“I want to hurry,” I whispered, smiling weakly, trying to make a joke of it. “I want to be a monster, too.” His teeth clenched; he spoke through them. “You have no idea what you’re saying.” Abruptly, he flung the damp newspaper onto the table in between us. His finger stabbed the headline on the front page: DEATH TOLL ON THE RISE, POLICE FEAR GANG ACTIVITY “What does that have to do with anything?” “Monsters are not a joke, Bella.” I stared at the headline again, and then up to his hard expression. “A… a vampire is doing this?” I whispered.
