A/N: My apologies for the DELAYED update. Blame modern day technology! I don't own anything; all characters belong to Stephenie Meyer

Chapter Five: Reflections

All ten of us took off through the night, leaving a trail of dust behind us.

Carlisle, Esme and Emmet ran a bit faster than us; so as to lead us in the right direction. Mum could have easily overtaken all of them, seeing that she was the "youngest" vampire, but she and dad stayed close to Jake and me.

Jake yelped and turned his head towards me, as if to say "You call this a race?". That tease awoke my competitive spirit and I started to pick up speed as we ran. He, of course, had no problem keeping up.

Hormones are so powerful that they make you forget about everything else. They tend to fuel one emotion at a time; be it rage, love or even fear. Dad and Jasper say I fell them very strongly because I'm half human – half vampire. I experience all human emotions – like jealousy earlier – but they are powerful because of my being part vampire. And now it's much worse due to my accelerated growth. Hormones have kicked in big time and Dad tends to keep a close check on my thoughts – probably because of Jake and the imprinting.

When I was born, the first thing I'd seen was my mother's face. A fragile little human, she was. Her face had exhaustion etched all over it. And even though I was just a new born, I remember the pain and guilt I felt, to realize it was me who had caused her that pain. I'd never quite forgiven myself for doing that to her. I felt even worse when I'd bitten her by mistake. I'd make it all up to her again one day, I promise.

Aunt Rose had taken me out of the room to the lounge. I heard another set of footsteps follow and another beating heart. And being as curious as babies are, I looked around to find the source. And that was when I saw him.

Jacob had been looking at me, his eyes filled with hatred, heartbreak and destruction. He looked ready for a fight.

But when we made eye contact, it all disappeared. There was an instant connection between us; one that leaves you speechless. Nothing else in the world mattered, just that one person. He glowed.

The connection was strong that it literally pulled us closer together. Jake started walking towards us, his footsteps much softer, his movements cautious yet determined. He asked Aunt Rose to let him hold me. I was more than willing to stretch up and allow Jake to take me, but, of course, Aunt Rose had refused. They got into an argument and I could see Jake's body begin to tremble. I sensed some kind of danger, so I did the only thing I was capable of doing at the time.

I reached out and touched both Jake and Aunt Rose's faces, sending them images of their arguing, trying to tell them to stop and that I wanted Jake to hold me. That shut them both up.

Naturally Aunt Rose couldn't deny me what I wanted, so handed me over to Jake. He seemed very stunned, probably because of my gift, but Jake held out his arms, his eyes never leaving mine. Once I was in his arms, I pressed my face against his chest, inhaling his scent – so I'd be able to identify him. Ah, the woodsy smell was mouth watering… so I bit him.

Mmm… he tasted good. I looked up to see Jake's expression – uh oh, what if I hurt him the way I hurt mum?

But he just chuckled at my reaction. I looked down to where I had bitten him, expecting to see teeth marks. But there was absolutely nothing, not even a scratch. My eyes met his again and he laughed "Rensemee" in my ear. From that day on, he was always near, to be there when I needed him. My Jacob.

The howling winds were dying down to a gentle breeze. We were now running on open land so it was easy to spot everyone. Jake was right next to me, while Mum and Dad had decided it was safe to run a bit ahead of us. That was a good thing, because I was trying to make sense of something that had been troubling me for a while; Jake's imprinting. And I don't think Dad would appreciate seeing his daughter's thoughts revolve around a boy like that.

I found out about Jake's imprinting a while back, about two years after I was born. I had walked in on Jake, Embry and Quil talking at La Push about Imprinting. I was trying to sneak up on Jake, just being playful, when I heard my name in the conversation.

"Quil, you've got Claire and Jake's got Renesemee," said Embry, "When am I going to finally imprint?"

"When the right one comes," soothed Jake.

"Yeah, and maybe it's worth the wait," said Quil, "Then you won't have to wait I like have to with Claire, not that I mind. Jake has it easy, what with Nessie's growth. In a few years she'll be yours."

What does he mean? And what's "imprint"?

"Jake, what is imprinting like?" asked Embry. "How did you know that that was imprinting. That you had finally found her?"

"Embry, how many times have I told you this?"

"Just please tell me again. So I know when I do imprint."

"You forget everything else. The only thing you see and hear is her," said Quil.

"And you don't tremble, you glow."

Glow? Like when I first saw Jake?

I tried to get a bit closer to hear, but had forgotten to be quiet about it. Of course Jake had realized it was me, hiding behind the door eavesdropping, and later he had asked me what exactly I'd heard. That's when I asked him.

"Jake, what's 'imprinting'?"

He was silent. I reached out and touched his face, sending him images of the conversation.

"I… I don't know if I'm allowed to tell you right now, Ness," said Jake worried.

"Why?"

"I'll have to speak to your parents first," he replied.

So, when we went home, I ran straight to Mum and Dad and, without saying a word, I sent them images of my eavesdropping.

"Mum. Dad. What's imprinting?" I asked.

Dad looked straight at Jake. "How much does she know?"

"Whatever she overheard, but that's it. I didn't tell her anything."

"He said he had to ask you first," I pitched in. "Please tell me."

And I put on my sweetest puppy dog face I could come up with.

"Alright," sighed Dad, "we knew this day would come – but not this soon. Jake, this is your thing to tell. Would you like us to leave the room?"

Whether they did or not, I didn't care. All my attention was on Jake. He told me that imprinting was when a werewolf found their soul mate, the one they're meant to be with. He told me that the werewolf would become anything their imprint needed – be it best friend, brother or lover. He would be their protector. Jake described to me the feeling of imprinting. It reminded me of the first time we'd seen each other, and how we had connected instantaneously. He had been avoiding the part I'd wanted to know, so I asked him

"Jake, who did you imprint on?

I held my breath.

"You, Rensemee, I imprinted on you. But you need to understand something, right now I'm what you need; your best friend. I don't have a choice, but you do. You mustn't feel obliged to do something you don't want to do."

He looked a bit pained when he said that. So, to break the tension, I asked, "Jake, you said that the wolf would become anything their imprint needed, right?"

"Yes," he answered unsurely.

"So, Jake, would you be my best friend?" I asked, smiling.

The corners of his lips turned up, forming my favourite grin. "Of course, Ms Cullen."

I was ecstatic when I found out that Jake had imprinted on me, but I tried to hide it. Of course it made me more possessive of him.

There was only one problem now. I now thought of Jake as more than a friend, and I wanted to take it to the next step. But I wasn't sure how Jake felt about it. I mean, what if he "got over" me over the past few years and only thought of me as a friend?

"Renesemee Carlie Cullen, what did I tell you earlier?" murmured Dad, low enough for just my ears. "He only has eyes for one person. And don't doubt the power of imprinting."

I smiled, being comforted by that thought. Maybe I should actually speak to Jake about how I felt now, about how my "needs" have changed.

"And you can speak about you 'needs' later," said Dad in a stern voice, though he was smiling. "Right now though, we need to get across this border without needing to get into too much trouble. We've reached the border now."