Warning: Spoilers

||The New Rose ||

xxx

When I opened my eyes, I was returned to the house.

I could scent with surprising accuracy, the dead bodies of the Strigoi I had taken down, and the others that Dimitri had killed as I had tried to escape. Their corpses smelt different, I guessed he had burnt them for safety measures.

Dimitri sat not far from me, his eyes cold and calculating. I glared at him and was not afraid of the consequence.

Glancing down, I raised an eyebrow at the state of my body.

My wounds from the battle, the fall from the window, fighting with Dimitri – all of these were gone, but replaced with staggeringly white skin. Pale and glowing, I would've made a remark had I been myself. But I wasn't.

'I am Strigoi.' I said and my voice seemed to echo eerily. I breathed deeply, taking in other scents around me. I felt my pulse in my ears; I did not feel undead which surprised me.

Dimitri hesitated in answering. 'Of course. I could not let you escape.' He told me, glancing away.

I stood up effortlessly; the mere act of exerting energy pleased me. I felt strong. I felt powerful. I knew I would never be inferior again.

I grinned. To give up my soul for eternal power? Why hadn't I let Dimitri awaken me sooner? No matter; at least all the other Strigoi were killed in the process.

My tongue slid over my new front teeth with interest. The fang points did not hurt me, nor did they feel like ice like Dimitri's had.

I turned to my creator, who was still avoiding my gaze.

'All of this is ours.' I said proudly. 'We should be rejoicing, and yet you are displaying weakness.' My tone was cold and disapproving. I hoped for a reaction out of him, to display my new body in a fight for dominance. Dimitri however, was not taking my bait.

'Don't you feel similar to who you were Rose?' He asked me. His mouth was a grim line, but his eyes looked almost human without the red colour. I wanted to laugh at him.

'I feel completely different. I am free. No longer do I have to have that spoilt Moroi princess's thoughts invading my head. No longer do I have to put someone else's needs before mine. I am my own person and it feels good.'

Dimitri looked upset, an emotion that seemed wrong on a Strigoi's face. Rage, bloodlust, anger all looked normal. Sadness, misery; did not.

'I might be Strigoi, but I still enjoy my Western novels, I still remember who I was, I still felt something for you when you came searching for me Rose; my diet changed is all that mattered. My attitude may have become a little bit out of control, but I'm not that much different.'

His words sounded like poison to my ears. To remember your past life was not a good way to be strong for the future. If I was the same person, I'd be off on some crusade for someone else and not myself. No, my schemes benefited me only from now on.

Dimitri looked as if he sensed my aggressive thoughts and stood up to come closer to me.

I narrowed my eyes at him and tensed, prepared for a fight if he wanted one. His arms went slack by his side as he stepped closer, keeping eye contact at all times. I had beaten him before when we both were dhampirs; I could beat him now that we were both Strigoi.

'Rose calm down, I don't want to fight you. I've fought you enough today.' He told me, sounding annoyed.

I lowered my arms, but kept watching him.

'You must feel something like the old Rose.' He murmured, coming closer still. I felt ready to hit him, but a small part of my mind rejected the notion. I frowned as he placed his arms on mine, but did not move.

'What about this?' As he said that, he trailed his fingers up my arms gently. Had I been dhampir still, the touch would be ice cold. But all I felt was a warm, tingling sensation. Against my will, my breath hitched a bit.

Dimitri smiled, and unlike when we were fighting, when I saw his eyes, they were as warm as a Strigoi's could be. He moved his arms to my shoulders, giving me a small massage. It eased my tension and for the first time since my awakening, I relaxed.

When he moved closer still, so that his breath was gently brushing against my neck, I knew my heartbeat was getting quicker. I didn't want to desire him; I didn't want to be reminded of who I had been before my awakening. But he was so tempting, even as a Strigoi I could not suppress the needs of my new body. Every inch of me yearned for him. After all, it had been the exchanging of blood that had turned me. Part of him coursed through my veins.

He bared his teeth and gently grazed the side of my neck with his fangs. I almost gasped as memories of the endorphins came flooding back. I wished he could take my blood, even though part of me rebelled at the idea of losing potential energy. I knew Strigoi could not drink from other Strigoi, Dimitri had told me not long ago. But the memories were so strong, that I reached back with my hand and pressed it against his neck to remind him of what I was remembering.

Dimitri retracted his fangs and instead placed a soft kiss against the spot where he had previously been taking blood from. I could feel his lips smiling against my skin: he knew what he was doing to me.

'Now tell me that the new Rose doesn't like that.' He whispered, his lips still pressing against my skin in small caresses.

I wanted to yell at him - scream at him to stop being wasteful of the time we have; time we could be spending on feeding or coercion of other Strigoi. But when I opened my mouth to reply, the words were not the ones in my mind.

'You said, if I was awakened, we could-,' I stopped myself, forcefully biting down on my lip.

I was new, I wanted control, dominance. I didn't need physical pleasure right now.

My hand that wasn't caressing his face clenched by my side. I wanted to hit him, give him a reality check. Back when we were dhampirs, he would always remind me of our reality, and I would force him to see otherwise. Now the roles were reversed; it was so frustrating.

'Mhm,' Dimitri turned me so I was facing him. 'I did, didn't I?' He placed his forehead against mine and I slipped out of his grip, a few paces away. I enjoyed the speed of it and felt the desire for him diminish as my desire for showing my strength increased.

Dimitri raised an eyebrow at me, curious at my reaction. He must be grateful I wasn't trying to hurt him at least. I winked and strode off, back towards my former imprisonment. That must really be getting his attention now.

My lapse in words angered me; so I admitted to myself that I still wanted Dimitri as much as I did as a dhampir. That did not mean I would let him take control of the situation.

If I was going to be denied my personal goals as a Strigoi by my own body, I would at least go down Rose style.