Disclaimer for the whole story: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the authors. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended. This is just a tribute.

Dear Reader,

This story is a sequel to 'Nessie and Jake, Phases'.

But don't panic…

This story exists in its own right, THERE IS NO NEED TO READ THE ORIGINAL STORY because I have provided you with the main background information in the following handy recap:

At the age of sixteen, Nessie was given a chance to attend high school for a year, as a senior. (She was pretending to be eighteen).

She went to stay in Forks with Charlie and his wife, Sue. Her parents were living nearby at the big house, and Jake was still at La Push.

After a number of ups and downs, including falling out with Jake and being chased by a real werewolf, Nessie and Jake fell in love, and finally got together at the end of the school year.

Seth was also living in Charlie's house. Seth imprinted on Embry's cousin, Marie.

(You are probably wondering how I stretched that into twenty nine chapters).

Anyway, the story commences six months later, when Nessie is seventeen, and will principally be told from her point of view...

Chapter 1.

What is she?

There was only one thing more soul destroying than an airport terminal. And that was a crowded airport terminal just after Christmas.

So it was lucky that I didn't have a soul.

If I had, it wouldn't have survived Manchester's luggage collection point.

Apparently, every inhabitant of New Hampshire had returned from their Christmas vacations with twenty suitcases of presents. We were going to be here for the rest of eternity and – unfortunately for us – that was a literal possibility.

"Damn it! How many bags does one person need?" I snapped, causing Hal to break out of his daydream and say in a dazed voice.

"What was that?"

After all these years I still couldn't believe that my brother was so unobservant. Was he a vampire at all? I grinned and shook my head.

"Don't worry about it. Sorry to disturb you."

Oblivious to my sarcasm, he replied amiably. "That's quite alright."

He was a great guy, but sometimes it was hard spending so much time with someone who was always lost in his own world. But let's face it; company of our kind was pretty thin on the ground.

Glancing around me, I scanned the faces of our fellow travellers. Airports had the same effect on humans as service stations. They were instantly drained of their good looks and colour, so the final result was a crowd of grey, miserable faces. Not the most appetising group I'd ever encountered!

The only people who were impervious to the sapping effect of their surroundings were the kids. They all seemed to have found extra energy reserves, just right for annoying the crap out of everyone else. Would anyone really mind if I disposed of a couple of them? It was almost worth considering.

I smiled at the thought and caught the eye of a young woman nearby, she had been watching Hal with fascination; his unusual appearance always provoked interest. I winked at her, and she blushed and smiled at me, then glanced guiltily at the guy standing beside her. Fortunately for him, our bags appeared at that very moment, so he was left with his girl and we could finally get out of this hell hole.

Heading towards the main entrance, I glanced at Hal. "They're sending a car, right?" I didn't feel like running to Hanover.

"Yes, I think so," his vagueness was hardly reassuring; I sighed and glanced around the huge concourse, looking for some entertainment. A second later, I found it.

An excited gasp came from nearby. "Hey! Take a look at that..!"

My eyes darted to a group of young men, standing near the elevators. They were craning their necks, to look at something that was out of my view. The murmurs of approval continued.

"Wow..!"

"Do you think she's a model?"

"Yeah… she's hot enough."

This, I had to see. I caught hold of Hal's arm and slowed him down. "Wait a second."

"What is it, Leo?" As usual, he had no idea what was going on.

"Humour me," I smiled and turned my head back towards the guys. At that moment, the object of their admiration came into view, and my jaw dropped open in surprise. Whatever I had expected, it wasn't this.

A staggeringly good-looking girl of about eighteen – I mean a real fox – with long, auburn hair and flawless white skin, walked away from the elevator. Her attire was attention grabbing; a short, fitted, cocktail dress and high heels, when everyone else in the airport was wearing thick overcoats.

But when you put a dress like that onto a killer body, and topped it off with such a stunning face, it was hardly surprising that she seemed to have rendered every man she passed completely incoherent.

Oddly, it was not her obvious desirability that made me gasp. As I watched her, I couldn't quite believe my eyes.

My first assumption had been that she was a vampire. But within seconds I knew that I was wrong. Something was off, this was no vampire. I could see a flush on her skin, but her skin wasn't human either, it was too luminous.

What the hell was she?

I caught hold of Hal's arm and pulled him with me, into a more discreet viewing position.

"Look at that!" I whispered and he followed my eye line.

For once in his life he concentrated, and as soon as he caught sight of the stranger, his eyes opened wide with surprise.

"My goodness!"

"I'll say!"

"Is she a vampire?" He asked quietly.

The girl passed us at a distance, moving through the crowd with a notable grace and fluidity. No human could move like this. We weren't the only ones watching her. Everyone she passed turned their heads for a second, or third, look.

She didn't see us, or smell us; we were downwind of her. I started to follow her, at a safe distance. Hal tagged along after me, because – by some miracle – even he was interested.

That was when I got the first trace of her scent. It definitely wasn't human, or vampire for that matter. It was nice, kind of like vanilla. I took another breath and was hit by a nasty animal smell. Blah! Somehow, this smell didn't fit with the girl at all, but I couldn't believe it was coming from anyone else either.

This situation was getting weirder every minute, so I shouldn't have been surprised when I caught the sounds of a humming heartbeat and pulse. I couldn't believe it, she was really breathing. That's when it hit me.

Holy crap! This girl was actually alive!

She passed through the exit doors and into the cold night and I noticed that she didn't react to the freezing wind, in spite of the fact that she wasn't wearing a jacket. Once outside, she hurried towards the parking lot. I thrust my bag into Hal's arms.

"Take this and go find our ride. I'll be back in a minute. Thanks."

"Leo, what are you doing?" Hal looked uncharacteristically anxious. "You're not going to hunt her, are you?"

"For crying out loud…" I rolled my eyes. "No, I just want to find out a little more about her."

Knowing that she'd be long gone by the time had Hal finished discussing it; I threw him a wide smile and started to jog after her.

"See you later."

She was moving swiftly and I didn't want to let her out of my sight. I was pretty sure that she hadn't noticed me, she was still upwind. Her body language was relaxed, and her breathing sounded steady.

I saw her pull some keys from her purse and unlock a flashy silver Mercedes. For a moment, I was unsure whether or not to make contact with her, but decided against it. I wasn't a tracker for nothing; I already had a strong fix on her scent. I would be able to find her anywhere now, and how often did I get a really inviting trail?

Watching as she pulled out of the parking lot and drove away, I smiled to myself. This trip was already looking more interesting.

Author's notes:

I love hearing from you, it's so nice to know what you think (if what you think is nice, ha ha), so please review :)

I would just like to send a massive thank you to willowbae, my very amazing beta. I am so lucky to have your help and support, you'll never know how much I appreciate it :)