Character Assassination

I've been working on the first draft of the follow-up to my first novel, Lovestruck Succubus since about August of 2010. Okay, not so much a draft but would you believe general outline? Well, maybe I've gotten just a little farther than that. Problem is, in this next novel, I'm going to have to kill of some characters and I must say ... it's killing me.
No, I'm not going to divulge which character (or characters) I've slated for execution. You'll just have to wait and read the next installment to find out.

I suppose this is why it is taking me so long to finish the story. I've grown to love all my characters, even the bad ones, and I loath to let any of them go. I read a lot, and know that many stories start with characters that don't make it to the finale, but they're usually minor characters--and these are major players I'm talking about here.

What about you? How do you feel about major characters taking the long nap in stories? Are you okay with it, as long as they're bad seeds? What if one of the heroes of the story dies? Do you throw the book and run from the room, texting all your friends to avoid this author as you go? Or, are you okay with it?

Just a refresher for those of you who've never been privy to my ramblings about future stories (I know, something a writer should never do. Leave me alone, snobby writers) or who've simply forgotten, the next story in the series is titled Demon Among Wolves . In this installment, Azra is living in Ellijay with Raif, who accepted the pack's offer to join them.

She must maintain the facade that she is a shape shifting werewolf like the rest of them. In the course of the story, we'll find out that Tarmin was not as bad off as Azra thought he was when she last saw him. He is working in the background, building an army of demons to rid the world of that nasty virus they created eons ago called werewolves. He figures taking out Azra will be a bonus. Meanwhile, Azra is doing her best to keep the rest of the pack believe she's one of them while she mysteriously starts to become, not more like them, rather, more like a mortal human. Something is amiss, and she soon, but maybe not soon enough, realizes there be spies in the family.

It all climaxes in an epic battle in which lives are lost, sacrificed, and spared in order to move forward. I won't give away the ending, but suffice it to say, no one will be spared their innocence, and the few that remain to rebuild will be few.

Anyway, this is where I struggle. by creating this epic battle in which lives are lost, I am forced to decide who lives, and who dies.

 I leave you with this. Does it matter to you if characters die in a story? Are you okay with it if the lives sacrificed are for a greater good?

What are your thoughts? Comments and criticisms welcome.