"Why do they want me?"

Dimitri glanced back at me for a second before focusing on the stairs as we ran down them. Well, it was more like I ran, and Dimitri walked; with his long legs, it was easy to skip steps as he went while I had to scramble to keep up and not fall on my face.

"What?" He asked in a low voice.

When he stopped at the door at the bottom of the stairs, I ran into him, the air forced out of me as I collided with his solid form. Damn, he was well built. I tried to play it off, glad for the shadows in the staircase so he couldn't see my blush. "The… vampires." I felt silly saying it. "Why do they want me?"

Pushing the door open a crack, Dimitri peered out into the hallway. "I don't actually know."

I stared up at him, waiting for more, but he didn't continue. "You don't know?"

"I was told to keep you safe, and that's what I'm doing."

I gritted my teeth, "You don't know. Then why the hell am I even going with you?" I hissed at him. When he looked back, his eyes flashed dangerously.

"Because you don't have any other choice. Now stay low and keep quiet," his face became hard, holding my eyes until I reluctantly nodded. I felt his hand clasp mine again; despite the harsh look he gave me, his touch was gentle.

Swallowing thickly, I followed him, crouched behind his back, constantly looking behind me as we moved through the hallway towards the back exit. I didn't even know what or who I was looking for. Hell, there could be nothing at all and I was blindly following a crazy person.

I would end up on one of those serial killer documentaries that Riley was obsessed with—another helpless victim that followed a handsome stranger to their death.

Stopping at the door, Dimitri glanced back at me, "I need you to stay close. A car will meet us at the east end of the alley. If anything happens, run that way."

Again, I nodded, not because I trusted him but because I didn't know what else to do at this point. I had followed him this far, and I agreed to climb into a car he had waiting. I'm definitely going to die.

Satisfied, Dimitri pushed the door open and led me into the back alley. I hated coming this way, the light was never working, and the owner refused to replace it. It smelled of expired food and mildew, the dumpsters for the building lined the wall, and rats scurried around them. I told myself to not look at my feet in case one ran over them.

Dimitri was practically dragging me behind him, moving faster than my legs could keep up with, stumbling every couple of steps. The further we walked, the more I questioned my decision to go through with this.

This was crazy. Anyone could have learnt my parents' names. I doubted that there was no way someone could find my father's name. To follow some guy, I had only known for a couple of weeks and was talking about vampires, was crazy.

With a tug, I pulled my hand out of Dimitri's, feet halting on the pavement. Dimitri spun around with a look of surprise. "Rose–"

I shook my head, taking a step back, "This is insane. What am I even doing?"

His eyes darted around us frantically, "I know this is a lot, but we have to keep moving. You can panic later."

"No. I'm going back to my place, and you are going to stay away from me. Get some help or something." I managed to turn on my heel before I froze again.

It was too dark for me to see them clearly, just their silhouettes standing out in the darkness that surrounded us—that and a glowing red where their eyes were. I inhaled sharply as they growled.

That feeling Dimitri had spoken of, a feeling that there was something wrong with a person, something evil. I was feeling it right now, and it scared me.

A hand on my shoulder roughly yanked me back, making me yell in surprise and fear. Dimitri pushed me behind him, his long duster billowing around him like a cape. "Run to the car, Rose," he ordered, not sparing a look back at me as he pulled something smooth and sharp from his duster.

Forcing my feet to move, I backed away from him, and whatever was advancing on us. They were down the other end of the alley, but in a blink of an eye, they were just a couple of feet away. I didn't know what they were, and I wasn't going to hang around to find out.

I spun and ran to where Dimitri told me, a voice in my head telling me that maybe he wasn't crazy.

I could see a black car pulling up, lights flashing. Just as I reached the opening of the street, another hand gripped my shoulder and pulled me back. Rather than pushed back to safety, I was thrown onto the ground, groaning as my body impacted painfully.

Suddenly a weight was on top of me, ice-cold hands gripping my wrists. Looking up at the thing hovering above me, I could clearly see their eyes—the red was a ring around their pupil. Their mouth pulled into a twisted smile, and I swore I could see fangs glistening in the limited light.

I heard voices shouting, it might have been Dimitri, but I couldn't be sure. Everything was drowned out by the sound of my heart beating in my ears, my body frozen in fear as they leaned down closer.

"You smell delicious," it purred.

There was nothing I could do. I could barely blink before their face dropped to my neck. For a moment, I wondered what they could possibly be doing, and then I was screaming as pain blossomed from my neck. It felt like I was being stabbed deep through the tissue and muscle. It was unbearable.

Then just as quickly as I felt it, it faded and left me feeling dizzy, my body feeling light and floaty like that time Riley brought pot brownies to the Christmas party, and I had eaten three before she realised.

Everything became hazy, my thoughts slipping away as I tried to remember what I was doing. I managed to lift my eyelids so I could stare up into the sky. Why was I on the ground?

The view was blocked; someone incredibly tall towering over me, their eyes glinting with determination and anger. Suddenly, the weight on me was lifted.

I felt something tear at my throat, but the pain was distant.

I was aware enough of something being pressed against it, another face appearing above me. Whatever they were saying was lost on me; instead, I focused on the sky again.

My eyes slid closed, and then everything else faded to nothing.

My head hurt. The pounding in my skull refused to let me sleep any longer. I tried opening my eyes but couldn't find the strength. It felt like I had had a wild night of finishing a bottle of wine by myself again, just without the constant nausea.

What happened last night?

I'm pretty sure I hadn't spent the night drinking, not that I could remember what happened. I just remembered dreaming about Dimitri from the diner—dream him was crazy.

Maybe it's my self-conscious warning me away from him.

"You were supposed to be watching her, not throwing her to them!"

I groaned and clutched my head; the yelling was much too loud. Did I leave my window open? Were my neighbours fighting again? The voice sounded familiar, but I couldn't place it.

"I didn't throw her to them. I was trying to get her out safely!"

Oh god. I knew that voice; I would recognise the deep tones anywhere.

Dimitri.

But if he was here, that meant… my dream wasn't a dream.

I jerked my eyes open, blinking at my surroundings. I didn't recognise this place, the bed under me with purple covers and blue paint on the walls; this wasn't my room. Streams of light shone through the partially closed curtains, illuminating enough to see more of the room, including a photo frame on the bedside table.

I sat up to look at it better, hand clutching my head as a wave of dizziness hit. I might have spoken too soon about the lack of nausea.

I picked up the frame, squinting at the image. There, in the middle of five women, stood Dimitri; towering over them so much he had to crouch a little to fit in frame. But one of the women stood out to me, making me gasp at the realisation. Viktoria.

She had started at my other job at the cafe a couple of months ago; she was sweet and funny. I'm amazed I never made the connection between her and Dimitri; their features were so similar that I could only assume they were related.

What the hell was going on?

"Oh, safely? Real good job you did there," Viktoria hissed at Dimitri. I couldn't see them; their voices carried in through the open bedroom door. "She was real safe, almost being bled dry!"

"Viktoria!" another voice scolded her.

"What? We were meant to be watching her. And then this idiot goes and tells her everything and almost gets her killed. What do you think Zmey would have done if she died?"

"She isn't dead!" Dimitri growled, "I had to tell her. Her life was in danger, and she deserved to know."

Their conversation switched to Russian, more voices joining in. At the mention of me almost dying, my hand went to my neck, finding it covered by some gauze and tape.

Had that thing actually been feeding off me?

I didn't want to believe that vampires were real, but the memory of those red-ringed eyes was too hard to dismiss—that and the fact that they tried to drink my blood.

With slow movements, I stood from the bed, walking to the curtains to look out. If I knew where I was I could try to find my way home. Pack up the rest of my stuff and get as far away from this place and those people as I could.

I had never had vampire issues until I met Viktoria and Dimitri. They could keep their creatures of the night friends to themselves.

My heart dropped. In the distance stood the city skyline; I was much further from my apartment than I had hoped. My next thought of sneaking out was ruined by the fact we were at least four stories high and what looked like a giant metal fence that went around the building.

Just where the fuck was I?

The conversation changed back to English, a male voice chiming in, "Regardless, her dad is going to be pissed because she wasn't meant to know any of this."

"I know, but she is safer here with us. There were too many Strigoi hanging around her at night to leave her," Dimitri replied in a calmer tone.

Strigoi? My curiosity got the better of me, that and I was annoyed at them talking about me when I was right here. I stepped into the hallway, following the light to the end of the hall. It opened to a sizeable room separated into two spaces. The lounge room with a couple of couches, and a small kitchen on the opposite side; in the middle was a wooden dining table.

Two women I recognised from the photo sat at the table with Viktoria and a man next to them with red eyes clutching a bottle of vodka, which looked very enticing right now. Pacing back and forth in front of them was Dimitri; he had ditched the duster and was just in a black shirt and jeans.

None of them noticed me at first.

"What did you tell her, exactly?" one of the women asked. She was older, with strands of grey in her temples and the same eyes as Dimitri. I wondered if she was his mother.

Dimitri sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "I told her that her parents were alive and that they were the ones that told us to find her."

"Dimka," she scolded him much like she had Viktoria, "She wasn't meant to know that."

"I know! But she already thought I was crazy, and there was nothing else I could do."

"We can't tell her anymore about them," the older woman replied firmly.

My hands curled into fists, speaking without thinking, "They're my parents. I deserve to know what you do." As one, every eye in the room focused on me.

"Rose!" Viktoria jumped from her seat, coming towards me with open arms.

Usually, I would have accepted her hug, maybe with a half-hearted complaint, but this time I stepped back from her with a glare. I ignored the guilt I felt when her face fell, reminding myself that she had been practically stalking me as well.

My eyes shifted to Dimitri, "You promised me if I came with you, you would tell me about them." His eyes dropped, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"Roza," his mother started, rising from her seat, "You should sit down and eat something. You are still healing."

She was right about that, my head felt light, and my hands started to shake. Not that I was going to admit to it. "No. I want you to start talking," I replied, looking back at Dimitri. "And what the hell was that in the alley? And where am I?"

His eyes lifted to mine, my anger making it easier to ignore the crush I had developed on him. "I can explain things. You should sit down and–"

"Just fucking answer the question!" I didn't miss the look of disapproval I received from his mother, but I could care less.

Dimitri's face became impassive, "Strigoi attacked us."

"Strigoi?"

"Vampires," he clarified, "It's what we call them. The people I warned were after you, it's them. There were more than I had expected. If I had known, I would have brought more people with me." For a second, guilt flashed in his eyes.

"Vampires—or Strigoi—they're the ones with the red eyes and fangs?" I confirmed, needing to repeat it for it to make sense in my mind.

"Yes."

"And that thing bit me?"

"Yes," Dimitri nodded, gesturing to the table, "Which is why you should sit down."

I might have seen it with my own eyes, but I still couldn't wrap my mind around it. Maybe they were just really high, or I was really high. I shook my head, "This is just… " My voice trailed off, and my knees buckled as the dizziness became too much.

I had expected to impact the carpeted floor but instead was caught by a pair of strong arms. Blinking away the black spots, I looked up at Dimitri, his brow furrowed in concern. He took most of my weight, leading me to the table, pulling a chair out with his foot, "Just sit and rest."

His mother started to mutter in Russian, walked to the kitchen and returned with a plate with a slice of brown bread on it. "Eat. It will help," she encouraged with a warm smile.

I eyed it suspiciously. Dimitri nudged it towards me, "It's black bread, it's good." I was glad he didn't add on "trust me" because I still wasn't sure if I could.

Hesitantly, I ripped off a small piece, chewing it slowly. He was right that it was good; I picked up the slice to take a bigger bite. When they placed a glass of water beside me, I drank it greedily. After finishing the food, I felt better.

"There," his mother approved. "Now, we should introduce ourselves properly. I am Olena. You already know my children, Dimitri and Viktoria. And this is Sonya," Olena rested her hand over the other woman's hand. Sonya gave me a tight smile that looked more like a scowl. "My oldest, Karolina, is with her children."

"Where are we exactly?" I hadn't explored much of the area outside of the city, and even then, I only went to the good side for the cafe job.

"Just out north, you can take the train and be back in the city centre in an hour," Viktoria explained with a hesitant smile. I tucked that information away for later.

"And you just live somewhere with a fancy gate?"

"That's to keep us and the others that live with us safe from Strigoi," Olena smiled at me again; it was very motherly. A part of me yearned to be on the receiving end of it more. It had been so long since I had someone that was like a parent, but I also shied away from it.

"Others? Let me guess, the special bloodlines, right?"

Dimitri sighed, "I promise you, Rose. Everything I said was true."

I glared at him, "Forgive me for not believing the guy stalking me." Then I turned to Viktoria, "And did you get a job at the same place to watch me as well? Our whole friendship is a lie?"

It hurt more than I was willing to admit that she had been lying this whole time. I had grown close to her, trusting her almost as much as I did Riley.

Viktoria's eyes pinched, opening her mouth to respond but was cut off by a knock at the door. A second later, a tall blonde man and a shorter girl stepped through.

"I've brought Lissa," the man announced, throwing his hand out dramatically behind him. Lissa had a wiry build; if she was taller, I was sure she could be a model with her blond hair and striking green eyes.

She stepped forward with a soft smile, "Ivan told me some got hurt?"

Viktoria grinned at me, whispering, "Just wait until you see this."

Dimitri shot her a look before turning back to Lissa, "Rose was bitten."

I watched Lissa closely as she took the seat beside me. She gave me a friendly look, "May I?" She reached for my hair, waiting for me to agree before pushing it back and peeling the tape off my neck.

I grimaced at the blood staining the white material; the Strigoi must have taken a chunk out of me.

"This might feel weird, but it will only last a second," Lissa explained. Before I could ask what she meant, her cool hand was pressed against my neck, causing a burst of pain, but then it faded, replaced by warmth.

She was right about it feeling weird; my skin tingled from her touch, feeling it spread through my body. Lissa closed her eyes and released a slow breath. After a couple of seconds, the feeling stopped, and her eyes opened.

"There. How does that feel?"

I didn't know what to say. My hand crept up to my neck when hers moved away. I had expected to feel the cut in my skin, yet all I felt was smooth skin. My eyes flicked to hers in shock and then to Dimitri's.

I stood from the table, almost tripping over the legs of my chair. "What the fuck is going on?"

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