I shot after Victoria, allowing my feet to carry me as fast as they could, falling quick and quiet against the floor of leaves.
She stood impatiently waiting for me when I reached her, leaning against a tall tree with wide spread reaching branches. I looked up briefly as I approached spotting a single line of ants scurrying up the face of the tree.
The trees and forest filled my senses. I could smell the damp rich soil beneath my feet and all the scents of animals crossed over around me, trailing off to be followed.
"When it comes to the others –" she started to speak but I cut her off.
"What others?" I asked. She glared at me and I felt my mouth clamp shut.
"Other newborns like you," she said. "I told you before Bella that I am sparing you but that in no way means that the Cullen's especially Edward are going to forgotten or forgiven. They will suffer all the same like I planned. It just won't be through your death anymore. Hopefully your disappearance will at least be enough to bring a few of his family back to Forks and if they don't come it won't take much to follow them to where ever they have chosen to live their human loving lives." She smirked at me as she saw it sink in. "Bella I am gambling here when it comes to letting you be alive so don't step out of line. You do what I say, you stick with Riley and try not to get killed. You get on the bad sides of one of these newborns and they will tear you apart," she said nonchalantly, hands folded over her chest.
"One other thing, they don't know who I am. They don't know what I look like. They were all changed by me and belong to me but Riley is the one who deals with all of them directly. I trust you won't speak a word of me Bella. If you do things might change back to where you are my enemy and I get warm and fuzzy feelings when envisioning the most horrible possible way of killing you. Do you understand?" I didn't hesitate to nod back to her.
It was beyond me why she wouldn't want them to know who she was but my mind was to caught up in trying not to fidget in her presence even while I was overtly aware of my muscles coiled and ready if she made a move. Her gaze stayed on me, I was uncomfortable under her scrutiny. She looked at me for such a long time I thought she might have wanted more of a concrete sign of my understanding other than just a nod but her eyes let up after a moment longer. "Make no mistake Bella you are no different to any of them. You are mine."
I hated the words but I was trapped even with all the advantages of what I was now, this was all I had. I had no doubt if I ran off then that she would have chased me down but only to kill me. She didn't find me amusing enough for second chances.
There was the sound of the lightest skimming of feet along the ground. I cocked my head to the side as I listened to the sound getting closer and louder. Then I could see Riley darting through the trees to us, he reached us not a moment later.
A look of surprise crossed his face when he stood before us, I don't think he had expected to see me here. Victoria didn't notice, "Take her hunting Riley. She's your responsibility now." Her tone was clipped and dismissive.
"You're not serious right?" Riley said but she was gone. I felt a flare of rage rise up inside me at that.
He looked after her with a sorrowful expression before reluctantly turning back to me seeing the look of annoyance on my face.
Riley raised a hand, "Look, I like this just about as much as you do but they nothing we can do to change it. So you do what I say and we will both get through this." I didn't answer but he pretended not to notice my hostility.
"Follow me." He turned on his heels and took off running past me, going the opposite way then one he came from.
I followed after him, and riley ran fast but after only a second of pushing myself more to his speed I realised it came as no struggle and I could feel my own strength as I ran in the shadows of his footsteps. They ached to shot me forward ahead of him. I knew I could go faster and I wanted to run faster but I remained behind him. Knowing that I didn't know where we were or ever where we were headed, I wouldn't have put it past Riley either to just let me run off and turn back, he didn't want to deal with me anyway.
I spotted the lights of Seattle when the realization hit me, until then my mind had been too focused on the burn in my throat and how new this whole were vampire was that it hadn't accrued to me Riley and Victoria had meant hunting humans, killing innocent people.
Panic leapt inside me as the ach in my throat sky rocketed.
We didn't stop at the edge of the city and it all hit me. I could taste them in the air. But as it all happened Riley took me by surprise and was there his hands like a vice around me.
"Hold your breath," he hissed in my ear.
Then we stood on the rooftop. He didn't let go of me for a long while, until he was sure I had regained some sense. We were further from the scent of humans but still I gritted my teeth and held my breath.
"You can't just have anyone. We have to pick the right people the ones no one will miss," Riley cautioned as he let go of me.
I was disgusted by the need burning with in me and the disappointment I felt in having to wait.
He led me over rooftops to a worst part of town. There were the shouts of man fighting in alley ways or right off the front steps of bars and people wondering down the streets swaying and stumbling on their own feet.
Riley was the one who spotted the girl, walking alone up and down this one street. It didn't take much to realise she was a hooker waiting for her next job. We made our way till we crouched on the roof of the building she stood out front of.
Riley looked over at me and nodded. He looked down at me arched one eyebrow, and said, "Go."
I couldn't do it. I had to hold out. I knew there was another way to live and that this wasn't right. I held myself ridged and shook my head. The rumble of a growl began to build in his chest but then it cut off and he dropped from the roof, barely a sound even to my ears. The girl stood with her back to him and I dropped down beside him but then he leapt for her, his hands wound around her neck, a twitch of the wrist then snap. She went limp in his hands.
With teeth gritted and holding his breath he held her out to me and commanded, "Drink." I shook my head again and his eyes narrowed.
"Of course you have to be fucking difficult," he muttered.
Riley shoved her at me and my hands reached instinctively and then she was there to close to ignore. Her neck was there, the blood filled veins of her neck not pulsing but visible through her transparent skin. And any grip I had slipped, a growl came through my lips and my teeth ripped through the dead girl's throat with no effort.
Her blood exploded into my mouth and then too soon her veins ran dry.
I looked down at the dead girl that I had dropped to the floor, her eyes wide and staring. I'd actually feed off someone.
I backed up in to the corner and sank to the floor, I caught Riley rolling his eyes at me as he walked up and through the girl's body over his shoulder.
"Get up," his voice was stern and I did, I got to my feet still half falling into the wall. "How do you expect to live if you can't handle feeding off someone else's kill? Pathetic."
Anger rose in me but I let it burn itself out instead of acting on it. I'd rather be pathetic just then rather than a monster.
"Now come on we have to dispose of the body."
