Ebb and Flow (Twilight x Reader)

Chapter 11

My question caught him off guard. He was silent.

"I'll tell you the mechanics of it," he said finally.

I waited.

"As predators, we have a glut of weapons in our physical arsenal—much, much more than really necessary. The strength, the speed, the acute senses, not to mention those of us like Edward, Alice, and I, who have extra senses as well. And then, like a carnivorous flower, we are physically attractive to our prey.

"We have another fairly superfluous weapon. We're also venomous," he said, his teeth glistening. "The venom doesn't kill—it's merely incapacitating. It works slowly, spreading through the bloodstream, so that, once bitten, our prey is in too much physical pain to escape us. Mostly superfluous, as I said. If we're that close, the prey doesn't escape. Of course, there are always exceptions."

"So . . . if the venom is left to spread . . . ," I murmured.

"It takes a few days for the transformation to be complete, depending on how much venom is in the bloodstream, how close the venom enters to the heart. As long as the heart keeps beating, the poison spreads, healing, changing the body as it moves through it. Eventually the heart stops, and the conversion is finished. But all that time, every minute of it, a victim would be wishing for death. It's not pleasant, you see."

"Why don't you feed on humans? Ones that are knocked out, or asleep, or something. Just take a little bit of blood until you're satiated, and send them to the hospital so the venom can be removed, or something?"

"That would be much too complicated, and it would also risk exposing us," Jasper explained. "And we're also like sharks in a way. Once we taste the blood, or even smell it for that matter, it becomes very hard to keep from feeding. Sometimes impossible. So you see, to actually bite someone, to taste the blood, it would begin the frenzy. It's difficult on both sides—the bloodlust on the one hand, the awful pain on the other."

"You said you have extra senses," I recalled. "What does that mean?"

"I can influence people's emotions," he said. "Edward can read minds. Alice can see glimpses of the future. We all have some sort of gift that sets us apart."

"Edward can read minds?" I asked, alarmed. Well, at least he won't doubt the fact that I hate him—

"All except two," Jasper said. "He can't read yours or your sister's."

My brow knit together. "Why?"

He shrugged, unhelpful.

Then, without any warning, Jasper leaped from the couch, landing lightly on his feet. My head jerked up as I stared at him, startled.

"Something's changed." Jasper's voice was urgent and he raced to the bedroom.

He reached the door at the same time Alice did. He had obviously heard whatever she had said to alert him. He put his hands on her shoulders and guided her back to the bed, sitting her on the edge. I followed into the room.

"What do you see?" he asked intently, staring into her eyes. Her eyes were focused on something very far away. I sat close to her, leaning in to catch her low, quick voice.

"I see a room. It's long, and there are mirrors everywhere. The floor is wooden. He's in the room, and he's waiting. There's gold . . . a gold stripe across the mirrors."

"Where is the room?"

"I don't know. Something is missing—another decision hasn't been made yet."

"How much time?"

"It's soon. He'll be in the mirror room today, or maybe tomorrow. It all depends. He's waiting for something. And he's in the dark now."

Jasper's voice was calm, methodical, as he questioned her in a practiced way. "What is he doing?"