"Victoria," Riley said slowly, hesitantly, as he gazed at the feline-like vampire standing in front of him. Her skin shone brilliantly in the afternoon sunlight, her bright red hair like a wreath of fire around her face. He was wary of this female, and yet pulled by her. It was something about the way she carried herself, the look in her burgundy eyes… She had an air of danger about her.
"Victoria," said the female vampire, stepping towards him confidently and placing her hand on his jaw line. "I've been watching you for sometime now."
Victoria had been watching him, ever since she made the decision to create her own army of newborns in an attempt to distract the Cullens on her hunt for Bella. Riley was everything she was looking for—good-sized, young, impressionable… She would easily be able to manipulate him. She cared little about the vampires that had to die for her revenge.
Riley, flattered, let his mouth slip into a small smile which he quickly made disappear as soon as he took notice of it. He reached up to grab her wrist, pulling her hand away, and then took a step back.
"That's good to know," he said, trying to brush her away. The attempt was in vain. He was already too intrigued, too enthralled to simply walk away from her. Though he was determined to remain aloof as possible.
Victoria saw right through him.
"Walk with me, Riley," she said, entwining her arm with his. She looked up at the patch of sky between the tress. "I suspect rain. No one will notice us." Before Riley had a chance to protest, they were already heading toward a small town on the outskirts of Seattle.
"I don't know why you are so vehement about pretending, Riley." Victoria's voice was higher and more girlish than normal. She wanted him to believe that he had hurt her. "I don't mean to harm you," she lied easily, and Riley was none the wiser. "If I wanted to, I would have done it the first time I saw you."
Riley nearly started from her bluntness, but recovered. "Is that so?" His voice was low.
"It is. Why do you think I waited so long to introduce myself? And before you say anything on the contrary, I know that you watched me watching you."
"I did," he admitted without thinking. The strength of this pull she had on him was unexplainable, and he knew that, at this point, it would be futile to resist. Exactly what Victoria was counting on.
"I can teach you things," she said after a few moments pause. "How to enjoy the hunt. There is more to feeding than simply choosing a victim at random." She was well-aware that, in order to get him to do her bidding, she must give him something in return. She dived into the memories of her time with James, everything he taught her, and had to bite back a grimace of pain. Even though it had been nearly a year since his death, the wound was still fresh, and she knew that no matter what happened, it would never heal. Part of her never wanted it to.
"Are you all right?" Riley asked when he saw the look on her face. His expression was one of concern, and it made Victoria smile.
"I'm fine, only lonely." She batted her eyelashes like a flirtatious human girl, and stood on the balls of her feet to kiss him on the cheek. Riley's snow white cheeks flushed ever so slightly. "How sweet of you to ask."
If Riley possessed a beating heart, it would have fluttered madly. He had spent his few years as a vampire in complete solitude, abandoned by the vampire that created him. Victoria was the first to ever offer any kind of education, and, much to his dismay, the first to show him any kind of affection. He squeezed her hand and smiled down at her, finally letting his guard down and accepting her advances as fully genuine.
Victoria returned the smile, hiding the malice that lay within it. This was easier than I imagined it would be, she thought. The seduction was nearly complete. Only about a week until he fell hard for her, and then she would bring up the plan about the army of newborns. She would lie about her reasons, of course. Bringing up James would both arouse suspicion from Riley, and break down her carefully crafted façade. She needed to remain angry. She had no room for despair, not until her task was completed. An elaborate story of rejection by the Cullens, perhaps? No. Too melodramatic.
The idea struck her so quickly that her red eyes briefly lit with excitement. She wouldn't lie to Riley, she would stretch the truth. James, the lover would become James, the brother. Why hadn't she thought of that sooner?
"Victoria…" Riley noticed the flash in her eyes, and, in his naivety, assumed that it had something to do with him. He released her hand and slipped his arm around her waist, pulling their bodies together. He brushed a stray hair from her face and brought his lips down to her forehead.