Disclaimer: As always, Twilight is the sole property of Stephenie Meyer. I don't make any money, but I do love my characters and so it's all good.

*** Chapter 4 ***

I stood at the edge of the tree line, gazing at the tangle of trunks and branches, the way that they filled up every inch of space from left to right in layers so it was impossible to see farther than a few hundred feet in.

The unknown.

I didn't know what waited for me past those trees, but it felt like more than just a few days away from my family. There was expectancy in the air that tingled along the tops of my arms, causing tiny hairs to stand at attention. I bounced lightly on the balls of my feet, itching to get started, but resisting the urge to rush the moment, lest my parents change their mind about letting me go.

I turned my head when I realized Jasper was speaking.

"Alice and I ran the path to the cabin and didn't find anything out of the ordinary, Edward. No unusual scent trails, nothing at the house had been touched, nothing that would cause me concern," Jasper explained.

He and Alice had offered the cabin that they often used when visiting with Peter and Charlotte. I had never been there myself, but Uncle J reassured me that if I followed the path that he and Alice had made, I should be fine.

"Alice?" Edward questioned.

Sighing, Alice quipped, "You would've made one hell of an overprotective human parent if you hadn't been changed, Edward. Like you haven't checked my thoughts a hundred times since Ness planned this little outing. And nothing's changed. Let the bird leave the nest already."

Mom grabbed me into a tight hug, her slightly shorter frame causing me to tip forward a little.

"You'll check in with us in a few days, yes?" her words formed a question, but conveyed a demand.

Rolling my eyes, I replied, "I promise."

Taking a step back to look at me, I could feel her eyes as they traced the lines of my face, making a photographic memory to file away, "Alright, then, I suppose you should get going. I know you're not scared of the dark or anything, but it would be nice to reach your destination before the sun goes down. Edward, come say your goodbyes, so our daughter can get on with her adventure," she finally smiled at me, and it infused me with a sense of peace that she was okay with this.

Kissing my forehead, dad squeezed my hand and gave a quick, "Don't forget to call, Ness, or we'll come looking for you."

Chuckling, I knew he would make good on those words, "Yes, sir."

Turning, I looked at Uncle J and couldn't help the ear to ear grin that broke out on my face. He chuckled, but I knew that he, more than anyone else, understood how excited and nervous and energized I was at the moment. Not just because he could read my emotions with his ability, but because that's how deeply Jazz and I had become intertwined in the years after I lost Jacob. I ran over and held my hand up to fist bump him, feeling victorious in my moment, and he laughed, returning the gesture before tilting his head towards the trees as if to push me along.

I started to turn, but felt my heart stutter, a little slice of panic interrupting my step, causing me to pause and I grabbed hold of steady amber eyes paired with a quiet southern drawl that simply stated, "Go on, darlin', you're going to be just fine."

Inhale…Exhale….Yes…Go.

One step taken slowly turned into a second step taken with more purpose, became a full run into the tree line, the weight of my poppy-red pack sitting snug between my shoulders as I weaved between the layers of the forest until my family could see me no more.

The world was white, everything encrusted in a layer of dazzling snow; the cool air cleansing my mind from a clutter of thoughts as my legs crossed miles. Clouds softly slid across the sky, walking alongside the sun as it made a path towards the horizon, and still I ran, my momentary hesitation shed like a layer of skin and replaced with a yearning for freedom, unleashed like a frenzied beast in my chest. I fed it with steps pounded into the snow and muscles pushed to the limit of speed I was capable of reaching.

Hours passed until the sunset was ablaze at the top of the ridge in front of me, and I made my way towards the place where it appeared the morning star had decided to take a rest, feeling the need to rest myself. Reaching the top of the hill, I pulled one strap of my pack off my shoulder letting the bag slide down my other arm till it reached my hand and I brushed a layer of snow off a sizeable rock, creating a spot big enough to put the pack down and then taking up the seat next to it.

Pulling my legs up until I could wrap my arms around my knees and rest my head, I closed my eyes, and tried to soak in the black that my dark clothing and curled up position could offer. My eyes had sunlight and rainbow prisms of snow etched deep into the retinas, so it took a few moments before the memory of all that light faded away.

My heart was an erratic rhythm that had started to slow down, my breath warming in the cocoon I had created with my body, and my ears twitched for sounds of life in this winter wonderland. Most of the wildlife in this area had already bedded down for winter hibernation or submitted to their natural instinct to migrate south, so there was only the random sound of the swaying of a stranded leaf still anchored to a branch or the settling crackle of the ground under the weight of snow. The woods lay mostly silent and still in a way that wrapped around my shoulders, a blanket of peace that I wore as a mantle.

Only another hour or so from the cabin, I felt I needed this stopping place, this moment, this reprieve before moving on to my destination. So, I embraced the restoration of being still and concentrated on relaxing my muscles, feeling the weight of the past slowly slip away, one thin tendril-like strand at a time, as if releasing me from invisible binding that everyone else had failed to see for the past five years.

Everything was just as I needed it to be until I heard the tell-tale snap of an intruder that had stepped onto ground not quite muted with thick snow so that the dry branch beneath his or her foot echoed like a gunshot through the air causing my eyes to fly open, the pupils dilating quickly in an attempt to adjust to the massive intrusion of light.

Resisting the urge to react, I grabbed hold of the training Uncle J had imparted back when we used to worry that the Volturri would return with an army at any moment. He had deeply ingrained into my mind the necessity of not reacting on emotions like fear and anger because it will lead you to rash decisions and flailing out at any shadow that moves. Instead, take hold of that adrenaline soaked energy and use it to bolster your defense.

So, I stood and waited for the stranger on two legs to approach, taking in whatever information I could get from what I could hear, knowing that I would need whoever it was to come close enough to touch if I was to use my own gift to diffuse the situation.

Closing my eyes once more, I let my ears take over the search, hearing movement coming from behind on the left, swift and smooth, the cadence familiar. Vampire. Feeling confident of this new development, I remained completely motionless, letting them see that I too could behave in a most un-human way even though my heart gave off a detectable rhythm that would contradict otherwise.

In a single breath, I felt the change, right there, right in front of my face, the being had come to a halt. I could sense behind the curtain of my closed lids a presence that was taller and seemed to give off some sort of electricity that sparked across my skin, contradicting any past encounters I'd had with one of our kind. Drawing my eyebrows close together in a frown, I inhaled, startled to find that the air suddenly smelled of earth after rain, when it's washed clean and dirty green gives way to rich emerald hues.

Thrown into confusion, I waited an impatient moment, noting that neither of us had launched an attack on the other, choosing instead to chance opening my eyes only to be met with a pair the color of a bruised violet, when the petals have been crushed. I'd never seen anyone possess eyes quite the shade of purple that met my stare with their own level of interest.

My life as an immortal has not been a long one, but my family and I have traveled the globe, visiting our friends and taking in the many cultures to be found. If you had used the words handsome or attractive to describe someone, it wouldn't have held much meaning, for I have seen so many faces of perfection, so many that I would have declared myself immune to them all.

That was until this very moment when my eyes opened and I had a chance to look at him.

Could there be something beyond vampiric perfection? If so, he possessed it, standing before me with jet black hair framing a pale face that was breath-taking. I hungrily searched his features, noting his jaw was sharp and angular, eyebrows perfectly sculpted arches, flawless skin, and those alluring eyes, inquisitive in their inspection of my own features.

I couldn't resist the urge to reach out and so I moved quickly, lest he stop me, to place my own hand on the side of his face, feeling a tiny thrum of energy leave my fingers, the impulse of my gift to draw him in sent out the moment I touched his skin.

Quirking his head slightly to the side as if trying to unravel a mystery, he asked in a voice that was rich with amusement, "You would try and enthrall me?"

"What?"

Words, words, he was talking to me. What was he asking?

I broke the hold of his eyes to glance at where my palm was resting and quickly pulled it back to my side, only to feel him mirror my earlier movement, now placing his own hand on my cheek. Interesting, not only was his touch very similar in temperature to that of my own and not the stinging heat of others I'd known or the glacial cool of a vampire, but I could feel an answering pulse of magnetism that threaded through my limbs, calling to me on a level that went beyond thought, irresistible in its pull. Even though I knew from my own gift that the will was not found in my own desires but in a mystical ability, one I should I fight, I nevertheless felt the urge to give him whatever he asked.

He interrupted my mind's war against the supernatural when he mused, "When you touched me, you tried to mesmerize me, place me in your hold, much as I'm doing to you right now, yes?"

I rifled through the library of my mind, trying to find the answer to the man before me, and drawing a blank, I spoke without thinking, "What are you?"

Pulling his hand back, causing my body to immediately miss the connection, he echoed, "I could ask the same of you. What are you?"

Taking his time to circle where I was standing, the stranger did not wait for my answer before verbalizing his assessment, his nostrils flared as he made his notes out loud, "You smell faintly of a vampire, but your swiftly beating heart contradicts that analysis, you hold the power of sway as if you were fae, but you resemble a human too much to be one of the fair folk."

Getting a little irritated by the way his words seemed critical and somewhat put off by his findings, the hold on my nerves snapped and I crossed my arms before firing back, "And you smell like a mound of dirt, have eyes the color of an eggplant and move rather gracefully except for that twig you stepped on that would have alerted almost any human."

Dismissing the criticism, he replied with a shrug, "I didn't want to startle you, so I gave you warning of my presence."

Yeah, I'd heard that one before, "Is this your way of trying to say you did it on purpose, because that's sounds a lot like my Uncle Emmett when he tries to save face after losing at Call of Duty."

"Uncle? You have family? I could have sworn you were alone as I was following you," his eyes scanned our surroundings, scouring the woods for any signs that there were others hidden from his senses.

"Yes," I replied with a sigh, "Not with me at the moment, but yes, I have several family members. But you didn't answer my question. Are you some sort of nomadic vampire-thing?"

Scoffing at the question, it seemed I was the one hitting a nerve as he rose to his full height that pushed several inches past six feet, adopting an intimidating look down his nose at my question when he answered, "I am not a 'thing' as you suggest, my father is a vampire and my mother is a leannan sidhe."

It only took a moment for me to find the information I was searching for earlier, once he'd basically given the answer, "Your mother is a life-draining fairy?"

I'd never met this particular branch of the supernatural, nor had I ever expected to find it in the forests of Canada. Fae were said to inhabit a land hidden deep beneath the Emerald Isle. I couldn't hold back my shock over his genealogy and questioned skeptically, "Aren't you a bit far from the motherland?"

Matching my own stance, so that we both stood facing one another with our arms crossed, he admitted, "Yes, well, I'm not exactly full fledged fae am I? Nor am I 100% vampire, so I left this 'motherland' you refer to when I grew tired of being the odd little hybrid that everyone stared at as if I were a puzzle they couldn't quite figure out."

I watched his eyes and his mouth as he answered, noticing the way he'd stiffened with his words even though he'd spoken the explanation with very little emotion, as if reading an answer from a textbook. I could relate to his confession; I understood what it was like to stand out. The Cullens had an entire race of vampire kin and Jake had a tribe of shape shifters that spanned generations, but me? I had only been able to locate 1 or 2 others roaming the planet that shared my make-up, and I wasn't exactly fond of them, "I can understand that."

Curiosity allowed him to let go of his rigidity and ask, "How so?"

"Half human, half vampire" was all I willing to offer by way of answer, letting him know with my own tone of voice that the subject was a sore spot.

"Aaahhh, so you're an orphan. That is quite sad. I can see why you don't wish to discuss the subject," he said with the practiced grace and formality of an upper-class aristocrat, letting his facial features slide into feigned concern, "I apologize if I have intruded where I shouldn't."

An orphan? He's apologizing for intruding now? After his earlier treatment of me as if I were a scientific specimen awaiting dissection? I couldn't help the snicker that escaped my lips over this new up-tight formality, and with the response of a questioning tilt of his head once more, my amusement grew into a girlish giggle I wouldn't have recognized a week ago.

"Are you okay? I wouldn't think now would be a time for laughter."

Did either of us really know what to make of this meeting anymore or what the correct reaction should be? I gestured to his posture and then down his body which was completely encased in black, his lengthy hair that stretched past his shoulders blending into the material, "Are you always like this? All formality and, and…"

Realizing that I found humor in what he had intended for sincerity, his voice sounded rather offended when finishing my sentence, "Manners and good breeding?"

I rolled my eyes, thinking he sounded a little like Rosalie when she got all uppity about anyone who dare contradict her, "Yeah, something like that. Anyhow, I never said I was an orphan, so you can stop with the pity party. That sort of thing was exactly what I was running from when I came out here."

That threw him for a loop, so that he asked, "Your mother survived having you?"

"Yes, and now she's a vampire as well and she and my father are very happy, eternally bonded and all that, and I'm the hybrid half breed born of their love, "gesturing towards my body as if I were a prize in a showcase, I rattled on, "All the perks of being a vamp without the restrictions that come with looking like you're covered in glitter every time you step into the sun, and I can enjoy a good night's sleep when I choose to."

I've tried to take pride in my differences, embracing the benefits that come with being both human and vampire. I know my family loves me, but if I'm not careful, on days when it's obvious that I'm not 100% like everyone that I spend every day of my life with, well the little things start to grow into big things and threaten to drive a wedge between me and the people I hold dear.

Interrupting the words I didn't speak out loud, he observed, "And you have the ability to enthrall others it would seem, or other humans at least."

"And vampires," I added, leaving out the part about shape shifting wolf-boys. He didn't need to know that.

Scratching his angular chin, he thought out loud, "Though it doesn't quiet work on me, but I'd say that has something to do with my mother's side of things. You and I, I think we're too much alike in our abilities, so I'm immune to your sway."

"It didn't work at all?"

I've never met anyone who could resist my pull. But then again, I'd never met anyone who mirrored my ability and used it against me either.

Leaning forward so that his jaw was almost sliding along the side of my cheek, I could feel the skin flush and heat up as he whispered huskily into my ear, "Well, it does make you rather attractive, more so than other women I've been with."

My head clouded with his words and that faint scent of rain had returned once more. I longed to lean into him, to take a deep breath and hold it in, to let my mind drown in the trance I felt when he was speaking and standing so close. When he took a step back and broke the connection, I shook my head slightly to clear it, while he smirked knowingly.

Like a cold bucket of water, that look on his face caused my hands to curl into fists, bristling at his amusement. Here I'd thought he possessed the manners of a high class gentleman, but instead it appears I was merely a toy to play with. I didn't leave my home for this shit, and I sure as hell wasn't sticking around to see what game he wanted to play next.

Moving to walk past, I held my head high, not giving him the satisfaction of meeting his eyes as I made my exit. I'd only gone a few steps before I felt him following alongside before asking curiously, "You said you were running from something earlier, what happened? Disagreement with this family of yours?"

Not stopping to address his inquiries, I continued with even more determined steps through the trees, throwing an "It's personal" in his direction.

"Try me," he urged, "Think of me as a completely unbiased sounding board."

Seriously? Hadn't we already gotten all close for comfort only to have him mock me in the end? I dismissed his offer, "Thanks, but I don't know you, what makes you think I'd just be up for sharing my personal life?"

So caught up in my frustrations, I didn't stop him when he jumped in front of me, and being unable to stop forward momentum, I crashed into his body, finding my nose buried in his shirt. Gritting my teeth, I backed up only to find a hand held out in introduction combined with a charming smile, "Finn"

Of course it was. Finn. Might as well have been Puck or Pan or Lord Elron.

"Finn? How appropriate," I remarked blandly, ignoring the hand that he offered until he raised his eyebrows and kind of bounced a little, trying to bring my attention back to his position. Seeing that it appeared we weren't going to part without first introducing ourselves, I caved and met his grasp, "Ness."

Not letting go of my hand, his stupid, perfect smile turned once more into a devilish smirk, "Ness, as in..."

"Do not finish that statement."

"Of course not," Finn agreed diplomatically, forcing the smirk from his face before deciding to try a second attempt at getting me to open up, "You know, it isn't often I get the privilege of spending time with other supernatural beings, let alone one so unique as yourself. Something about those golden–flecked eyes of yours I think…"

I pulled my hand away, letting him know I wasn't exactly charmed by his words, even if I had to agree it was intriguing to come across someone so different from any I'd met before. Not to mention those eyes that I wouldn't mind getting lost in….mmmm… I realized he was speaking again.

"…you've stirred me from my hiding place, Ness, surely we can chat for a little while," He nudged my arm good naturedly, "Now, about that whole running thing…"

With a huff that ruffled a curl of chestnut hair that had escaped my ponytail and was trying to tickle my nose, I found myself giving in and staring into Finn's eyes, rifling through my memories before pulling a few of me and Jake, ending with his graveside goodbye and my family sending me off this morning. He wanted explanations? Fine, I'd do him one better, give him more than he expected. Taking a firm grip of the hand he'd dropped, I sent him one small clip of my past after another in rapid succession. I watched as he jolted in shock when receiving the first images, and I preened with the satisfaction of catching him off guard with another one of my unique traits.

"I see…you have quite a large family…" staring off into space, Finn seemed to be processing what I was giving him before finally declaring off handedly, "You weren't in love with him."

What. The. Fuck.

Quick as lightening, I pulled back my hand that held his, choosing instead to land it on the side of his face with force, thankful the moment it made contact that he didn't possess the rigidity of the rest of our kind, "Fuck you."

I broke free of our shared space, not caring about the red print I'd left as he rubbed his jaw where I'd made contact.

Fool, you were a fool to have given him a piece of you.

"And, it makes you feel guilty because you know it's the truth."

"I don't know any such thing and neither do you, because you don't know a damn thing about my life or me for that matter," I closed my eyes, grinding out bitter words between clenched teeth, feeling a stab of pain in my chest, angry at the tears that had chosen to make an appearance, "He was with me from the beginning, from before my beginning he waited for me, and he did everything in his power to love me and make me happy."

"Oh, I don't doubt that for a moment, I saw it in your memories. You were the sun and the center of his universe," I felt him close the gap between our bodies once more, urging me to slow my steps as his voice softened, as if he were speaking to an injured animal, "but it didn't go both ways. At least, it didn't seem that way to me. You could tell he felt loved by you, but on your part, I don't know, it just felt like something was…"

My heart seized because I knew how to finish the sentence. Was I willing to open this door, to reveal what I'd never admitted to anyone?

"Missing."

I stumbled as I whispered the word into the darkening air, the sun fading quickly from the sky, bleeding gold into fuchsia. I stated my case, my justification for sin unconfessed, "I did love him. I did. He deserved that much, he gave that much."

I looked up to find Finn witnessing the tears that had pushed through my words and were now spilling down my cheeks. His eyes held a measure of guilt and his arms were held at an angle that betrayed he was ill-equipped as to how he was supposed to handle the crying female standing in front of him. Backtracking, he stated, "I never said you didn't love him, I just said you weren't 'in' love with him. He was happy."

God, he was happy….Finn didn't know the truth of those words….Jake was always happy and it had always made me feel wretched to know that the depths of that happiness wasn't something I shared.

I felt the moment the dam broke, and I went running for the closest piece of higher ground I could find, seeking refuge in the man beside me. I couldn't be bothered with embarrassment as I buried my face in Finn's chest, curling my arms in to my body as I cried. I couldn't be bothered to register surprise when he gave into the sound of my pain by wrapping his arms around my body and holding me close.

My emotions flooded the air, out of control, and Finn was unprepared for the assault of memories that flooded his mind's eye when his skin happened to make contact with mine. I was unable to resist reliving every moment, and so he was pulled into my backwards spiral with me. But I had to search, to try and find some truth to Finn's words, that Jake had been happy and content with a girl that loved with limits.

Once the images slowed down, I felt Finn take a gasp of air, shifting enough to break contact with me. His hold loosened, but he didn't let go as he suggested, "How about a glass of wine or maybe some whiskey? I think we could both use a drink."

The weight of the past few moments threatened to unhinge me and I fought the urge to let hysterics take hold as I contemplated his offer. I looked around, rubbing at my face with the backs of my hands, trying to make sense of our current location, "I'm sorry, do you have a makeshift bar hidden in a tree trunk somewhere?"

Caught off guard by my unintentional humor, Finn began to laugh. I wasn't prepared for the sound, but it warmed the ache inside me and I needed a reason to breathe again, so I latched onto the sound.

"I don't live out here, sleeping on a branch, silly girl. I have a home. It's just over the hill."

I looked in the direction he had pointed, but failed to see anything. Weary from the emotional residue of facing truths long buried over the years, I shrugged, "Sure, wine, whisky, whatever."

Following Finn's tracks as he led the way, I allowed my focus to stretch only as far as the man in front of me. The moon cast a slight sheen to long hair that hung straight down his back, almost to his waist. Having the chance to watch him move more intently, I saw that not only was he prettier than a vampire, he possessed a feline grace that they didn't quite have. There was power, but it simmered under the surface of long limbs that flowed like liquid through the night air soundlessly.

I barely noticed that the trees had spread out and appeared thicker in the area of the forest that we'd traveled to. When Finn came to a halt at a set of stairs winding serpentine around one of the larger gnarled trunks, I almost walked into him. But realizing we had reached our destination and finding no stone cottage with a fire burning within, I let my gaze wander upwards until I was staring at the underside of what must be Finn's home – a literal tree house.

A/N: Truth, I am quite aware that it has been FOREVER since I've updated any of my writing. I even psyched myself out of writing this several times, my unused writing muscle protesting being put to use again. But, I did give you almost 5,000 words! Does that make up for dropping off as I did? Probably not, but hey, I tried. Xoxo-G