Hey folks! This is Kira's first ever multi-chapter fanfiction. I've put a lot of thought into it, so I'm trying really hard not to let it get abandoned. This is set AFTER Frostbite, so yes, there are spoilers. I'm not used to keeping up with something like this, so bear with me please. :3

Disclaimer; Only Jacob is mine. Tell 'em, Jake.

Jacob; Kira only owns me. She's not too proud of it though, I'm just a violent Stri -- -is kicked- OUCH! Sorry. Kira does not own Vampire Academy or any of Richelle Mead's characters. So please don't sue her.

Note: Except for Jacob's bits, the entire story is in Rose's POV. And Jacob's bits are obvious.

Chapter 1: Watched

Cloaked in the safety of the shadows, a man peeked out from behind a pine tree, his red irises peering into the school campus. Even from the safety of the snow-covered tree, he could feel the power of the wards radiating outwards, and his very essence shuddered from the force of life.

The man's chalky white face was a perfect mask, completely devoid of emotion. Only his vicious red eyes, which marked him for what he was, showed the tumult of anger, excitement, and hunger he felt.

"Oh, Rose..." he murmured. "Such a shame that that lovely body is going to waste." He tuted softly. "Such a shame I'll have to rip it apart for killing Master Isiah."

The Strigoi's red-tinged eyes followed Rose Hathaway as she walked through the snow, seemingly carefree. He bared his fangs at her for a moment, and then he turned and quickly retreated back into the copse of trees.

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Guilt. Grief. Anger. Helplessness.

I didn't really know what to feel. Although two weeks had passed since my return from Spokane, I was still pretty torn up from all that had happened. The images of Isiah killing Mason, and me killing Isiah, were still fresh in my mind.

So not cool.

I tried my best to keep the 'tough Rose' ask on, I really did. Only a few people managed to see through it. Lissa knew me so well that she always knew when something was up. Mia, Eddie, and Christian knew is was a farce because they were all as shaken as I was. Nothing ever fooled Adrian - the damn flowers kept on coming, and Dimitri...well.

Ah, Dimitri.

I sighed as I trudged through the snow, and then abrubtly stopped. The hairs on the back of my neck prickle, and I would've bet my entrie wardrobe that someone was watching me. I glanced around nervously, but saw no one. Finally, I shrugged and continued my trek to the gym. It had felt so similar to how Lissa had felt before, so I checked on her through the bond, only to pull away quickly. Yikes. She was fine, alright. She was with Christian again. Very happy.

Eventually, I reached the gym and, after one more look around, opened the door, feeling slightly anxious and very much perplexed. Dimitri glanced up at me from where he was sprawled on the gym floor, reading a Western novel as always, and smiled. I had to surpress a happy sigh. After the kiss after my molnija ceremony, I had leaned on him a lot. He was never, ever fooled by my tough-girl act. He knew what killing was like. He knew what death was like. He was the only one. I relyed on the practices to get me through the day. Soon, though, I wouldn't have that, thanks to the upcoming field experience. By now, I qualified, and I probably had very good chances of being assigned to Lissa.

My mind wandered as I ran the now effortless three miles Dimitri sent me on. My thoughts flashed from the strange sensation of being watched, then to Lissa, and then to our bond. That feeling had been so alike to what I had felt Lissa feel before we left, through our bond. Now she was pretty content, mostly. The medicine was doing a good enough job in surpressing the depression, but she said she was feeling closer to the magic than ever. Although she didn't say it out loud, I was acutely aware of how she hated not having the magic. The bond did a good job of ensuring I always knew what she was thinking, to my dismay.

I suddenly recalled what Adrian had said to me in my dream. "You have shadows. You take them from Lissa." I remembered those bundles of darkness in the recesses of Lissa's mind; the odd shudderings of the bond; the disappearance of those knots... and how I always had dark bursts of rage afterwards.

The rest of practice passed without incident, and I bounced away from the gym in a much better mood than I had arrived in. Dimitri's kisses can do that to a girl. I was almost to the drom when I noticed a misshapen lump lying on the ground a ways away. Curious, I approached it, only to have to repress the urge to gag.

My mind raced as it took in the gruesome sight. The lump was a snow hare, covered in long gashes. It took me a second to realize that there wasn't a drop of blood to be seen. Not on the snow, not on the hare, not even in the hare. The poor creature had been entirely drained of blood. I shuddered in horror. Glancing around, I realized that the hare was in plain view. I grabbed a long stick and gently pushed in into the bushes, wincing from the smell. The last thing I needed was for someone to notice and start the nasty rumors from when Natalie was terrorizing Lissa with the dead animals.

Natalie was dead now, so I had no idea who - or what - could be behind this. Grimacing, I walked away from the bushes quickly and forced it out of my mind. My cautiously cheerful mood from before was gone.

Suddenly, the thought of facing Lissa and the rest of the school for another long, agonizing day made me want to scream.

(A/N: I will love you forever and ever and ever if you review. D Reviews will encourage me to keep going. Even if it's bad! Review! :3)