I do not own the content or characters of Stephanie Meyers 'The Twilight Saga'.

TW/CW: Assault, Drugs, Alcohol, Alcohol/Drugs consumption, Sexual assault, murder, violence, language.

Chapter 2: Virtue or Vice

Vail POV:

With my mind made up, I manoeuvred past the gawking humans and out of the confines of the park. The sun had fully set and once I made it to the tree line, I took off in a dead run, straight west. I figured I could cut up through Oregon north in order to get to Forks. The last known location of my baby brother. The Volturi keep pretty up to date tabs on my brother. Whenever I lose him, all I have to do is ask Marcus and I know where he is again.

I may be a shit sibling, but I still liked to make sure my brother was alive.

Marcus also warned me that my brother was no longer alone. He has a mate, sons, and daughters. He has a family. I hope heis amenableto an extra. A sister to him and his mate, an aunt to his adoptive children... I hope that this trip isn't in vain. I know it's quite selfish, to have spent the last 340 ish years avoiding himand now hoping he will grant me forgiveness and a place in his life.

I just hope my explanation is enough, that he might see my reasoning and it makes sense to him. I hope he forgives me for what I did to him, what I did to our father. I really fucking hope he doesn't kill me.

I stop in Portland for a snack, it's around 2 in the morning. I quickly shape shift into a curvy, beautiful young woman. I change my outfit to a tight fitted red dress that gapes in the front, showing teasing glimpses of her round breasts. With tight fitting red gloves lining my arms, protecting my skin from random human touches, and tall, thin stiletto heels, I called this suit my hunting garb. I'm a shape shifter, you see? Honestly, it was the greatest boon I could have been given as a vampire. I never felt comfortable being a woman all the time. I sometimes woke up wondering why I even had breasts or a vagina at all. My ability let me bypass the... discomfort being in the wrong body brought me. The priests of my youth would have called me an abomination for that feeling alone. I killed the priests of my youth. I wouldn't drink from them though, I never drank from child molesters, including my father. Their deaths were never swift either.

I'm getting morbid and off topic, back to my need to murder and consume humans to survive.

I followed my ears to a deep pumping music coming from one of the abandoned warehouses on the outskirts of Portland. I believe, according to the humans inside, this was called a rave? Pulsating, flashing lights strobed out of the cracks of the door guarded by a beefy human male. He leered over me for a few moments before nodding and opening the door for me to pass through. Human men were weak, I intended to take full advantage of thattonight.

I walked down a black hallway, past the humans in all states of undress and sexual activities, into the main hub of the building. The scent of human sweat and blood soaked the air in an intoxicating mist. The humans themselves were either grinding against each other on the dance floor or at the make shift bars ordering drinks. Or they were in the hallways fucking, I thought wryly. The balcony I was standing on surrounded the lower level pit inside. On the opposite side of mewas a staircase that led down to the main floor and the mass of horny, drunk, and/or high humans. In the corners I spot young men and women sniffing white powders into their nosesor covertly tossing a pill into their mouth followed by a chug of their drinks.

In the middle of the dance floor, there was a tall man. I tracked his movements, as he flitted around the floor, slyly moving from woman to woman. Talking, flirting, touching, then leaving as quickly as he arrived. But only after he dropped a small pill into their drinks when they were too busy to notice. As he walked away from one of his unknowing victims, he passed a man who slipped money into his hands before stalking around his target. Each woman the main man flirted with was the target of another man. They had a system going. They used the attractive man to get the women to let their guards down in order to drug them. It was sick.

Obviously my target was the main man. The one drugging the drinks and taking the money. Without him, the other men would have a harder time drugging these women. Might even get caught doing it. Rapists tended to be my favorite meal. They came with the least amount of guilt.

Trailing my hand along the railing surrounding the balcony, I made my way towards the staircase. My gait was slow, sensual. My hips swaying as I walked. Slowly, the men on the balcony took notice, followed by some of the men on the floor. Soon enough, main man fuck wad looked at me, glanced away, then did a double take. As I walked down the stairs, he made his way through the throngs of people, ignoring the money being pressed to his chest by other men.

Once I reached the bottom, he deftly moved around 2 people and came to stand by me, momentarily speechless. I raised an eyebrow. People falling all over themselves for a body that wasn't mine wasn't something I considered flattery. It's like reading someone else's book and being praised for the words it contains. Granted, this body was of my own design and had vampiric flawlessness, it wasn't mine. I used it for hunting. The only other body I considered my own was the one I used when I felt like a man. It was my physical traits, just masculine. It was still me.

This man leering at me like I was some sacred gift dropped in his lap by a merciful god did nothing for me. In fact, it made me want to kill him more.

He coughed lightly before speaking.

"Hello, my name is Adam. Can I buy you a drink?"

I smiled wryly at him, "Sure, lead the way."

He offers to take my hand and I thank my rarely lucky stars I remembered the gloves this time. I place my hand in his and he steers me over to one of the makeshift bars. I order a Bloody Mary, simply because I'm a huge fucking fan of puns, and turn my attention fully to my dinner. He begins chatting with me, light conversation about his job and hobbies and the like. I can tell it's all bullshit. Designed to relax me and think of him as a person, not a threat. Hilarious, really, seeing as I was employing the same tactics. A light touch here, flirty eyes as he speaks, laughing at his god awful jokes. He thinks I'm interested. I am, don't get me wrong, but not in the way he believes.

As we are speaking, his hand moves closer and closer to my drink. Almost unconsciously. As he tells another joke that I fake laugh at, he animates his hands awkwardly and I hear the lightest plink of liquid. The pill is in my drink. This disgusting human thinks he could possibly hunt me? It'd be almost funny had it not been so absurd. I pretend to sip out of my drink anyways and his eyes crinkle in barely held back delight.

As the conversation wore on, I pretended to start feeling sick, that maybe I had drank too much. His concerned air was almost convincing. Had he not had the slightest smirk on my face, I could almost believe it was real. He quietly let me out of the building and into an adjacent empty alleyway. He attempted to shove me into a wall and I let him, continuing on with my show. He shoved his hand under my dress and shuddered when he realized I wasn't wearing panties.

He tsked, "Such a naughty girl, one would almost think you were asking for this." He leaned down to suck at my neck.

"Asking for what?" I pretended to slur and lightly knocking his head out of the way so I could move my head to his shoulder, closer to his neck.

"You know what, you fucking slut." He laughed, throwing his head back.

When I started darkly laughing with him, his laughter died. His eyes widened as he stared at me, as I let the monster show through my eyes. As I let him see how deep red they truly were. And I just kept laughing.

I ripped his hand from between my legs and broke it. He screamed in agony as he fell to the ground, choking on his sobs. I lightly kicked him in the stomach which knocked all the air from his lungs as he flew back into the brick wall on the other side of the alley. I sauntered over to him and crouched down, pleased to hear him cry. Hear him beg. It was a beautiful symphony of pain. He pleaded with me to stop hurting him, to leave him alone.

I chuckled softly, "like you would have left me alone if I begged? Like those other women would be left alone by their tormentors when they begged?" I cooed .

He started sobbing harder.

"No, no, no, Adam. We are past begging. We are past forgiveness. No, I'm afraid there is only pain for you," I breathed into his ear.

He flinched violently.

I pulled back, smiling down at him widely.

"Pain, and death Adam. It's time to pay the piper."

He had only precious moments to analyse and understand my words before he sucked in a breath to scream and my teeth clenched around his throat, cutting off that scream before it even began.

As I drank, he tried his best to fight me off, crying thick tears as he did so. I was remorseless. When his body fell lifeless to the ground, my only thought about this monster of a man was that it was a shame his mother didn't swallow instead. I tossed him into a dumpster and set the dumpster on fire. It was a tribute to his life, really.

I shifted back into myself and continued on my path north. To my brother. Who would probably still judge me for killing this human, even if the human deserved it. I heard his family were all vegetarians. I had no such desire for humanity. I guess we can add that to the list of things I need my brother to forgive me for.