Alpha Dhampir~ On Hold

Chapter 2

Rose Hathaway

"Rose. Please stop. Please stay away."

In an undertone, I murmured, "This isn't over. I won't give up on you."

"I've given up on you," he said back, voice also soft. "Love fades. Mine has."

Gasping, my head spun with the words. With my heart aching, I pushed out from the pew and walked backwards with my hand pressed up against my chest. It felt like it was breaking, I had, over the years, broken enough bones, torn enough muscles to know the pain, and my heart felt like it had shattered. I had never taken much into the use of words as weapons, besides the horrible rumours started about me giving Moroi my blood for sex, so to my shock Dmitri's words caused so much pain it was unbelievable. With all the times Dmitri had tried to tell me to stay away, never had he said in such a way, a way that felt like I was dying. That was it. Words could kill. I had always been told that, but I thought it was another Zen lesson and you could imagine my shock when I realised that Dmitri the Zen master was not only correct but was the one who used words to kill. Our conversation had been quiet enough that we hadn't joined much attention until my back hit the wall, causing a loud thump to echo through the church. Many people, including the Guardians Ben and Spiridon, turned to face me, and their eyes widened in shock as they watched blood drip down my chest. Dmitri was among them. He reached for me, his eyes full of horror and guilt - but what did he care - he was the one who destroyed me after all.

"As you wish, Guardian Belikov." Twisting on my heel, I burst out of the church, fighting back tears, not wanting to break down in public. I am Rose freaking Hathaway. I do not cry. I do not cry. I do not cry. I do not possess tear ducts. I kept up my chant until I couldn't anymore. Collapsing in a secluded alley, I just couldn't stop the tears.

Swiping angrily at one that fell down my cheek, I laughed, a strange, hysterical sound that tore from my throat. I was so goddamn foolish to believe that all would be ok now. That Dmitri and I would simply run back into each other's arms, and we'd all live happily ever after. I never thought he'd ignore me. But no, he treats me like trash his needs to desperately throw away while kissing the ground Lissa walked on. I mean, I just quit school, busted out a criminal from the highest-ranking security prison, and put my life and heart on the line for him! And what did Lissa do? Get herself kidnapped, shoved the stake through his heart, and then treats him like her baby while shoving aside everyone else.

I pushed back the anger threatening to pull me in, I needed to calm down, to think rationally.

I needed to leave, I needed to get as far away from court as possible; but where would I go? My best friend hated me, her boyfriend, Christian, who I counted as a brother along with Eddie. Both avoided and ignored me, I couldn't blame them. My plan to save Dmitri had been a crazy one, not without consequences. I literally had no one. Crying I stumbled through the streets until I made it to the edge of the Court where I could see Mason standing there with sympathy and fear on his pale face I crumped to the ground at the edge, waiting for the inevitable.

I watched as Mason stood protectively over my body, similar to what I had done for his body in Spokane. The sounds of Guardians screaming about a blood trail reached my ears, but I struggled to hear them properly as it sounded like they or I were under water. I watched as Mason frowned his fingers, ghosting my cheek as tears fell down his cheeks. Looking past his shoulder I half expected a bright light or at least the dimming of my surrounding, but instead standing behind the spirit of my friend was a man, one who had red irises and white fangs that gleamed in the Moonlight.

My eyes widened, then narrowed. If I was going to die, then I was going to take a Strigoi down with me. I groaned as I pushed up, determined to fight before I joined Mason, but before I could, Mason turned to the man who raised a brow at the sight of the ghost. Wait, he could see Mason? Mason spoke to him, and the fact that he was seen by the Strigoi became last week's news when I realised that he could also hear him as well.

"Please, I know who you are. Please take care of her, help her heal."

The Strigoi nodded, and with the gentlest grip I thought possible, he lifted me up until I was cradled zealously against his chest like a football. The man ran so fast that I felt like I was flying. The screams of several Guards floated away until they were miles away, which I guess they were. Who was this Strigoi, and how did he see and hear Mason? Why didn't he try to kill me? There were too many thoughts running through my head, and with the force of them and my injury, my grasp on reality dusted away until I was left floating in oblivion.

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Dmitri Belikov

I couldn't believe it. I had destroyed the woman I loved. The look of utter devastation and betrayal broke me. The pain and anguish that her chocolate orbs bled made me cringe and berate myself more than I did for my past as a Strigoi. The moment the words left my lips, I regretted it, but I couldn't take it back. It was for her sake. She deserved someone who didn't have baggage, and she deserved to be saved from being associated with me and my reputation. I watched as her lips trembled and her head hung low. I turned away to, cowardly, save myself from witnessing the falling and collapsing of her world, but the gasps of my Guardians caught my attention and turned back.

Roza had left the pew by that point and was stumbling backwards. I wanted to rip her into my arms and tell her it was all a lie, but I refrained from myself, again telling myself it was for the better. The sound of something dripping onto the floor reached my ears, and the moment it did, my nose picked up the unmistakable scent of Roza's blood. I would never forget it thanks to my time as a soulless Strigoi. Looking up, I saw what everyone was staring at. Below Roza's collarbone nestled between her cleavage was a hole that stretched from the crevice of her breasts to her left breast covering her heart. The wound was gruesome, to say the least, I leapt up and reached for her, but I was too late. She turned around and fled from the church. Without sparring anyone so much as a glance, I followed, but I was too slow. She was nowhere in sight.

I didn't know if Lissa and Christian had been passing through or had heard the commotion, but as soon as I exited the house of God, I ran into them. Lissa told me to stop and breathe, but I couldn't, not when my Roza was somewhere out there bleeding and injured.

"Dmitri, what is going on?" Lissa cried out, gripping my arms as she dragged me to a nearby bench. I shook my head and was about to pull away when one of the Guardians that had been there during my restoration, Mikhail, ran up to us. Panting, he fell to the ground in front of me, his eyes wide and dark with fear and fury.

"For someone who apparently loved her, you sure know how to destroy someone." I bit my lip to stop myself from crying. Lissa and Christian just turned to one another completely baffled by what was going on. Before either of them opened their mouths, Mikhail continued pointing to the ground leading away from the church. "She went that way. I followed her to the edge of the Court wards. She was lying on the ground. It looked like she was already dead."

I shot up, pushing past him, and finally saw what he had been pointing at. There was a trail of her blood leading into the woods that surrounded the Court. Just as I went to follow, Mikhail spoke again. "Don't bother, she's gone."

I turned to him and snarled, "What do you mean 'gone'?"

He sat with his back against the legs of the bench. "If she doesn't die from blood loss, then the Strigoi that picked her up will be her death. I wasn't fast enough. She tried to fight back, but she didn't have the strength to lift herself up, let alone defend herself."

I fell to my knees and screamed while Christian tried to console me. It didn't work, though. Nothing did. By that point, Spiridon and Ben had joined us and explained what had been happening in the church, adding more guilt and blame onto me than I already felt; while Mikhail explained his titbit. I didn't hear any of it. All I heard was white noise and the sound of Rose's last words to me,  "As you wish Guardian Belikov."