Chapter 27

Hello lovely readers! As I write this quick authors note tears are brimming my eyes, because I was AGAIN half way done with the following chapter, 27. But when I came home to finish it up….gone. I heard had a little toddler tantrum right here. But I guess I will just have to read some of your AMAZING reviews to cheer me up and keep me from crying, as I'm off to RETYPE half of chapter 27…

The 3 guardians lead me through the pouring rain. They stayed stiff, not saying a word to me. I was a guardian, I knew some of these guys. We laughed and chatted at the offices, we met up for lunch after duty on the weekend. Yet here they seemed like total strangers towards me, and I felt like a prisoner being carried off to my deathly fate. I wanted to make small talk so I walked up to one, one I knew well. Zach Hackery , he had been very excited when Dimitri and I had began dating, officially. Because he had a "secret lover" that he was now in the open with, another guardian. It was slowly becoming more common, relationships with one another. Some were glad, some were not…

"How's Lauryn? Haven't seen her around lately."

"She's gone." He spat out coldly.

"What?"

"They took her. The strigoi took Lauryn." He kept walking, but I saw him sag a little as he spoke.

"What?" I screamed, I stopped moving. I knew Lauryn well, a cheery blonde who was a total kick ass.

He turned and I flinched when I saw the pure angry in his eyes.

"It's your fault. If you had left when they told you to leave she could have lived, she wouldn't have been taken. She wouldn't have become strigoi. It's. Your. Fault." He words stuck me down slowly. A painful arrow with each phrase.

"No." I said quietly, almost trying to convince myself more than him. "It's…it's not my fault."

"Believe whatever the hell you want." He said before turning and striding forward to the others. I walked slower behind them, careful with each step. Remember his words.

We arrived at the garage area and there was a car waiting with one guardian in front in the passenger seat.

"These two will escort you to your new residents. There are wards up and a few guardians there also in case of emergency's."

"Wait, where am I going? No one's told me."

"That's not important." Zach said to me, getting into the drivers seat.

I got in the back and threw my suitcase to the other side. I watched the familiar court pass by in the window. I wondered what would happen if I just opened the car door and did a tuck and roll out. Scratch that idea, I wasn't in the mood to dislocate my shoulder.

The court's scenery slipped way and was replaced by endless highway. Wet drops of water slid slowly down the window. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep. But rest wouldn't come so I started thinking . Thinking about Dimitri. I made lists about him in my head. How he smelled, how he walked, talked, felt. His lips, his kiss, it kept me from going stir crazy. Or maybe it made it worse because I had no idea when I'd see him again. Then I remembered the thick envelope and box he'd put in my suitcase. I unzipped it eagerly and grabbed them both out. On the front sprawled in Dimitri's curvy writing was my name. Roza. I opened it, pictures, One after the other of us two, or sometimes just me. I flipped the first picture over. It was of Dimitri and I after Lissa's coronation. He had his chin resting on my shoulder, a small guarded smile on his face. His arms wrapped around my waist. It had been the first real sign of affection that people had seen of both of us in public. On the back he wrote.

Do you remember is day? Of course you do! I hope you know how much I loved you…

And that's how I spent at least an hour. Going through picture after picture, he wrote on the back of each. Things we'd said, the things we did. It was like watching a movie all about my past year with him. With my Dimitri. I came to the end and there was a letter. I opened it.

My dear beautiful Roza,

I love you more than anything in my entire life. I live for you and you alone, and I'd die to protect you. Forever & always darling. Open the box, I'll explain tonight when I call you.

-Dimitri

I could feel tears in my eyes, and I reached for the box. It was plain, simple and white. I opened it up and my entire body froze. There was some light pink tissue paper and in the middle of it was a ring. An engagement ring. A small piece of paper wrapped around it. My shaking hand reached towards it.

Roza, will you marry me?

Tears fell down my cheeks as I slid the ring on. I covered my face with my hands, gasping for air. I couldn't breathe, I wanted him there, I wanted him to hold me tightly and hear him whispered in my ear. I wanted him here…

Then I heard a loud slam against the car. I flinched and was ripped from my lovely haze. Then again a hard slam against the car, except this time it dented. Zach gripped the steering wheel.

"What the hell was that?"

"I,I,I don't know." Then another hard slam again. I nearly screamed. Zach looked back. And then at my hand.

"What the? When did that get?"

"Does it matter!" I screamed as we heard the dent again. I grabbed my stake and he shut off the engine. Zach opened his door, so did I. We crept out from beside the car and I heard Will, the other guardian cry out I spun around and saw it. At least 20 strigoi crawling across the highway. Then more came from the shadow. I'd never seen that many. Not in any attack, not in my dreams. There had to be at least 100. I choked up. I heard the hard crack as one instantly snapped Will's neck. I winced and I got in the car quick and turned the engine on.

"Come on!" I screamed at Zach.

But before I could one shattered the glass, grabbing my neck. I recognized her. Lauryn… Same blonde hair, but her usual perky blue eyes were dark, and ripped in red. She pulled me out the window by my neck. I tired to reach for my stake but it clattered under the car. I gripped her hand and tried to breathe in as the sharp glass of the broken window. I bit my lip and tried to kick her hard but she wouldn't budge. 3 more descended on me gripping my wrists. Their nails digging in tightly. I had to break free; I couldn't let them kill me. But then I remembered. They didn't want to kill me; they wanted me as their queen. I squirmed harder, but then I felt it. Sharp, razor sharp fangs. Digging hard into my neck. Then like they always say in books my life did flash before my eyes. Lissa and I first meeting, growing up, running away, boys, Dimitri, strigoi, love. All gone, lost.

I felt blood trickle down my arm and wash over my hand with my new engagement ring on. Then I felt myself slip away. Not into blackness like passing out. I felt literally Rose Hathaway slip away. Everything that made me, me. All the things I'd done, the people I'd hated, loved…killed. It all evaporated, the love. I closed my eyes and the last thing I thought about as my old self, the real Rose Hathaway, was Dimitri & Lissa and how much I'd miss them… And just like that, I was gone. My skin tingled as it turned ice cold; I tasted sweet blood on my lips. I opened my eyes, and felt power and clarity meet me.

Dimitri's POV

"Why haven't they called yet? They said they'd call when they got there…"

"Relax Dimitri, I'm sure Rose just started complaining and stopped for something to eat." Christian replied.

"No, there's something wrong. It's been nearly 4 hours; it's only 2 hours away!"

"Traffic?" Lissa suggested trying to sound calm too.

"I'm going to go talk to some of the guardians." I said getting up from the table.

They both nodded and I started off walking, but then ran, ran as fast as my legs could go. I got to the headquarters and everyone looked up at me.

"We're so sorry Dimitri." Said one of the female guardians.

"What? What the hell are you talking about? Is Rose hurt? Is she okay, what happened?" I yelled even though I was out of breath.

"No one's told you?" she asked

I shook my head. "Someone tell me what's going on!" I yelled. Another guardian came and lead me to a small room.

"Dimitri, the car they rode in was attacked and…"

"No." I gasped my body tensing. "No this, this can't happen! No."

"They turned her strigoi Dimitri. She's gone."

"No!" I yelled louder than I had ever yelled, so hard my voice when numb. I let my guardian mask down, and fell to the ground.
"No, they can't no!" I screamed into my knees tears running down my face. "NO!"I repeated.

I cried so hard that I couldn't talk. I couldn't see anything but her face. My Roza's face. I closed my eyes and cried harder. Men didn't cry, that's what people tell me. But at the moment I think I used up all the tears and screams I had stored up from being a man and not crying. My life was over, if Roza was strigoi, then my life was over, and I wouldn't go on. Because without Roza…I had no idea what lay…

Beyond Tomorrow.

OMG OMG OMG! I know, I'm such a devil. But this was in the plot from the start, sorry for no warning! So that was the end of Forever & Always, BUT Beyond Tomorrow comes out…THURSDAY MARCH 10TH! So keep your emails up 24/7 okay? Heres the link .net/s/6810768/1/Beyond_Tomorrow

I only have the authors note right now but I need ALL MY READERS to transfer over to it, favorite it, get the alerts set up and everything so you don't miss the amazing sequel to Forever & Always