A/N: Sorry it has taken me so long to update this story. I've been so inspired lately that I haven't been able to focus solely on one project. I've worked out a schedule, though. From now on, this story will be updated every other Thursday.
I also want to let people know that I did change the prologue a little from when I originally posted the story. If you read it in the first 24 hours of its posting, I would recommend that you read it again.
Also, to avoid confusion, the parts of the story told from Katya's P.O.V. are the dreams Dimitri will be waking up from in the first couple of chapters.
Finally, this story takes place between Last Sacrifice and Bloodlines, so Jill and Adrian will be popping up from time to time.
KATYA
I shrink back into a corner of the small closet, desperately praying he would go away and leave me to my misery. As always, the prayer goes unanswered.
"Don't worry, puppy." He says closing the door behind him. "I won't hurt you. Much." He chuckles as I back myself further in the corner.
The first thing I learned when he brought me here was that trying to run from him was useless. He was stronger and faster than I was. Resistance would only get me hurt more, but I could never bring myself to give up the fight against him. My father wouldn't want that. He had always taught me to fight, no matter how hopeless the situation seemed.
"Stay away from me." I say knowing it won't do me any good. He chuckles and grabs me by the hair. I scream in pain as he drags me toward him. I'm sure he's pulled some of my hair out of my scalp.
I'm so close to him, I have to fight the urge to throw up. He reeks of death and decay and his red eyes are bright with lust and anger—both of which I know will be taken out on me. I have no idea what had angered him so, but I'm going to take the punishment for it. I try to fight the tears that are creeping up on me.
"Is that any way to talk to the man who spared your life?" He growls right in my face. "The man who gives you a place to live?" I fight the urge to laugh. This pitiful excuse for a closet with a tiny ragged excuse for a blanket and no pillow could hardly be considered a decent place to live. "The man who feeds you?" Again, three or four glasses of water and a small plate of crackers, fruit, and bread a day didn't really count as feeding. He was giving me what I needed to survive, that was it.
The smart thing would be for me just to apologize and let him get on with it. Instead, I hulk back some snot and spit it directly in his face. I am a fighter, after all.
He growls and backhands me across the face releasing my hair as he does so. I fall to the floor with a small cry of pain. My shackled hands prevent me from clutching my cheek or protecting myself from the assault of kicks that follow.
I take a couple of sharp ones to my stomach that leave me gasping for breath with tears in my eyes. I do my best to curl into a ball to protect myself.
"Stupid. Worthless. Human." He punctuates each word with kicks to my knees and shins. "I was going to take it easy on you tonight, but now you can forget it. Now get on your back." I stay curled in a ball as more tears continue to roll down my cheeks. "I said get on your back!" He kicks me hard in the shoulder with enough force to flip me over. He straddles me and gets right in my face before grabbing my chin and forcing me to look into those terrifying red eyes. "Now, you are going to do exactly what you are told, tonight, or I'll bring my friends in here for a little party. Understand?"
"Yes." I say squeezing out more tears. I had seen enough of his friends to know that I didn't want them anywhere near my body.
"Good, then open wide." He reaches for his belt buckle, and I squeeze my eyes shut.
DIMITRI
"Dimitri, wake up." Rose's voice permeates the horrible images of Katya and me. "It's just a dream. Nothing your seeing is real." She has no idea how very real they are for me and that sad, scared little girl. "Just wake up." I feel her shaking me as my mind tries to escape the punishment of my actions.
"I'm awake, Roza." I finally say forcing my eyes open.
"Thank God." She says sitting back against the headboard. Her long dark hair falling out of the loose braid she had it in for the night. "I thought I was going to have to start smacking you or something. You've been carrying on for the last fifteen minutes. What were you dreaming about?"
"Nothing." I say avoiding her eyes. I've always tried to be honest with her about everything, even things from when I was a Strigoi. I can't tell her this, though. Her forgiving heart could only get us through so much. Not this, though. "Just the usual haunting memories. I'm sorry I woke you." I sit up and slide out of bed.
She reaches out with a speed only a guardian could master and grabs my shoulder.
"Don't give me that crap, Dimitri." She says. "I know what your usual dreams are like and this was different. The last few weeks have been different. Talk to me."
I look her in the eye and sigh deeply. There's no way I am getting out of giving her some kind of explanation for what I've been dreaming about, but I have no idea what to tell her. I run my hand down her cheek wanting desperately to tell her all about what's been haunting me, but knowing it would be the end of everything for us.
"There are some things better left unsaid, Roza. Now go back to sleep" I shake my head and go into the bathroom.
"I'm not in high school anymore, Dimitri." She crawls out of bed and joins me. "Your Zen life lessons aren't going to shut me up." I splash water on my face trying to clear my head of those horrible images. "Please, just tell me what's going on?"
I turn to look at her trying to keep my patience. The thing I love most about Rose was her spirit and fire. She never gives up until she gets what she wants. Of course, it was quite annoying when you were on the receiving end of it.
"I don't want to talk about, Rose, okay." I say in barely controlled frustration. "It is something that I have to deal with on my own."
"Why? I would do anything to make your pain go away. Why won't you let me help you?" She asks tears pooling in her eyes. Rose had always been so brave and strong, rarely showing those around her how she really felt. It hurts to see her standing before me on the verge of tears because of something I did, but I know the truth would hurt her even more.
"Because I don't deserve your help with this." I tell her. "As much as you want to deny it, I've done things that are beyond forgiveness in those months. Things that I don't want you to be haunted by."
"So I'm just supposed to watch you suffer because you don't want me to be hurt by what you've done?"
"I'm sorry." I whisper turn off the bathroom light and crawl back into our bed. "Just come back to bed, please."
She glares at me, and despite the situation, I can't help but think how sexy she looks in one of my t-shirts.
"Fine, but this conversation isn't over."
"I never doubted that for a moment." I sigh as she lies with her back pressed up against me. I wrap my arms around her and snuggle closer so we are spooning. "Even though, I'd rather you just let it go."
"Why?"
"Because I love you, Roza, and I don't want to lose you." She turns in my arms so she is facing me and placing her hand on my cheek.
"How many times do I have to tell you that nothing you did in those months will ever make me stop loving you? How many times do I have to prove it? Dimitri, I love you, you know that, and I'm gonna stand by you through everything. It doesn't matter what you've done. When are you going to understand that?"
I sigh and bury my face in her hair. Those were the same words she has been telling me since Lissa healed me. She pounded them in my head until I finally started believing them, and I want to have faith in them. I want to be able to spill my guts about Katya knowing those words will still be true when it was over, but I can't. I can't expect her to even want to come near me when she finally hears the worst of my Strigoi secrets.
I may have been an honorable man, but I was extremely selfish to. We were finally together without complications and were able to be open about it I didn't want to give that up.
"I understand, Roza." I say into her hair. "But I'm afraid that this is going to be the one thing that changes your opinions. Love can survive a lot of things, but not something like this. So please, just let me handle this one on my own, okay?"
"That's not what you do when you love someone."
"No, it's what you do when you wanna keep loving someone."
"You can't keep talking like that and not tell me what you did. And I can't keep watching you suffer through the memories of it. Please, just tell me?"
"It's late." I sigh. "And Lissa has an early class, you need to sleep."
"That's not an answer."
"I know, but it's a fact. We both have a job to do and that comes before anything else."
I hated using that as an excuse, but I knew it was the only thing that would get her to drop the subject and go to sleep. I know I have to tell her eventually, but I couldn't yet.
"Fine." She turns away from me and slides to the other side of the bed. I sigh, but didn't know what to say. In trying to protect and keep her with me, I've made her angry and I didn't know how to fix it.
I don't sleep much after that. Every time I close my eyes, I see the images of Katya lying beneath me begging me to stop as tears streamed down her face. And when those wake me, all I can think about is how I'm going to save my relationship with Rose. If I tell her the truth, I know I will lose her, but if I don't, it could end the same way.
I get up nearly two hours before my alarm goes off and go for a run to try to clear my head. I find myself thinking about Katya. It's easier when my subconscious is not in control. I can pick and choose the parts I want to remember and ignore the rest. Not that I'm found of any of it, but some parts were easier to think about than others, like the night I first met her…
FLASHBACK
I had only been a Strigoi for a few short weeks and was still learning to be good at it. Hunting without arousing suspicion in the human race was difficult, but it was even harder trying to rid myself of the lingering feelings I had for Rose. I couldn't figure out while those remained when I lost every other bit of my humanity, but I supposed our love was just that strong.
It was a feeding nigh,t and I had gone to a lot of trouble to lure a young prostitute into a dark alley where I was sure we wouldn't be spotted.
"It's alright." I told her in a soothing voice never breaking eye contact. "This will be quick and painless as long as you cooperate." I held my hand out to her and she took it without hesitation. "Good girl. Now, don't struggle or scream. Everything is gonna be alright." I pulled her to me and turned her around faster than her little human brain could keep up with. She remained absolutely silent as I yanked her head to the side exposing her neck pretty little neck. I suck my teeth into her neck without hesitation or remorse.
Her body shook and spasmed in my arms, but the girl didn't make a sound as I drained the life from her. I savored every last drop long after she stopped writhing in my arms. When I finished, I threw her body into the dumpster ready to do my errands for the night.
A man stood frozen in the mouth of the alleyway, his light dark brown eyes wide and gaping. Damn! I thought I had gotten away without any witnesses then again I could always go for a little dessert. Before he could even move I was behind him tilting his head to the side ready to sink my fangs in.
"Please." He cried. "Don't kill me. I beg you. I'm the only person my daughter has left in the world. I'll do anything just spare me, please."
As a Strigoi, he pleads shouldn't have bothered me. I should've just been able to sink my teeth into him, feed, and move on. He words, however, struck at the lingering bits of humanity the monster was trying to force back. I couldn't sink my teeth into him and leave some poor young girl alone in the world. True, it would eventually mean another prostitute for my friends and I to feed on, but I couldn't make it happen, the small bit of dhampir that was still there wouldn't let me.
I threw the man to the floor but placed my foot on his back to prevent him from running. I couldn't bring myself to kill him, but I couldn't give him the chance to run either. I couldn't guarantee he wouldn't run his mouth and help the humans put an end to the vampire race. Compelling him to forget what he saw was always an option, but that would make me appear weak to the others, and I couldn't have that.
There was another option. One that would be entertaining and solve both our problems. One that was so evil I couldn't the dhampir was allowing me to think about it. It was cold and cruel, but absolutely genius as well.
"Introduce me to your daughter." I told the man quivering beneath my foot.
"What?" he asked.
"I want to meet your daughter then we can discuss what I want in exchange for your life."
He looked up at me with terror in his eyes weighing his options. No one in their right mind would want me anywhere near their child, but if it helped to save his life, he couldn't say no. It was an interesting battle. I wished I could actually hear it.
In the end, his survival instinct won, as I knew it would.
"Alright." He finally said. "My house is only a few blocks over."
"Lead the way." I let him stand. "But know if you try anything, I will kill you then I'll kill your daughter out of spite." He nodded as we made our down the street.
We walked in silence as I imagined all the possibilities thuis plan would present in the coming weeks. It was exactly what I needed to get rid of the lingering, annoying yearnings for Rose and her body against mine the way we had been on that last day.
We arrived at a small one story house with a porch swing and blue shutters on the windows.
"How quaint." I said in disgust as he opened the door.
"Katya, will you come here for a minute?" The man called in a shaking voice. "There's someone I want you to meet."
"Give me just a minute." Was the uncertain response. "I'm just finishing up some homework." I listened carefully as I heard the wheels of a desk chair roll away from a desk. A closet door opened and she was rummaging through it. She was smart, I'd give her that, but no amount of weapons would protect her from me.
A door off the living opened, and a girl of about sixteen stepped into the tiny foyer that was barely big enough for me. She was wearing a tight white camisole with a pair of gray sweatpants—whatever she had grabbed from her closet was nowhere in sight. I couldn't get a good look at her face because she had eyes only for her father, but I could tell she had the same beautiful curves as Rose.
"What's up?" she asked her dad. I could tell she already suspected there was something wrong. Not that she could do anything about it.
"I wanted you to meet…"He gestured toward me. "I'm sorry I didn't get your name." His tone was still shaky and I could smell the fear he was trying so hard to cover up.
"Dimitri." I held my hand out to the girl. She hesitantly placed her hand in mine. I could feel it trembling in mine.
"I'm Katya." She said in a steady voice placing her trembling hand in mine. I had no idea what she was thinking, but she did a much better job at hiding her fear than her father had. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." The slight tremble in her voice told me otherwise, but I didn't have much time to dwell on it.
She had finally looked up at me, and the shock of what I saw brought me to my knees. The girl standing before me with her dark hair and eyes looked so much like Rose they could've been siblings, twins even. I knew then I was going to go through with my plan. If I couldn't have the real Rose, I'd take the cheap imitation.
"Likewise." I smirked. "I look forward to getting to know you."
"What?" Her father asked pulling her away from me. "You said I was to introduce you to her, nothing more."
"I said introduce me to her and then we'd discuss what I want in exchange for your life."
"Dad, what's he talking about?" Katya asked from behind him.
"I'll explain later." He responded not taking his eyes off me. "You can't have her. I'll give you anything else you want, except her."
I chuckled. Humans were so completely stupid. Did he really think he could barter with me?
"This isn't a negotiation." I informed him. "Either you hand her over and live. Or I take her by force and you die. One way or another she'll be mine. The only choice you have is whether or not you're going to live through it."
"I will die before I let you lay a head on her." He growled.
"Very well." I sighed. Before he could even tell Katya to run, I reached out and snapped his neck with one hand. Katya screamed and took off toward the kitchen. "Must we do this, child." I cut her off at the door. "It would be a lot easier if you just come with me." She turned and headed toward the front door. "Why do you humans always have to do things the hard way?" I sighed reaching the door before she could touch the knob. She made for the stairs, but I grabbed her wrist and pulled her to me. "I was hoping to not have to do this." I placed my hand over her mouth and nose holding it there until she went limp in my arms.
END FLASHBACK
A shiver went down my spine as I remembered that day with startling clarity. A day that I wish I could go back to and change. Wish I would've chosen to simply kill or compel her father right there in that alleyway and not subjected her to the tortured life as my human pet.
Sadly, that wasn't the worst of it. That part came when I left Russia to find and kill Rose. The memories of that last night were more haunting than anything else I could've done to that poor girl, and I couldn't do anything to change it. Hell, I wasn't even sure if she was still alive.
A/N: I hope this chapter doesn't suck too much. This story was a sudden inspiration kind of thing, and I'm still trying to work through the details of it. I'm not sure if I want to include Rose's P.O.V. in some of it, or if I want to keep it as solely Katya and Dimitri. What do you guys think? Please, review.