His frigid hands snaked out with such speed that I had no time to react. In one fluid motion he'd knocked the silver stake out of my right hand and gripped my neck. I clawed at the vice around my throat, digging my nails in a futile attempt to fight him off. I was scratching with such velocity that I felt my fingers were bleeding.

In short time I had given up and let my arms fall limply to my sides. A smirk spread across his handsome face and he let up on his death grip, not by much, I still was struggling to breath. My eyes narrowed as I allowed my gaze to scan up his smooth face, past his chiseled cheekbones to his eyes. Those dark chocolate eyes I had fallen in love with we're now scrutinizing me, those offensive crimson orbs wanted me dead. They longed for my final breath.

But there was something in the back of his gaze that made me believe that my last moments would be as hard for him as it was accepting that he is gone for me. He was a Stigori. It had to have been my mind playing tricks, an illusion of the past that I could not let go of. But he was the first man I had ever loved, the only man. He had me, heart and soul, alive or dead.

It was only fitting that he be the one to take my life.

"I wanted you, Rose." My breath hitched and I went still. "Since the moment I awoke all I could think about was you," His tone was cold and I felt myself trying to flinch away from his words. "Then when you were there, in Novosibirsk, I wanted you even more." I looked back down to his soft lips, the smirk was gone, replaced with, sadness. Not in the expected sense, his demonic mouth seemed to twist it into a grimace. I hadn't wanted this to be my final memory of my God. I tried to look anywhere except him, but when he noticed my eyes start to dart away from him he squeezed.

I snapped my attention back to him and glanced up as his expression again, allowing myself another peak into his eyes. My own hollowed expression faded as I noticed their lust for my death had subsided, making his eyes softer, to an extent. My eyes widened as the realization of what he was trying to tell me finally sunk in.

He loved me.

The reason he had wanted to awake me so badly, wasn't just because he longed for me. Not because I would prove a worthy ally, but because he hadn't forgotten his love for me. Stigori are incapable of remembering what love is, but Dimitri had somehow retained that small part of his humanity. It wasn't enough to stop him from being a monster though.

"We could have been together, Rose..." His voice sounded far off, like he was speaking through a tunnel. I was still struggling to breath and was beginning to feel light headed. My lids drooped, and I started to feel sleepy. I tried to fight it, but my eyes kept slipping closed. He let up the pressure on my larynx once more and I was able to take a big gulp of air.

I slowly opened my eyes and though my slit lids I saw him move closer to me, for a moment I thought he was going to bite me. My body ached for the simple end, the ecstasy numbing out any pain. Instead he brought his lips to my ear, parting my hair with his nose.

"I will always love you, Roza," his words were whispered, but I could feel that they were true. They always had been and always would be. I allowed my eyes to close completely. A large smile flashed across my face. I imagined I looked like a lunatic waiting for the electric shock therapy, I couldn't help it though, my heart has skipped a beat and despite the circumstance I felt complete again.

His nimble fingers tightened around my neck as he swiftly pulled away. He craned my neck upwards and loosed his hold. I didn't dare open my eyes, I wanted to live in the fantasy, that when I finally did open them, we'd be back at St. Vladmir's.

His coat rustled as he bent forward. His warm breath tickled my lips as he moved closer. By the time our lips met, hot tears were flowing down my face. The kiss was soft, passionate, like it had been before Dimitri had died.

When our lips parted I felt a part of me die. "Always," I sighed. I still didn't open my eyes, I never would again. Behind my lids, Dimitri and I were in that world we would never go to again, in the cabin, making love. That was all I needed to see.

His hand dropped from my neck, only to be moved to grip both my shoulders. He squeezed lightly, almost reassuringly, as he held me in place. Getting ready to destroy me.

Just like before the kiss, his breath tickled my neck. He kissed the base of my neck then then ran his lips up midway. His breath caught against my skin and I relaxed. I shivered a little when his lips parted, and he teased my neck with his fangs. I wanted him to bite me, my entire being longed for it.

"Always," He softly murmured against my skin. The sharp sting of his fangs piercing my neck made my head spin, the endorphins kicking in not to long after. Then the world went still.