Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

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I Live is posted on FanFiction, Archive of Our Own (AO3), The Writer's Coffee Shop (TWCS), and A Different Forest (feed a tree!).

A/N: No, I don't know anything about Seattle. But I did go to a town near Olympia once (over 20 years ago.) Chapter 37 is with the betas.

Age 18 and over, please. Thank you.

Please don't Judas me

Treat me as you like to be treated

Please don't blacklist me

Leave me as you'd wish to find me

Don't analyze me, sacrifice me

Please don't Judas me

.

"Please Don't Judas Me" by Nazareth, from the album Hair of the Dog.

Chapter 36, I Report

Riley Biers' POV

"She's dead."

I continued walking quietly into the stale, stinking air of the abandoned factory. My voice was barely above a whisper, but I knew she would hear me. I knew she was there; somewhere close by. It was almost as if I could feel her. Feel her brilliant crimson eyes on me.

It was what she had wanted in the end, but I didn't know if she'd be happy about it. She had created all those fucking newborns to take care of the little human bitch and those fucking Cullens.

I looked quickly around the cavernous room, searching for her. There was trash thrown everywhere. The months-old bags and wrappers from the fast food joints still reeked of the slop the humans ate. Yellowed newspapers were mixed in with crushed beer and energy drink cans. There were needles left by the drug addicts and empty liquor bottles from the bums and teenagers who used to come into the building to hide, sleep it off, or have a little fun.

We took care of them a long time ago.

A few blocks away, along the main drag where the humans were ordinarily safe from us, I could hear the cars and trucks of the city traveling back and forth. I could smell them. The exhaust and the odor of fuel always seemed to hang in the air. Sometimes I would sit up on the roof of one of the old buildings there and listen to the hookers, the junkies, and the other human pieces of shit talk about the haunted blocks of warehouses and old factories. They thought the crumbling buildings might even be cursed. Eerie sounds and strange disappearances happened all the time.

They were haunted, all right.

It usually kept them away. We didn't need any humans making a habit of coming down our street and discovering exactly what was haunting the buildings. It wasn't likely, but there was always the chance a human would see something he shouldn't, somehow slip by those fucking moronic newborns and run his goddamn mouth.

It was unlikely that anyone would believe him, but we didn't need to take the chance.

If any humans did happen to wander into the old warehouse down the street … well, they got what they deserved for being so fucking stupid. They were sheep that should have stayed with their flock for safety instead of straying and being picked off, one by one. Then they became the next plaything — the next meal. If there was anything left after the newborns were finished toying with them and fighting over them.

So far, no little lost lamb had managed to escape.

After a dozen young, thirsty vampires fought over one or two of the stupid humans, there wouldn't be much left to drink, or to drink from. On the bright side, it was easier to get rid of the bodies when they were torn apart. It would be nice if the fucking assholes would remember to search the humans for money or any valuables and try to save some of their clothes before they ripped them completely apart.

The newborns weren't allowed in the building I had come to. It was where I always met her, and she didn't want them in there; didn't want them to see her. They knew better than to fuck with me, so they stayed out. Early on, I caught one who had slipped past one of the newborns I had promoted to guard. I ripped his legs off and carried him back to the others. It was their first lesson on how quickly a vampire would go up in flames. There had only been a few since then. If you burned the head and torso last, there were interesting screams to go along with the dark purple smoke.

Audio/visual aids always made lessons more … memorable. It was gratifying to see how it motivated the rest of them.

It had been easy enough to replace that ones that had been set aflame.

We'd had as many as fifteen, but were down to twelve — last time I checked on them two days ago. The way they tore into each other, there might only be half a dozen left. But I had to see her before I went to check on how many newborns remained.

After scanning over the trash, broken wooden crates, and rusty 55-gallon drums spread around and shoved against the walls, my eyes went up to the steel catwalks and girders about two stories up. It was nearly mid-day, and there was some light coming through the large windows at the top of the walls, but they were so filthy, and it was so cloudy outside, that it hardly made any difference. Of course, I didn't really need much light to see.

My eyes swept along the beams, looking for her.

I walked farther into the wide-open space so I could see more directly into the darkest corners. It was quiet inside the old red brick building. Nothing moved. Not even scuffles or squeaks from rats or coos from pigeons. They had all moved out practically as soon as we moved in. It was funny how the rats and pigeons were smarter than the humans that used to crash here or the teenage lovers who used to sneak away to the dilapidated buildings for a little skin-on-skin action.

That young blood was always the sweetest. Even if they were stoned or drunk, they didn't taste as bitter as the others who had been soaked in drugs for years and years.

Silently, I turned in place, studying the metal stairs and walkways. I couldn't smell her yet, mostly because of the ever-present odor of gasoline, diesel fuel, and trash, but I knew she was there; hidden somewhere in the shadows.

Whenever I came to meet her, she'd always show within a few minutes.

Where the fuck was she?

From the corner of my eye, I saw a faint trickle of dust and rust flakes floating down through the air from above. My eyes followed the trail of tiny particles, and I finally spotted her. She was up near one of the huge exhaust fans in the roof, three stories above.

"Riley, what was that you said?" she asked pleasantly as she dropped silently from her perch just beneath the four-foot fan to an iron beam below her.

Even though I'd been with her a year, her honeyed voice still sang through my veins. Hers was the first face I saw when I awoke as a vampire. I would do anything for her, and she knew it.

Swallowing the venom that formed in my mouth at the sight of her, I stepped forward, eager to be closer to her.

"The little human cunt is dead," I said again, quietly, watching her intently as she landed lightly on the catwalk above me. Her long, gleaming red curls settled over her shoulders, framing her angelically beautiful face.

She took a few steps along the steel grate walkway. She moved as fluidly as a cat. I thought again how lucky I was that she had chosen me — as her helpmate, her coven-mate … as her lover. I'd never seen any woman as beautiful as my Victoria.

She stepped off the landing of the iron stairs and dropped the two stories, landing gracefully in front of me. She had large-link silver chains crisscrossing her hips from belt loop to belt loop on her faded jeans. There were more chains looped around the ankles of her black boots and a twinkling strand brushed over the four-inch heels. Those had to be the chains we took off those bikers and their "bros" last week. Those stupid fucks had tried to put their hands on her.

Who could blame them? Nobody looked as good as Victoria.

I guess their mothers never taught them not to touch what wasn't theirs.

They didn't get to keep those hands.

The chains looked so much better draped around Victoria's hips than on those bikers' shoulders and wallets, anyway.

I didn't know how she had kept them from jingling as she moved. It wasn't surprising really; she was so graceful.

Taking slow, seductive steps, she walked around me, eyeing me from my boots to my face. I nearly trembled when her bright red eyes met mine. As she reached toward me, her denim jacket opened slightly, and I could see that she was wearing a low-cut, skin hugging, black top. I wondered if it was a tank top, though it didn't make any difference. She was so fucking sexy in anything she wore.

She extended her hand toward me, placing one finger at the corner of my shoulder, and dragged the tip along my back as she moved silently behind me.

"Why were you gone for so long? You know I miss you when you're not here," she purred. "Tell me what kept you from me."

Just her finger gliding along my back made me shiver with desire for her. I wanted her so bad, my breath caught in my throat. "I … I looked for that little bitch for two days. I was all over Forks. I went to her house, but couldn't get near it because there were so many people there all the time. Even at night, there were a couple of humans sitting on the front steps." I inhaled deeply to draw in Victoria's scent. It reminded me of cherries and licorice, and it was as sweet as her voice. "I went by the high school and waited for her."

Victoria stopped behind me and ran her finger down the middle of my back. "Did you see her truck there?"

"No." I shuddered at her light touch. I turned my head to look at her over my shoulder. "I watched, but I never saw her go in or come out of the school. I never saw any of those Cullen freaks either. But then I found out later she was dead."

"Never saw any of the Cullens?" Victoria asked. "That's probably for the best. Remember, I told you about the gifts they have. They might have sensed that you were near."

"No one spotted me. I remember what you said about them. I ran across their scents everywhere, but none of them were fresh."

"I wonder where they could be? They're so dedicated to their little human pet. But if she was truly dead, why would they need to go to school?"

"I don't know where they were. I didn't go near where you said their coven lived. I didn't want to take a chance I'd run into any of them." I looked over my shoulder to try and see her. "There was a weird scent at the school I never noticed before."

"A scent?" she asked, dragging her nails down my back. "What sort of scent?" She moved slowly to my side and her left hand slid up my arm and over my shoulder. Her eyes flicked up to mine as her hand crept toward my face, and she drew one red-painted nail over my chin.

"It was disgusting. I swear it smelled like wet dog but was so much worse. It was all around the girl's house and the high school. I waited a while then I headed for the diner you said her father likes to go to."

Sliding smoothly to stand in front of me, Victoria reached up to kiss my chin with her full lips. "You didn't see the girl there?"

I bent my head to kiss her as I grasped her waist. Her lips were delicious. So sweet. "No." My breath was coming more quickly. "No, I didn't see her there, she was dead by then, but I didn't know that at the time. I looked everywhere for her, trying to find her for you." I kissed her soft lips again. "Some of the men that had been at her house were there — the Native Americans from that reservation by the ocean. I swear that stink came from them."

"Why do you think that, Riley?" She leaned her body against mine and slid her arms around my neck.

Her breasts were pressing against my chest, and I couldn't think. "Um … I watched the diner for a while and then I followed that rank dog smell. It went through the forest right to that reservation. That smell was all over the place once I was a few miles from their little shanty town. It's like there were a dozen or more different ones all crossing through that one area. It would have been worse if it hadn't rained, but it absolutely reeked. It made me jumpy and kind of panicky. I wanted to get out of there. I left there and ran back to Forks. I went by the police station, but the girl and her father weren't there, of course. Two of the cops were inside, and I heard one of them mention the Chief taking off work because of the accident, so I listened to them for a while. They mentioned a tragic accident the Chief's daughter had been in. Then they were talking about a funeral with no body."

"I see," Victoria said quietly. She backed away from me and stepped to my right, running her hand up and over my shoulder.

With my left hand, I reached for her hair and ran my fingers through her tousled curls, bringing a shining ringlet to my nose. Her scent almost made me drunk.

She stepped around behind me, pulling the soft strands from my fingers. "What else did you discover for me?"

Both of her hands were resting on top of my shoulders. "The cops said where the memorial was going to be, so I went there this morning to make sure. I didn't want to bring you the wrong information. I wanted to make sure it was the right girl."

"That was very wise of you, Riley. And so thoughtful," Victoria said softly as she ran her hands up my neck and into my hair. "You know how important it has been to me to capture the Cullens' pet to lure them out at the right time," she whispered.

"I know." I couldn't help tipping my head back as her fingertips traced over my scalp. I shivered in pleasure at her touch. "I … I couldn't believe the amount of cars trying to go through town. I followed them to the cemetery and hid in the trees." I sucked in a breath, pulling in Victoria's intoxicating fragrance. "There were hundreds of people there, but I saw the Cullens. There were only four of them — two females and two males." I sighed as her nails dragged across my scalp, down the back of my head, and to my neck.

"Their scent was blowing right toward me, so I knew they wouldn't smell me. I don't know how they can stand to mingle with the humans. Why would they want to?" I swallowed noisily as Victoria's fingers glided down my neck and over my back. "I … I saw the girl's picture propped up on the casket. It was a photograph of her dressed in a hideous yellow cap and gown."

"Ahhhh. Describe the vampires to me."

"I couldn't see their faces, their backs were to me, but there was a blond male …"

"How long was his hair?" Victoria quickly asked, interrupting me.

"Um, short, I guess. Like a regular man's haircut?"

"Go on," she whispered, her breath tickling the back of my neck.

"There was another male with reddish hair that looked like he just got out of bed. One female had long, medium brown hair, and the other was tiny and had this stupid, spiky black hair. The male with the reddish hair had his arm around that one."

"Hmmmm." Victoria's hands slid around my waist. "Was there anything else that caught your attention?" she whispered. The tip of her tongue traced along the outside of my ear.

I leaned into her touch, and when I could think and speak again, I couldn't help stuttering. "Th-There were police officers from several different places. I saw police cars from a few different states. There were even a couple from Canada. There were some of those Natives there, too. There were seven of those stinking bastards near the little bitch's father, and he looked like death warmed over." I had to laugh at the irony of that. The dumb fuck was at his daughter's funeral, sitting across a six-foot deep hole from four of the undead — with an empty casket between them. "One man was in a wheel chair right next to him, there was a woman on his other side holding his hand, but the other five were standing behind him and were some of the biggest men I'd ever seen. They had to be between six-and-a-half and seven feet tall!"

"Oh?" Victoria leaned into my back, and her hands moved slowly up my chest.

"Uh, yeah. They were acting kind of weird. One of them was staring at the Cullens. Two of the other ones had their hands on his arms like they were holding him."

Her right hand started moving down my chest and over my stomach, unbuttoning my shirt as she went. "Did you hear any of them talking?"

Anticipating where her hand was headed, I gulped. "Uh, um, I could hear some of the humans talking. I wasn't close enough to hear if any of the Cullens spoke." I cleared my throat. "I heard that the girl wrecked her truck on the way to La Push this past Saturday. The truck caught fire. She must have been thrown out of it because they couldn't find her body. Somebody said there was a lot of blood by the trees at the side of the road. Somebody else said a giant bear dragged her away. Giant bears?" I shook my head in wonder at the idiocy of humans. But, to a human who was pissing his pants in fear, any bear would look like a giant. "If they didn't find a body, why would there be a casket?"

Victoria's hand glided down over my belt buckle to my hardening dick, and I gasped. Her left hand withdrew from around my waist and traveled slowly up my back to my neck. Her fingers crept around my neck to my jaw as she reached up and her tongue traced a fiery line up my throat.

Her lips brushed over my ear as she said, "Perhaps they found pieces of the little whore in the forest and those are being buried." She kissed my cheek. "Did you hear anything else of importance?"

"N-no." I started to turn my head toward her, but she gripped my hard cock through my jeans, and I groaned in pleasure. "Ohhhhhh. Since she was dead, I didn't bother going back to her house … to steal any of her clothes for the newborns to get her scent." I was nearly breathless with desire for her. "I left soon after that … after I was sure it was the right girl. Having vampires at the funeral seemed to make it definite." I tried to turn toward her again, but she pressed down on my dick, and I could have cum right then. "We'll have to think of … some other way … to get at the Cullens."

Victoria tickled my left ear with her fingertips. "Perhaps."

Before I could catch my breath, she slammed me down onto my knees, her left hand was clamped on the back of my neck, her nails digging into my skin, and her teeth were at my throat. I couldn't move. She had done that to me when I had first awakened as a vampire — because I had no idea what was going on, but she hadn't done it since. I had done everything she had ever asked of me. I loved her and would do anything for her — all she had to do was ask.

My mind was spinning out of control. I couldn't think of anything I had done wrong. I tried to look at her, but fear of what she could do to me kept me from moving my head. I tried to speak through my clenched teeth.

"W-why are you doing this?"

Her teeth slid across my skin. "My plans have been ruined. Ruined by that little, ignorant, worthless harlot killing herself." She hissed against my neck. "I wasn't going to use her as bait to draw out those perverted Cullens so that I could kill them. I was going to kill her in front of them! I wanted the newborns as guards so I could drink that little bitch dry in front of Edward. After I made her scream, of course."

Victoria nipped my neck and hissed again. "I was planning to torture her, break her arms, and crush her legs. Beat her, slice her open. Then have you lead those degenerate Cullens to me so Edward could watch me finish her. He was the male with the reddish hair you saw at the grave site. If the Cullens happened to kill the newborns, it would make no difference to me. Maybe those useless newborns would have killed some of them. I didn't care as long as Edward saw me kill his precious, precious Bella."

"I d-don't understand." I reached up to grab her left hand that was holding my neck, but her teeth were instantly at my throat again.

"Don't move." She growled and lifted her head just enough so that I could see her wild, black eyes. "You're not my mate. James was my mate, and they killed him! Edward killed him over that insignificant little human. Edward said she was his mate! That shows you what twisted, perverted, amoral creatures they are. They don't even drink human blood!" She laughed lightly. "Those deviants drink the blood of animals. Humans can't be the mates of vampires. They are cattle — they're food. They're less than nothing!"

My mind was reeling. Victoria had told me I was her mate. She said she had known it as soon as her venom had finished burning away the last bit of my humanity. I was her mate, and we would be together forever.

"But I …"

She growled and yanked my head back. "You were never my mate. James was my mate, and we vampires can only ever have one!" Her teeth were back at my throat, and I thought that would be the end, until she hissed again.

"Three of those corrupt creatures were missing. A large dark-haired male, a tall, blonde female, and their best fighter — another longer-haired blond male who is covered with scars." Her eyes jerked away from mine. "But they may not have gone to the funeral. They may have stayed at the house." She hissed. "That blond male would have been the most dangerous to the newborns. That's why I needed more of them! James and I had been through the south and heard tales about a blond demon named Jasper. He had yellow eyes instead of red when I saw him, but one of the Cullens had said his name, and we recognized him by his scars. I've never seen a vampire with so many scars." She sucked in a rasping breath and stared directly into my eyes. "He fought in the vampire wars in the south, and he always won. He's another one with a gift. He can freeze you with terror without even touching you." She squeezed her eyes closed. "I cannot comprehend why he would have left all of that. He ruled the south, and he just … left it. To hide in the north and chase after … after disgusting animals." As her eyes snapped open, she spat on the floor. "He owned the south and he just walked away."

"Wars?" I gasped as she shook my head. "What wars?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing — she had lied to me about everything, but I was hoping I could stall her; hoping I would get a chance to break her hold and get away.

Victoria's lips nearly touched my ear as she hissed again. "There's a whole other history you know nothing about. A group of vampires that call themselves the Volturi are the self-proclaimed leaders of the vampire world. Centuries ago there was a war between the Volturi and the former rulers, the Romanians. Then there were the Southern Vampire Wars, the eradication of the Children of the Moon … apparently the Volturi didn't do a good enough job." Her hand tightened on the back of my neck. "That repulsive scent you came across? Those are the Children of the Moon — werewolves. I'd never seen them before. I'd only heard stories about them, until I came here and saw them with my own eyes. Those huge Natives you saw are werewolves." She snarled. "I should inform the Volturi about them and their relationship with the Cullens and their pet, but I don't want to expose myself to them."

Her teeth were at my throat again and she growled. "The Volturi frown on making too many newborns and not teaching them properly and keeping them contained. That's why the Volturi came to the new world and cleaned out the south long ago. Those ignorant vampires fought each other with hordes of newborns. They thought they were safe from the Volturi's notice and they wouldn't trouble themselves to travel all the way from Italy. The death toll of humans was so high the other humans blamed it on plagues! Those vampires were fools! They were drawing the eyes of the world toward them and the Volturi had to step in. They destroyed hundreds of vampires. The wars started up again with that Jasper, and he gained a lot of territory, but he did it intelligently. He controlled his newborns and kept them from the obvious notice of the Volturi."

She hissed in my face. "That's why I didn't want any of the newborns here to know who I am. Now I don't have to worry about it any longer — the little bitch is dead! Now Edward and those other Cullens will suffer the agony I've felt since they murdered my James. Though I wanted to kill her, everyone in that little podunk town will witness his pain and soon the news will spread among the vampires."

Her right hand flashed up into view and in it she gripped a silver lighter. "I know you smell the gasoline. I've had cans and cans of it stored here and in the other buildings for months. I don't need those newborns anymore, and I don't need you." She sneered in my face.

My mind was reeling out of control. My chaotic thoughts ricocheted through my head. Everything she had ever told me had been a lie! I had only ever loved her, and she had used me to get to a piece of shit human!

Her teeth were at my throat as she flipped open the top of the lighter and spun the striker to light it. As the spark from the flint ignited into a small yellow flame, her teeth ripped through my throat.

The pain … there was nothing but searing agony exploding through my brain and my body. I screamed and screamed but I heard no sound except Victoria's high-pitched laughter.

I couldn't make any sense of what I was seeing as I watched, completely helpless, as she threw the flaming lighter onto a headless body as it twitched and convulsed and dropped to the floor.

I heard her vicious snarl as the flames came racing toward me.

.