贝拉将自己流放到了福克斯这个偏僻且终年阴雨的小镇上,她怎么也想不到,就是这个抉择,让她与他相遇在命运的十字路口.眼神交会的那一瞬,彼此之间已经明白,等待他们的,除了幸福的诱惑,还有危险的深渊.互相倾心的两人,在爱情与危险间摆荡,一起度过新鲜而刺激的每一天.

18. THE HUNT

They emerged one by one from the forest edge, ranging a dozen meters apart. The first male into the clearing fell back immediately, allowing the other male to take the front, orienting himself around the tall, dark-haired man in a manner that clearly displayed who led the pack. The third was a woman; from this distance, all I could see of her was that her hair was a startling shade of red.

They closed ranks before they continued cautiously toward Edward's

family, exhibiting the natural respect of a troop of predators as it encounters a larger, unfamiliar group of its own kind.

As they approached, I could see how different they were from the Cullens. Their walk was catlike, a gait that seemed constantly on the edge of shifting into a crouch. They dressed in the ordinary gear of backpackers: jeans and casual button-down shirts in heavy, weatherproof fabrics. The clothes were frayed, though, with wear, and they were barefoot. Both men had cropped hair, but the woman's brilliant orange hair was filled with leaves and debris from the woods.

Their sharp eyes carefully took in the more polished, urbane stance of Carlisle, who, flanked by Emmett and Jasper, stepped guardedly forward to meet them. Without any seeming communication between them, they each straightened into a more casual, erect bearing.

The man in front was easily the most beautiful, his skin olive-toned beneath the typical pallor, his hair a glossy black. He was of a medium build, hard-muscled, of course, but nothing next to Emmett's brawn. He smiled an easy smile, exposing a flash of gleaming white teeth.

The woman was wilder, her eyes shifting restlessly between the men facing her, and the loose grouping around me, her chaotic hair quivering in the slight breeze. Her posture was distinctly feline. The second male hovered unobtrusively behind them, slighter than the leader, his light brown hair and regular features both nondescript. His eyes, though completely still, somehow seemed the most vigilant.

Their eyes were different, too. Not the gold or black I had come to expect, but a deep burgundy color that was disturbing and sinister.

The dark-haired man, still smiling, stepped toward Carlisle.

"We thought we heard a game," he said in a relaxed voice with the slightest of French accents. "I'm Laurent, these are Victoria and James." He gestured to the vampires beside him.

"I'm Carlisle. This is my family, Emmett and Jasper, Rosalie, Esme and Alice, Edward and Bella." He pointed us out in groups, deliberately not calling attention to individuals. I felt a shock when he said my name.

"Do you have room for a few more players?" Laurent asked sociably.

Carlisle matched Laurent's friendly tone. "Actually, we were just finishing up. But we'd certainly be interested another time. Are you planning to stay in the area for long?"

"We're headed north, in fact, but we were curious to see who was in the neighborhood. We haven't run into any company in a long time."

"No, this region is usually empty except for us and the occasional visitor, like yourselves."

The tense atmosphere had slowly subsided into a casual conversation; I guessed that Jasper was using his peculiar gift to control the situation.

"What's your hunting range?" Laurent casually inquired.

Carlisle ignored the assumption behind the inquiry. "The Olympic Range here, up and down the Coast Ranges on occasion. We keep a permanent residence nearby. There's another permanent settlement like ours up near Denali."

Laurent rocked back on his heels slightly.

"Permanent? How do you manage that?" There was honest curiosity in his voice.

"Why don't you come back to our home with us and we can talk comfortably?" Carlisle invited. "It's a rather long story."

James and Victoria exchanged a surprised look at the mention of the word

"home," but Laurent controlled his expression better.

"That sounds very interesting, and welcome." His smile was genial. "We've been on the hunt all the way down from Ontario, and we haven't had the chance to clean up in a while." His eyes moved appreciatively over Carlisle's refined appearance.

"Please don't take offense, but we'd appreciate it if you'd refrain from hunting in this immediate area. We have to stay inconspicuous, you understand," Carlisle explained.

"Of course." Laurent nodded. "We certainly won't encroach on your territory. We just ate outside of Seattle, anyway," he laughed. A shiver ran up my spine.

"We'll show you the way if you'd like to run with us — Emmett and Alice, you can go with Edward and Bella to get the Jeep," he casually added.

Three things seemed to happen simultaneously while Carlisle was speaking. My hair ruffled with the light breeze, Edward stiffened, and the second male, James, suddenly whipped his head around, scrutinizing me, his nostrils flaring.

A swift rigidity fell on all of them as James lurched one step forward into a crouch. Edward bared his teeth, crouching in defense, a feral snarl ripping from his throat.

It was nothing like the playful sounds I'd heard from him this morning; it was the single most menacing thing I had ever heard, and chills ran from the crown of my head to the back of my heels.

"What's this?" Laurent exclaimed in open surprise. Neither James nor Edward relaxed their aggressive poses. James feinted slightly to the side, and Edward shifted in response.

"She's with us." Carlisle's firm rebuff was directed toward James. Laurent seemed to catch my scent less powerfully than James, but awareness now dawned on his face.

"You brought a snack?" he asked, his expression incredulous as he took an involuntary step forward.

Edward snarled even more ferociously, harshly, his lip curling high above his glistening, bared teeth. Laurent stepped back again.

"I said she's with us," Carlisle corrected in a hard voice.

"But she's human," Laurent protested. The words were not at all aggressive, merely astounded.

"Yes." Emmett was very much in evidence at Carlisle's side, his eyes on James. James slowly straightened out of his crouch, but his eyes never left me, his nostrils still wide. Edward stayed tensed like a lion in front of me.

When Laurent spoke, his tone was soothing — trying to defuse the sudden hostility. "It appears we have a lot to learn about each other."

"Indeed." Carlisle's voice was still cool.

"But we'd like to accept your invitation." His eyes flicked toward me and back to Carlisle. "And, of course, we will not harm the human girl. We won't hunt in your range, as I said."

James glanced in disbelief and aggravation at Laurent and exchanged another brief look with Victoria, whose eyes still flickered edgily from face to face.

Carlisle measured Laurent's open expression for a moment before he spoke. "We'll show you the way. Jasper, Rosalie, Esme?" he called. They gathered together, blocking me from view as they converged. Alice was instantly at my side, and Emmett fell back slowly, his eyes locked on James as he

backed toward us.

"Let's go, Bella." Edward's voice was low and bleak.

This whole time I'd been rooted in place, terrified into absolute immobility. Edward had to grip my elbow and pull sharply to break my trance. Alice and Emmett were close behind us, hiding me. I stumbled alongside Edward, still stunned with fear. I couldn't hear if the main group had left yet. Edward's impatience was almost tangible as we moved at human speed to the forest edge.

第十八章 猎杀

他们一个接一个地出现在密林边缘，分散着走在十几米的范围之内。第一个出现的男子立刻退了回去，让另一个男子走在前头，自己则紧跟着那个高大的黑发的男子。从某种程度上说，这一举动彰显着后者才是这一群人的头领。第三个是一个女性，隔着这么远的距离，我只能看见她那一头惊人的带着红影的长发。

他们紧紧地聚拢在一起，然后才警惕地继续朝着爱德华的家人走去，表现出一群结伴而行的掠食者在遭遇一群更庞大的陌生同类时的本能反应。

当他们走近的时候，我看出了他们和卡伦一家的不同之处。他们走路像猫一样，是一种似乎随时都准备着变化身形蜷下身来的步法。他们的穿着是寻常的徒步旅行者的打扮：都穿着牛仔裤和没系扣子的厚重的防水面料的恤衫。但是，他们的衣物都很破旧，而且他们都打着赤脚。男人们都理着平头，但那个女人鲜亮的橙色头发里粘满了树叶和碎树枝。

他们锐利的眼睛仔细地打量着姿势更为优美文雅的卡莱尔，艾美特和贾斯帕小心提防着走到卡莱尔的两侧，与他们会合。在没有任何交流的情况下，他们都站直了身子，换成一种更为警惕的，直立的防御姿态。

站在前头的那个男人显然是他们之中最美丽的，在那种典型的苍白的色调之下，他的肌肤是橄榄色的，他的头发乌黑发亮。他体格中等，当然，肌肉很发达，但跟艾美特的肌肉群相比简直是小巫见大巫。他轻松地笑着，隐约露出雪白的牙齿。

那个女人看上去更野蛮些，她的眼睛不停地打量着直视着她的男人们，还有环绕在我身旁的松散的人墙。她乱糟糟的头发在微风中轻轻颤动着。她的姿势显然就像猫科动物那样。第二个男人徘徊在他们身后，很不引人注目，他的体格比领头的人更纤细些，他浅棕色的头发和平板的五官都乏善可陈，他的目光僵直着，但不知怎地他的眼神看上去最为警觉。

他们的眼睛也不一样。不是我原先想到的金色或是黑色，而是一种深深的勃艮第葡萄酒的颜色，看上去既暴躁又凶恶。

那个黑发男子依然微笑着，向卡莱尔走去。

“我们觉得，我们听见了打球赛的声音。”他用一种放松的口吻说道，带着极淡的法国口音。“我是劳伦，他们是维多利亚和詹姆斯。”他指了指他身后的两个吸血鬼。

“我是卡莱尔。他们是我的家人，艾美特和贾斯帕，罗莎莉，艾思梅和爱丽丝，还有爱德华和贝拉。”他三三两两地介绍着我们，故意不让他们的注意力落到某个特定的人身上。当他说到我的名字时，我吃了一惊。

“你们还有空位让别的选手加入吗？”劳伦和蔼可亲地问道。

卡莱尔配合着劳伦友好的语气说道。“其实，我们正要结束游戏。但下次的话我们一定会很乐意的。你们打算在这个地区久留吗？”

“事实上，我们正在去北方的路上，但我们都很好奇，想看看是谁住在这附近。我们已经很久没有碰到过同类了。”

“不，这个地区通常都是空的，只有我们住在这里，偶尔会有访客经过，比方说你们。”

一触即发的紧张气氛慢慢地消失了，谈话变得随意起来。我猜贾斯帕正在用他特有的天赋在控制着局面。
“你们都在哪里狩猎？”劳伦若无其事地寒暄道。

卡莱尔并不理会隐藏在问话里的假设。“这里的奥林匹亚山脉，偶尔也会涉足南北两侧的沿海山脉。我们在这附近有个固定住所。德纳利峰附近也有一群像我们这样的定居者。”

劳伦微微震惊地站直了身子。

“固定住所？你们是怎么做到的？”他声音里的好奇显露无遗。

“你们为什么不到我们家里坐坐，这样我们可以更舒服地谈话？”卡莱尔邀请道。“这可是个很长很长的故事。”

听到“家”这个词，詹姆斯和维多利亚交换了一个惊讶的眼神，但劳伦更好地控制住了自己的表情。

“这听上去很有趣，我们很受欢迎。”他和蔼地笑着。“我们从安大略湖过来，一路上都在狩猎，还没有机会停下来梳洗一番。”他的目光欣赏地打量着卡莱尔优雅的装束。

“请不要客气，但如果你们能尽量克制避免就近在这个地区狩猎，我们会非常感激的。我们要待在这里，得不引人注目，你能明白的。”卡莱尔解释道。

“当然。”劳伦点点头。“我们确实不想侵占你们的领地。无论如何，我们会在西雅图之外进食。”他大笑起来。一阵战栗滑过我的脊背。

“我们会给你们指路，如果你们愿意和我们一起奔跑的话——艾美特和爱丽丝，你们跟爱德华和贝拉一起坐越野车走。”他若无其事地补充道。

在卡莱尔说话的当儿，有三件事碰巧同时发生了。我的头发被微风吹乱了，爱德华僵住了，而第二个男人，詹姆斯，忽然转过头来，审视着我，他的鼻孔张大了。
当詹姆斯蜷下腰向我踏出第一步的时候，所有人都迅速地僵直起来。爱德华露出牙齿，防备地蜷下腰，一阵狂野的咆哮冲出了他的喉头。

这完全不像今天早上我听到的他那种玩闹的咆哮。这绝对是我所听过的最具威胁性的声音。一阵寒意从我的头顶一直传到我的脚后跟。

“这是怎么回事？”劳伦大叫起来，丝毫没有掩饰自己的惊讶。但詹姆斯和爱德华都没有放松他们攻击性的姿势。詹姆斯做了个假动作，稍微往旁边挪了挪，爱德华立刻做出了相应的反应，也移动了身形。

“她和我们是一起的。”卡莱尔向詹姆斯断然拒绝道，明白地显示着他坚定的态度。劳伦似乎并没有像詹姆斯那样捕捉到了我的味道，但他脸上现在露出了明白过来的神情。

“你们还带了点心来？”他问道，脸上露出了怀疑的神色，不知不觉往前走了一步。

爱德华的咆哮变得更加凶狠，更加刺耳，他的上唇高高地卷起，闪亮的牙齿展露无遗。劳伦又退了回去。

“我说了，她和我们是一起的。”卡莱尔用严厉的声音更正道。

“可她是人类。”劳伦大声说道。这些话与其说是挑衅，不如说是震惊。

“是的。”艾美特显然站在了卡莱尔这边，他的眼睛注视着詹姆斯。詹姆斯慢慢地直起蜷伏的身子，但他的眼睛始终盯着我，他的鼻孔依然张得大大的。爱德华紧张地守护在我跟前，有如一头雄狮。

劳伦开了口，他的声音有着安慰的味道——试图减轻这阵突如其来的敌意。“看来我们对彼此还有许多需要相互了解的地方。”

“确实如此。”卡莱尔的声音非常冷淡。

“但我们还是很乐意接受你们的邀请。”他飞快地瞥了我一眼，又看回卡莱尔。“还有，当然，我们不会伤害那个人类女孩的。我说过，我们不会在你们的地盘狩猎。”

詹姆斯露出难以置信的神情，愤怒地瞪了一眼劳伦，然后又和维多利亚交换了一个简短的眼神。她的眼睛依然尖锐地审视着每一张脸。

卡莱尔衡量着劳伦脸上坦率的神情，半晌才说道：“我们会给你们带路。贾斯帕，罗莎莉，艾美特？”他喊道。他们几个立刻聚拢起来，挡住了我的视线。爱丽丝立刻站到了我身旁。艾美特慢慢地往后退过来，他的眼睛始终锁定着正背向我们离开的詹姆斯的身影。

“我们走，贝拉。”爱德华的声音既低沉又阴冷。

整个过程中我都像脚下生了根似的站在那里，吓得完全无法动弹。爱德华不得不抓住我的胳膊猛地一拉，才让我的魂魄归位。爱丽丝和艾美特紧紧地站在我们身旁，掩护着我。我跌跌拌拌跟着爱德华，依然因为恐惧而眩晕着。我听不见大部队是否已经离开了。当我们用人类的速度向树林边缘走去时，爱德华的不耐烦简直可以看得见摸得着了。