A/N:

Thanks to those of you who skipped the last chapter, but have still continued to read on! I really appreciate it. So, basically the last chapter was a short scene where Jacob had to watch Renesmee leave. Leah was there to…uh…comfort him, and to stop him from following Renesmee. From the scene, you get the impression that they have been seeing each other for some time. Leah mentions that Jacob had promised her 'a year'. Jacob finds some small comfort in Leah, though his heart now lies with Renesmee, who is not yet ready for him.

Thank you to mrslautner28, for giving me honest feedback – she wondered why everyone has to 'throw Leah into the mess'. I haven't read any stories like that so far – I'm quite new to this site. I think it made sense to me. A 17yr old lad –oops… how old is he really? 24? Who is single and sees a girl naked and shares her thoughts… and there was some evidence of a bit of a love/hate relationship between them in the books. Maybe others have picked up on that too! She was a convenient, ready female character that I didn't have to develop too much. And I kind of like the horrible tragedy that this is the second time that Leah has fallen for someone who has imprinted – call me mean. It may all end pleasantly for her yet. But this is a Renesmee story, not a Leah story. She is just a little used and abused extra. I hope you continue to read and enjoy the story.

Thank you also to Kellie - who came very close with her guess as to Vaara's power... Well done :)

And Haha, Jessredbird. Your reaction to the last chapter really made me giggle. I hope I don't disappoint!

So, here goes…

~ Renesmee ~

"Stay behind me Renesmee." He instructed, his voice tense. "This one's dangerous."

"Who is it?" I whispered, and then I froze. I did, in fact, feel danger.

"My brother."

Just then, the vampire came into my view. He looked very similar to Aalto. I guessed they must be twins. There was that same messy blonde hair and the same firm and muscular body. But no matter how similar they were in looks, the auras that they gave off were distinctly different. Even if I didn't feel comfortable with Aalto, I felt relatively safe. From the moment that his brother entered the clearing, I was frightened for my life.

My heart froze for a beat, then raced back to life, double time. My eyes flitted around the clearing, searching desperately for a way out. Aalto straightened and started to walk toward his brother, very slowly. It took me a moment to realise that that were talking to each other in very low murmours. I could hear them, of course, but I could only catch a few words, for they were talking in Finnish. I cursed my lack of knowledge of the language.

I struggled to control my breathing. I had never been so afraid in my life, and it threatened to choke me. It was taking my breath away. I felt unable to stop it crashing down on me. No wonder I had sensed danger. Every inch of me wanted to flee from the feeling. I didn't understand. I knew it was only moments before I would pass out for lack of oxygen.

"Renesmee. This is my brother, Vaara. Vaara – Renesmee." Aalto indicated for me to come to him.

I gulped. "I- I… think I need to go home now."

"Vaara – would you stop – you are making her uncomfortable." Aalto chided his brother, and the feeling of intense danger started to fade. I smiled at Aalto, shaky despite myself. I had never been around when Jasper had used his ability to instill fear in people, but I supposed this would be what it would feel like. I would have to ask him about that.

"Apologies." Vaara grunted, but did not look at me. He was glaring at his brother. I had a feeling that there was some animosity between the two of them.

"Renesmee was just telling me about her…ability." Aalto took my hand, and as he did so, the strange waves started to roll over me again. I felt… safe.

That feeling of safety also made me feel brave. Perhaps a little foolheartedly, I stepped closer to the stranger, trying to make eye contact.

"What is your ability?" I asked, but regretted asking as soon as the words left my mouth. Vaara hissed, and Aalto tugged me back by my hand, pulling me close to his body.

"Don't look at his eyes."

I was confused. It sounded ridiculous to me. But even as the thought crossed my mind, I dropped my gaze, fixing it carefully on a twig on the ground. I remembered the feelings of danger from just moments before. I had feared for my life. That was real.

"Ala unohda." Vaara snarled at his brother. I processed the phrase in my head and tried to translate it, but in the heat of the moment… that was it. 'Do not forget'. Forget what, exactly?

I was about to ask, but just then my heart started pounding again, and I felt the fear gripping at my chest, even as Aalto held my hand, tighter than before. I gasped, drawing in a ragged breath. My vision was getting cloudy.

And then it was over, as suddenly as it had begun. I looked up to find Aalto's eyes on mine. He looked concerned.

"Wh-what was…" I managed to stutter, before my knees gave out.

Aalto supported my weight easily, and lowered me gently into a sitting position. My vision swam in and out of focus, and I felt sick. I had never felt like this before. I was always so strong. I was not a human – but I felt weak now. I took a deep, steadying breath through my nose.

"That was my brother." His voice was soothing.

I retched, leaned away from him, and threw up. The sick kept coming, blood red, and my stomach tensed and convulsed. This carried on for a few minutes, and tears streamed down my face.

"My god, I have never been sick…why…?" I gasped, wiping my mouth on my sleeve.

"My brother…just tried to kill you."

I looked at him, blankly.

"He has this gift. The gift of "danger", he calls it." Aalto smiled at me grimly. "He can make people feel so frightened, that their body just gives up. His gift works best on Vampires. We think it's because Vampires have stronger instincts. The danger-instinct elicits fear. It is difficult to kill a Vampire, but Vaara has developed his gift so much, that he is dreadfully close to being able to do it, just by using their own instincts against them."

"So…" My head hurt as I tried to process all this information. The light was fading fast, and I wondered if my family would start to look for me. "How come I'm not dead?"

"I can shield, remember. As long as you are connected to me, I can interfere. He is my brother. We have grown together. I cannot manipulate his powers – he is too strong for that and he knows my power too well. But I can protect myself from it. And I held your hand… and here you are." Aalto sighed. "He is not a bad person, Renesmee... he just has some... temper problems."

"Uh-huh." I nodded, rolling my eyes. I didn't think I wanted to get to know this stranger, after all. His brother was a complete monster that had tried to kill me for no reason at all, and there he was, making excuses for him. Not to mention, that this vampire was in no way a vegetarian, and I could easily be his next meal. I stood up, intending to leave, but felt too dizzy to move any further. Another wave of nausea washed over me.

"Where are you going?"

"Home. My family will worry. I told them I would be back before dark." I said. Even to me, my voice sounded weak.

"Then, I will take you home. I will make sure you get back safely."

"Not a chance. My dad's a mind-reader. As soon as I get in, he'll know exactly what happened, and I can bet a wolfs tail that he will come looking for you. It will be better if you are further away. And Alice will be able to see you coming."

"Renesmee, darling." I drew a sharp breath at the sentiment, and his waves started to wash over me again. I leaned into him for support, savouring his scent as I nuzzled my nose against his collarbone. "Have you not been listening to a word I have said?"

"Uh..?" I managed, feeling a different sort of light-headedness. I lifted my palms up to cup his face, and tilted my face towards his, eyes half closed in expectation. His skin was so soft…

"I can control things… remember?"

"Mmm-hm", I nodded, lifting my lips to his.

The waves crashed out of me and Aalto laughed. I immediately snapped back to my senses. This was too weird. I stared at him, exasperation plain on my face.

"Come on. I will take you home. And I promise not to do that again. It was just too much fun to not try it again. Do not worry about your family. I've got it covered. As long as you can keep from thinking about me after I leave, you will be fine."

"I'm sure that won't be a problem, especially after what just happened." I blushed, hiding my embarrassment with sarcasm. Aalto just chuckled and tugged my hand. As we left the clearing and started to run (at my speed) toward my house, I reflected on the evening, and all the strange feelings that it had stirred within me. There was no way I would be able to hide this from Jasper or my father.

This was going to be an interesting year.

A/N:

I hope you enjoyed. I really liked writing Vaara. He is such a bad boy! He will most definitely feature more in the story.

Vaara means 'danger' in Finnish. Call me weird. I had to do it.

Please leave me a short note to tell me if you liked it. There are a LOT of people reading this story, adding it to favourites and alerts. So thank you for that – but when I hear from you personally, it spurs me to write more. Many thank you's to all who have left kind words so far! Love you guys!

Thanks.

Sara