Hey Guys, this is my second attempt at this story. This chapter is very much the same as the old one, except with Dimitri and I rewrote bits of it. It will get more different from next chapter onwards though. Read and enjoy, and I'd love it if you guys could review and give me some feedback!

Chapter 1

I felt her fear before I heard her scream. Blood, tangled metal and the bodies of her family replaced my dream. I had been at the beach, laughing along with some hot guys when I had felt it. It had drawn me into her nightmare; I felt the pain and the horror along with her. It was a familiar scene, but it terrified her all the same.

"Lissa! Wake up! You're not there!" I bolted to her side, shaking her gently awake. My voice was soothing, a tone I reserved only for her. "Lissa!"

"Andre!" she moaned. I had to wake her. "Oh God!"

"Liss!" I spoke louder. She was beginning to awaken.

"Rose… I had that dream again." She told me, shaking. There were thick black bags under her eyes, owing to the nightmares how weak she was getting.

"I know." I told her softly. "When was the last time we did a feeding?"

I couldn't remember the last time I had given her my blood. It explained why she was so weak; why the nightmare had almost overcome her.

We sat in silence, as she tried to make an excuse. She hated hurting me; seeing me weak in exchange for her strength. But she knew that I would do what I needed to keep her alive and well, despite her reservations.

"Umm, Friday? You were busy and needed your strength…" She tried to reason. It was Tuesday, she had gone 5 day without blood. That was nearly unheard-of for a Moroi, a royal especially.

I leant my head forward, coaxing her to bite into the soft flesh of my neck. Even without the bond you could have seen the bloodlust take over as she bit into my skin.

I have to lock my jaw down to keep from screaming, my teeth breaking through the soft flesh of my lower lip.

The pain was excruciating, before the ecstasy took over. I reveled in the pain, while hating the pleasure the endorphins brought me. It was a weakness I couldn't completely. She broke the contact almost immediately and took only enough blood that she felt stronger.

I felt a goofy grin on my face from the endorphins. I sat, trying to shake the bliss they brought me as well as the fatigue the blood loss brought.

"I'm going to get you some food." Lissa told me, her skin beginning to turn a familiar shade of red.

Or roommates cat, Jeremy jumped onto the windowsill, glaring at me. He seemed to hate me, but adored Lissa so we had a mutual relationship – he made Lissa happy so I let him be; and he liked Lissa's stroking. We had rented a room with him for the past month, thinking that we would be safer close to a large population of people.

It was then that I saw them. They hid clumsily behind a tree, 6 or so large men. It was clear from Jeremy's distaste that they weren't just ordinary humans creepily watching us, but dhampirs. They were close enough to see what Lissa and I had just done, especially with their enhanced eyesight. How could I be so stupid? Why had I not spared a glance out the window before I fed Lissa?

Grabbing shoes and our wallets, I rushed down to kitchen to find Lissa cutting a sandwich in half. She smiled at me, handing me half the sandwich. I wolfed it down, while Lissa realized what was going on.

"There not, no." She stuttered, before turning to me. "What do we do?"

"Get the keys. We have to go. NOW!" I told her, she knew what to do, we'd done this before.

"What? Why do you want my keys?" Jeremy stumbled into the room, obviously drunk.

Easy, I thought.

"Jeremy, we need your keys." Lissa compelled Jeremy, her voice soothing and believable. Jeremy reached into her pocket, withdrew his keys and handed them to Lissa. "And where is it parked?"

"The corner by Brown, two blocks over" Jeremy spoke dreamily.

"Thank you! Forget you saw us tonight. And go to bed." Lissa ordered as she pulled on her shoes and I pulled her out the door.

From there we ran, as fast as we could. I pulled Lissa along behind me, and through the bond I could feel her pushing herself to the limit. Nearing Brown, I could hear guardians on our trail.

3 stepped out before us, forming an arrow around the car. I recognized one as Stan Alto, a guardian I had particularly hated while at the academy. I was glad to have an opportunity to kick his ass.

I stopped, jerking Lissa behind me as I stepped in front in a defensive stance. Stan smiled cockily at me, he seemed to think he'd one. He stepped forward.

"Now, now Rose. Come back willingly and we won't have to hurt you." He said, the rest of the guardians were closing in around us now. There were 12 in total. Reaching back, I tied by hair in a pony tail. I wouldn't let my hair be the cause of our capture, also, I thought it would be a great time to show off my 4 molnija marks.

Along the way, we had found an dhampir who had been trained to draw the marks, but was independent of the guardians, a vigilante you could call him. He saw me kill the strigoi, and therefore, decided that I deserved the marks that go with killing one.

I heard a sharp intake of breath behind me, they had clearly caught site of my marks. I smirked, slowly leading Lissa towards the car.

That was when I saw them. The ghosts. The took the shapes of people, dead people. I saw Lissa's family- a disturbing reminder of the draw I had witnessed early in the evening. There were others, too. Each was sad, the seemed to call me too them, calling me into death. No one else could see them, I faced them alone. Lissa seemed to sense my feelings, this had happened before.

Just as Stan tensed to strike, another guardian stepped forward. He was tall – 6'6 or taller and well built. He was hot; it just wasn't the time to muse about his looks. He glanced at Stan sharply, telling to halt his attack while I remained defensive.

Noticing my distraction, Stan made a move at me, dodging around the tall dhampir and ignoring his look. He didn't get far though, I struck out at him, taking him by surprised as he landed on his ass. The pain began in my head. I felt myself lose my muscle control as my body was dominated by the pain.

"Rose?" Lissa pleading.

I feel to my knees, though I never felt the impact. Before I blacked out though, I swear I heard Lissa scream.