I packed the complete essentials into my bag and said goodbye to my life here. I ran into the forest, pushing myself to an incredible speed. I phased into a cheetah and sprinted at a faster velocity. I ran until I could hardly stand from exhaustion and hunger. I pounced on a deer nearby and tore the meat from the bone.

Finally when I was full I phased into a rabbit and dove into the nearby burrows. I nestled into a hay-lined space where I slept for a long time.

I found my way out of the tunnels and shook out my fur. I phased into a wolf and darted through the trees. Wolves were more common in this area than cheetahs. I jogged through the forest at a normal wolf pace. I sniffed the area to check for threats. I could smell a scent that was a mixture of human and animal. There must be others like me around. It seemed that it was just the wolf smell so it was my cousin species. We were both shape shifters of sorts, but my kind could change into any form including vampire form and the form of other people. My cousin race could only phase into one animal. That seemed pretty boring to me. I changed into human form and walked through the forest to find human habitation. I found a small town near to where I was. I walked around exploring the area. I could smell vampire in the air, there were seven of them but the scent was thick meaning that they had come here often. That must mean that they have control. I found a tiny hotel and booked in. I then wandered around. I found estate agents and stepped inside.

"I am thinking of moving to this area, can I have a look at some of the properties for sale in the town?"

"Of course miss, how big would you prefer?"

"Umm one bedroom and maybe a flat."

"Sure." he started to talk about the flats and properties they have nearby and I decided on a fairly cheap newly renovated, furnished bungalow. It was deep in the forest and I would move in, in a week. I wandered into the forest, exploring the new area. I phased into a spine-tailed swift and soared over the trees at 100 miles per hour. This was one of my favorite animals. I loved the feeling of the speed and the freedom of flight. I phased into a swallow-tailed kite and looked at the ground below me. My enhanced sight let me see the ground clearly from the height I was at. I could see the tall pine trees and the silvery river winding its way downwards to the sea. I looked around to see a group of pale figures in a clearing. I dove downwards to see who it was deep in the forest, away from trails.

5 vampires stood in a loose circle. I glided over the clearing and studied them. The all had golden eyes, which confused me. Vampires have red or black eyes. I shrugged it off and perched on a branch a few meters away from the meadow. They were talking about something. I didn't hear. The stopped and darted into the forest in different directions. I followed one female. She had black spiky hair and was very small. She darted through the trees at a great speed. She ran straight to a deer and drank its blood. Maybe this was why their eyes were gold. I perched on a branch while I pondered this. I swooped off into the forest after I had realized that she had gone. I swooped into the trees and perched on a high branch overlooking the forest. I could see a few vampires off in the distance hunting.

I shifted to a leopard and curled up on the branch as I surveyed the forest before me. I cleaned my fur methodically as the rain poured down, soaking me.

I drifted to sleep on my high perch.

I woke up to a loud booming voice shouting nearby. I jolted upright then edged back as I found the large, dark haired vampire staring at me with a huge grin on his face. I glared at him reproachfully, growling. He reached out for me and I edged backwards.

"Don't be sacred, I'm gonna take you home. You're my pet!" he said happily. My eyes widened in fear and I did the only thing I could think of. I jumped out of the tree. It was a huge drop and I knew he was watching so I couldn't phase. I was going straight for the ground. Suddenly there was a vampire just where I was landing. I pushed off a branch to my left and landed a few feet away from the vampire. I darted away as fast as I could. But it wasn't fast enough. The huge one caught up with me and scooped me into his arms. I struggled and pushed away from him growling ferociously.

He chuckled and tucked me under his arms. He ran through the forest at a high speed. We reached a tall White house and he dragged me inside. I struggled again and he tightened his hold on me. He pulled me to a vampire with caramel hair. I growled.

"Emmett! What are you doing with a leopard? Did you steal from the zoo again! Put it back!" she shouted.

"I found him in the woods!" I growled again at the word him.

"Well we can't keep it!"

"But Mum! Please!"

"Remember what happened last time?"

"No?"

"The cat escaped and we spent three hours in the rain looking for it."

"But he won't run away!"

"Emmett, no! You can keep it for the rest of the day and then we'll give it to the zoo."

"Yay!" he started bouncing around. I dug my claws into him and pushed away and glared at him from the other side of the room.

"Oww" Emmett wailed." he clawed me!"

"Don't be an idiot Emmett! It's just a leopard and it couldn't have hurt you." another vampire said as he walked in. He had messy bronze hair that hung in his eyes. He was pale skinned and gorgeous. I felt shivers run down my spine and my eyes stayed glued to him. I had imprinted on him. I paced up to him, still as a leopard. I hummed my wild purr and rubbed up against his leg affectionately. The other vampires looked baffled at my friendly action to him when I had fought Emmett. My imprint looked strangely at me for a while before shrugging and going to sit on the sofa. I followed him. Jumping onto the sofa and curling up on his lap.

"Hey! No fair! He's mine!" Emmett whined and took a step towards us. I growled at him and he stepped back. I lay my head on my paws and closed my eyes in contentment.

"Emmett! It's a girl!" my imprint said in his honey smooth voice. I rubbed my cheek against his leg in agreement. Just then the vampire they called 'mom' returned to the room. She spotted me on the sofa.

"Edward! Get that thing off the sofa." she said sternly. I huffed and slid off to lay by his feet. So his name was Edward. It was perfect.

"Do you think she understands us?" Emmett wondered.

"She's just an animal Em." I huffed again and rolled my eyes.

"How do you know? She seemed to understand Esme." Emmett suggested.

"Well how will we find out?"

"Can you understand me?" Emmett said very slowly. I glared at him and nodded.

"Wow! How cool! Can you read her mind?"

"No Emmett! She's an animal I can only read vampires and humans." I rolled my eyes at him. He could read my mind if I let him. Edward got up to leave and be started to walk away. I followed him, I didn't want to leave him. He climbed the stairs quickly and I trailed after him like a lost puppy. He raised an eyebrow when he saw me then shook it off. He opened the door and I bounded in playfully. I jumped onto the black couch and curled up. He grinned the most gorgeous crooked smile and turned to the stereo. He pulled out a CD and played the music. He picked up a book and sat on the sofa next to me. I fidgeted and then moved so my head was on his lap and I could see the book he was Reading. His hand absentmindedly found my fur and stroked it softly. I hummed out my purr again and relaxed on his lap.

We read the book for a long time and I drifted to sleep.