Thana Blade's POV

Trigger Warning: Very brief mentions of suicide

That's what Rayne is. She's turned into one of them. Those monsters. She's exactly like them.

Her face no longer holds its perfect honey-brown tan. Instead, it's now of warm ivory, her former warm, blue eyes replaced with cold, steel gray eyes which bear into me with a predatory look. Her mouth is covered in blood, her white fangs glinting at me from within the shadows.

"Blade... please," Rayne says as she steps towards me.

"Don't you fucking move!" I hold out my dagger. "How could you kill Clive? He was your brother's best friend! He helped take care of you when your mother couldn't!"

"Blade, he... he deserved it. Please, trust me."

I scoff. "Trust you? You fucking think I will trust you? You're a weak piece of shit. That's why we stopped being friends." My voice trembles at the end as I tighten my grip on my dagger. I can't show her that I'm losing myself. I know that vampires thrive on weakness from humans. And that's what she is. A freaking vampire.

"No. That's not the reason, and you fucking know that," Rayne says as she takes another step.

"Does it matter anymore?" I choke on the sobs that are stuck in my throat as tears well up in my eyes, threatening to spill out. "You-"

"You want to kill me, Blade? Do it." She walks up to me, forcing me to back away until my back presses against the hard, bumpy surface of a tree. Her face is inches away from mine as my dagger hand falls to my side. "I won't stop you."

I inhale when I notice her face. The jagged scar that had run across her right cheek from the time she was stuck during a test mission is no longer there. Her skin is smooth, with zero imperfections. It's as if she had been reborn.

Without thinking, I plunge the dagger into her heart. Her eyes widen at me, her irises filling with a cold, ominous storm as she gasps. She looks down at the hilt sticking out from her chest and then back at me. A trickle of dark crimson blood slides down from the corner of her pale lips. She licks it off, and with one swift movement, grabs the dagger and pulls it out. She throws it to the side, and without warning, flings me on the ground.

I find myself on my back, gasping for air when she appears on top of me in a blur. She punches me, the crunching sound reverberating through the silent forest as a stabbing pain travels from my face and up to my brain. My skull feels dull as I try to refocus my vision.

"You fucking bitch!" Naomi snarls as she strikes me again. The copper taste of blood kisses my tongue as I groan. "You actually fucking stabbed me!"

"Y-you told me to," I gasp out.

"I didn't actually mean it! And you fucking know that!" Before Naomi can strike me again, I block my face with my arms. She throws them off me and pins them down at my side. She presses them to the ground with her knees digging into my wrists. The pain is excruciating, but at least it's manageable.

"Well guess what, I'm not a freaking mind reader," I say as I struggle anyway against her hold.

A look of surprise flows over her face. "What?"

I scoff. "Let me guess, you didn't know that the Elites are capable of reading human's minds before you turned, did you?."

"And you did?"

"Yeah. Unlike your family, mine actually knows that vampires aren't exactly soulless, mindless husks."

She grits her teeth at me as the pressure on my wrists worsens. "So what are you trying to say, huh? That my family has been ly-"

"Yes. They have been lying to you. And that's the reason why they tore us both apart and made us into rivals. Because we look at vampires differently than your family does."

She inhales sharply, the cold storm in her eyes brewing into a hurricane of emotions. Huh, some vampires really do still have emotions. To be fair, I didn't exactly believe that. Up to now.

"Yeah, see, I don't think these emotions will last long with me. They'll probably disappear when given enough time."

"No, Rayne, they wo-"

"Besides, you and your family have been killing vampires for centuries, just like mine. Why do you guys give a fuck about whether or not they still have emotions or whatever?" She fumes.

"Because at least we don't spend our lives hating them as much as you do. You know what hate does. It poisons a person's soul from the inside until it's rotten."

Naomi grits her teeth, her jaw twitching."Who gives a fuck about all that now. I'm one of these monsters, and I just..." She throws her head back and lets out an evil laugh which sends chills up my spine. "I just killed my brother's best friend because I found out that he left Damien behind. That my brother never sacrificed himself. He was fucking betrayed."

A tear appears in her eyes and slides down her pale cheek.

"Rayne..."

"And now I... I've become the very thing I've despised my whole life," she whispers. She sniffs before her expression changes as her lips twitch into a malevolent smile. "And I thought I'd... kill myself if it ever came to that. That I'd rather die than become one of them. But you know what I feel instead? I feel so fucking powerful. And your thoughts are so delicious to hear and feel in my mind."

Oh fuck... she can read my-

"Yes, Blade. I can. How come is that a surprise? You told me just a while ago that you knew. Or... did you think you could keep them away from me?" She grins. Her fangs taunt me, which for some reason makes her look so... hot. "Who's the top now, huh?"

I wriggle in her grasp, only to find that I can't even move a muscle. Her grip on me is so powerful, that it restricts my body from even lifting a finger.

"So what are you going to do now, Rayne?" I breathe. "You're going to go around and murder people? Do the same thing that your brother died for? Are you going to kill me?"

Rayne tilts her head at me as her face takes on a pondering expression. She purses her lips and even voices a "hmm" before she smirks.

"Maybe... maybe I will have a little fun with you first." She readjusts herself on me, her hips grinding against mine before settling down. She leans down and whispers into my ear. "After all, you're so fucking helpless right now. And I can end your life with just one... tiny... bite."

She chuckles, the hypnotic sound vibrating through my mind. No... no... she's not actually going to...

"No I'm not, Blade. What the fuck. Do you really think I'm that type of monster?" She scoffs in disbelief as she comes back up. "Trust me. You're so not my type."

"Oh, yeah. Your type is someone who can succumb under your will," I glare at her.

She laughs. "No Blade. I may be a monster now, but I will never force anyone to do something they don't want to do."

"Really? I think you've said 'I will never' about this too, and look at yourself now."

She frowns. "Well... that's... different."

"How?"

"You know what, you ask too many questions for which I myself don't have answers to."

"I'm just... I'm worried about you, Rayne. As much as you'd like to think otherwise."

Her face falls, sadness spreading. Her cheek twitches as she inhales. Her eyes glisten with imprisoned tears as her bottom lip quivers.

"I am scared, Blade... this... this feeling inside of me, it's terrifying. And I feel that... I will lose myself, you know... what made me a human."

Her grip on me softens just a little. This would be my moment to resists again, but I don't. The helplessness in her voice stops me.

"Hey," I gently say. "You won't, okay? I promise. From what I know, the top vampires still retain a certain amount of humanity. And I know that you will."

Tears flow down her cheek as her eyes dart back to mine. "I want you to promise something, Thana Blade."

I haven't heard her call me by my first name in years.

"What is it?"

"Promise me... you will stay far away from me. Promise me... you won't try to follow or find me. Please."

"I-"

"Please, Thana. I think the only Reason why I'm able to control myself from biting you is because I... I'm not hungry. But if I ever hurt you, I won't be able to live anymore. Please, Thana. Promise. For me."

Her eyes desperately search mine. I swallow the lump in my throat as the next words come out in a whisper. "I promise, Naomi."

With that, darkness fills my vision. When I wake up, I'm lying on my bed in my bedroom. A pounding headache fills my head as I frantically recall the last thing I remember.

This would be the only time I will ever break a promise. Naomi Rayne... I will find you.

Word Count: 1560

Total Word Count: 8118

Bolded and underlined word Reason near the end of this chapter indicates the 8000 word mark.