Dimitri's POV in Blood Promise Vampire Academy

Chapter 12

"You slept for a long time." I informed, thinking about what I had done in the past hours. She is totally clueless about what I do when I'm not with her, which I was thankful for. She'd never agree to be with me forever if she knew and I don't want to turn her by force. But I will if I have to. I suddenly remembered what Inna told me before. "And you ate."

My amusement seemed to anger her more. "Yeah, well, I'm a sucker for pepperoni. What do you want?"

I placed a book mark in the book and set it on the table. "To see you." I replied. It really was getting boring around here and she was the only one who'd never failed to amuse me.

"Really? I thought your only goal was to make me one of the living dead." She really hates strigoi this much, and she doesn't even know how its like. I must have taught her really well. Too well.

I didn't acknowledge what she said, well, I didn't show that I did. I responded like she hadn't said anything which frustrated her. I thought of trying to get her to sit down. "Aren't you tired of always standing?"

"I just woke up. Besides, if I can spend an hour tossing furniture around, a little standing isn't that a big deal." A thought suddenly struck me, was she scared of me? No, but that gave me an idea. My Roza would do almost anything to prove others wrong.

"Sitting's not that big a deal either," I answered. "I told you before, I'm not going to hurt you."

"'Hurt' is kind of a subjective term." She strode over to an arm chair opposite mine; at the end of the room. She sat down, shooting me daggers. "Happy?"

I tilted my head slightly, observing her. Fear lingered through her eyes, almost unnoticeable. I can't allow her to fear me, I need her to trust me, only then will she accept her new life.

But what can I do? I thought back to my previous 'life' as a dhampir. She had felt safe with me, yet now she fears me. I have to prove that I am still the same man. Only better. I decided that a simple complement should suffice.

"You still stay beautiful, even after sleeping and fighting." My eyes glanced towards a pile of clothing, which had been tossed on the floor. "You don't like any of them?"

"I'm not here to play dress-up with you. Designer clothes aren't going to suddenly get me on board with joining the Strigoi club."

I stared at her intently. I already felt like I was losing my patience but I kept it hidden. "Why don't you trust me?"

She stared back with an alarming look of disbelief. "How can you ask that? You abducted me. You kill innocent people to survive. You aren't the same."

"I'm better, I told you. And as for innocent . . ." I casually shrugged. "No one's really innocent. Besides, the world is made up with predators and prey. Those who are strong conquer those who are weak. It's part of the natural order. You used to be into that, if I remember correctly."

She turned her head, refusing to face me. Most likely thinking of a response. She knew I was right, but accepting defeat was not something Rose Hathaway was familiar with.

"It's different," she argued.

"But not in the way you think. Why should drinking blood be so strange to you? You've seen Moroi do it. You let them do it."

She flinched, obviously taken back from my words. When she and her best friend Vasilissa escaped the Academy, she had to be Lissa's blood bag in order to survive. Due to this, she had almost became an addict. Bringing up such a sensitive topic was harsh but it was the only way to prove my point.

"They don't kill."

They're missing out. It's incredible," Every kill and every victim flashed through my mind. I relaxed, recalling the sensations of being the predator. "To drink the blood of another . . . to watch the life fade from them and feel it pour into you . . . it's the greatest experience in the world."