Half way through my sleep, I woke up to the sound of a loud thud. Well, not loud enough to wake anyone else up it seemed, but my enhanced hearing caught onto almost everything now. I was still in Dimitri's arms as he slept.
I didn't want to wake him—nor did I want to leave his side at all—so I crawled out of bed as carefully as I could. He shifted in the bed, but my subtle movement didn't seem to wake him. There was something strange going on in the institution, but I couldn't exactly figure out what it was. All I knew was that my senses were going off.
I gave Dimitri one last look before opening his door. I stepped out, quietly closing the door on the way out. The hallway was dark, but I didn't turn on the light. I didn't want to draw attention or wake anyone up, so I made sure my movements were inaudible. I stepped onto the staircase as quietly as I could and was grateful that the steps weren't made of wood.
I heard another noise, and it sounded like it was coming from outside the institute. It almost sounded like someone was throwing something against the building. My curiosity eventually got the best of me, and I quietly walked towards the front door. I pressed my ear against the door, but I couldn't hear anything other than the steady breathing of a guardian outside. I sighed, leaving the door until I heard another bang. This time, I opened the door and gasped when I found the guardian at the front lying on the ground. Blood dripped from his forehead, and beside him was a tennis-ball sized rock. There was blood on that too, and I came to the conclusion that someone must have thrown this at him on purpose. There were a few more rocks on the ground, indicating that whoever knocked this guardian out was trying to get some attention. I realized I probably shouldn't have been out here, but I didn't want to leave the guard out here when he was unconscious.
I quickly slipped my hands under his armpits, dragging him through the entrance. I shut the door with my foot, gathering the young guardian's head in my lap. I checked the wound on his head as well as his pulse. He was still very much alive and breathing, but he definitely had a nasty concussion. My instincts took over, and I bit my hand again, pressing it up against his mouth. As long as he didn't die with my blood in his system, he wouldn't wake up like me. He would simply heal and go back to normal. As soon as my blood trickled down his throat, he coughed a couple times but didn't regain consciousness right away. With my healing properties, he would be as good as new by tomorrow at the very most.
"Rose?"
My head shot up at the voice. I was surprised to see Damian standing before me, still wearing his orange jumpsuit. Only this time, his hands were free. His hair was messy, and it looked like he had just gotten out of bed.
"What are you doing out of your room?" I asked him. "Shouldn't there be security at your door?"
"Yeah. He was the security," Damian said, nodding towards the guardian in my arms. "I thought something was off. He must have been checking whatever was going on outside."
"You can hear that?"
Damian sighed. "Rose, my senses may not be as sharp as yours, but I'm not deaf."
I rolled my eyes at him, preparing to say something else until we heard another bang. Both of us were on high alert again. Damian stepped over the guard's body, placing his hand on the door knob.
I stood up, stopping him before he could open the door. "Wait. Whoever's throwing those rocks knocked out that guardian. You're human, and if they hit you, you'll probably die. I'm really not trying to turn you into a hybrid right now."
"I survived a bus crash. And a car crash, in case you've forgotten," Damian said bitterly.
I scowled at him, barely keeping my harsh tone to a whisper. "The only reason your critical-conditioned ass survived is because I healed you, you dumb idiot!"
Damian slammed his hand against his face. While putting up with my attitude definitely wasn't pleasant, we had a bigger issue at hand. Someone was clearly trying to get some kind of attention outside. I didn't understand why they didn't just come here.
And then it hit me—there were strigoi. That was why my senses were going off when I woke up. The institute was surrounded by wards, meaning they couldn't get in.
"Damian," I said slowly, "I think there's a strigoi outside. Or multiple. I don't know."
"Do you want to wake up your guards?"
I considered the thought, but turned it down when I realized whoever was outside could probably hear my conversation. I didn't want anyone else in this institute to get hurt and instead decided that I would go out on my own. I had faster reflexes than everyone else here.
"Stay here. I'll be right back," I said hastily, opening the door again.
"What? Ro—"
I slammed the door on him, already taking off before he could see where I was going. Within seconds, I was already in a nearby forest. It wasn't big, but there were enough trees in the area that it was enough to block off any potential sunlight. It was still dark out, but the sun was definitely going to come up soon. I had no idea why a strigoi would be lurking around when they could so easily burn soon.
I heard a twig snap somewhere, and a wave of nausea took over. I realized in that moment that I didn't have a stake on me—again—and mentally kicked myself in the head for not grabbing one on the way out. I still braced myself for threats, looking around in all directions. What I should have done was look up, because what happened next completely threw me off guard. A strigoi had been perched on a branch from above, and I hadn't noticed them. They jumped on top of me, and we both came to the ground. Within seconds, I was on my stomach. The strigoi pinned me down, using their body weight to keep me down.
When they spoke, the voice was a female's, and it sounded very familiar. "I knew it was you," she said. Her voice was almost the same as the last time I'd spoken to her, only this time it was cold and menacing rather than warm and bubbly.
"Kira," I gasped out. Using my enhanced strength to my advantage, I flipped her off, quickly moving out of place until we were both on our feet again. I faced her, studying her new appearance. Sebastian was right—Kira was a strigoi now, and whatever fear she had as a dhampir was gone. I didn't see the innocent, cheerful girl I'd gotten to know a few months ago. All of that was replaced by a cold, evil spirit that controlled her body. Her once tan skin was even paler than mine, and her irises were now a dark red along with red rings that contoured her eyes.
There was at least a few meters distance between our bodies as we stood, ready to jump into action again. "I recognized you from a mile away," Kira said. "I heard about you. The people were right—you're different. You can walk in the sun. You don't even look like us."
I stayed silent, refusing to move from my defensive stance. Even though she was talking, she could still attack at any moment. Strigoi had a tendency to manipulate people before they killed them, and I started thinking of ways I could kill her without a stake. I remembered how I had pulled a strigoi's heart out when they had attacked the academy not too long ago. I clenched my fists, wondering if I could still do that. With my strength, I could probably rip her head off too. Only problem was, I didn't actually want to do any of those things. Killing with a stake was at least fast and efficient. Ripping a heart or a head with my bare hands was a whole other level of brutality. Kira's humanity might have been gone, but mine wasn't. I couldn't get the image of her innocent old self out of my head.
"It's a real shame," she continued. "I didn't get the same treatment as you. Being in the dark all the time gets annoying, you know. Makes it a lot harder to find a decent snack around here."
"What do you want, Kira?" I asked. Clearly, she wasn't here to kill me. Not that she really could.
"You know what I want," she snarled, closing the distance between us. I stepped back, keeping my now red eyes on her. Whenever my eyes changed colour, my vision sharpened so strongly I had to blink a couple times to make sure everything was actually real.
Kira kept walking, and I kept stepping back as she spoke. "I used to hate the idea of being strigoi, but I was wrong. I no longer fear what I used to. I was so weak and afraid, but now I'm stronger and faster than those pathetic humans we feast on. I can kill anyone and not have a care in the world. I can have power over anyone. I can get what I want, whenever I want. It's a damn dream. But you know what would make it even better?"
I stayed silent again, but I didn't need to speak, because Kira was already answering her question. "Walking in the sun."
She attacked in that moment, forcefully throwing herself on me and taking us down again. Kira was definitely stronger now, but she had absolutely no idea how to properly fight. It made it a lot easier for me as I constantly punched and kicked in all the right places. Our bodies were all over the place, rolling around like wild animals between the trees.
Kira's fangs were out and ready to feed. We had been fighting for so long that I eventually lost track of time. Unlike me, Kira had been feeding everyday. I was a much better fighter, but she was stronger than me in this moment, and I was exhausted. I tried my best to keep her away from me, but her strength overpowered mine. She grabbed my hair, forcing my head to the side. Before I knew it, she lowered her mouth towards my neck and bit down.
It had been a while since being bitten by a strigoi, but I hadn't forgotten the feeling. The bite was painful as her fangs dug deeply into my skin. I shut my eyes, trying to somehow shut out the horrible pain. My screams were harrowing, and if I wasn't so far out into the forest, someone from the city would have probably heard me.
The endorphins started to kick in a minute later, but I was fighting so hard that I didn't feel the usual euphoria. I didn't feel happy or high, but I was starting to lose myself. Everything was unwelcoming, and it wasn't until I started to notice a warmth on my leg that I opened my eyes. The sun was coming out, and it was just barely shining over my right ankle.
I didn't waste another second. My fist connected with Kira's head, detaching her mouth from my neck. I took advantage of her distraction and rolled us over until we were both in the sun. I heard a sizzling noise followed by Kira's scream of pain. She travelled back into the shadows almost as soon as I had pulled us both out. The sun had burned her, and any parts of her skin that weren't clothed were now covered in ugly blisters. It was so fast though, and she hadn't been exposed long enough to be set on fire.
I expected her to say something or maybe burst out a bunch of swear words and threats. Instead, all she did in that moment was look at me with a glare so menacing it almost intimidated me—almost. Truth be told, I wasn't afraid of strigoi anymore. I had faced so many that I had built up some kind of immunity to my old fear.
My blood was dripping from just about every part of Kira's mouth. She clenched her teeth, realizing she couldn't get to me now that I had the protection of the sun. She couldn't wait me out either, because the sun was starting to shine more and more between the trees. Kira gave me one last look, silently threatening me with her eyes.
And then she was gone.
After that horrible incident with Kira, I stayed on the ground for what felt like hours. My neck hurt, and I was so tired I even fell in and out of sleep. Eventually, I heard people calling my name and forced myself to sit up. Dimitri, Damian and Alberta were running through the woods, rushing towards me as fast as they could.
My head snapped towards Damian. "You told them?"
"I had no other choice."
I tripped on my feet, but Dimitri pulled me up, helping me stand upright. He gripped my shoulders, almost shaking me. "We've been looking everywhere for you! What the hell were you thinking, Rose?"
"A guardian was almost killed," I told him.
"Then you should have told us," he said angrily. "You can't just leave and go wandering by yourself. Not now, Rose. It's too dangerous."
Yeah, it was dangerous. It was especially dangerous at a time like this. I was still a target. If there was one thing just about everyone was right about when it came to me, it was that I had a huge lack of self-control. Every time I thought I was getting better, I contradicted myself and acted without thinking. I should have probably been mature and acknowledged my impulsive behavior, but my attitude got the better of me instead.
"I can do whatever I want," I snapped. I didn't mean to be such a bitch, but my mood was completely thrown off by my exhaustion.
I regained my senses and stormed towards Damian, raising my hand in the process. Before I could slap him, Dimitri grabbed my wrist, pulling me back towards him. "Stop it! You're hurt, Rose. We need to take care of you."
"I'm fine," I protested, almost falling again. This time, Dimitri picked me up, holding me against his chest as we returned to the institute.
"What happened, Rose?" he asked.
"There was...there was a strigoi," I told him.
"And they tried to kill you?"
"No. They just, um, wanted my blood."
Dimitri looked down at me. "Your blood?"
"Mhm."
Dimitri sighed, speeding up to the front door of the building. I didn't even realize how fast he had gotten here. "This conversation isn't over. We'll talk about this when I clean you up."
I didn't say anything after that. I knew he was angry with me, but my actions had been dangerous. Dimitri always advocated for my safety and I couldn't really blame him for feeling that way.
"I'll take Damian to his room. There's still another few hours until our meeting, so I'll see you then. Make sure she doesn't leave again," Alberta said. Dimitri nodded, understanding her message. Dimitri was still holding me as he led me up to the third floor. Once we got to his room, he shut the door, this time locking it with the door chain. He let me stand, staring down at me with a gaze that made me squirm.
"Sit down," he ordered, guiding me towards the bed. I complied, carefully sitting down on the bed. I hadn't wanted Dimitri to see the bite marks or the other injuries on my body, but it was pointless. He would always find them one way or another. Even with my protests, I couldn't fight him—nor did I want to—in my current state.
"You were bitten," he realized as he pulled my hair back. "Damn it. Stay here." Dimitri left for a brief moment to retrieve a towel from the washroom. He soaked it in water and brought it over to me, pressing it against my neck. For the next five minutes, Dimitri checked me everywhere. I was okay for the most part as most of my injuries had already healed. The only issue was the blood loss.
"Did you know the strigoi that attacked you?" Dimitri asked after a while, crossing his arms. I didn't answer him at first, but he wasn't having that. "Answer me, Rose. You're already in enough trouble."
"Yes, I knew her. She was my friend when I was kidnapped and locked up. Sebastian used her for experiments, but she turned into a strigoi. She heard about what happened to me and wanted my blood."
"That's why she fed off of you." Dimitri meant it as a question, but it came out as a statement.
"Yes. I think she wanted to take me with her, but I used the sun to protect me. She ran away."
Dimitri sighed, shutting his eyes before opening them again. "You shouldn't have gone out alone like that. I know you can fight, but what you did was still irrational." Dimitri's voice started to trail off, and it now sounded like he was talking to himself. "If only I had heard you leave the room...I would have stopped you. You could have avoided this."
"Hey, don't go blaming yourself. I'm old enough to make my own choices, am I not?"
"Yes, Rose, you are—but your choices aren't always rational. I admire your bravery, but you constantly do things without thinking. You're in a guardian institution, for god's sake. And yet, you still went out alone."
I looked down as I started to get consumed by guilt. If Kira had taken me away, they would have had another problem to deal with. The least I could've done is tell Dimitri what was going on so that things could be taken care of properly. Now that Kira had my blood in her system, she could soon be running around in the sun. When strigoi hunted someone down, they didn't stop until their victim was caught.
"I honestly thought I was fine. I'm alive, am I not?" I asked.
"That's not the point! How many times do I have to remind you that you're a target? Do you have any idea how much danger you've put yourself in? Think about the people that love you. Think about your friends—Lissa, Adrian, Christian, Eddie. Your parents. Nevaeh...me. We all love you. None of us can handle losing you again."
"I'm sorry," I sighed, looking down at the floor. I still couldn't bring myself to look him in the eyes, so I walked into the washroom and stared at my reflection. The bite wound on my neck was no longer bleeding and was now starting to swell.
Dimitri stayed in the doorway, leaning against the frame. "Don't ever do this again, Rose."
The guilt was still eating me up, but I only gave him a small nod and stayed silent. Dimitri stepped closer until he was just inches away and tipped my chin up. "I'm serious. If you pull another dangerous stunt like that again..." he trailed off, biting back his next words.
"What? Are you going to give me a spanking?" I asked, my old attitude starting to creep through. Dimitri was tired from his lack of sleep, but there was a look in his eyes that told me he would literally take me across his knee just to keep me in line. The thought wasn't very pleasant and had me wondering if my choice of words should have been different. I meant it as a joke, but he had actually warned me a few times with that kind of thing and I didn't doubt he would do it. Sometimes, I questioned whether or not I would stop him. Did a part of me secretly yearn for that? No... it's like I wanted him to do that...right?
Dimitri was still staring at me intently. His next words made my stomach flip even as he spoke calmly. "I love you, Roza, but you definitely deserve one."
PLEASE READ: This is probably going to get some people riled up but hopefully not too many since this story isn't very popular, but I kind of wanted to put some mild domestic discipline (consensual only) in the next chapter because of what happened in this one. Thing is, a lot of people don't like that kind of thing and I understand it's not for everyone. If I do, there will be warnings for the part of the chapter that contains it. I'm simply asking now because that kind of thing gets a lot of flame from people who don't understand it or who dislike it. If I do incorporate it, I'll take it down if too many people hate it. Please let me know.
