PROLOGUE

"I SAID STOP!"

I pushed my legs forward until I could feel them no more. Running at "vampire speed" was useful, but it really tires you off. I felt the cold wind that was blowing that night, and my wavy hair moved as I ran without stopping.

My breath was going away, and I thought I would collapse any minute there. I turned at a corner, in an empty ally, and when I turned, I caught a glimpse of three bodies closing in on me.

"These Petrova chicks are really hard to catch, aren't they?" A tall man said. He was wearing black clothes and he had a big scar on his face.

I could feel the horror in my face, as he got closer to me. Two more bodies appeared beside him, facing me.

"What do you want?" I screamed, horrified. I swear to God that if my heart could beat, it would be right out of my chest. At the moment, I felt like crying. I was exhausted, and I felt like giving up right there.

"Klaus would love to see you again, Lidya… We're here to take you back"

I took a step back until I felt the brick wall with my back. He saw that, and he prepared to lounge at me. I defended myself, and my fangs showed. My eyes turned red, and I suddenly felt a big urge to grab him and just finish him off. I ran towards the third unknown vampire, and before he could grab me, I snapped his neck. He fell onto the floor, and then I went for the leader.

I began to run towards him, but something stopped me completely.

"Gah!" I felt a stabbing pain in my chest. I could tell that it was coming from right beside my heart. Then, I saw blood, my blood, and a wooden stake that was piercing the left side of my chest. That was bad, and I wasn't healing quickly, for I hadn't fed in about a week. I was weak, and they had me.

"NO! You fool! She needs to be alive for Klaus!" He faced the second vampire, apparently the one who had stabbed me. I couldn't see clearly, and I fell to my knees.

"Ugh… you – bastard…" I said as I felt like fading from the pain in my body.

"Come on, sweetie, you won't escape. Might as well come with us now."

I made a grin. "Well, you… can go to hell"

His eyebrows closed in, and he walked towards me. His fist got tighter, and he stood in front of me as I lay on the cold floor. I closed my eyes, and I felt a hard punch on my face. I grunted loudly, and now my face was covered in blood too. The blood stained the cold floor, and I was losing myself…

The second vampire took a step forward. "Come on, let's get on with this – "

"No. Leave her. She won't make it if we take her. We'll come for her later. Klaus needs her alive." Those were the last words I heard before they disappeared. I saw nothing but darkness, and I wasn't feeling really good. I couldn't believe it took that little to take me down.

I began to fade, and then I felt raindrops fill my face one my one. I closed my eyes and let the darkness consume me. The strong smell of blood filled the air, and I got dizzy. Finally, I blacked out, just as I felt two cold hands grab me and pull me up…