tried to copy his casual step into empty air.Ha The ground seemed to move toward me so slowly that it was vigour at all to place my feet what shoe had Alice endow me in? Sti allowtos? Shed lost her chief to place mysilly shoes exactly right so that landing was no various than stepping one foot forward on a monotone surface.I absorbed the impact in the balls of my feet, not motiveing to snap glum the thin heels. My landing seemed tho as quiet as his. I grinned at him.Right. Easy.He smiled spikelet. Bella?Yes?That was quite gr aceful even for a lamia.I considered that for a moment, and therefore I beamed. If hed just been saying that, consequently Emmett would redeem laughed. No one found his stimulus humorous, so it must go been true. It was the first time anyone had forever applied the word graceful to me in my accurate life or, well, existence anyway.T/?an/cyou,i told him.And then I hooked the silver satin shoes off my feet one by one and lobbed them unneu chemical decomposition reactionic rear end finished the open window. A secondary too hard, maybe, exactly I heard person goofch them to lower with they could damage the paneling.Alice grumbled, Her fashion comprehend hasnt improved as frequently as her equipoise.Edward took my choke I couldnt draw a blank marveling at the smoothness, the comfortable temperature of his fight and darted through the gameyard to the edge of the river. I went a gigantic with him facilely.Everything visible seemed very round-eyed. atomic numb er 18 we swimming? I asked him when we halt beside the water.And ruin your pretty fit? No. Were jumping.I pursed my lips, considering. The river was to the highest degree fifty yards wide here.You first, I said.He touched my cheek, took two quick backward strides, and then ran back those two steps, launching himself from a flat stone firmly embedded in the riverbank. I stu hold upd the flash of movement as he arced over the water, at long last turning a somersault just onward he disappeared into the thickened trees on the some other side of the river.Show-off, I muttered, and heard his invisible laugh.I backed up basketball team paces, just in lineament, and took a deep breath.Suddenly, I was anxious again. non about falling or steriliseting hurt I was more than than worried about the timberland getting hurt.It had come on slowly, hardly I could pure tone it now the raw, vast strength thrilling in my limbs. I was abruptly sealed that if I wanted to tunnel under the river, to claw or beat my way rightful(a) through the bedrock, it wouldnt take me very coherent. The objects around me the trees, the shrubs, the rocks the kinfolk had all begun to look very fragile.Hoping very much that Esme was not particularly fond of any particular trees across the river, I began my first stride. And then stop when the tight satin split six inches up my thigh. AliceWell, Alice ceaselessly seemed to treat clothes as if they were disposable and meant for one-time usage, so she shouldnt melodic theme this. I bent to carefully drudge the hem at the undamaged right demarcation in the midst of my fingers and, exerting the tiniest amount of shove possible, I ripped the dress open to the top of my thigh. Then I improve the other side to match.Much infract.I could hear the muffled laughter in the house, and even the lumbering of soulfulness gritting her teeth. The laughter came from upstairs and down, and I very easily recognized the much different, rough, throaty chuckle from the firstfloor.So Jacob was watching, too? I couldnt imagine what he was thinking now, or what he was motionless doing here. Id see our reunion if he could ever forgive me fetching place furthest in the future, when I was to a greater extent stable, and time had healed the wounds Id inflicted in his heart.I didnt turn to look at him now, vigilant of my mood swings. It wouldnt be good to let any emotion take too absolute a hold on my frame of mind. Jaspers fears had me on edge, too. I had to hunt before I dealt with anything else. I tried to forget everything else so I could concentrate.Bella? Edward called from the woods, his representative moving closer. Do you want to watch again? just I remembered everything perfectly, of course, and I didnt want to give Emmett a reason to arise more humor in my education. This was physical it should be involuntary. So I took a deep breath and ran for the river.Unhindered by my skirt, it took only one long bound to reach the waters edge. save an eighty-fourth of a second, and in so far it was plenty of time my look and my mind locomote so quickly that one step was enough. It was simple to position my right foot just so against the flat stone and exert the adequate pres confident(predicate) to send my torso wheeling up into the air. I was paying more attention to aim than force, and I erred on the amount of power necessary only at least I didnt err on the side that would have gotten me firm. The fifty yard comprehensiveness was s percipiently too elementary a distance___It was a peculiar, giddy, electrifying thing, besides a short thing. An entire second had yet to pass, and I was across.I was expecting the compact trees to be a problem, but they were amazingly helpful. It was a simple matter to reach out with one current hand as I fell back toward the earth again deep inside the forest and catch myself on a convenient branch I swung lightly from the limb and set dow n on my toes, cool it fifteen feet from the ground on the wide bough of a Sitka spruce.It was fabulous.Over the sound of my peals of rejoicing laughter, I could hear Edward racing to find me. My jump had been twice as long as his. When he reached my tree, his eyeball were wide. I leaped nimbly from the branch to his side, reverberatelessly landing again on the balls of my feet.Was that good? I wondered, my breathing accelerated with excitement.Very good. He smiled approvingly, but his casual tone didnt match the surprised carriage in his eyeball. sens we do it again?Focus, Bella were on a search trip.Oh, right. I nodded. Hunting.Follow me if you can. He grinned, his materialization on the spur of the moment taunting, and broke into a run.He was faster than me. I couldnt imagine how he locomote his legs with such blinding speed, but it was beyond me. However, I was stronger, and every stride of mine matched the length of troika of his. And so I flew with him through the liv ing kibibyte web, by his side, not following at all. As I ran, I couldnt help laugh piano at the thrill of it the laughter neither slowed me nor mental unsoundness my focus.I could finally understand why Edward never hit the trees when he ran a question that had eer been a mystery to me. It was a peculiar sensation, the balance between the speed and the clarity. For, while I rocketed over, under, and through the thick jade maze at a rate that should have reduced everything around me to a streaky green blur, I could plainly see each tiny leaf on all the small branches of every insignificant shrub that I passed.The wind of my speed blew my pilus and my tear dress out behind me, and, though I k parvenu it shouldnt, it tangle warm against my climb. Just as the rough forest floor shouldnt feel bid velvet below my bare soles, and the limbs that whipped against my skin shouldnt feel like kissing feathers.The forest was much more alive than Id ever known small creatures whose e xistence Id never guessed at teemed in the leaves around me. They all grew silent by and by(prenominal)wards we passed, their breath quickening in fear. The animals had a much wiser reaction to our poke than homos seemed to. Certainly, itd had the opposite answer on me.I kept waiting to feel winded, but my breath came effortlessly. I waited for the burn to begin in my muscles, but my strength only seemed to en large as I grew accustomed to my stride. My leaping quail stretched longer, and soon he was trying to keep up with me. I laughed again, exultant, when I heard him falling behind. My in the raw feet touched the ground so infrequently now it mat more like flying than runway.Belial he called wryly, his voice even, lazy. I could hear nothing else he had halt.I in short considered mutiny. however, with a sigh, I whirled and skipped lightly to his side, some hundred yards back. I looked at him expectantly. He was smiling, with one eyebrow elevated. He was so fine-loo king that I could only stare.Did you want to stay in the country? he asked, amused. Or were you planning to advance on to Canada this afternoon?This is fine, I agreed, concentrating less on what he was saying and more on the influence way his lips moved when he spoke. It was hard not to become sidetracked with everything fresh in my strong new look. What are we hunting?Elk. I judgment something easy for your first time He footmarked off when my eye narrowed at the word easy. precisely I wasnt going to argue I was too achey. As soon as Id started to think about the dry burn in my throat, it was all I could think about. Definitely getting worse. My mouth mat up like four oclock on a June afternoon in Death Valley.Where? I asked, scanning the trees impatiently. straight off that I had given the liking my attention, it seemed to taint every other thought in my foreman, leaking into the more pleasant thoughts of running and Edwards lips and kissing and scorching famish. I cou ldnt get away from it.Hold subdued for a minute, he said, pose his detainment lightly on my shoulders. The urgency of my thirst receded momentarily at his touch.Now close your eye, he murmured. When I obeyed, he raised his hands to my face, virgule my cheekbones. I felt my breathing speed and waited briefly again for the blush that wouldnt come.Listen, Edward instructed. What do you hear?Everything,I could have said his perfect voice, his breath, his lips brushing together as he spoke, the whisper of birds preening their feathers in the treetops, their fluttering heartbeats, the maple leaves moolah together, the faint clicking of ants following each other in a long line up the talk of the nearest tree. moreover I knew he meant something specific, so I let my ears range outward, seeking something different than the small hum of life that surrounded me. at that place was an open space near us the wind had a different sound across the open(a) grass and a small creek, with a unsmooth bed. And there, near the noise of the water, was the splash of lapping tongues, the tawdry thudding of heavy hearts, pumping thick streams of blood___It felt like the sides of my throat had sucked closed.By the creek, to the northeast? I asked, my eyes still shut.Yes. His tone was approving. Now wait for the piece of cake again and what do you fume?Mostly him his strange honey-lilac-and-sun perfume. But also the overflowing, earthy smell of rot and moss, the resin in the evergreens, the warm, close nutty fragrancy of the small rodents cowering beneath the tree roots. And then, reaching out again, the clean smell of the water, which was surprisingly unappealing condescension my thirst. I focused toward the water and found the pry that must have gone with the lapping noise and the pounding heart. Another warm smell, rich and tangy, stronger than the others. And yet nearly as unappealing as the brook. I wrinkled my nose.He chuckled. I know it takes some getting use d to.Three? I guessed.Five. in that respect are two more in the trees behind them.What do I do now?His voice sounded like he was smiling. What do you feel like doing?I thought about that, my eyes still shut as I listened and resided in the scent. Another bout of baking thirst intruded on my awareness, and suddenly the warm, tangy odor wasnt quite so objectionable. At least it would be something hot and wet in my desiccated mouth. My eyes snapped open.Dont think about it, he suggested as he lifted his hands off my face and took a step back. Just follow yourinstincts.I let myself drift with the scent, precisely aware of my movement as I ghosted down the incline to the narrow meadow where the stream flowed. My body shifted forward automatically into a low deflect as I hesitated at the fern-fringed edge of the trees. I could see a big buck, two twelve antler points crowning his tip, at the streams edge, and the shadow- locationted shapes of the four others heading eastward into fo rest at a leisurely pace.I centered myself around the scent of the male, the hot spot in his shaggy neck where the warmth pulsed strongest. precisely thirty yards two or three bounds between us. i tensed myself for the first leap.But as my muscles bunched in preparation, the wind shifted, blowing stronger now, and from the south. I didnt stop to think, hurtling out of the trees in a passage rectangular to my original plan, scaring the elk into the forest, racing after a new fragrance so attractive that there wasnt a choice. It was compulsory.The scent ruled alone. I was solved as I traced it, aware only of the thirst and the smell that promised to quench it. The thirst got worse, so dread(a) now that it confused all my other thoughts and began to move me of the burn of venom in my veins.thither was only one thing that had any chance of penetrate my focus now, an instinct more powerful, more rudimentary than the train to quench the fire it was the instinct to entertain myself from danger. Self-preservation.I was suddenly alert to the fact that I was being followed. The pull of the ir wearible scent warred with the momentum to turn and defend my hunt. A bubble of sound built in my chest, my lips pulled back of their own accord to expose my teeth in warning. My feet slowed, the need to protect my back struggling against the desire to quench my thirst.And then I could hear my pursuer gaining, and defense won. As I spun, the rising sound ripped its way up my throat and out. The feral snarl, coming from my own mouth, was so unexpected that it brought me up short. It unsettled me, and it cleared my head for a second the thirst-driven haze receded, though the thirst burned on.The wind shifted, blowing the smell of wet earth and coming rain across my face, further release me from the other scents fiery grip a scent so delicious it could only be valet.Edward hesitated a few feet away, his arms raised as if to compass me or restrain me. His face was intent and alert as I froze, horror-struck.I realized that I had been about to attack him. With a hard jerk, I straightened out of my defensive crouch. I held my breath as I refocused, fearing the power of the fragrance swirling up from the south.He could see reason return to my face, and he took a step toward me, lowering his arms.I have to get away from here, I spit through my teeth, utilise the breath I had.Shock crossed his face. Can you leave?I didnt have time to ask him what he meant by that. I knew the ability to think clearly would last only as long as I could stop myself from thinking of I burst into a run again, a flat-out run straight north, concentrating solely on the uncomfortable tonus of sensory deprivation that seemed to be my bodys only result to the lack of air. My one goal was to run farenough away that the scent behind me would be completely lost. Impossible to find, even if I changed my mindOnce again, I was aware of being followed, but I was sane this ti me. I fought the instinct to breathe to use the lifes in the air to be sure it was Edward. I didnt have to fight long though I was running faster than I ever had before, shooting like a comet through the straightest path I could find in the trees Edward caught up with me after a short minute.A new thought occurred to me, and I stopped dead, my feet planted. I was sure it must be safe here, but I held my breath just in case.Edward blew past me, surprised by my sudden freeze. He wheeled around and was at my side in a second. He put his hands on my shoulders and stared into my eyes, shock still the superior emotion on his face.How did you do that? he demanded.You let me beat you before, didnt you? I demanded back, ignoring his question. And Id thought Id been doing sowellWhen I undefended my mouth, I could taste the air it was unpolluted now, with no trace of the compelling perfume to torment my thirst. I took a cautious breath.He shrugged and shook his head, refusing to be deflec ted. Bella, how did you do it?Run away? I held my breath.But how did you stop hunting?When you came up behind me Im so sorry about that.why are you apologizing to me? Im the one who was horribly careless. I assumed no one would be so far from the educates, but I should have checked first. Such a thick mistake You have nothing to apologize for.But I growled at you I was still horrified that I was physically capable of such blasphemy.Of course you did. Thats only natural. But I cant understand how you ran away.What else could I do? I asked. His attitude confused me what did he want to have happened? It might have been someone I knowHe startled me, suddenly bursting into a spasm of loud laughter, throwing his head back and allow the sound echo off the trees.Why are you laughing at me?He stopped at once, and I could see he was wary again.Keep it under control,I thought to myself. I had to watch my temper. Just like I was a preteen werewolf test of than a vampire.Im not laughing a t you,Bella. Im laughing because I am in shock. And I am in shock because I am completely amazed.Why?You shouldnt be able to do any of this. You shouldnt be so so rational. You shouldnt be able to stand here discussing this with me sedately and coolly. And, much more than any of that, you should not have been able to breakoff mid-hunt with the scent of human blood in the air. Even mature vampires have difficulty with that were always very careful of where we hunt so as not to put ourselves in the path of temptation. Bella, youre behaving like youre decades rather than geezerhood old.Oh. But Id known it was going to be hard. That was why Id been so on guard. Id been expecting it to be difficult.He put his hands on my face again, and his eyes were full of wonder. What wouldnt I give to be able to see into your mind for just this one moment.Such powerful emotions. Id been prepared for the thirst part, but not this. Id been so sure it wouldnt be the same when he touched me. Well, tr uthfully, it wasnt the same.It was stronger.I reached up to trace the planes of his face my fingers lingered on his lips.I thought I wouldnt feel this way for a long time? My uncertainty made the row a question. But I stillwant you.He b colligate in shock. How can you even concentrate on that? Arent you unbearably thirsty(p)?Of course I was now, now that hed brought it up againI tried to swallow and then sighed, closing my eyes like I had before to help me concentrate. I let my senses range out around me, tensed this time in case of another onslaught of the delicious taboo scent.Edward dropped his hands, not even breathing while I listened further and farther out into the web of green life, sifting through the scents and sounds for something not totally repellant to my thirst. There was a hint of something different, a faint trail to the east___My eyes flashed open, but my focus was still on sharper senses as I turned and darted silently eastward. The ground sloped steeply upward almost at once, and I ran in a hunting crouch, close to the ground, taking to the trees when that was easier. I sensed rather than heard Edward with me, flowing quietly through the woods, letting me lead.The vegetation thinned as we climbed higher the scent of pitch and resin grew more powerful, as did the trail I followed it was a warm scent, sharper than the smell of the elk and more appealing. A few seconds more and I could hear the muted padding of ample feet, so much subtler than the crunch of hooves. The sound was up in the branches rather than on the ground. Automatically I darted into the boughs as well, gaining the strategic higher position, halfway up a towering silver fir.The soft thud of paws hold ond stealthily beneath me now the rich scent was very close. My eyes pinpointed the movement linked with the sound, and I saw the tawny hide of the great cat slinking along the wide branch of a spruce just down and to the left of my perch. He was big easily four times my mass. His eyes were intent on the ground beneath the cat hunted, too. I caught the smell of something smaller, bland next to the spirit of my prey, cowering in brush below the tree. The lions tail twitched jerkily as he prepared to spring.With a light bound, I sailed through the air and landed on the lions branch. He felt the shiver of the wood and whirled, howler surprise and defiance. He clawed the space between us, his eyes bright with fury. Half-crazed withthirst, I neglected the exposed fangs and the hooked claws and launched myself at him, knocking us two to the forest floor.It wasnt much of a fight.His raking claws could have been caressing fingers for all the impact they had on my skin. His teeth could find no purchase against my shoulder or my throat. His weight was nothing. My teeth unerringly sought his throat, and his instinctive resistance was pitifully feeble against my strength. My jaws locked easily over the precise point where the heat flow concentrated.It was e ffortless as biting into butter. My teeth were steel razors they jazz through the fur and fat and sinews like they werent there.The flavor was wrong, but the blood was hot and wet and it soothed the ragged, urge thirst as I drank in an dullard rush. The cats struggles grew more and more feeble, and his screams choked off with a gurgle. The warmth of the blood radiated throughout my whole body, heating system even my fingertips and toes.The lion was finished before I was. The thirst flared again when he ran dry, and I shoved his carcase off my body in disgust. How could I still be thirsty after all that?I wrenched myself erect in one quick move. Standing, I realized I was a bit of a mess. I wiped my face off on the back of my arm and tried to fix the dress. The claws that had been so ineffective against my skin had had more success with the thin satin.Hmm, Edward said. I looked up to see him leaning casually against a tree trunk, watching me with a thoughtful look on his face.I g uess I could have done that smash. I was covered in dirt, my hair knotted, my dress bloodstained and hanging in tatters. Edward didnt come home from hunting trips looking like this.You did perfectly fine, he assured me. Its just that it was much more difficult for me to watch than it should have been.I raised my eyebrows, confused.It goes against the grain, he explained, letting you wrestle with lions. I was having an disturbance attack the whole time.Silly.I know. Old habits die hard. I like the improvements to your dress, though.If I could have blushed, I would have. I changed the subject. Why am I still thirsty?Because youre young.I sighed. And I dont suppose there are any other mountain lions nearby. gage of deer, though.I made a face. They dont smell as good.Herbivores. The meat-eaters smell more like humans, he explained.Not that much like humans, I disagreed, trying not to remember.We could go back, he said solemnly, but there was a teasing light in his eye. Whoever it was out there, if they were men, they probably wouldnt even mind death if you were the one delivering it. His gaze ran over my ravaged dress again. In fact, they would think they were already dead and gone to nirvana the moment they saw you.I rolled my eyes and snorted. Lets go hunt some stinking herbivores.We found a large herd of mule deer as we ran back toward home. He hunted with me this time, now that Id gotten the hang of it. I brought down a large buck, making nearly as much of a mess as I had with the lion. Hed finished with two before I was done with the first, not a hair ruffled, not a spot on his white shirt. We chased the scattered and terrified herd, but instead of feeding again, this time I watched carefully to see how he was able to hunt so neatly.All the times that I had wished that Edward would not have to leave me behind when he hunted, I had on the Q.T. been just a little relieved. Because I was sure that seeing this would be frightening. Horrifying. That seeing hi m hunt would finally make him look like a vampire to me.Of course, it was much different from this perspective, as a vampire myself. But I doubted that even my human eyes would have missed the beauty here.It was a surprisingly sensual experience to observe Edward hunting. His smooth spring was like the sinuous strike of a snake in the grass his hands were so sure, so strong, so completely inescapable his full lips were perfect as they split gracefully over his gleaming teeth. He was glorious. I felt a sudden jolt of both pride and desire. He was mine. Nothing could ever dispel him from me now. I was too strong to be torn from his side.He was very quick. He turned to me and gazed e peculiar(prenominal)ly at my gloating expression.No longer thirsty? he asked.I shrugged. You distracted me. Youre much better at it than I am.Centuries of practice. He smiled. His eyes were a disconcertingly lovely shade of honey aureate now.Just one, I corrected him.He laughed. Are you done for today? Or did you want to continue?Done, I think. I felt very full, sort of sloshy, even. I wasnt sure how much more fluent would fit into my body. But the burn in my throat was only muted. Then again, Id known that thirst was just an inescapable part of this life.And worth it.I felt in control. Perhaps my sense of security was false, but I did feel pretty good about not killing anyone today. If I could resist totally human eeries, wouldnt I be able to care for the werewolf and a half-vampire child that I loved?I want to see Renesmee, I said. Now that my thirst was tamed (if nothing close to erased), my to begin with worries were hard to forget. I wanted to reconcile the stranger who was my daughter with the creature Id loved three days ago. It was so odd, so wrong not to have her inside me still. Abruptly, I felt empty and uneasy.He held out his hand to me. I took it, and his skin felt warmer than before. His cheek was faintly flushed, the shadows under his eyes all but vanished.I wa s unable to resist stroking his face again. And again.I sort of forgot that I was waiting for a response to my request as I stared into his shimmering gold eyes.It was almost as hard as it had been to turn away from the scent of human blood, but I somehow kept the need to be careful firmly in my head as I stretched up on my toes and disguised my arms around him. Gently.He was not so hesitant in his movements his arms locked around my stem and pulled me tight against his body. His lips crushed down on mine, but they felt soft. My lips no longer shaped themselves around his they held their own. worry before, it was as if the touch of his skin, his lips, his hands, was sinking right through my smooth, hard skin and into my new bones. To the very core of my body. I hadnt imagined that I could love him more than I had.My old mind hadnt been capable of holding this much love. My old heart had not been strong enough to bear it.Maybe this was the part of me that Id brought forward to be i ntensified in my new life. Like Carlisles compassion and Esmes devotion. I would probably never be able to do anything interesting or special like Edward, Alice, and Jasper could do. Maybe I would just love Edward more than anyone in the history of the world had ever loved anyone else.I could live with that.I remembered part of this twisting my fingers in his hair, tracing the planes of his chest but other parts were so new. He was new. It was an only different experience with Edward kissing me so fearlessly, so forcefully. I responded to his intensity, and then suddenly we were falling.Oops, I said, and he laughed underneath me. I didnt mean to tackle you like that. Are you okay?He stroked my face. Slightly better than okay And then a perplexed expression crossed his face. Renesmee? he asked uncertainly, trying to ascertain what I wanted most in this moment. A very difficult question to answer, because I wanted so many things at the same time.I could allege that he wasnt exact ly averse to procrastinating our return trip, and it was hard to think about much besides his skin on mine there really wasnt that much left of the dress. But my memory of Renesmee, before and after her birth, was becoming more and more dreamlike to me. to a greater extent unlikely. All my memories of her were human memories an aura of artificiality clung to them. Nothing seemed real that I hadnt seen with these eyes, touched with these hands.Every minute, the reality of that little stranger slipped further away.Renesmee, I agreed, rueful, and I whipped back up onto my feet, pulling him with me.