Ness, c'mon," I tried again, following her through the frosty forest. Sharp branches snagged at my jacket and poked at my hands as I brushed past them, following the girl storming ahead of me, back in the direction of the house. She ignored me but I could sense the wave of fury radiating from her.

"We've only been out half an hour!" She complained, throwing her arms up in disbelief as she skipped lazily through the air and over the frozen stream. Knowing I'd never make the jump – or survive the freezing water if I fell through – I took to the outlook of rocks on the left-hand side, sliding across their smooth surface in a hurry to keep up.

"You know it isn't safe to stay out any longer!" I argued back.

We'd gone out, alone, to let Ness hunt. In the month we'd been here, the sanctuary very quickly ran out of food for the two of us and wanting to save what we had left before another shop, Ness had chosen to hunt. It was only when we took to the forest had I realised she'd just wanted some time alone to play tag.

"We used to play for hours!" She complained again. The wonders of Gladys's log mansion had only done so much. Within the first two weeks, Nessie had read all her books, played every instrument, practised ballet with Adelaide and now, she was getting bored. It didn't help that we spent our day's training, physically out in the dense woods or practising their weird mind powers inside. Adelaide, apparently, could feel others pain and redirect it. An awesome power.

"That's when we were alone when the Volturi were only looking for us, not an entire house full of vampires. We were easier to hide when we were alone."

"Whatever," She mumbled under her breath, darting through the front door and vanishing up the stairs. I hurried into the warmth of the foyer, shaking snowflakes from my hair and jacket as I hung it up. I kicked off wet boots and pulled off damp socks, regretting my decision not to phase.

"Must you?" Sighed a bored voice through the archway. Rosalie and Gladys were seated across from Caroline and Juan, the two newcomers. I shrugged.

"Nessie full?" Tanya asked, appearing from the corridor to the kitchen.

I replayed the memory of Nessie's hunt in my mind, the way she blended into the wind, moving at a speed impossible to catch up to on human legs. Eventually, I'd found her knelt over the heap of muscle that had once been a mountain lion, sinking her small, square teeth into the flesh of its throat and draining her fill. Not a thrilling sight to see, creepy if it were any other child but knowing it was Nessie, knowing it strengthened her bones and heart, I stomached it.

"How's she taking it?"

I'd used the walk to explain to Nessie why I needed to do this. Why I needed to leave and try and find Brady. I shrugged.

"All good," I answered, bounding up the stairs after her.

Nessie had already slammed her bedroom door by the time I reached it.

I opened it anyway to find her crossed-legged on her bed, book open in her lap and tears dripping onto the page. The sight of her like that stunned me. She'd never so openly cried in front of me. I rushed to her, scooped her up into my arms and nestled the two of us beneath the sheets.

"I won't go," I told her, the words instantly leaving my mouth. They wouldn't need me. If they found Brady, surely he'd recognise Rosalie's golden eyes, identify her as a Cullen – if he let them close enough.

Renesmee inhaled deeply, burying her head into my shoulder. "You gotta go." She cried. I frowned. "You got to see if you can find the other wolf."

"Then why are you so sad if you want me to go?" I asked, forcing a huff of laughter to try to lighten the mood.

"What if you don't come back?"

Again, images raced to the front of my mind. This time a snowy road with a wreck in the middle of it, my injured body struggling to keep Renesmee behind me as Volturi guards advanced. She'd seen how hurt I was, knew the chances of survival were little. How many times had she wondered if I would be next?

I reached forward and gently took her tiny hands into my own, her warm skin smooth and flawless, the slightest edge to her nails scraping along my palm. I could feel her miraculous heartbeat rapidly drumming through them. "Renesmee Carlie Cullen," I said, earning a strange look from her in response, "I promise you that I will always, always¸ find my way back to you. Do you hear me?" She sniffled up and nodded once. "You and me? We're stuck together…which sucks because you smell."

She couldn't help but laugh at that, the sound warranting an instinctual smile of my own. She snuggled in closer and I let her head rest against my shoulder. "You promise?"

I squeezed her tightly, "I promise,"

~Asher's Note~

Hello! Sorry, it's taken a short while for me to update, life has been busy lately but I hope you're all well! In this chapter, Nessie is sad about Jacob leaving! Hopefully, it'll all be worth it.

~ Responding to your reviews~

Barrelracer93: Thank you so much! That means a lot and I hope you continue to read! I love the idea of 'What If's in the twilight universe, a lot of my stories and future stories are centred around the idea of a slight change causing a whole different story to play out!

StopTheMadness: Thank you for your reviews on the first few chapters! They made me laugh! I hope you enjoy these.

~Asher~