I awoke…and I was different. Even though I had yet to open my eyes, I knew this one terrifying fact with a certainty that couldn't be challenged. I was different…changed…new. But different from what? Changed how and by whom? Why was I new and who was the old me? These answers I did not know.

Keeping my eyes squeezed tightly shut, I rose to a sitting position. The swiftness of the motion startled me. The new me was fast. I stretched my legs in front of me and met a slight resistance as the bottoms of my feet brushed something smooth and hard. A boulder maybe? I flexed my toes and added a bit of pressure. With a deafening noise, the object crumbled beneath my feet. The new me was strong.

I now knew two things about myself, two tiny details, two first steps down what I imagined would be a very long road that would end in self awareness. I was wrong. It would not be a long road at all. In reality I was already halfway there, because in the next heartbeat – which, ironically, I would soon learn I no longer had – I would discover the two facts that trumped all others, that told me all I would ever need to know about myself…my existence…my purpose. These two facts would answer the only two questions that really mattered: What I was and Who I loved.

I was still in the same position I had taken moments after my awakening - sitting upright, eyes closed, with my feet resting on a pile of powder and pointy shards of broken rock that felt as soft as feathers. It was odd to be so comfortable with my own stillness. I was thinking that I could stay like this for eternity and never feel the need to move an inch when I was assaulted with a scent that changed that completely. Delicious. I was on my feet with no conscious thought of getting there. I lifted my chin in the direction of the scent and breathed in deeply. Pain. My throat burned. It felt as if I was drinking in molten lava. Thirst. The origin of the scent was 515 yards northwest of me and it was calling…No, it was screaming. Blood. I HAD to have it. There was no other choice but to hunt it, kill it, and feed on it. I opened myself entirely to my nature and it flooded me. Instinct coursed through my bloodless veins and venom filled my mouth. In that moment, I knew what I was. Predator. I knew what I was hunting. Human.

Then….I opened my eyes.

The moment I awakened, even without sight, I had known I was somewhere in the forest or woods. The ground beneath me was uneven, covered in tangled vines, tree roots, and rocks. I had felt them under my back. I had smelled pine resin and sap. I had heard the heartbeats of deer, the flap of birds wings, the light patter of squirrels rushing from limb to limb. Knowing this, I expected to open my eyes to trees. Instead, I was greeted by a face so beautiful, it stunned me out of my hunt. His skin was pale white and smooth, with the exception of his jaw and neck, which was ravaged with a strange pattern of crescent shaped scars. His eyes were the rich, warm color of honey and his hair was just a shade or two lighter. He was holding his hand out in front of him and resting in his palm was a tiny velvet box.

"Now, I know you probably saw what I would get you long before I bought it, but can you at least pretend it's a surprise, my Love? Happy 50th anniversary, Alice. I love you."

Alice? My name was Alice and this man, whom I had yet to meet, was my great love. I reached for him. I needed him. Having his arms around me would make me whole. His love was as essential to my survival as the blood I had been hunting.

Blood. The moment the word entered my thoughts, the horrible burning ache returned and the vision of the man I loved slipped away from me. I was left alone in the woods with the mouthwatering scent closer than before. I slid into a crouch, my body poised to spring. My upper lip curled back, baring my teeth and a feral growl rumbled in my chest. I stalked closer. Despite the brittle branches that should have been crunching loudly beneath my feet, I made no sound at all. I could finally see my prey. As I drew closer, the scent grew stronger and the pain in my throat became unbearable. I was still hidden, my prey was still a good 50 yards from me, yet I could see every detail of my attack. From my hiding spot in the trees, I watched, fascinated, as the next 5 minutes of my life flashed before me.

I would come from above him. I watched this "other me" climb to the top of a spruce tree and then leap agiley from limb to limb until she had taken a strategic position directly above the hunter, who, without his knowledge, had become the hunted. I saw her drop from the sturdy branch I was perched on and land with ease on the man's back, her lips inches from his neck. Her mouth was open, sharp teeth ready to sink into his carotid artery and relieve him of the blood I so desperately craved. I watched with anticipation, eager to take her place, restless because I was tired of being the audience instead of the player. She went in for the kill, but just as her teeth grazed his flesh, she froze. Her face, which moments before had been fiercely alive with passion for the hunt, was now blank. Her eyes stared into the trees but were clearly seeing something else.

The moment passed quickly and for a split second, something in the realm of confusion flitted across her face