Victoria rolled her eyes as she heard the man she had been ignoring approach her. He had been, what he probably thought discreetly, following her ever since she walked into the store. If it hadn't been for the surveillance cameras all over the store she would have led him outside and drained him in the alley behind the building, but being seen talking to him on camera would have brought to much suspicion. So instead she went back to her browsing.

"If you are looking for a great brand of beef jerky you should try this one." The man handed her a bag she had already disregarded. It had to many chemicals in it and she didn't like the idea of Bella ingesting it.

"I'll keep that in mind." She ignored his outstretched bag and picked up another looking at the ingredients. Why did they have so many ingredients in something that was from what she could tell just dehydrated beef. The fact that Bella actually enjoyed the stuff confused her. There had to be much better snacks for humans to eat.

The man didn't seem to take the hint as he put the bag back and reached for another one. "Well if you don't like that one why don't you try this one?It's my second favorite."

"Great thank you." Should she get a couple different flavors? What was the difference between smoke wood and pepper flavored. She wished she had asked Bella what kind was her favorite. She could always sneak into the girl's house and find out the kind she currently had. She quickly dismissed that thought. She didn't want to be like that Edward guy. Sneaking into her room without permission was something one did when hunting their prey not when trying to whoo their mate. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. She wasn't trying to whoo anyone and the human definitely wasn't her mate. She just found her interesting.

"I'm trying to help you out here, you know." The man sounded slighting angry.

Victoria slid her sunglasses down and delighted in the way the man's heart rate sped up when being faced with the eyes of a predator. "And I was ignoring you hoping you would take the hint and leave me the hell alone."

The man seemed to gain some of his confidence back once she pushed her sunglasses back in place. "You don't have to be a fucking bitch about it. It looked like you needed some help."

"That's why you have been following me around the store?" She asked him." Because you were worried I might need some help with beef jerky?"

The man blushed causing his blood to rush to his cheeks. It was really a shame that she wouldn't be able to drain this man. She was feeling hungry after spending time with Bella this afternoon. Although now that she thought about it the girl didn't inspire blood lust in her. She smelled intoxicating though. She didn't exactly have a scent attached to her. It was more of a feeling. She smelt like home to her. Of a time when she was in the small village where her clan had settled before the king had decided to ruin everything with his need for power. The blushing man's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"I wasn't following you." He denied. "This is a small store. I've run into multiple people many times since I've been here."

"Like the woman you ignored who needed help getting down the bottle of ketchup you passed as you tried to keep pace with me as I came here?" Victoria asked.

The man sputtered. "You aren't even that hot, I don't know why I am wasting my time on you."

Victoria raised her eyebrow."I don't see how my hotness has anything to do with this.I thought you were just trying to help out of the goodness of your heart. Isn't that what you said?"

"Whatever bitch. I hope you choke on that beef jerky." The man said finally walking away.

Victoria smirked and went back to her mission to find the best beef jerky. She didn't even understand why she was buying it in the first place other than she knew Bella liked it and she wanted to do something nice for her. The poor girl had been through enough. She was happy that she found her when she did and not when she was with the Cullens. They had her so out of touch with what it meant to be mates. She held in a growl as she thought of that stupid boy trying to convince Bella they were meant to be together. It was lucky the girl had a good enough head on her shoulders to realize the lie as quickly as she had. It just proved she was to good for the likes of them.

Deciding to get five different kinds she brought her purchases to the register. She ignored the overly friendly cashier and left the store quickly. She didn't want to deal with anymore hassles tonight. She was supposed to meet Laurent and Riley soon and wanted to stash her purchase in the small apartment she rented to stay close to Forks.

An hour later Victoria spotted Laurent and Riley at a table in a dark corner of the bar. They were still managing to get many looks from the patrons but the aura of danger they had around them held the gawkers at bay. She walked to the bar and ordered a beer to keep up appearances and made her way over to the table.

"Is it done?" Laurent asked.

Victoria sighed. "Unfortunately no. I have come to the conclusion that Bella Swan had no fault in anything that has happen."

"What? That little bitch has everything to do with our friend's death." Laurent said outraged.

Victoria growled causing both Laurent and Riley's eyes to go wide. "She's not a little bitch and you'll do well to remember that."

'Whoa." Riley held his hands up. "Ok let's calm down. Why don't you tell us exactly what happened? You were set on murder when you left yesterday and now you aren't. It's just a little surprising is all."

Sighing Victoria explained. "I stalked her to a meadow in the forest around her home. When I revealed myself to her, she had absolutely no fear of me and that caused me to hesitate and question the girl. After finding out what happened between her and the animal drinkers I realized that she had been fooled by them the entire time."

"How exactly was she fooled by them?" Laurent asked suspiciously.

"The boy Edward had explained to her what mates were and somehow convinced Bella she was his." Victoria tried to reign in her anger at the stupid boy who tried to claim Bella. "She is actually his singer."

"How do we know for sure this is true? Maybe they are actually mates." Riley jumped when Victoria slammed her fist on the table.

"They are not mates." Victoria said through gritted teeth. "She never felt the pull. He also left and hasn't been back to see her in over three months. Tell me how long can you realistically go without seeing your mate?"

Laurent thought this through. "That still doesn't explain why you are not holding her responsible."

"I'm not holding her responsible because some vampire with a chip on his shoulder became possessive of his singer. They actually thought James and I were mates." Victoria told them.

Riley laughed. "You and James? That's hilarious. Why would they think that?"

"I got the impression from what Bella told me that they follow the lead of this Edward boy because he can read minds." Victoria said.

"He has a gift?" Laurent asked.

Victoria nodded. "Yes, apparently most of them do. One can see the future based on decisions someone makes, the largest is stronger than a normal vampire and the one with the bite marks can manipulate emotions."

"Damn." Riley sighed. "He never even had a chance."

"Not against those gifts." Laurent agreed. "I still don't understand why we are giving the girl a pass though. It was the fact that he was tracking her that led to his demise."

"The girl is off limits." Victoria hissed. "She got caught up in something she had no control over."

Laurent leaned back in his chair. "OK I got it, but that does lead to another question. Why didn't they turn her to kill her if she knew what they were? They broke the law."

"I don't understand why they would leave her unprotected against the Volturi."Riley said."If they were to find out about her they won't give her the chance to change they will just kill her."

The glass of beer Victoria was holding shattered in her hand at the thought. "They won't get to her. I won't let them."

"You seem very protective of this girl. Is there some reason for that?" Laurent asked as he motioned for the waitress to bring them towels to clean up the mess.

In reply Victoria just snarled at him as she jumped up from her chair and made her way out the bar. Staying was a bad idea with how angry she was feeling. She wanted to kill every human there and wreck the bar at the thought of Bella being killed. She vowed to herself right then that she would do everything in her power to keep the girl safe even if that meant turning her herself. It was with that thought she made her to the park were she knew the homeless liked to sleep. She was in the mood for a snack before she made her way to Bella's to leave her present to find in the morning.