"Ness, where are you going?" Jacob grabbed my wrist before I could walk out the door.

"Anywhere but here, Jacob. I just want out!"

"Out?" He twirled me around so I faced him. "What do you mean out?"

"Just out, Jacob! I want out of this town, out of this relationship and out of this life!" Remesmee ripped her wrist out of the werewolf's heated grip. "I'm sick of being told what to do! What to eat by my parents, what to wear by Alice, where to go by Charlie and Carlisle and who to love by you! I'm sick of it and I'm leaving to get away from it!"

Jacob dropped his gaze to the floor. "I never told you who to love, Ness."

"You might as well have! You were always around, fawning yourself on me in one way or another. I did love you for a long time, but when I overheard Mom and Edward talking about your imprinting on me…well it was kind of the last straw of control over me I would allow."

I turned again and walked from Billy's tiny house. Once in the trees, I leapt with all my strength and was airborne. Tonight, I thought. Tonight I will find out for myself what that nomad was talking about.

Through the canopy, I reflected on the night we met. I was on a routine hunt about a month ago. I had gone alone. I needed more and more alone time lately. Edward's ability to read my thoughts was increasingly getting on my nerves. Both Mom and Edward could tell that it was making me angry so they were giving me the space I wanted. I was very grateful for that.

I ran into someone. A vampire I knew. If I couldn't smell him or see the pale skin, his eyes were a definite giveaway.

"Well, well," he said. "This is the famous half breed." Of course he would know what I was. I was too graceful to be human, but my heartbeat must be blaring in his ears and my blood must be burning his throat.

"Yea, what's it to you?"

"Nothing really. I didn't know this was the Cullen's' land. I will take my leave." He turned. "I'm curious, half breed. Do you drink blood?"

I was pulled into telling him the truth, although I didn't want to. "Yes."

"Real blood or the blood of animals?"

"Animals."

"Have you ever tasted human blood?"

"Not directly. Only while I was growing inside my mother."

He turned back to face me again. "So you've never taken a human life, then?"

She made a face of disgust at him. "No, of course not!"

He made a small moan of pleasure as he closed his eyes. "You would not believe how good it feels; the high it gives you. The fact that it quenches the fire in your throat is just gravy." He opened his eyes to lock her in his crimson glare. "You shouldn't knock something before you try it, half breed." And then he was gone. He took off through the trees. She tried to follow his scent, but she wasn't quick enough to keep up, and his scent disappeared before morning.

She brought herself back to the present. She was nearly out of Forks. She had enough respect for Jacob and her family not to hunt in the same city. She wanted out of Washington too. Surely Jacob would go tell her family about their confrontation and her confession. She wanted to be as far away as possible when they found out.

She moved from city to city, state to state. In a few days she found she was in New York State, and she stopped. This would do, she supposed. She found a small city on the west end of the state. It was about nine in the evening, so there was still a lot of life in the city.

She walked around, looking for a good place to let herself loose. She caught wind of a couple of teenage boys walking the street.

"Forget her, dude. Her loss."

"Easy for you to say, Jess, you've got a girl still."

I approached them. "Excuse me." Their eyes went wide at the sight of me. A reaction I was used to when it was coming from the buys in Forks, but having a stranger ogle me like that was a bit of a thrill. "I'm a little lost." I settled my gaze on the dumped boy. One less person who would miss him I thought. "Could you help me?"

The boy immediately jumped to my side, winding his arm around my waist. "My pleasure, darlin'." His touch seemed intimate to me. Only Jacob was allowed to touch her! She caught herself before she gave her thoughts away. She had to make herself comfortable with touching him if she was going to do this.

"Okay Cody. I'll see you tomorrow." Jess winked at his friend and left them alone. As soon as I could no longer see him, I grabbed Cody and shoved him into the closest ally.

"Oh! So egger to be alone, darlin'?" As he spoke, his hand moved up the back of my thigh until he grabbed my bottom. "Me too!"

As soon as I could, I moved my lips to the side of his neck. With my instincts loose, his blood was sending waves through me as I had never experienced from any animal. The burning in my throat that before was hardly noticeable now rose to painful new levels.

His skin ripped like tissue paper under my teeth. His blood flowed into my mouth and my taste buds sang praise. The fire burned, begging fore more.

More than anything though else, his scream sent shivers through me the likes of which had never been equalled. My and Jacob's first kiss, which a few minutes before was the most pleasurable experience of my life, was dwarfed in comparison.

He clawed at my back in a feeble attempt to get me off him. His fight got weaker and weaker. His screams became whimpers, whimpers became sobs. Soon he stopped moving altogether and fell to the ally floor in a heap.

I stood, panting a little from the trill of it. My blood mixed with his raced through my veins. My heart raced to the point of failure, were such a thing possible for me.

"Didn't I tell you?" I turned suddenly to the voice. "Didn't I tell you it was a high?" The nomad stepped from the shadows.

"Who are you?"

"It is time you join your sisters, don't you think? Time to join the half breeds like you and be where you belong."