DISCLAIMER: Stephenie Meyer owns everything about the Twilight series and I am not making any money off her characters.

PROLOGUE

It was like the whole world stopped. I suddenly couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't speak. I couldn't drag my eyes away from the tiny, wrapped bundle in the blond one's arms. My worries for Bella flew out of my mind as my entire world shifted into a new kind of motion. This time, my world orbited this one small baby…

CHAPTER ONE – 7 years later

I had nothing left to lose, anymore. I picked up the bag of carefully hoarded pills and passed it between my hands. I'd thought about this long and hard. I didn't want to die, not really. But I couldn't see any way out of this…this slavery. My pack had told me all about imprinting, of course, and what to expect. But it had all worked out for them. Sam had Emily and Jared had Kim…it was all normal. Quil's imprinting on toddler Claire had even worked out, strangely enough. Claire was too young to need anything but an uncle, a best friend. And Quil had been adamant he would never "groom" Claire into his ideal partner, like a lot of the tribe had been worried about, and he never had. But me… it wasn't working. Nothing was going right. I knew I didn't want Renesmee, Bella's flesh and, well, not exactly blood. Venom, maybe.

It wasn't working like it should. Imprinting was supposed to be beautiful, make your life complete. But this wasn't complete. This definitely wasn't beautiful. This just made me feel trapped. Seven years since I had imprinted. It seemed like a lifetime.

"Jake? Where are you? What are you doing?" Renesmee's voice floated down the hall of the small house I was renting on the reservation.

I jumped and quickly stashed the pills in a box labelled with a prescription for cold and flu tablets. Hiding in plain sight.

"Uh, I'm coming," I called, trying to keep the guilt out of my voice.

"Well, hurry up and get out here," she replied, the command in her voice impossible to ignore. "I haven't seen you for too long!"

A shudder went through my body as I struggled to keep control of my limbs, but the level of "devotion" set down by the imprinting forced me to obey any command, no matter how little.

I walked into the tiny kitchen and saw her standing with her arms crossed, leaning against the counter.

"Jake, where've you been?" she asked, skipping over to me and sliding her arms around my neck. "It's been so long since you've been here…with me."

"I've been busy. You know, pack stuff. You know me, the wolf boy," It was so hard to lie, but it was the only form of control I had over my body anymore.

Nessie smiled, her hands running down my back. She leaned in and her lips brushed against mine as her hands skimmed the belt of my jeans. This was the time I hated most. In times of intimacy, it was as if my brain and its reasoning flew out the window, and my body took over, controlled by the desires of the imprinting.

She deepened the kiss, parting her lips slightly. My hands explored the soft skin just above her waist as our kissing became more and more passionate. It was as if I was watching from afar, hating myself, as we moved to the couch in the living room.

I hadn't been wearing a shirt, as usual, and Nessie obviously had no complaints as she stroked my chest and back to the belt buckle. Her quick fingers undid the buckle in lightning speed, a feat achieved with her vampiric nature. I pulled away from the kiss and stared down at her. She smiled and started to push down the jeans, but my brain had suddenly clicked in gear again. And my true self did not want to go where Nessie did. I caught her hands before she could get every far, and said wryly,

"You know, Ness, your father may not be able to die, but I can. And trust me; you don't want to get Daddy angry."

Nessie rolled her eyes. "You can take Dad in a fight, and you know it. Now, where were we?" She pulled my head down to hers to kiss me again, but I pulled away and rolled off the couch gracefully.

"What the hell, Jake? Don't you want to sleep with me?"

My mouth started to form the words she wanted to hear, and the words my body wanted me to say, but I forced myself to lie yet again.

"I do, Ness, but now's not the time. I just want our first time to be perfect, you know?"

"And when will that be?" she pouted.

"Soon, Ness. Soon."