I don't own Vampire Academy, Ms Richelle Mead does.

With my doubled speed, I excluded Adrian from the group by pulling and dragging him with me to the opposite side of the room.

I put Adrian in front of me, as a protective shield. I rested my chin on his shoulder.

Dimitri, Eddie and Dominic took several steps forward, their stakes exposed.

"Uh, uh, uh. One more step and I'll pull his arm off of his body, followed by his other limbs. His head will remain until he has died this painful death," I said coldly before letting out a crazy laugh.

Although Adrian was taller than me, I overpowered him.

"Please, please, let me go," he whimpered, his body trembling.

"You love him," said Dimitri in Russian. "Don't do it."
"Love? You must be mistaken. I don't love such vermin. I want him, yes. But love? No." I replied.

Sydney joined our foreign conversation.

"You do love him. That's why you called us over." She took one step forward; a step too much.

I bit into Adrian's shoulder and I pulled back, removing a lot of flesh. His blood ran down my throat and it was good.

Jill cried out in pain and held her shoulder. The bond. She could feel his pain. Oh goody.

"Rose, just please let him go." Dominic had joined our Russian conversation.

"I gave you a chance! ALL OF YOU; to free me but you turned me down. "
"Please, talk in English," begged Jill, her voice strong and loud.

"My battle goddess," said Adrian, his voice a whisper.

My chest lurched again. The way he called me 'battle goddess', hurt.

I gripped him tightly and I turned towards Dimitri.

"How do I still have feelings for him? My heart no longer controls me and yet, I can't bring myself to end his life," I said in a hushed tone in Russian, trying to ease the pain in my chest."

"That's how I felt with Rose. Your sister, I mean. When I was one, I couldn't kill her. No matter how difficult she was. I had loved her before I was turned. I loved her when I was turned. And I love her now." He replied. How could he be talking to me as if we were equals? I was superior.

"What are they saying?" whispered Jill to Sydney.

Dominic answered. "She can't kill Adrian. She doesn't have the heart to."
"Although her heart plays no role in this situation," whispered Sydney.

I didn't realise that I had loosened my grip on Adrian, letting him go.

He didn't run. Instead, he looked at me like he did when I was a dhampir.

I couldn't control the ache within my chest. Sooner or later, my black heart was going to burst.

"Vous êtes mon soulmate. Je t'aime Adrian," I murmured before lacing my fingers around his neck.

"She said that you're her soulmate and that she loves you," Sydney translated to Adrian.

We stared at each other for a long time. He acted as if his life wasn't bleeding out of his shoulder and I adored that.

Too bad I had lowered my guard.

Three pairs of arms pulled me away from Adrian. They pushed me up against the fireplace.

Sonya hurried over to Adrian and began to heal him immediately.

"Let. Me. Go!" I struggled against the guys' grip.

They all held their stakes above my heart.

"Do it!" I screamed. "KILL ME! STAKE ME! GO AHEAD!"

"I can't do it," said Dominic, lowering his stake.

"Neither can I," said Eddie. "She reminds me too much of Rose; way too much." He lowered his stake too.

"I cannot stake the reflection of the love of my life," Dimitri whispered through gritted teeth.

"I'll do it."

All pair of eyes, including my own, set on Adrian.

"I'm going to keep the promise I made you," he said, walking closer towards me with a stake in his hand. It was my stake. And he was holding it wrong. Maybe it was because he was never trained to hold one properly.

"Don't! You! Dare!" I growled ferociously.

"I love you," he murmured softly and quietly before thrusting the stake into my heart.

I cried out in pain. This hurt like a mother—.

He applied more force on the stake, causing it pierce deeper into my heart.

An ear piecing shriek escaped my mouth. Why hadn't I died yet? Why was this taking such a long time?

Adrian seemed to be in more pain than me. Tears flooded his eyes and ran down his cheeks.

My scream reached a higher frequency, causing the glass objects in the room to shake and rumble.

With one last push of the stake, my screaming seized.

My heart was staked. I could feel how the stake went through my back and into the wall behind me.

I was consumed by a bright light.

Was this heaven? It couldn't be, I had done so many dark, evil and twisted things.

I began to cry heavily. How could I have been such a foul creature yet I had trained to KILL them.

I was a monster.

My heart began to burn fiercely. It was on fire.

All of a sudden, the brightness dimmed and the hotel room materialised.

I was a dhampir again. I could feel it.

Adrian was coddling me, allowing me to cry on his shoulder.

I couldn't forgive myself.

"Kill me," I whimpered. "Please. Just kill me."

"Give her to me," said Dimitri.

It took Adrian a while to release me. Dimitri picked me up and walked me into the bedroom, sitting me on the bed.

Sonya walked in and closed the door behind her.

I buried my face into my hands.

"Please. Kill me. I hate myself. I can't outlive the guilt. I was such a horrible beast." My words were probably hard too decipher, considering how long it took them to answer me.

"We've both been through this," began Dimitri. "It wasn't your fault. You weren't in control of your actions."
"Yes I was!" I yelled, facing him with my tear-streaked face. "I killed a lot of people. For FUN! I was a monster. Being turned back isn't a gift. It's a PUNISHMENT!"

"No honey, it's not a punishment. You were turned back because you were destined for Adrian. Your soulmate."
I hated how Sonya's explanation sounded accurate.

"But...but I was a monster. I'm ashamed. And full of guilt." My voice was barely a whisper.

"Do what I did. Pay for what you did by being the best Guardian," Dimitri suggested. "Protect Adrian 100% more than you usually would, 'Guardian Hathaway'."

I couldn't help but crack a smile.

'Guardian Hathaway' always seemed like a couple of awesome foreign words to me.

"So, try to return to your normal life?" asked Sonya, staring at me intensely.

"I'll try," I said before giving them both a huge, bear hug.