Prologue

I curled up in the corner, burying my head in my knees. What was I doing here, when everything I had ever cared about was gone? I didn't exactly want to be there. Maybe that was why they decided to leave me alone in the world instead of killing me along with the rest of my loved ones. Wasn't that what they loved to do? Along with keeping the rest of the vampire society a secret, they loved to torture us. It was just what they did.

The fire burning around me was one that I had never experienced. It smelled of ash and burning flesh. The stench was unbearable. I pulled out the sleeve on my shirt a little more and covered my face with it, knowing that I didn't even have to smell it if I didn't want to. I moved my sleeve away from my face.

I waited until I could hear the footsteps of the Volturi fade away, which didn't take as long as I anticipated. Of course, I had overlooked the fact that they, too, could run almost as fast as the speed of light. When I knew they were gone, I stood up and walked around what used to be my grandparent's house.

Everything was in ruins. There was nothing there that was not saved by any means. If there was something valuable, it had been taken. If it was something that could be used to reminisce with, it had been burned or destroyed using other methods, which was clear in every room I entered. Beds were ripped to shreds, books were burned, and pictures were strewn everywhere.

I walked back and forth between the bedrooms, walking around and checking out the destruction before I made my escape. I first entered Uncle Jasper and Aunt Alice's room.

Their bed had been tipped over, and the mattress and comforter were ripped so that there was nothing left but feathers and stray fabric. I walked over to their nightstand—surprisingly enough, it was still standing—and looked at the framed picture that had been smashed into tiny bits. They were holding each other, staring lovingly into the others' eyes. I envied them, knowing that they had had so much time together, while I had had barely three with Jacob. I left the room, knowing that I would only upset myself in their room.

Next, I walked into Carlisle and Esme's room; it had barely been touched. The bed was standing up nice and tall, looking as majestic and regal as ever; I did not doubt why Carlisle and Esme had chosen it. I smiled and walked over to the bookshelves, scanning through all of Carlisle's medical books and Esme's tragic romances until I found what I had been looking for.

It was the one thing that was of some family value that the Volturi had overlooked. A photo album of all of us together; from the time when my parents met until a few weeks before all of the tragic events had occurred. I flipped open to the first page, which revealed a picture of all of us; in the front row there was Uncle Emmett, Uncle Jasper, my father, Jacob, and Carlisle. In the back row stood Aunt Rosalie, Aunt Alice, my mother, me, and Esme. We all stood beaming, showing off our perfect vampire faces—except for Jacob, of course.

I flipped to the second page, seeing it covered with pictures of my mother and father. They were obviously taken when my mother was still human, which I could tell because of the differences in the front picture and the second. Her face was much fairer in the first picture, and the second one looked amazingly awestruck by my father. I smiled as I looked at the pictures of them, holding each other and looking as happy as ever. Those were mostly the ones that were taken after my father changed my mother, which was only after I had been born, causing me to be half vampire, half human.

The third page was all of Jasper and Alice, the fourth Carlisle and Esme, the fifth of Emmett and Rosalie. But the sixth page, I was surprised to see, was of me and Jacob. I sucked in a breath as I looked at all of the pictures.

The first few were of Jacob holding me as an infant, then a toddler. Each of the pictures of us progressed throughout time until a few weeks prior, when I had turned sixteen and officially stopped aging. Jacob had changed significantly in those four years that it took me to turn sixteen, and I was probably the only one that had ever noticed that.

But I guessed that I'd never know, then, would I?

I grabbed the photo album and put it under my arm, knowing that I'd pick up a bag or two soon. I shoved my cell phone in my pocket and took some food with me, knowing that I'd need it to get by. At least, I'd need it some of the time. Luckily, the Volturi had saved me some money, which I retrieved from the kitchen table.

After I had everything that I needed for my new life, I walked through the house one more time, knowing that if I didn't, I wouldn't remember anything. I walked past several mirrors, which I ignored, because I already knew who I would be looking at. Renesmee Cullen, the hybrid that survived it all. It wasn't something that I could change, and I knew that. But it was something that I wanted to forget, which I also knew I wouldn't be able to do.

And as I walked out of the house and into the woods, I knew that I was becoming a new person. Maybe not quite the person that I wanted to be, but hey, it was a change, and didn't everyone need to change once in a while? Plus, I had all of eternity to change, so why not start then? I smiled as I walked deeper and deeper into the woods, knowing that every step was changing me into a new person—well, vampire, that is.