Note: Thank you so much for all the positive reviews. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please read and review :)

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

The trees flitted past me, barely making an impression on my vision – just endless columns of shadows – yet somehow I managed to move between them with such ease and speed that, if I hadn't been driven to the point of madness by my unbelievable thirst, I would have been happy to spend all night simply revelling in this new found ability. It was like nothing I'd ever experienced before – it was one thing to be the passenger, but it was quite another to be the one in control.

But I was barely in control. Everything in me screamed out for blood to satisfy my burning hunger – it had gone beyond the point of skirting round the subject. I needed blood and I needed it now.

I knew very well that there were four young werewolves, fully morphed, following my every move, at a safe distance. My senses were growing more and more refined by the second and now I could clearly distinguish between their scents. Sam stood out most of all – a repulsive stench of damp and waste – and I knew that he was only two hundred yards behind me, moving at an impressive speed, but still a fraction slower than me. Even in my current state I could still feel a hint of smugness at that – the alpha male had overestimated himself.

Jacob wasn't there. I had known that as soon as they'd started following me – he'd remained behind. He obviously wasn't up for the hunt tonight, unlike some of the others, who seemed to be willing me to step out of line, just so they could make their move. But tonight, if I could help it – and I refused to not to – they wouldn't get that pleasure. As soon as I had "satisfied my thirst", as Sam had so eloquently put, I'd be off their land and back to Forks to work out what to do. But now was not the time to think about that – my new advanced senses were picking up a new, much more appealing scent and I knew my hunt was nearly at an end.

I couldn't immediately identify what it was that caught my attention, but its aroma was light, not too heady or pungent, ruling out, I felt, bears and other such large mammals. The sound of quick, light footfalls, surely undetectable by human ears, confirmed my suspicions – a doe. It would do nicely. With a tangible target so close, my speed somehow increased and, before I knew it, my arms were tangled around the struggling creature's neck and my teeth had sunk into its thick hide. At first it wouldn't give up without a fight it seemed, but once my venom had infiltrated its blood stream, the poor beast could struggle no longer, leaving me to concentrate on finally quenching my thirst. And the blood certainly did quench it. Just the feel of the warmth, running down my throat, sent me into a frenzy of ecstasy and I gripped onto the creature even tighter, shattering some of its bones in the process. The taste was a thousand times better than the smell – it felt as if every cell in my body was screaming out in pleasure, lapping up every drop of the stuff in a fit of pure rapture. I could hear the deer's heartbeat thumping in my skull and too soon did it begin to slow, thinning the torrents of blood rushing from the gash in its throat, until it stopped all together and I threw its limp form from my grasp.

It wasn't enough.

I was quickly on the move again, barely a thought for the life I'd just taken. All that was on my mind was the source of my next meal and also, if a deer's blood had tasted so incredible, what would a human's taste like? I was so caught up in the moment, in the pure thrill of the hunt, that I didn't even reprimand myself for that thought. The idea genuinely sent a shiver of pleasure down my spine and if some sorry hiker had happened to cross my path then I very much doubted that I could have kept my promise to Jacob.

Luckily for him no such thing happened and I continued in search of my next victim. I passed plenty of small animals – rabbits, badgers, foxes – but none of them the kind of thing I was looking for. I had no idea how far I had travelled – I was still in one piece so I gathered that I hadn't strayed towards the town and incurred the wrath of the wolves. They had continued to keep a close watch on me, even when I had been feeding and, as soon as I was off again, they were there, running behind. Part of me wanted to turn and face them – to tear them limb from limb for even attempting to hinder me in the hunt – who the Hell did they think they were? I was a force of nature, for God's sake, and those stupid boys, even if they did occasionally turn into over-grown puppies, were no match for me. With the doe's blood pumping through me I felt invincible – even against them combined I had no worries about my ability to beat them.

Resisting the urge to turn and fight, I kept on going, empowered by the fact that I was not tiring in the slightest, despite the speed at which I was moving, but rather the opposite – I was growing more and more invigorated by the second. It was so incredible not having to worry about things that would have once troubled me so much – aching limbs, loss of breath, stumbling over my own feet…I was free of all of them. It felt as if I had been released from the prison that was my human body – all those limits were gone and I felt as if there was nothing I couldn't achieve. I was dead yet I had never felt more alive – why had he wanted to keep me from this?

I smelled the deer – this time a large male – and was upon it even before it had a chance to lift its head from the stream from which it was drinking. It is safe to say that it did not disappoint – the intense pleasure pouring from the wound in its neck was just as satisfying as it had been the first time. And this one yielded up a lot more blood. As I drank the burning in my throat began to fade and I realise that my thirst was beginning to be satisfied. Once I had drained the animal, instead of continuing to hunt, I decided that I had had enough for now – I had regained some control over myself and, even though the thirst was always there, lingering in the back of my throat, I knew that I was no longer as much of a risk to humans. Or werewolves for that matter. For the first time since I had left Sam's – or whoever's – house I was in a clear enough state of mind to take in my surroundings. I was deep in the woods. I must have been miles from the La Push reserve – I was almost off their land. And as my location dawned on me, so did my situation.

This was real. This was all happening. I had just hunted down two deer to drink their blood…and I had wanted to do the same to humans. Humans like the people back in Forks, like Angela or Mike or Charlie –

Charlie. The image of my father flashed in my mind. I was never going to see him again – I was dead to him. I wracked my brains for a way around the situation, a way for Charlie to know I wasn't dead – well, at least in the way he would think I was – a way for him to accept what had happened to me. I was his daughter…maybe he'd find a way to live with me. At first he'd deny it was even happening, then he'd try to take me to hospital or, more likely, an institution…but eventually, just maybe, he'd accept what I was. I didn't know if I could lose him.

Everything was going to change. I was going to go through this alone.

I sat down on the forest floor and hugged my legs, burying my face against my knees. What I had once longed for so much was now real, but it wasn't the dream that I had imagined – no family waiting for me, no comforting arms to hold me. It was a nightmare.

Dry sobs wracked my chest and the lack of tears made it hit home. I was dead. I had died three days ago. And now I couldn't even cry.

Three days…a wave of despair fell on me as I thought of the agony that Charlie would have been going through for the past three days. He would have had no idea what had happened to me – had I run away? Had I been kidnapped? Had the bear got to me?

The bear.

My head snapped up at the thought of the missing hikers and the bear sightings. I would have bet anything at that moment that it hadn't been a bear that those hikers had seen, but perhaps one of the giant wolves that were laying in wait, surrounding me.

My initial thought was that it had been them – they had been the ones who had attacked the hikers, but then rationality kicked in. Jacob wasn't a killer. He couldn't be. His look of horror at the prospect of me attacking someone had been genuine – he wouldn't have looked like that if he already had several killings under his belt. So it wasn't the wolves that were responsible for the attacks…

I stood up and looked around me. I couldn't see them but I knew they were there. They weren't going any where until I got off their land.

"I want to talk to you!" My shout was not nearly as loud as it could have been – it didn't need it to be. I knew that the boys' hearing was much more advanced than that of ordinary humans.

Slowly four figures appeared between the trees, close enough for me to see them each clearly, but still at a safe distance. I noticed, with no embarrassment, that they were all naked, something that would have sent human Bella into a fit of hysterics.

"Have fun killing Bambi's mom?"

My head snapped towards the source of the sneer – Paul. I had to subdue the growl that was building up in my chest – I didn't want to fight them now. So instead I turned fully towards him and smiled sarcastically. "Like I believe you're a vegetarian."

His look of bemusement followed by anger made me laugh, as it did to a couple of the other boys to my great amusement. One of them I recognised as Embry, who had been Jacob's friend before he'd become mixed up with Sam. I guessed, rather bitterly, he and Jacob were friends again.

"Quiet." Sam's level voice silenced the boys and I turned towards him. His face was blank, no hint of emotions at all.

I stared at him, straight in the eye. "Laurent is dead." It wasn't a question.

"Laurent?" He asked, his voice still emotionless.

"The vampire in the meadow. The one who was..." I couldn't bring myself to say it. I scolded myself for acting so weakly in front of them.

Sam nodded in reply. "Yes, he's dead." Did I see a look of triumph momentarily flash across his face?

"Did you burn the remains?" I startled myself by thinking of such practicalities.

Sam's face definitely showed some emotions then. "We know how to kill vampires," he scoffed, exasperation showing clearly on his face.

I simply nodded. Laurent was dead. I didn't know if I felt good about it. I guess you could say that my death had been avenged, I thought sardonically.

"Was there anything else you wanted?" Sam was clearly getting impatient. He wanted me gone.

I firmly met his gaze – I wasn't going to be intimidated by him.

"There is no bear, is there?"

"Clever, aren't you?" I was finding it easier and easier to ignore Paul's 'witty' remarks. It was becoming clearer that, underneath all that impressive muscle, he was just a silly little boy.

Sam ignored him too. "No, there is no bear."

I sighed. That only left two options. "The missing hikers…was it Laurent?"

"No, that one was new to the area, we had never encountered him before."

I was silent. Who else could it have been? Was it the werewolves? Were these teenage boys, standing before me, all murderers? But that would have meant that Jacob…no, I wouldn't believe it.

"So if it wasn't Laurent, then who-"

"There is another vampire in the area. We have been tracking her, but she keeps evading us."

Victoria.

"The red-haired female?" Sam questioned me, taking a step closer. I hadn't realised that I had said her name out loud. Of course, how could I have been so stupid? She was the obvious answer.

I stared at Sam's face. He didn't want me to leave now – he wanted answers.

"Yes, that's Victoria. Laurent had told me that she was in the area." My voice was barely above a whisper now.

Sam came even closer. "Do you know what she wants? She's stayed in the area much longer than your kind normally do." There was a hint of desperation in his voice now – they were clearly running out of ideas of how to deal with her.

I looked away from him for the first time since we had started speaking. "I know what she wants." Or did I? Would her plans have changed now that I was changed too?

Sam came right up to me, grabbing me by the shoulders. I didn't try to break away - I knew that he wasn't going to hurt me…not at this precise moment, anyway. "What? What does she want?"

I laughed grimly. "Well I guess she's got what she wanted. She wanted me dead."

Sam's eyes never left mine. "Why?"

I sighed, feeling the memories creeping up on me. "Last year…Edward…" Oh God, why did I say it? "…killed her mate, James. She wanted revenge. A mate for a mate." Although she would have been disappointed even if she's gotten to me before Laurent had – killing me wouldn't have bothered Edward nearly as much as she'd thought it would.

Sam didn't seem phased. "What will she do now?"

I honestly didn't know. "I…uh…maybe she'll leave once she finds out what's happened or if not then…"

Sam's eyes urged me on. "Then what?"

There was nothing else to do. I couldn't let her keep killing those people. "Then I'll leave."

Sam shook his head, letting me go and turning away. "That'll just take the killings elsewhere."

I sighed. Again, his irritating logic had bested me. "What do you suggest?"

Sam didn't reply. Paul, who had been silent for much longer than I had expected, stepped forward towards him, shooting a hateful glance in my direction. I almost wanted to laugh again – he was such a…a teenager.

"C'mon, Sam, she can't avoid us forever. If she wants to stay around Forks then we'll get her soon enough."

"Soon enough isn't good enough, Paul!" Sam shouted, startling both myself and Paul. I couldn't help feeling sorry for Sam, despite his title as my 'sworn enemy'. It was clear just how helpless he felt.

He turned back to me. "I don't trust you enough to leave the problem for you to sort out." Any sign of helplessness or desperation had vanished. "You are to go back to Forks, or where ever, as long as you stay in the area. Understand? If you stay here then so will she. It's gone past the point of wanting her to leave. She's got to be stopped. We'll deal with her."

Despite how unbelievable it was that he had just ordered me to stay in the area, it made sense. Anger and resentment was slowly but surely building up inside of me. The animal desire to kill was trying to break free – I wanted Victoria dead. Even if I had to get help from werewolves in order for it to happen. But I didn't like the idea of them sorting it out on their own. I knew now that I was more than capable of looking after myself.

"Fine," I replied, facing him straight on, "if you get to her then do what you like to her. But if I find her first, then I'm going to kill her."

"Do you think you're capable of that?" I knew Paul couldn't keep his mouth shut for long.

I turned towards him, meeting his gaze. "Shall we put it to the test?"

I simply laughed off his furious growls and turned back towards Sam. He was far from laughing.

"Do you think you could actually face her alone?"

I thought about it seriously. I knew I was strong, but then again so was she. But the desire to rip her apart gave me confidence that I could at least match her in a fight.

"She wouldn't leave it alive." But neither might I, my mind added. That thought didn't frighten me. I'd die happy if I took Victoria with me.

Sam nodded. "Right. We both hunt her. I won't tolerate having you on our land – you're too much of a risk, despite what you've said." He glanced down at the carcass of the deer that I had discarded earlier.

I didn't argue. There was no point.

"But, the pact was only made with the Cullens, so nothing forbids us from going onto their old territory." He stared at me, waiting to see if I would object. His double standards angered me, but I knew that I wouldn't stop them from going to Forks so I nodded in assent.

He turned away from me, the rest of the pack doing likewise. Just before he had melted into the trees I saw him stop and turn. "I hope you understand that we're not doing this to protect you. We're doing it to protect the people that your kind is killing."

I flinched at his words, but didn't let my voice show it. "I never thought otherwise."

Just before he disappeared a thought crossed my mind. "Sam!"

He turned back, but didn't come closer.

"How's…how's Charlie?" My voice almost gave way.

"Billy has been staying with him. Most people think it was the bear, but Charlie refuses to believe it – we've been keeping an eye on him when he's been searching the woods."

Anguish ripped through my body. Charlie was never going to let it go.

"Thank you." I knew he could hear my whisper. They disappeared as soon as I'd said it and I was, once again, left alone in the woods.

I had to check on Charlie. I had to work out a way to let him know that I was dead, that there was no point looking and hoping.

I turned in the opposite direction to where the boys had gone and I started running. I was going back to Forks.

Thanks for reading :) Please review.