A Vampire's Love - Edward Cullen (Twilight saga)

Edward

The hunting trip to Trinidade took much longer than I expected. I had underestimated the time it would take for me to swim there, hunt and swim back to Isle Esme. When I arrived at the cottage, I was not surprised to see that it was close to noon already.

Before the idea of freshening up crossed my mind, I followed Aiyanna's scent to the living room where I found her laying across the couch, her nakedness barely hidden by the covers she had taken from the bedroom, with her bikini still tied to her ankle.

The weight of my anxiety regarding her health slightly lightened at that small detail as it reminded me of times when Aiyanna was in much better health.

It was when I crouched beside her, wiping off the sweat that had formed on her forehead and her neck that something suddenly occured to me.

Aiyanna had lost her warmth.

I couldn't have not notice it since rare were the occassions where my hands were not in contact with her skin. I could feel how her body temperature had dropped drastically since the last time we were together. It was not a werewolf's heat but rather a human one.

The glimpse of hope I had felt crushed instantly at that realization. Aiyanna's health had possibly gotten worse during my absence.

As if feeling my presence, or even my worry, Aiyanna frowned slightly as she slowly opened her eyes.

"You're back." she said, smiling while covering my hand with hers.

"Did I make you wait for too long ?"

"Whether it is a minute or a whole day, it'll always be too long. But you needed that hunt."

I glanced at the bikini wrapped around her ankle before I stared into her eyes. "How are you feeling now ? Did you get to change ?"

The island was too small for Aiyanna or myself to run for long around the jungle before reaching the shore. Surely, she must have had to run in circles around the island, maybe even trying the feeling of the sand on four legs.

Aiyanna fell silent and her eyes lost focus as images of the previous day flashed through her mind. Her lips that were once smiling dropped and against all odds, tears filled her eyes before I could understand the reason behind them.

I swiftly sat behind her and pulled her into my lap, soothing her into my arms.

"Aiyanna, what is it ? Did you get hurt ?" I asked, scanning her body with my eyes, in search of an injury.

I didn't understand. There was nothing in her thoughts that could indicate the reason of her crying.

Her memories hadn't gone far. If I had caught the images of her walking to the jungle, I didn't catch anything related to her changing.

Aiyanna tried to stop crying by herself, drying her tears with her hands, but she seemed to be overflowed with emotions she could not control. The more she tried to calm herself down and the more tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Aiyanna, tell me." I pleaded, desperate.

"I...I...I can't." she let out in between her sobs, her voice quivering.

I frowned, confused. "What do you mean ? You can tell me anything. For better and for worse, remember ?"

"It's not that. I can't change."

Another wave of sadness hit her as she said the words out loud.

Aiyanna didn't change ? Worse, she couldn't ? Was it related to her body temperature having turned to a regular one ? I didn't know more about her kind than she did. I was well aware that if I could not find an explanation behind her inability to shapeshift, neither could she.