The Hunted

Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, folks! They truly make my day.  I'm going to try and do my best to update every week (usually on Fridays) from here on out since I'm a bit ahead in my writing.  Again, I can't express my thanks for giving this story a shot!

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"How is she, Carlisle?" a velvet voice asked from somewhere nearby. I heard a sigh, and then I heard Carlisle begin to speak.

"It's pretty bad. She's lost a lot of blood and some of these cuts need stitches. I can do it all here, but I'm going to have to go to the blood bank immediately."

"Go! I'll watch her," the velvet voice urged.

Darkness took over again, and it was nice and quiet, but there was a considerable amount of pain. I'd sort of expected that. I didn't think dying would be a painless process. Not for me anyway.

"Bella, sweetheart? Can you open your eyes for me?" a soft, feminine voice asked some time later. I struggled to do as she asked, but it hurt. Everything hurt.

"C'mon, Bella. You can do it," she urged, and my first thought was that my mom was there. I slowly opened my eyes and found myself staring into the golden eyes of a woman with auburn hair. She wasn't my mother. Where the hell was I? Then I remembered: Cullens, James and Victoria, fight.

"Esme?" I croaked out. She nodded before holding a cup of water with a straw to my mouth. I took a sip, wincing at the pain in my throat.

"Thank God, you're awake. You had us a bit worried," Carlisle said, coming into the room and giving me a soft smile.

I looked around me and noticed I was in a large bed, hooked up to an IV and covered in bandages. What the—?

Carlisle noted my look of confusion before he explained he was a doctor and he'd fixed me up. I just stared at him. A vampire doctor? You had to be kidding me. How could he be a doctor? He was a fucking vampire for crying out loud. Did his staff and co-workers not notice? And what about blood? Wouldn't being surrounded by blood day in and day out tempt him?

He gave a small laugh at my incredulous look. "I've been the head of surgery here for several years, but I've been practicing medicine for a very long time. I find it rewarding being able to help people."

"How badly hurt am I?" I asked, my throat raw and sore.

"Pretty bad, but you're healing fairly well. I'm not going to lie to you, Bella. It was touch and go for a while. You lost a lot of blood."

That was a comforting thought when in a house full of vampires.

"What happened?"

"Victoria. She threw you into our glass coffee table at the same time James went for Alice."

"Is she okay?" I asked, realizing she wasn't in the room with me. Anytime I'd gotten hurt when Alice was around, she always stayed with me. The only reason she wouldn't be with me was if something bad had happened to her.

I wasn't reassured when I saw Esme and Carlisle glance at each other. Taking a deep breath, Carlisle turned back to me.

"Alice … Alice was bitten by James," he told me, remorse in his eyes.

"What?" I asked, unable to believe what I'd heard.

"James bit Alice on her wrist. We did what we could to suck the venom out, but it was too late."

No, no, no! Alice wasn't, she couldn't be. No!

"But, she's fine, right? I mean, she's not gonna turn or anything. Right?" I asked with a slight touch of hysteria in my voice.