"No."

I heard Jake shuffle to my side. "C'mon, move over, Bloodsucker," he said jokingly as he bumped his hip into mine. However, I was in no mood for his penchant for sarcasm. My head snapped up and I glared at him. He flinched. Well, he flinched for Jake. Most people would call that a shiver. However, I knew him too well not to know his reactions.

"Sheesh. Sorry," he muttered, still pushing his hip into mine to force me over. I scooted an inch, then stopped. I wouldn't budge any further. He smirked at me.

"OK, Blood….er, Ness," he said. "Don't you want to talk about it?"

"No," I said, placing my head back on my knees. "I don't."

"Fine, then I'll talk." He sighed. "Nessie," he began, "this isn't easy for me either. I mean this goes against what we've been born to do. You're a vampire, for Pete's sake."

"Half a vampire," I corrected him. If I had to listen to this, I wanted him to at least get the facts right.

"OK, half a vampire then. Sheesh, Ness, when did you get so touchy about what I called you?"

I raised up then and glared at him. "Oh, right about now, Jake. Sorry I forgot to inform you," I snapped at him. "You know, a girl can only take so much in one night, and you're really pushing my limit. Besides," I laid my head back on my knees, "I can't escape what I am, anymore than you can."

"True."

We sat in silence for a moment. I was hoping that was it, but I knew it wasn't. I guess it was best to get this out now. I listened to the wind whip through the trees, the leaves rustling near my feet. The night was cold, but it didn't seem so bad now that I was sitting next to a furnace.

"Your mom and dad are worried about you," he said.

"Good." I replied. Another moment or two went by before I heard him start to speak again.

"Nessie, I tried to explain all this to you before. In reality, though, I'm not sure about it myself. The imprinting thing…we have no control over it. It just…happens. There's no rhyme or reason. It's just…fate."

I laughed bitterly. "Yeah, Fate's a cruel mistress, isn't she? I mean, she had you fall in love with my mom," I groaned at the thought, "and then, when she chose another, Fate decided to be a real wench and had you imprint on her half-vampire daughter. I don't know why it's so complicated, Jake. Doesn't that pretty much cover it?" I laughed again. "You lost out on the Grand Prize and you settled for the booby prize? Real nice." I stood up then, needing to walk off the feelings building inside me.

"Hey," he said, crossing over to me in one stride. "I never considered you a 'booby' prize."

"You never should have considered me at all!" I screamed at him, my rage boiling now. "What about me, Jake? What am I supposed to do with this information? Just accept it? You were in love with my mom, Jake! Most normal people would be repulsed by that, and I'm just supposed to go, 'oh, OK' and move on?"

It was his turn to laugh bitterly, his sounding more like a roar than a laugh. "Normal? You want to talk about normal? What about us is normal, Nessie? I'm a freakin' wolf! My job is to kill vampires! And here I am, freakin' in love with one! "

"You don't love me, Jake," I said. "You're attached to me, is all. Some stupid curse, some trick that Fate is playing with us both." I plopped back down on the wet rock, my burst of rage spent for the moment.

Jake resumed his place at my side. I didn't look at him.

"Nessie, it's not like that. It's the legacy of our kind, I guess you could say. Once we meet the someone we are supposed to be with, that's it. The world stops. Life has meaning. I loved your Mom, Ness, but I don't remember what it was like to be in love with her."

I huffed at that. How would someone forget that? Nevermind, I'd never know what it was like, anyway, to forget it.

"What about the imprintee?" I asked, kicking a stick with my foot. "Don't they get a say?"

"Well, yeah, I guess so. Usually they just accept it, or they imprint back or something. I don't know. I've never questioned it. Once it happens, no one questions it."

"Well, don't you think it's time someone should? I mean, look at poor Claire! She's only ten, and she's been engaged since she was two! Don't you think she should get to make a choice? Doesn't she get to date, or anything?"

He thought about that for a minute. "If she wants to, sure. Quil won't stand in her way. He'll be whatever she wants him to be. A best friend, a big brother, a lover…whatever. He's tied to her, and she to him. It's not a death sentence, Ness. Besides, I thought vamps mated for life, too? Is that really such a foreign concept?"

"Well, yeah, I guess. I don't know. It's all so confusing," I said. My head was spinning too much to really make sense of anything anymore.

"Is that what you want to do, date?" he asked quietly.

"I don't know."

I yawned. Damn human side. I hated having to sleep. It must be late, and I'm sure the exhaustion wasn't helping my mood.

My rage dissipated and was replaced by confusion. I suddenly craved safety and comfort, a port in my personal storm. I knew where to find it.

I rested my head on Jake's shoulder.

Instantly, everything about him flooded my senses. The heat radiating from his body burned into my cold cheek, surging from the contact point throughout the rest of my body. His smell, a spicy mixture of soap and woods, rushed into my nostrils and mixed with the colors swimming in my brain.

His shoulder was broad and strong, which was always a sharp contrast to my petite frame. It felt like home. Two pieces of a puzzle. I sighed contentedly.

We sat quietly for a few moments, listening to the sounds of the forest. I thought about the fact that we'd always just belonged to each other. Jake said no one questioned it. I never questioned it…until now. What changed? I wasn't sure. Maybe it was my impending adulthood. Maybe it was my initial attraction to Connor. Maybe it was as simple as crazy teenage hormones. Who knew?

I guessed this was a conversation that I had been putting off. Jake had previously never pushed, but somewhere along the line, the dynamic changed. Maybe because his dad died? That would start someone to question their lives, certainly. Jake didn't age though. Weren't people affected by death because of their own fear of their mortality? No mortality, no fear, right?

Maybe he was jealous of Connor? If that was true, then what did he mean about Quil not standing in the way for Claire? That would mean the same for him, right? Hmmm.

I took a deep breath to clear my thoughts—which was the wrong thing to do, as his heady scent just confused me further. It pushed rational thought from my brain and replaced it with emotion. I nestled deeper into his shoulder, nudging my nose against his neck. He was so warm it was almost unbearable, yet still cozy. Suddenly, I couldn't get enough.

I felt him shift on the rock, heard a rumble deep in his chest.

"Nessie," he said softly.

"Hmm?" I asked dreamily.

"Nessie, look at me."

I slowly raised my head and met his gaze. Two deep pools of dark chocolate stared back at me. His eyes were burning with a fire I hadn't seen before. I was spellbound by its intensity, captivated by the increase in heat flowing between us. I felt his breath on my face, his nose inches from mine.

The look on his face awoke something within me. A stirring began deep inside that I wasn't used to and couldn't quite recognize in my dazed state. Instinctively, my lips parted slightly as I exhaled. Apparently, that was enough invitation for him.

He bent his head down and lightly touched my lips with his own. It was the softest of kisses, one to test my reaction. He pulled back slightly to look at me. Something inside me groaned at the distance that was created.

I wanted more.

I wanted him.

My Jacob.

I tangled my right hand into the hair at the nape of his neck, pulling him back to me.

He started softly again. At my whispered moan, however, the pressure quickly intensified. His lips began to move against mine in earnest, my lips meeting his rhythm. I leaned my body up against his, nestling against his broad frame. I felt his arms wrap around my waist, pulling me closer. My fingers tangled deeper into his hair, pressing him further against me.

Finally, he broke the kiss with a wild gasp. We were both panting. Apparently, we'd forgotten to breathe…or maybe that was just me.

"Ness…"

"Shh…" I said, pulling him to me again.