{Charlotte's POV}}

We ran for days on end, stopping every few hours so I could rest and occasionally eat. This would be the fifth day from leaving home. My dad had called often to make sure we were okay. I had also received messages from people named Skye and Xavier―both wondering where I had disappeared too. I received even more from a Seth. Almost every few hours he called and texted; his seemed the most worried, yet I refused to answer. I refused answer anyone.

I waited within the forest as Arianna went in search of supplies. She refused to let me near anyone, at least for a while. I didn't think I was ready, and I didn't want to take a risk either. I waited for over three hours climbing and jumping from trees, each time I choose a little higher. I thought that at least a twenty foot drop would cause some serious damage, but I always managed to come out somewhat unharmed. It became harder every time I jumped. I already had unmanageable hair, ripped jeans, and dirt streaked my shirt from rolling across the ground upon repeated impacts. My arms and hands had smudges of dirt and scratches, and my shoes were beyond wearing, but I was having too much fun to stop.

"Charlotte?"

I looked down to see Arianna coming closer. "I'm up here," I called.

"How did you get way up there? Never mind. Come down here." She stopped at the foot of the tree. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"Fine." I rolled my eyes and jumped from the forty-five foot branch. The ground came up fast yet slow. I landed off balance and flew forward and rolled until I came to an abrupt stop against her. I rolled onto my back and stared up at my mother. She was glaring down at me. "I was bored," I explained. She merely shook her head and pulled me to my feet.

"Please don't try anything reckless while I'm gone. We don't know the full extent of your condition, and I'd rather not find you dead somewhere. That would be a nightmare to tell everyone."

I simply nodded and gestured to the backpack she had in her hands. "What's that?"

"You're dinner." She dug out a paper bag and a bottle of water and handed it to me. The smell of blood immediately made my throat burn. I reached in the paper bag and pulled out three bags of blood.

"Did you rob a hospital?" I asked as I sank my teeth into the plastic bag. My throat was immediately soothed.

"There was a blood drive. I only took a few. It should hold you for a while." She unpacked as I continued to drain the bags. "And clothes."

I looked down at myself. My shirt was now splotched with blood. "Well I could use a change in shirt." I drank the last of the second bag and placed the empty bag back inside the paper one.

She gathered the clothes and my ruined shoes and began to walk away. "There's a lake not far ahead. We can clean up there." I followed slowly drinking from the last bag and sipping from the bottle of water.

I preferred human food, but I still craved blood, even if most of it was from hospitals, blood drives, and raw meat; what little blood there was from the meat helped. It took a lot more food than blood, and my throat was constantly burning, but I didn't want to harm anybody. I already regretted the first two murders, even though I didn't know what I was doing at the time―it was better to steal than to kill. Arianna had said I would have bloodlust for a while. Mine would be less intense than a full-fledged vampire, but still intense enough to cause some discomfort if I was surrounded constantly by humans.

We walked a mile until we came to the lake. Arianna separated the clothes and turned to me. "Don't wonder off too far. If you're not back in half an hour, I'll...ground you. Two weeks." Her face was serious, but still had a smile tugging at the edge of her lips. "Bring all your clothes back. We don't want to have a search after us." She disappeared down the bank.

I turned and stripped. I was ready to remove this filth from my body. I dove into the water only to come up quickly. The water was freezing!

"I should have warned you that we're in Wisconsin," came Arianna's voice from down the lake.

"It would have been useful," I mumbled with my teeth chattering. I submerged again and waited until I warmed up a bit. I swam around for at least twenty minutes before I decide to tackle my hair. It wasn't easy but I finally got it untangled.

Human. I suppose I could never call myself human again. Then again, I guess I wasn't human to begin with since my dad was a werewolf. So what did that make me now? One-third human, werewolf, and vampire? I admit that I did feel different, slightly stronger, better reflexes, better senses. Some hybrid I was.

Everything had changed so rapidly since I had surfaced from the blackness. Apparently, I had memory loss only to recognize my parents. Then I found out I had been turned into somewhat of a vampire. It was to my understanding that it was a miracle that I survived with the werewolf gene fighting against the vampire venom. Then there was that boy; the one who knew me and wasn't scared of my actions towards him. I had felt the strange connection towards him. My heart had raced, and I had felt safe near him even if it was a brief encounter. His warmth felt comfortable to me, and his eyes seemed familiar and loving. What was he to me? What was I to him? Imprint? What did it mean? I could ask Arianna, couldn't I?

I left the cold water to get dressed and find Arianna. She was leaning against a tree when I found her.

"What's an imprint?" I blurted out.

"A soul mate."

A simple answer with a lot of meaning. "So that boy...he said I was his imprint. Is that right?"

She gestured for me sit beside her. I did. "Yes." I was still curious―her one word answers were not helping. "You want to know the whole story, don't you?"

I nodded. "That would be very helpful."

I sat and listened for hours, asking the occasional questions when I became too confused. She had started somewhat at the beginning, brushing over the parts we had already covered with my dad― moving to Forks, finding out the secret to the whole werewolf history, meeting Seth and the Cullens―and focusing more on from my birthday party to now. It was hectic but made sense as more questions were answered. The only image I had of the Cullens was a large closet. I was still confused to that.

"So Seth...he knows everything?" She nodded. "It must have been hard on him. One minute I'm there, and the next I'm attacking him and running away."

"I'm sure he understands."

The problem wasn't whether he understood or not; I still felt guilty. How could I have forgotten my imprint, my soul mate? I would have been devastated if it was the other was around. I felt like I was in one of those cliché romances. I had to see him, even if I didn't remember him. I'm sure somewhere in my mind I did, because he did seem slightly familiar but more on the found-but-not-recognizable side, like an old picture. My memory was still a little hazy.

"I want to go back. I want to fix it."

"I was thinking about going back anyway. I didn't want to until you were sure."

"I'm sure."

We left as soon as we had covered up our presence. I had a strange feeling everything was going to be worse when we returned―much worse.