THROAT RIPPER STILL ON THE LOOSE

The police have yet to catch the dangerous serial killer that has been terrifying Novosibirsk over the course of these last few weeks. This person, presumably a tall male, usually leaves his dead victims in public parks and/or empty fields. His targets are all dark-haired, athletic females between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five, with the exception of five-year-old Tanya Strzemskovska, who was killed alongside her mother. Our readers are advised to be extremely careful and avoid going out at night in small groups...

I left her body in front of the mall, just to give the humans another thing to worry about. Her blonde hair I spread around her face like a halo, emphasizing the color. They had to know that no one was safe.

They had to know who was boss.

0Oo0o0o

"…I cannot have you hurting him, Dimitri. No, no, don't give me that look," Galina chided. "I mean it."

I sighed. "Look, Nathan's the one who started all of this."

"That may be so, but it takes two to fight, doesn't it?"

"Just because he's a jealous weakling –"

"See? Do you see what you do? You're constantly demeaning him, and, yes, what you say is the truth, but you have to remember that Nathan is on our side, weak or not. He's fighting for the same things you are, and that makes him your ally." She lowered her voice. "And weakening our allies makes us weaker by default."

I nodded. "I understand, Galina, but –"

"No buts." She growled. "You hurt him again and you're out of here. Have I made myself clear?"

"Crystal."

0Oo0Oo

Alright, I admit it – a couple of hours after my little chat with the queen bitch, I got hungry. That's why I went to see Rose, that day. Funny how fate works, isn't it? I mean, who would think that something as banal and irrelevant as an empty stomach could end up saving a life?

I panicked as soon as I heard the dull thud of a body hitting metal. Instantly alert, I looked around. Nathan had left his post in the hallway unattended, but that meant nothing. Anyone could be inside.

I punched a code into the first keypad, then again into the second. The door promptly flew open.

"Ow!"

I whirled towards the voice. Rose was on the floor, and bleeding all over it. Farther inside, the maid was crouching in front of a smug son of a bitch called – you guessed it – Nathan.

I was really starting to hate that name.

I took a step forward.

"Don't," he grinned. "You know what Galina said. Touch me and you're out of here."

I flew at him, pushing the servant out of my way. "It'll be worth facing her wrath, particularly when I tell her you attacked first. Rose certainly bears the marks of it."

"You wouldn't. She'll tell the truth. "

I could've laughed. "You really think Galina will believe a human? No. When I tell her how you attacked me and Rose out of jealousy, she'll let me off. The fact that you'll be so easily defeated will be proof of your weakness. I'll slice your head off and get Rose's stake from the vault. With your last breath, you can watch her drive it through your heart."

He flinched, silent.

"Twice. Twice I've let you go." I whispered. "Next time… next time, you're gone."

"No." Nathan growled, striding to the door. "Twice I've let her live. Next time, she's gone. I'm the one in control here, not you."

He slammed the door behind Inna and himself before I could spit out a response. I turned to Rose, who was staring up at me, speechless. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. I knelt down beside her.

She burst into tears.

"This is your fault!" I roared.

"But he… he attacked me…"

"Yes. And Inna. A human!" I sneered. "You let a human attack you. You are weak. You are incapable of defending yourself—all because you refuse to be awakened!"

I roughly pulled us both into a standing position. "If you had just been killed, it would have been your own fault. You have the chance for immortality, for incredible strength! And you're too blind and stubborn to see it."

She wiped her face and shook her head. "I don't think I'd be stronger than Nathan, even if I was turn—awakened."

I twirled a strand of her hair in my fingers. "Perhaps not initially, but your strength of body and will carries over with the change. He's not that much older than either of us—not enough to make a noticeable difference, which is why he keeps backing down when we fight. "

"Why do you keep backing down?"

"Because he's right about one thing. Killing him would bring Galina's wrath down on us." I admitted. "And that's not something I can afford. Yet."

"You said before that you… that we… had to kill her." Rose replied.

"Yes, and once we do, it'll be easy to seize control of her assets and organization."

She frowned. "What is her organization, exactly?"

"All sorts of things. This wealth isn't bought without effort." I said, making a sweeping gesture with my hand. The room, though trashed from the fight, looked as luxurious as any five-star hotel.

"Effort that's illegal and hurts humans?" Rose pushed.

"Does it matter?"

She looked away, shrugged. It obviously mattered – at least to her. "But Galina used to be your teacher. Can you really kill her? And I don't mean physically… I mean, doesn't it bother you? "

I thought about it for a moment. "I told you before. It's all about strength and weakness. Prey and predator. If we can bring her down—and I have no doubts we can —then she's prey. End of story."

Rose slowly backed away and sat down on the couch. "Why did Inna attack me? Why did she defend Nathan?"

"Because she loves him." My voice couldn't hide my disgust. I know, I know – that was pretty hypocritical of me, considering that I was in a relationship with a dhampir.

"But how…?"

"Who knows? Part of it is that he's promised to awaken her once she's put in time here. That's what most of the human servants are told. " I shrugged.

She cocked an eyebrow."Told?"

"Most are unworthy. Or, more often than not, someone gets hungry and finishes the human off."

Rose groaned and placed her head in her hands. "This is all a mess."

"It doesn't have to be." I stepped closer. "Time's running out. I've been lenient, Roza. Far more lenient than I would be with anyone else."

"Why? Why have you done it?"

"Because I know how you think. And I know awakening you of your own free will would make you a more important ally." I then decided that a little flattery couldn't hurt. "You're independent and strong-minded—that's what makes you valuable."

She looked down, thoughtful. "An ally, huh?"

I ran a hand down the side of her face. "Didn't I tell you once I'd always be there for you? I'm here. I'll protect you. We're going to be together. We're meant to be together. You know this."

I drew her to me and pressed my lips to hers.

Her fingers danced lightly on my shoulder. I kissed her cheek, the edge of her jaw, going down towards her neck…

"No." Rose shifted away.

Instinctively, I stopped. I'd had it burned into my brain that if a woman said no, you stopped, regardless of the circumstances. "What did you say?"

"Um, no. Not this time."

I pulled away to look at her, a little annoyed.

"I don't feel good," She began. "I'm hurt. I'm afraid to lose the blood, even though I want… I want it, I want to feel the bite. But I want to rest first, get stronger."

"Let me awaken you and you'll be strong again." I swore.

Let me awaken you, and maybe then I'll be able to love you again. Maybe then I'll get my Rose back.

She looked away. "I know. And I'm starting to think…"

I drew in a breath. "Starting to think what?"

"I'm starting to think that I don't ever want to be weak again." She answered. "Please… I just want to rest. I need to think about it a little more."

I looked at her – really looked at her, for the first time in weeks. Not at her body, not at her face, but into her eyes. My whole existence had been dictated by those eyes, not long ago. I knew Rosemarie Hathaway, and I could read her eyes.

"Rest, then, and we'll talk later." I decided. "But, Rose… we only have two days."

"Two days?"

I nodded. "Until Galina's deadline. That's how long she gave us. Then I make the decision for you."

"You'll awaken me?" She guessed.

"Yes." The of course was implied. "It'll be better for all of us if we don't reach that point."

I stood, ready to go, then took a bracelet out of my pocket. "Oh. I brought you this. "

"Wow. It's… it's gorgeous." Rose stuttered, snapping it on.

I smiled, kissed her on the forehead, and left, hoping whatever I'd seen in those strangely indecipherable eyes was the truth.

My deepest apologies, darlings. Exams are killing me... and this chapter was incredibly hard to write. I wondwer why...

Anyway, did you like the newspaper article at the beginning? What do you think about the chapter/series in general? Tell me in a review, pretty please!

Lots of love,

Lissie.

PD: november21: Hmm. I don't know. I mean, just because you desire to be weak doesn't mean you actually are, so desiring love wouldn't make you weak, would it?