"Anastasia!"

Edward echoes her name through the hallways as her grip around my throat only but increases in strength. My muffled moans are barely audible as I choke on the very last breath that still fills my lungs. My fingers curl over her claws as I try to pull them loose one by one. I am a good few inches off the floor and rising higher by the second. She will not let go; today, I am going to die.

"Anastasia, no!"

Edward is watching in horror as Anastasia is squeezing the life out of me. He feels helpless, and I hopeless; there is just no comparison for her strength.

"Anastasia, let go of him!"

Her neck snaps to the left as she glares at Edward with the utmost evil in her eye. Anastasia has gone dark. A very unfortunate term in the Vampire world that does not mean night, but in fact, there is a great evil that consumes her.

"Anastasia, I said, let go of him!"

His voice rumbles against the windows, making them shake in their very frames. He is trying to warn her off, but she only smirks and increases her death grip on me.

…ANASTASIA POV…

There is an evil that consumes me; it is a rage that is burning through veins that I can not control. The angrier Sebastian makes me, the longer Edward yells at me, the stronger the hold becomes. I am drowning in the fury, I have made my resolve, someone here shall die today

And as my fingers are squeezing Sebastian's last breath, I am shocked by the pleasure it brings me that he is near death. All I need is to snap my hand, and his cheating life shall end. I have warned him, and something he was yet to learn is that I am a woman of my word.

So I squeeze and a squeeze, closing on inches, tightening my grip. I want to hear him choke on my name as he chokes on his last breath.

But...

I want to play a game instead...So as Edward yells my name...

"Anastasia!"

…SEBASTIAN POV…

She snarls, and then she releases the grip on my throat just enough to let me breathe again.

"Anastasia!"

"Edward, leave!"

Edward slowly but cautiously starts to approach her, one side slap from Anastasia, and he shall find himself on the floor. But he is bound to protect me, and that is what he shall do to death.

"Anastasia."

She snaps her left claw to his face, but she misses him by a mere inch. Yet he takes one step closer, then another and another.

"Anastasia, don't."

She flings her arm wildly to the one side. She strikes him squarely into his face, but he remains firm on the ground.

"Let him go, Anastasia!"

Then she loses her balance, and she stumbles to the back. Her grip slips from my throat, and my body tumbles to the ground. Edward rushes towards me and helps me to stand my frail from the floor.

"Anastasia, get away from him."

This infuriates Anastasia as she edges her way towards where we are standing. She might be outnumbered, but she is strong enough to take both of us out.

I feel my throat scratch from the dryness as it takes me a few attempts to speak. And as I find my voice, it thunders across the room.

"Anastasia! Stand down! I order you!"

She bursts out in hysterical laughter at my command, mocking every word that I say.

"Order? Ha! Is that what you do to your lovers?!"

She steps two steps closer then stops. She cackles at the top of her tone.

"Both of you shall die today."

I hear as Edward gulps. Then all is silent.

Then...

The voice of the only other woman in this house steps through the door.

"What is...?"

Lilith is stopped dead in her tracks as she sees that we are in a standoff with Anastasia.

I raise my voice even louder than before.

"Lilith, leave!"

But Anastasia speeds to her side; she smashes her body into the wall and digs her nails into Lilith's face. They pierce her soft porcelain skin; blood trickles from a small open wound.

"Anastasia, let her go. This is between you and me."

She moves away from Lilith and rushes to the door.

Then she is gone...

...ANASTASIA POV…

As I slip out the door, I immediately turn to the left and decide to wait for him in one of the other rooms. If I can catch him off-guard, then I shall have the upper hand.

I am slowly losing that last bit of me to this animal that I have become. I fear that once it has taken me that there shall be no way to turn back. The last of my rational thought is fighting my body. I do not wish to let go, but my anger at Sebastian makes me want to.

And as I make my way into the one room, I find Josephine straightening the bed; out of pure shock, I claw at her face. She shouts in horror as I dash out of the door.

But then I find Samual in the next room's bathroom, working on some knob at the shower. Though instead of running this time, I shred his neck to pieces as I frantically try to feed this new beast that has now completely taken over my body

...SEBASTIAN POV…

I am horrified; Anastasia wants to play cat and mouse. One of the most powerful Vampires I know has chosen to play a game with the only other Vampire that matches her strength. I fear to think where this shall lead.

"Edward, we cannot let her leave this house."

"Rest. I will find her."

"No! Lilith, go to the armory. Edward, I will take the top."

"And I will take the bottom."

"Both of you, please, be careful."

"What do I do if I find her?"

"Wait for me."

What am I going to do to Anastasia if I find her? Will I kill my beloved? Well, it is believed if you are in this state of dark for too long that you shall, in fact, possess the true form of an ancient Vampire. Now that is surely something to look forward to. But something I do not look forward to when I need to decide if she shall die by my hand.

But that is not a decision that I need to make yet, so I leave the room and slowly start to creep up the hallway to the next room. Her breathing should be rapid; I shall immediately hear her.

And as I reach for the doorknob, I close my eyes for a brief second and take a deep breath. Then I slowly turn...

Then...

Click...

The door cracks open, and I grab it from swinging open...

As I step inside...

Nothing...

I sigh in relief and make my way back into the hallway again.

The next door is slightly open...

I peek my head through...

One swipe with her claw, and my head will find its way to the floor.

But there is nothing...

As I retreat, I stand up straight against the wall. I throw my head back as I wait for the tremors in my hands to come to a stop.

I am terrified beyond the daylight of tomorrow as I move further to the next few rooms.

Then...

I enter the next room...

Soft cries are coming from the closet...

I slowly open the door I prepare for Anastasia to jump at me.

But...

"My god Josephine."

One of the helpers is hiding in the far corner of the closet. Her face is ten shades whiter than fifty shades of white...

But...

"Wait here; I will send help soon."

There is a gaping wound over the left side of her cheek; the skin has been ripped open to the bone.

I fight the urge to gag and make my way back out of the room.

As I enter the last room, I hear a scuffle come from the bathroom; the moment I step inside, Anastasia pushes past me.

"Anastasia, stop!"

She stands in the middle of the room, but my locked gaze is broken by the moans of a man behind me.

With that, Anastasia leaves the room, and I walk up to the shower, where I find Samuel pushed up against the glass; she has ripped his neck into pieces. I close my eyes and snap his neck; there is nothing I can do to save him.

Then...

I hear Edward's screams come from downstairs.

"Anastasia, don't!"

I arrive downstairs, just as she enters the ballroom. Edward and Lilith join me by my side.

"I thought I told you to stay in the armory?"

"I am not going to sit and hide while some crazy lover goes on a rampage in my house."

"Stay behind me. She has already killed tonight."

I watch the terror set on their faces. Anastasia has turned completely dark, if I do not stop her, she shall remain this way for eternity, and I am afraid I shall not be allowed to let her leave this house alive.

As we enter, she is standing in the middle of the ballroom...

"Anastasia, I beg of you to stop."

The most godawful rumble comes from her mouth. The exquisite beauty I know is turned into a monster.

I close my eyes and squeeze on the bridge of my nose as the realization sets in...

But I am pulled away from my thoughts as she launches at me...

"My god, my beloved."

Her skin has turned a deep shade of grey, with veins popping through her once delicate skin. Her face is completely deformed with a jaw filled with piercing razor-sharp fangs

"My beloved, please stop, let me help you."

But she fails to listen and scrunches her nails into my shirt; she grabs me and throws me with a loud thud against the wall.

My bones crack as I stand to my feet.

Then...

She stands in front of me again.

She digs her nails into my shoulder as she slides my body over the floor into a stack of chairs. They stumble over and land square on my back.

"Anastasia, stop!"

She glides over the floor and has me by my left foot before I can stand up; she flings me through the air...

My body drops at Edward's feet...

Edward tries to help me up, but she slams him into the door.

She lifts me up and raises me from the floor...

Lilith smashes into her body, Anastasia stumbles, she retaliates and snaps at Lilith, tearing through her skin.

As Anastasia rises to her feet, Edwards comes from behind, but she one step quicker and pounds him into the chest; he topples back and cries out in agony.

Lilith comes from the sides to grab Anastasia by the arm, but she claws at Lilith.

Then...

I look over the room...

Edward has a broken rib that is protruding through his skin.

Lilith has a gaping wound through her neck

I have a seriously injured Josephine and a dead Samuel upstairs.

Then I try for one last time.

"My beloved, let me help you. I beg you; please stop."

I wait for several seconds, but she does not speak a word. Then it dawns on me; ancient Vampires do not possess the ability to speak. They are purely driven to feed, and of course, to kill.

Then...

I make the fateful decision to fight back...

And the words that I said to her that night when I marked her...

'Till death do us part…