As always, for Avanwolf – who is, surprisingly, reluctant to admit her love for me.

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Running for hours on end was much like driving for hours on end – it got distinctively boring after the first two. But it provided plenty of time for Tanya to think about the human she was heading towards.

Bella Swan.

Alice had texted her the girl's name and address, but nothing else. In the six hours since she'd left she'd created multiple versions of the girl in her mind. 'She must be devastatingly beautiful and caring to have ensnared both Edward and Alice,' her mind whispered, jealousy creeping through to tinge her thoughts. Tanya rolled her eyes at herself. 'Really, now. I'm over a thousand years old. I will not get jealous of a human.'

Instead she focused on what she would do after she found the girl. Alice had offered no advice or instructions. Technically, she should kill the girl. It was against the law for humans to know of their existence and live. Yet she highly doubted that was what Alice had sent her here for. And if what Alice had said was true, that the girl kept disappearing from her visions…well there was only one reason Alice wouldn't be able to see someone's future… 'If they didn't have one.'

'So,' Tanya surmised, 'I get to play the heroine in this adventure.'

But what was she supposed to do with the girl? Alice didn't expect her to stay in Forks with her, did she?

'Certainly not,' her mind snorted.

She would not become a babysitter to a heartbroken teenager.

Still…she felt the oddest sensation building in her chest the closer she got to her destination. Excitement sent shivers of pleasure down her spine. She had purpose, if only for a short while. Life once again had some sort of direction. It was for that reason, she deduced, that she felt drawn towards the girl – like there was something very important waiting for her in this sleepy town.

'Finally,' she thought, seeing the Forks sign up ahead, streetlights lit in the distance. The town was small, really just a few stoplights and convenience stores. It wouldn't take her long to find the address Alice had sent her.

Something was off, however. The night was too quiet, the air too still. She should have been able to hear animals in the surrounding woods for miles. But Forks was silent; the only discernable noise was the hum of electricity flowing through telephone cables above her.

The hairs on her neck stood, nostrils flared. Instinctually, Tanya found herself moving towards coverage. After a thousand years she'd learned to trust her senses over her mind. Just because she couldn't see the danger didn't mean it wasn't there. Melding into the shadows of a building, she slowly continued her progression through the town – ears and eyes straining to catch the smallest of movements. Downtown, if you could call that, was empty. With the slightest effort she vaulted herself onto the top of the Mutual Federal bank, scanning street signs. She was nearing the edge of town, the girl's house had to be relatively close. The wind momentarily picked up, barely causing her hair to sway against the breeze.

Instantly, she flattened herself against the roof of the building – teeth bared. The scent of animal and vampire burned her nose. The vampire was unquestionably male – it smelled of sandalwood and grass. The animal though…dander and fungi. 'It's like a bog is chasing after him,'

She could hear them now, coming towards her. The vampire was ahead of the animal by maybe fifty yards. Whatever was chasing him was big, and fast. Tanya waited until she heard them pass before hazarding a glance over the building ledge. She was surprised to see the animal was a wolf. Enormous, but still a wolf. It was jet black, about the size of a small horse, and slowly closing the gap between itself and the male vampire. Tanya took no pleasure in seeing that they were both heading in the direction of her target's house. It could be coincidence that a vampire just happened upon the town not even a week after the Cullen's left, and that wolves of epic proportions roamed the surrounding woods…

'Don't think I like the odds of that, however,' she thought, leaping from the building and taking off after the two. She certainly wasn't afraid of the vampire (she could count the number of vampires who posed a threat to her on one hand), and since the wolf hadn't seemed to sense her in the slightest she felt confident it wasn't too experienced. Both would be easy to deal with.

She stuck to roofs and treetops, gaining on the two. The wolf was close enough to snap at the heels of the male. It was completely unaware of the danger that loomed thirty feet above it.

The wind had started to pick up; the beginning raindrops of an incoming storm began to fall. There was a clearing up ahead that they were heading towards – devoid of trees and buildings. She would be forced to make her move soon.

There was no rush of adrenaline for her – no thrill or anticipation of the kill. She was a predator, the bringer of death. As she leapt from a low hanging branch she took the opportunity to indulge in the bittersweet feeling she imagined the unsuspecting wolf would feel if it knew death was mere moments away. 'What a thing!' she thought, 'to be here one second and gone the next.'

And then she was on the wolf – feet digging into the shoulder blades, left hand grabbing the under part of its jaw, right hand curling over the muzzle and teeth. As if she were breaking a wishbone she quickly pulled her arms apart. The crunch of bones and wet tear of flesh gave way as the top part of the animal's head was separated from its body.

Her feet touched the ground before the carcass – the attack had taken no more than five seconds. She stood, holding the upper half of the wolf's head in her right hand, staring at the male vampire, who had come to a stop about a hundred feet away. She could feel the animal's blood drip down her side and soak into her jeans. The vampire eyed her warily.

"Thank you," he said, bowing his head slightly. "I'm afraid I underestimated how fast the thing was," he smiled then, winsomely, gesturing to the mangled creature beside her.

Tanya's eyes narrowed surreptitiously. "Why are you in Cullen territory?"

The male's smile faltered. Clearly, he hadn't expected his savior to be hostile towards him. Tanya watched as he shrugged, his eyes sliding across her face and focusing on something in the distance. "I'm an old acquaintance of theirs. I was coming to see them when that…" he hesitated, eyes flicking down to the head in her hand, "…wolf, attacked me."

'Liar, liar, liar,' her mind crooned. Smiling sweetly, Tanya let the wolf's head fall from her hand onto the wet ground. The male seemed disarmed by her smile, his posture relaxing as she walked closer to him. "Tell me…" she hesitated, waiting for his name.

"Laurent."

She nodded, still smiling, and came to a stop about two feet from him. "Tell me, Laurent, do you have any special power?" Confusion masked his features. Reaching up, smiling as he flinched, Tanya gently trailed a finger down his check. "Because I have a gift, Laurent. Would you like to know what it is?"

Laurent swallowed thickly but said nothing.

Slowly, Tanya slid even closer to him, her hands coming to rest against his chest. "I can tell when men are feeding me bullshit, Laurent. It's like a siren goes off in the back of my mind – a warning of sorts." She stared into his red eyes. "I've killed many vampires because they lied to me. I'd hate for you to be next, wouldn't you?"

She nodded her head in agreement along with him. "That's what I thought. Now, one more time – why are you here?"

Laurent hastily took a few steps back, arms raised in surrender. "Ok, ok. I'm here for a human – a girl that the Cullen's were familiar with. One of my coven's members was destroyed because of her. His mate wants her life."

Tanya frowned in disbelief. "A human killed one of us?" Surely Alice would have mentioned if the human were capable of harming her.

Laurent shook his head no. "She didn't kill him, not directly. James was tracking her. The Cullen's killed him."

'Another intriguing puzzle piece.' If the others had cared enough to kill a vampire for the human, why would they abandon her? Her curiosity to meet this young girl kept increasing. But first she would have to deal with the vampire who wanted her dead. She glared at Laurent, the barest of growls rumbling in her chest. "Do you want to live, Laurent? Or are you ready to see what awaits after this life?"

To his credit, Laurent seemed unfazed by her question. "What do you want me to do?"

Tanya shrugged. "Leave. Go back to your coven. Tell his mate the human's dead."

"She'll want proof. She may even come here to see for herself."

Sighing, Tanya nodded. How quickly her plans had changed. Had Alice seen all this? Briefly, she considered calling the younger vampire. 'No, to hell with them. I'm doing this my way.' She closed her eyes and listened to the rain; thunder rumbled closer in the distance. "Let her come," she told Laurent, eyes still closed, face turned up towards the sky. "I'll take care of the human."

"As you wish."

As she heard him turn and start to leave Tanya opened her eyes. "Laurent," she called out softly, voice barely a whisper.

Though he was already 200 feet away he stopped and looked back.

"If you betray my trust I'll find out. And then I'll hunt you down, tear off your limbs, and throw you into the deepest ocean."

The next second he was gone.

Closing her eyes again, Tanya took a deep breath through her nose, held it for a few seconds, then exhaled from her mouth. 'Alright, where the hell is this human?' Turning, she stopped short when she noticed the wolf body. She couldn't just leave it; someone was bound to notice it. And with the rain, burning it wasn't an option. She'd have to bury it.

In the rain.

Without a shovel.

She felt her teeth grind. "Human's already a pain in my ass," she muttered, grabbing the tail of the deceased wolf. Grunting, she began heaving the heavy corpse deeper into the woods.

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In past month that Edward had been gone Bella hadn't slept for longer than four hours at a time. And while it was hell on her body, it did wonders for her grades. Any activity that promised a temporary relief from the thoughts and memories had been fervently latched on to. Bella had actually begun to find herself upset in the relative ease that high school suddenly seemed to possess. It had always been such a tedious hassle when they were still here.

Rolling on to her back, Bella sighed. She didn't need to look at the clock to know it was around 3:30 in the morning. No matter how early or late she went to bed she would somehow always wake up around the same time. Glancing over to the window, Bella watched the lightning flash against the darkened sky. She remembered her mother telling her when she was little that if she counted after a flash of lighting the sound of thunder would tell her how many miles away the storm was. If there was any truth to the idea then the storm was directly overhead – every burst of light was immediately followed by a crash of thunder that seemed to shake the house. She wondered if the Cullen's were off playing baseball somewhere.

'It's as if I can still see him perched in the tree, ready to sneak in for the night,' she thought, seeing shadows in the tree outside.

The sky lit up momentarily again.

Bella felt her blood run cold.

There was someone outside her window.

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No, Tanya doesn't have a real gift. I just figure after a thousand years she'd be pretty good at seeing through bullshit.