Rose –

I led Dimitri by the hand through the streets of Novosibirsk. My familiarity with a city in his native land seemed to thrill him, and he had no qualms with letting me take the lead. I found that I could recall every detail of the city, every building, every park, and every crack in the sidewalk. The moon shone like the sun, and my Strigoi senses missed nothing. I felt like I was seeing the world for the first time, and I guess in a way, I was. Tall buildings loomed on all sides of me, and I could hear the cars as they sped down the narrow streets. The air was thick with a mixture of sweet aromas, but none of them appealed to me in the same way that blood had. The thought of more blood made me shiver with anticipation.

I came to a halt suddenly at the end of a city block. Any other being would have been caught off guard by my abruptness and run right into me, but Dimitri didn't miss a beat.

"We're here," I told him.

He narrowed his eyes, probably trying to determine what made this particular block so special. "Where exactly is here?" he asked me, raising an eyebrow.

The corners of my lips quirked up in amusement, "You'll see."

Right on cue, a group of people spilled out of the door to one of the apartment buildings. There were four of them, three males and a female, all of them dressed in club attire. Dimitri tensed beside me. "Dhampirs?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"The unpromised ones I told you about."

Dimitri turned to gaze down at me. Despite my heels, he was still considerably taller than I was. "They're perfect," he said. His Russian accent had gotten thicker since returning to Siberia, and it only made me want him more.

We both studied the group intently, and I ran my tongue across the tips of both my fangs, wondering what it would feel like when I pierced the delicate skin of their necks.

"Can we turn them all?" I asked, puckering out my bottom lip.

Dimitri's red eyes darkened as he considered my words. "We can do whatever you want, Roza. We can have the world." He leaned down to press a kiss to my lips. My skin was normally cold as ice, but warmth seemed to spread throughout my body as he kissed me harder. I ran my hands over his taught chest, leaving one splayed across his heart and tangling the other in his hair. I didn't need the world. I needed him to touch me.

He pulled away before the kiss could turn into something else entirely, a knowing look on his face. "Let's go."

We followed the Dhampirs down the streets of Novosibirsk, careful to maintain a safe distance. My shoes clicked against the concrete of the sidewalk, and a few people stopped to gawk at me as I strode passed them.

Dimitri wrapped one arm around my waist, pulling me close to him so that no one would mistake me for anything other than his. I didn't mind. It also let the women who turned to stare at Dimitri know that they didn't stand a chance. Humans were nothing compared to the might of the Strigoi.

The Dhampirs stopped in front of a building that looked more like a warehouse than a nightclub, but I recognized it as the first place I had gone hunting when I came to Novosibirsk. Denis opened the door to the club and gestured for the others to enter. Loud, thumping music poured out onto the streets, filling the air with a heavy bass beat. The four of them disappeared into the club, and Dimitri immediately turned on me.

"Try not to draw attention to yourself after we've done inside," he said, his undead eyes cold and calculating

"I can't help it that people are drawn to me," I said, batting my eyelashes and feigning innocence.

"I'm serious," he growled.

"So am I," I snapped, "We're a team now, stop telling me what to do. I'm not an idiot, I know better than to snap some human's neck in the middle of the dance floor."

"That's not what I'm worried about," he hissed. "Don't make direct eye contact with anyone, and watch your movements. You're stronger, and faster than you can imagine."

"I think you underestimate my imagination," I told him as I ran a hand through my hair. "It would probably make you blush."

His red eyes flashed with amusement. "We'll have to test that out later."

Dimitri reached for my hand without another word and pulled me toward the club. He wrenched open the door and the sounds and smells nearly fried my heightened senses. Smoke and sweat and alcohol hung heavy in the air, and the sounds of glasses clinking and people laughing mixed with the bass in a symphony of desperation and reckless abandon.

I focused on the way Dimitri's skin burned against mine as he held my hand and led me through the sea of writhing bodies that crowded every corner of the club. I had to keep my eyes narrowed to avoid being blinded by the strobe lights. Suddenly I didn't find the idea of hunting in a nightclub very appealing.

Dimitri had no problem carving a path to the bar, the people parted for him like the Red Sea. He ordered two drinks and pressed one of them into my hand.

"Don't drink it," he whispered into my ear. "Just hold onto it, pretending to drink helps us blend."

I nodded my understanding and pressed the rim of the glass to my lips. "Let's dance," I said, lowering the glass.

I turned on my heel, not waiting for him to follow, not actually caring if he did. My heart was beating in time with the music, and the fact that my heart was even still beating felt like something that needed to be celebrated. I found a spot on the dance floor and closed my eyes, letting the sounds fill me up. I began to move, swaying and turning, not paying attention to anything but the way the music pulsed through me.

A hand on my wrist interrupted my dancing, and I fought the urge to turn on them and rip their throat out. I recalled the promise I had made about not murdering humans, and I steeled myself, twisting around to see who had dared to touch me. I glanced down at the hand and saw that the nails were painted black. My eyes slowly swept from their wrist and up their arm to the hollow of their neck and eventually I found myself staring into the face of Tamara.

I tilted my head to the side so that my dark hair swept across my eyes and offered her the most disarming smile I could manage.

"Rose!" she said, struggling to be heard over the music. I could hear her just fine though.

"Tamara!" I squealed. "It's so good to see you!"

She leaned in closer, cupping a hand to her ear. "What? I'm sorry, I can barely hear you."

"Come on," I told her, beckoning her to follow me. "It's quieter outside."

Tamara followed me without hesitation as I wove a path through the bar patrons. We passed under the growing Cyrillic sign that marked the exit to the back alley. I pushed open the door and strode out into the poorly lit alley, taking special care to keep my back to Tamara.

"Rose," she said, closing the door behind her. "It's so good to see you!"

"It's good to see you too," I said softly, turning my head slowly to peer over my shoulder.

"We thought that…we thought you were dead." Tamara said, wringing her hands together nervously.

I could hear the emotion in her voice, the fear, the guilt, and the relief. It was strange that I could still recognize emotions, but I harbored none of them myself.

"I'm not dead," I told her, my voice smooth as silk. "I have never felt more alive."

Tamara was beginning to sweat, and I could hear her heart begin to work harder to pump the blood faster. I closed my eyes and inhaled the scent, focusing on her pulse. It was the best song I'd heard all night.

"Rose," she whispered. "What happened to you?"

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw her hand move toward the inside pocket of her leather jacket. I spun around faster than I thought possible and charged her. One of my hands wrapped around her throat and the other went for her wrist. I pushed her back until we collided with the brick wall, her head knocking back into it. In her hand was a silver stake that she had managed to grab before my assault. She struggled against me, trying to scrape the stake against my skin.

"Drop it," I growled through my fangs, squeezing her wrist.

Her eyes were wide with terror, and her heart was racing. I felt a carnal need begin to take over and I leaned in to graze my fangs across the delicate skin of her neck. Tamara screamed but her cries turned to moans the moment I sank my teeth into her. I pushed my body against hers and the stake clattered to the floor.

I'm not sure if anyone still reads this? Oh well! I know it's been a while, but I'm going to start rotating my writing schedule so that I can update each of my stories at least once a week!