i've done this before but i decided to change it up a bit: This is a random idea i got after leafing through Spirit Bound. These are the events that follow if Rose were to of finally snapped after the way Dimitri responded to her during the church scene...

Warning! this isn't your typical pairing so Rose&Dimitri fans beware. *evil grin*

also, I was a bit stumped when coming up with the 'secret forces' names (which you'll find out what i'm talking about once you read this chap). they're kinda bland right now so if anyone has a better suggestion on what to name the organizations feel free to comment via review.

I quite frequently find myself asking why the fuck my life blows...

"Love fades. Mine has."

The moment the words left his mouth was the moment I gave up all the hope I had in him. I saw a small flicker of regret loom in his dark eyes before he cowardly hid it away. It was like even the slightest bit of concern for my pain made him feel ashamed of himself. Bull. Shit. I growled at him, I was sick of being his pity... sick of his lies... sick of pathetically trying to save the dead man I once loved... so I abruptly shoved his chest causing him to lose a bit of his footing as I sharply spat, "You know what? Maybe you're right Comrade." I chuckled, grinning sadistically as his eyes widened in shock looking down at me.

I ignored the warning glares from his surrounding guardians and stepped closer to him, stretching up to make perfect contact with his ruthless, frozen eyes as I sneered, "I gave you my virginity, " he flinched glancing around nervously "I let you kidnap and bite me," he winced meeting my murderous gaze again, "I even so much as risked my life for you repeatedly!" he physically shuddered as my voice cracked and my blood started to boil, "I gave everything I had to you." I felt my throat begin to swell as I hoarsely rasped, "I even foolishly gave you my whole heart and soul!" my voice quivered but I refused to break.

I knew I was catching the attention of whole congregation by now. But somehow that didn't bother me at this point.

Dimitri opened his mouth like he wanted to say something but I cut him off. "Oh no, you've said enough Belikov." I was done treating him with respect. I saw a quick flash of hurt color his bottomless brown depths before he narrowed his eyes and slipped on his all too familiar emotionless mask. That pissed me off even more and it seemed to of triggered my resolve. "I took all those chances, did all those things, because I blindly thought I could trust you." I leaned closer as I hissed, "But none of that matters, right? Because it was you all along that tricked me into loving you, so you could use me like the monster you truly are." And there it was. I saw his face falter and saw him finally crack as his back tensed, nostrils flared, and features flooded with frustration. Oh, but I was too stubborn give him the chance to really show it.

I laughed bitterly. "And now I've learned yet another great 'Zen Life Lesson' from you! Except there's one flaw in your stupid moral." I taunted coldly, "Love doesn't fade Dimitri. It breaks." Then without a second thought, I punched him square in the jaw where he was knocked down to the smooth, marble church floor.

"There's nothing to see here." I growled to the gaping Moroi and dhampir surrounding us before I swiftly stomped my way down the pew, outside of the building, and officially out of his life for good...

I quickly made my way across court without any particular destination in mind as the true pain of his words finally hit me. My chest was heaving, my eyes stung with unshed tears, and my heart ached so badly I'd rather eat a box of nails right now than endure a second more of the agonizing feeling of my own battered heart ripping itself apart.

"Oomph!" I was so out of it I didn't know someone was approaching me until I actually collided with them.

My reflexes took control of my body as I steadied the person's shoulders and curtly mumbled a 'sorry' before pivoting around them and kept going. But the person only lunged for me and gripped my arm as she shouted, "Rose!"

I spun in place to be met with a pair of worried jade green eyes. It was Lissa.

The moment she took in my pain filled eyes she flung her arms around me tightly as she frantically asked, "Rose what's wrong?"

I was about to pour myself out to her when another sharp tear gnawed at my chest. I recalled how just the other day at Dimitri's public questioning, right when I thought things were looking up, he shoved me away again and LISSA had sided with him. Yeah, my so called 'best friend' teamed up with that bastard and bitched me out like I was a filthy, desperate bloodwhore begging for another fix. Did she think I easily wouldn't remember that?

Oh no, I didn't forget that day at all. Anger suddenly shot throughout all my nerve endings. I was sick of being her chew toy... tired of being a shadow... sick of putting up with her selfishness...

I cringed from her comfort, yanking myself out of her embrace and glared at her. I couldn't trust her anymore either. "Go away Lissa."

She gave me a puzzled yet agitated look before she looked down at bruised knuckles, "What happened to your hand!" she shrieked moving a hand out, trying to heal the fresh wound.

I jerked my body away from her as I angrily explained, "Dimitri."

Understanding dawned on her just then and her bewildered facial expression morphed from confused to annoyance.

"You bothered him again didn't you!" she shouted completely outraged. In her mind, I could see all she cared about right now was the damage I must of just caused to Dimitri.

What the fuck? Didn't she want to know how I got hurt in the first place! This was unbelievable. She didn't even know the full story yet and here she was making false accusations and drawing up the wrong conclusions.

I took another step back from her. Didn't she know how I felt about all of this? About how much pain and suffering the both of them have inflicted on me since that dreadful day of the academy's rescue mission? The horror as I watched the only man I have ever loved, falter and die. When even back then, she was reluctant to help me. To fully understand the severity of my loss.

But I kept a strong faith in her when she decided to help bring him back to me. Even if it was a worthless cause to me now.

And then after all of that... Couldn't she see that I was finally fed up and consumed by all of it? ...to fully recognize the cruel unfairness I've been dealt? The answer was no because before I could so much as part my lips to defend myself she chewed me out all over again.

She tugged at her pale blonde hair erratically, "What the hell's a matter with you Rose! Why are you so desperate!" she growls, raking her pasty fingers through her immaculate mane in disdain. "God, it's like I don't even know you anymore. Is it really this difficult for you to understand? He. doesn't. want. to. see. you. What's so hard about that to get?" Her green eyes darkened as she balled her fists and jabbed my shoulder, "You're always causing more damage than good," her slender finger struck my collarbone again, " Always using violence to solve your problems." the pressure was building inside me as I bit my tongue and tried with no avail to stay calm, "You're wasting everyone's-"

She didn't get to finish her little tantrum because faster than the flash of lighting, I struck her across the face with the force of a small truck.

Her frail frame fell to the ground as she clumsily landed flat on her ass. I smirked as she tilted her neck up and eyes grew wide as one of her hands instinctively reached up to touch the flushed cheek I'd just slapped.

Her deer-in-the-headlights glance met my barbaric one as I snarled, "I'm done with you Lissa. You're nothing but a whiny, orphaned, bitch."

And with that said, I abruptly turned on my heel and ran the hell away from her...

I spent the good part of my day hiding out away from everyone, trying to walk off my frustration, but it was no use. The pain was relentless...

I ran to the only place I had left that could make the pain go away. I sprinted to the private Moroi housing on the far side of court as the tears finally started to leak from my eyes. The heartache was all consuming. Lissa, my best friend of all people, was nothing but another betrayal to me. I naively kept a small hope that soon she'd see things from my perspective. That she'd suddenly 'get' what I was going through. But as with everyone close to me in my life, she just caused me more pain than love. She abandoned me like everyone else does.

I finally reached the Ivashkov's townhouse but before I had time to knock on the door, it flew open to reveal a freshly showered and somewhat sober Adrian.

I knew we weren't on the best of terms at the moment, but he was all I had left. And I knew deep down, if I really needed him, he'd be there for me whether romantic intentions or just the simple comfort of another living being.

A strangled whimper sounded from my lips before I launched myself at him where he stumbled backwards, completely caught off-guard by my surprise visit. "Whoa there Little dhampir. What's going on?" he asked as his arms automatically wrapped around my waist and pressed me closer to him. Any previous tension between us was washed away in this moment as he realized something wasn't right with me.

I did nothing in response but sob uncontrollably into his warm, slightly clover-scented chest.

I heard a slight creak as if a door was being closed before he tucked a stray lock of hair behind my ear and tilted my chin up, forcing me to meet his bright emerald gaze. "What's wrong." he simply stated in a calm and controlled voice.

I blinked back the tears as I blearily looked into his deep concerned green eyes. I swallowed hard at my now dry throat as I thickly murmured, "They hurt me Adrian. They ruined everything-"

I quickly trailed off as I noticed that although he seemed genuinely concerned for my well being, he also kept glancing around every fews seconds nervously.

Before I had a chance to ask what was up, a sultry feminine voice called from the other side of the front door that was still slightly ajar. "Adrian...Why haven't you-"

A young woman, probably around her mid-twenties with long, wavy red hair and big doe eyes had opened the door clad in only a gray long-sleeve button-up shirt that no doubt must of been from Adrian's wardrobe. She was tall and slim yet pretty curvy for a Moroi, I secretly noted.

Her lips were a bit swollen, cheeks flushed and just had that certain air about her that screamed 'I just got laid.'

I suddenly but two and two together and found myself ripped out of Adrian's embrace.

"You don't waste much time moving on do you?" I hissed at him fully flamed.

The woman just stared at us dubiously as Adrian gulped hard and pulled at his sweater's collar, "Rose this isn't what it looks like-"

"Save it Ivashkov." I seethed glaring at him heatedly. The last person I thought I could count on turned out to be just another backstabbing asshole.

I knew our relationship was a bit rocky and we just had a fight earlier today, but seriously? I thought we still had something together. Despite the recent events of my living hell of a life, Adrian's been that one constant thing in my life that's kept me sane over the past few months. He's become my rock, but now? Not even twenty-four hours since our somewhat 'break up' he already had another woman in his bed.

Another sharp tear ripped inside my chest and that's when I decided I was officially done. "Fuck it all!" I mentally screamed.

I spared one last glare at my so called 'ex-boyfriend' before I growled at him and took off on an all out sprint as far away from him as I could. I distantly heard him yell my name and try running after me but it was too late...

I ran all the way back to my room, packing whatever my hands could reach before slinging a large duffle bag over my shoulder and striding out of the court's dhampir guest housing complex for the final time.

I didn't have much cash on me or really any particular plan in mind, but I was determined to get the hell out of here. Leave court, hitch hike, steal a car, mug a strigoi, whatever the fuck it takes to leave this pathetic old life behind. I wanted to start over and forget the demons of my past.

Except there was one obstacle in my impulsive decision to runaway, Hans.

No sooner had I come within thirty yards of the royal court's front gates, I heard his deep, grubby voice bellowing out to me. "HATHAWAY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!"

Great, what did he want?

I froze dead on the spot unsure of what to do next. Knock him out or make a run for it? Hm... decisions, decisions...

Before I could choose from my tempting options, I felt one of his strong, leathery hands pull on my right shoulder and pivot my body around to face him.

I snarled yanking myself out of his grasp as he barked, "Where have you been Miss Hathaway? Your community service rotation started two hours ago!"

"Getting my heart ripped out of my chest and beating the shit out of people." I wanted to say but caught myself at last minute. Instead I just flinched and bit my lip. I thought the whole filing and work detail crap with him was over now after my help with Lissa's rescue mission, but apparently not. Fuck. Will the punishments never end? Plus, he was so pissed at me he didn't even bother to call me by my guardian title. Ouch.

Noticing my abrupt mood change, he seemed to eye me cautiously like I was some deranged animal. Huh, if only...

"Come with me." he spoke in that authoritative, sickly calm voice of his as he turned his back on me and started walking away. I got a bad feeling this wasn't about my long since neglected desk work...

For a brief moment I just stood there, wondering if he'd notice if I took off running again... my musing was short lived as he shouted "NOW!"

I winced from the harshness in his tone, but found that my legs had started to move in his direction like a frightened and confused puppy being scolded by it's master. Curiosity had gotten the best of me in the end.

As I followed him down a narrow walkway, the need to escape and start over again dissolved from my mind and I soon felt hollow and shaken up. Shit. What had come over me? I was vaguely aware that my murderous tirade was most likely spirit induced, but honestly I felt proud of myself. Both Dimitri and Lissa got what was coming to them.

I've been keeping my bruised pride and hurt feelings bottled up for far too long and it actually felt good to finally let loose some of those frustrations. Unfortunately, now I'm going to have to deal with the aftermath of it all... And Adrian, well that's not even important anymore. We were bound to breakup anyway...

I didn't get much time to dwell on my personal problems as Hans suddenly made a sharp turn and led me to the back of a building I'd never noticed before. A quick scan of the area revealed to me that we were actually across the ways from the Guardian Council Building. Oh shit. I really am in trouble.

No words were spoken as Hans led me through a series of doors, dark hallways and dimly lit flights of stairs until I was motioned to enter a small conference room that had no windows.

I was confused as hell as to what was going on but I figured, what else could go wrong? My life was at an all time low right now.

As I took a seat on an old dusty office chair, Hans locked the door we came through before tugging at his earpiece that I just realized he had on, and whispered something into it.

I narrowed my eyes at him wanting to know the meaning of all of this, but a second later I got my answer.

A door camouflaged into the room's wooden paneling on the walls, suddenly swung open where five royal guards poured into the conference area. I tensed as they fanned out, scanning the area before—to my astonishment—the sanctimonious bitch herself, Queen Tatiana came waltzing into the room.

My jaw dropped to the floor but I quickly covered it up with a blank mask as I scrambled to my feet and gave her a quick bow. "Your Majesty-"

I was cut off with the flick of her hand as she curtly spoke, "No need for the formalities Rosemarie, I know my presence to you at this moment is unsettling as well as confusing. So please, sit and let's get started."

No matter our little spat at the Council Hall where I bitched at her about the new age decree, I still had to regard her with some respect so when she spoke to me like that, I was at a loss for words. So I just simply stared at her in bewilderment before I knitted my brows together as both Tatiana and Hans took their seats from across the conference table that was in front of me.

"Sit down Hathaway." Hans gruffly chastised before I got my bearings and obeyed his order.

"What's going on?" I demanded as I felt the nervousness subside and my usual 'Rose-bravado' return.

Hans had an knowing glint in his eyes before he quickly hid it away and remarked, "Miss Hathaway do you care to explain why you felt the need to attack a restored dhampir and assault a Moroi?"

Crap. I was hoping they wouldn't hear about that just yet. I opened my mouth to make a snarky quip when something else he said caught my attention, "Wait. Did you just say restored dhampir?" Despite the fact I'd much rather gut him like a fish and feed his entrails to a pack of psi-hounds right now, I couldn't ignore the truth that I still wanted Dimitri's changing back from a strigoi to be accepted. "You believe he's no longer a strigoi?"

Hans had a ghost of a grin on his blank, weary face as he ignored my comment and snapped, "Answer the question Hathaway."

Errr... looks like he's going back to being a hardass, I leaned back in my chair as I cockily retorted, "It was a misunderstanding. It's not my fault they're both incompetent enough to ignore my point of view."

He laughed with no real humor as he rebutted, "So is charging you with battery. I hope that's not a misunderstanding either."

My mouth gaped open, whether it was from his shocking sarcastic jab or the fact that he seemed serious about this, I'll never know. But one thing was for sure, I was not going to be reprimanded for sticking up for myself. I was about tell Hans just what I thought about his misunderstandings when Tatiana's regal voice broke our silent unspoken feud.

"Enough. What you did was inexcusable Rosemarie and will not go without punishment. If there are conflicts between you, Mr. Belikov, Princess Vasilisa, or anyone else for that matter, it will be handled in the proper manner next time or I'll have to order you under house arrest until you learn to be civil."

What! That's ridiculous! They can't do that to me! Oh yes they can Rose. A small voice whispered in my mind. Have you forgotten you're in the real world now? You're not invisible anymore. I bit my lip and glowered at Tatiana for a moment. Her tone of voice had been resonant and final. I was already walking a thin line here and knowing her, if it came down to it, she probably wouldn't mind if I got publicly beheaded in the near future.

I mumbled a quick 'sorry' and with a curt nod of her head she moved on to another subject, "Now to answer your curiosity, yes we do believe that Mr. Belikov is indeed a dhampir again."

That perked me up, she used the royal 'we'. I was still a little sad they didn't acknowledge his former guardian title but hey, take what you can get right? Huh, never thought I'd agree with that logic... But my excited mood was only temporary as she went on to say, "However, that doesn't mean he still can't pose as a possible threat. So for the time being he is permitted to some freedoms and rights, but will be closely guarded until the council confirms their verdict."

I was curious to know just what those 'freedoms and rights' were but brushed it aside as my impatience got the better of me, "No offense, but why am I here then? If you're not going to send me away or throw me in jail, then shouldn't I be doing filing or something?" I sure as hell did not ever want to do desk work ever again, but this was just so suspicious. Why go to this great length of privacy just to reprimand me and talk about Dimitri?

Tatiana must of read my mind because she gave me a small smile as she said, "Rose this meeting isn't about your disciplinary records or personal matters. This is about giving you a once in a lifetime opportunity."

Okay now I'm officially confused, "What?"

As if on cue, Hans spoke up again and got right down to business, "I've said it before, you're one heck of a fighter Hathaway and it'd be a real waste to not take advantage of your talents." he pulled out a manila folder from god knows where and slid it across the table to me. I took it hesitantly as he announced, "You've been selected to join a special ops team summoned by the Queen."

Alright, I must be stuck in one of Adrian's weird spirit dreams cause this is just too much. I gave them both an odd look before I burst into hysterics. I clutched my stomach as I wiped away some stray tears from the corners of my eyes. Through labored breaths I asked, "You're kidding... this is a joke right?"

But you want to know the craziest thing in all of this? They weren't laughing with me. No, instead they were staring at me dead serious and from the looks of Hans' bulging vein in his forehead, a little angered as well.

That seemed to shut me up fairly quickly as I flipped the cream-colored folder open to reveal a stack of papers indicating locations, time sheets, and a list of instructions.

Finally the reality set in and I looked up at them baffled, "What is this? And why me?"

They seemed to of chose their next words very carefully as Tatiana spoke first, "Rose there are certain forces or security measures—if you will—that the Moroi society is unaware of. For centuries, various monarchs have used these special forces in times of need where preemptive strikes are necessary to sustain our quality of life and survival. Both Dhampir and Moroi alike."

At this point my mouth was so unhinged that I could be catching flies at any given moment.

She looked at Hans and he picked up where she left off, "No one. Except The Queen and a few select people know about these forces. You saw some of it during the rescue mission—when our team of fire users accompanied us to retrieve the Dragomir Princess."

I nodded my head meekly as I was too stunned to do much else. I did however remember the Moroi that came with us to save Lissa and Christian when the demented strigoi Dimitri had kept them hostage in a feeble attempt to lure me into a sick trap. Tasha Ozera had been one of them...

Hans nodded his head sensing I was catching on and kept going, "But there are other 'tasks' that are done within the force. Specifically training Moroi for both defensive magic and physical combat. We work discreetly with the alchemists, collecting data on clean ups and observations they've made and track the strigoi's movements as well as overall populations. Also more to the point, once the Moroi have trained, they join up with a hand selected team of guardians and pursue direct attacks to the strigoi. This special ops force is divided into two divisions. The M.I.A. (Moroi Intelligence Agency) and The G.B.I. (Guardian Bureau of Investigation). And together they form The DMSS (Dhampir Moroi Secret Service)-"

Hans abruptly stopped as I stared at both him and Tatiana like they were the two most insane people I have ever met before in my entire life—and that's really saying something.

You'd think I'd be all for this—people going old school, having Moroi learn defensive magic and us actually hunting down and taking out the strigoi single handedly. But some part of me, imagining someone like Lissa on the front lines, risking her own life was too much to bear. Regardless of how I felt about her right now, that instinctive urge to protect frowned at this ludicrous concept. They come first. The old guardian mantra was just too far engrained in my head to accept anything else.

I took a deep, controlled breath before I stiffly stood up, knocking my chair over in the process and subsequently catching the royal guards' attentions, as I threw the folder back onto the table and slammed my fists down.

When I spoke it was through gritted teeth, "You mean to tell me, all this time, during my whole life's training, that I've been lied to? All while you send innocent lives out on suicide missions!"

Tatiana didn't seemed fazed by my anger, she simply held my heated gaze as she calmly said, "These people do this by choice Rose. They aren't forced into it. And yes, some lives are lost, but the majority survives and continues onto other assignments."

That put a crack in my outrage, but it wasn't enough to numb my frustration especially when Hans also threw in, "What's the difference anyhow? You yourself did the very same things before you ever graduated from an academy. The Ozera boy helped you at your school's battle and then you allegedly went hunting in Russia shortly after."

Bad move Hans, cause that struck a nerve. I glared at him, "Those were rare situations, plus Christian can't even pierce a pillow with a stake. And the other times...well, I had help from rogue dhampirs who had been trained for years. What I did in Russia was reckless and nearly killed me."

I then turned to Tatiana, "And what about the new age decree then? Are you going to start sending sixteen year old Moroi water users out to die th-"

I was cut off both by my own sudden epiphany and what Tatiana said next. Her calm composure crumbled as she narrowed her eyes at me and spat, "What happened with the age decree is beyond my grasp at this point. It's the law. But that does not entirely mean I like it. Trust me when I say, things could of been far worse had I not voted in favor of it. Also more to the point, we hand select the individuals that join the special forces due to their skills and life experience, not just some immature, hormonal teenager. Which in this case, maybe we should withdraw our offer to you."

Whoa, the Queen bitch actually has emotions after all. I stood back letting her words fully sink in. Again, I had that odd feeling of being hollow and shaken up as I realized the darkness had consumed me yet again.

Oh god. I slumped down on a nearby chair and buried a hand into my hair. I was seriously losing it. I looked up at the hesitant, calculating gazes of Tatiana and Hans and bit my tongue.

They came to me, offering me this wonderful chance to start over again and here I was acting like a complete and utter loon.

I closed my eyes briefly thinking things over. When I thought about it, this wasn't really that bad. If Moroi learned to fight along with using their magic, the strigoi numbers would drop immensely. And if we stopped waiting for them to come to us and actually brought the fight to them, the strigoi race would practically be extinct.

I thought about the few Moroi I knew that were in favor of this sort of thing. Of course I had a few friends like Mia, Christian and Jill that were secretly learning how to fight, hell even Lissa took a stab at it. (no pun intended)

And then there were the older, more wise adults like Tasha.

Natasha Ozera seemed like the kind of woman who could hold her own in a strigoi fight, hell she already did before. Yet it had been at it's own cost. Her scarred face was proof of that. But I realized back then she must of been young and unprepared, the odds of her surviving a brutal attack like that—let alone protecting another life like Christian's in her case—had been stacked against her. She got lucky. Had she been trained, things might have been different for her.

It was a bit hard coming to terms with this—accepting that an organization like this was actually real and people were proactively searching for strigoi and taking them out.

I then thought about all the times I had dealt with strigoi myself. From when I was kidnapped in Spokane as a novice to the cruelty of having Dimitri taken from me and then becoming a guardian.

I despised the evil undead more than ever now, and with a chance to make things right, to eliminate the main problem of both my race and the Moroi seemed both daunting and inspiring at the same time. A starving sense of honor began to rumble inside me. At this time, my soul was practically begging for a change, a second chance to start my life over with a clean slate. By taking on something so rare like this, I was being given the salvation and escape my subconscious was so desperately craving for.

I looked back up at both the Queen and Guardian Croft with a burning determination as I asked, "When do I start?"

They both seemed to of visibly relaxed as a cruel grin tugged up on the corners of Hans' mouth. He had a mischievous glint to his features as he wicked said, "Right now."

...I should have known that the moment I agreed to their little 'sales pitch', I'd really just sold my soul to the devil.

It's been one week since I accepted the offer to be a member of the DMSS and it's been one whole week that I've been burning in hell. Literally.

There was a lot more secrecy to this shindig that what they led onto. Don't get me wrong, it was fucking badass finding out there's an entire unground training facility beneath the royal court for the elite special forces, but what I didn't know was how intense this all was going to be.

First after signing some contract, Tatiana left giving me a strong handshake and wished me good luck with this creepy pride radiating off of her emerald eyes. It was weird to say the least. She actually regarded me with some newfound respect, which I eagerly accepted anyway. If I was on her good side now, maybe she wasn't as terrible as I thought her to be.

Next, Hans led me to what looked like a janitor's closet with actually turned out to be an elevator lift. Once we were below ground level, I was guided to a key card-protected set of steel doors that opened up to a small room with a finger print scanner next to a narrow hallway. After striding past a few zig-zagged corridors I was finally standing at the heart of the DMSS HQ.

I nearly had a heart attack when none other than Guardian Alberta Petrov was standing near what looked to be a secretary's desk.

Turns out she's their recruit advisor and to my joy (note the sarcasm) the basic training officer for the G.B.I. division.

It was explained to me that she only worked here full-time during the St. Vladimir's Academy summer break whereas during the school year, she was only part-time and made very little trips out here. Hence why Hans decided to approach me instead. He's the permanent advisor here. Again, yippee. But from Montana, Alberta would keep in contact with a few alchemists and relay any important tips over to HQ if she found new candidates for the forces.

I should have known though, that her presence was only the beginning of a week's worth of surprises.

I was immediately given a small tattoo, the size of a sewing pin's head on the bottom of my right wrist. It was a damn alchemist and Moroi remedy that used a permanent compulsion on my mind so I would never leak any information about the DMSS to anyone.

That wasn't too bad, next they ran a few preliminary diagnostics on my health by some old Moroi doctor. And then that's when they smacked me with the real truth.

I had to tryout to become a member of the G.B.I. division. Oh yes, I've spent the past week undergoing an onslaught of brutal tests and challenges. It was like reliving my trials all over again but on crack.

I was drowned, beaten, electrocuted, attacked, suffocated, captured, interrogated, attacked again, forced to run until I collapsed, nearly singed to death by a fire user, attacked yet again, tested my resistance against compulsion, punched by Hans, attacked AGAIN, practically run over by Alberta, nearly wacked to death, beaten some more and... (I'll leave the rest to your imagination) all while I went on my daily tasks of doing the damn wretched filing for Hans. Yup, Tatiana was serious about my previous punishment debt.

I spent my mornings doing intense conditioning, spent the afternoons stuck in a small room drown under a sea of un-alphabetized files, and spent the evenings getting my ass handed to me. I never got a chance to catch up with anyone because I was too busy sleeping, working, or secretly prancing below the hustle and bustle of court.

I never thought my body could ache as much as it did now, but somehow I was enjoying every minute of it. Wait, now just heard me out. I'm no masochist, but the situations they put me under were mind blowing.

Fire, water, air, earth and even spirit users were integrated into the tests and challenges I did. I'll admit I was holding my own pretty well, but the Moroi members of the M.I.A. were lethal, skilled, daring and quite simply... bad. ass.

I was thoroughly impressed with them. In all there were eighteen members of the DMSS. Four fire users, four water, three earth, two air, one spirit using Moroi and four guardians one of them being the Captain of the whole squad. Her name was Guardian Laura Croft—ironic if you ask me—and yet another shock, the twin sibling to Hans. She was a tough old bag, but I liked her. She seemed to have an eccentric outlook on life. She believed in living in the moment and holding no regrets.

Though I only met them through my various tests, I could tell these special ops members were a tight bunch and a good group of people that I'd enjoy to get to know better if given the full chance.

So for the past week, me along with a handful other guardians were trying out to join the G.B.I. Most of my fellow competitors I didn't know but one I actually did. Guardian Edison Castile, my long time good friend.

We were glad to see each other, but didn't get to socialize that much. Every time I saw him, he was either hobbling away from a test just as I was reporting for one or vice versa. I made it my goal that after this week, I'd find the time to hunt Eddie down and see how he was holding up.

For now I had to focus. I found that with every passing day, I grew more eager and motivated to be a part of this organization. I started to develop a healthier appetite for life again.

Alberta kept a tally of each candidate's test results and at the end of the week, the individuals with the top ten scores would be selected and sworn in to the secret force. The others would have a Moroi use compulsion on them to forget the past week's events and they would return back to their normal lives, completely oblivious to this secret society.

But even though the past few days have flown by pretty fast, time still couldn't hide my internal heartache. I haven't seen Dimitri, Lissa, or even Adrian for that matter, since the day I snapped at them. And to honest, I was glad. I've been blocking out the bond to Lissa all while trying to cope with the pain.

Though I was fueled by darkness when I last saw them, it didn't mean I regretted what I did and said to them. I truly was at my wits' end. I couldn't handle putting up with their bullshit anymore. I was tired of being unsupported and unappreciated.

So that's why this morning, the last day of my tryout, I was in one of the DMSS gyms, thundering out all my agony...

Hot salty sweat dripped down my toned abs as my arms struck steady rhythms of power hooks and speedy jabs.

My breaths were shallow and deep as my lungs panted for oxygen. I grit my teeth feeling the enamel grind together as my heart rapidly thumps blood into my veins with it's strong beats.

I was lost in my thoughts, drowned with emotions and suffocated with all my problems. I grunted grasping the punching bag steady as I swung my right knee up and dove into continuous repetitions of fronts kicks, twisting my torso from time to time to alternate legs.

My thighs and calf muscles ached after the ten minute interval so I leapt back a few feet, glaring at the suspended object in front of me. A low growl rumbled in my chest before I charged forward, gaining the perfect momentum before jumping up while striking out a leg. My throat burned as I screamed, pivoting my body to the left and spinning into an explosive butterfly kick.

I jerked to the side, rolling into a defensive crouch as I watch the heavy bag sway about erratically from the blow.

I smirk satisfied with my technique when I heard a rich, deep voice comment from behind me, "Good form Rosie."

Instantly I tensed, realizing I'd been so absorbed in my workout, that I was unaware I wasn't alone. So I quickly spun around, ready to lunge at my secret intruder when I noticed it was... Eddie?

I let out a sigh of relief. Finally, a surprise that doesn't involve sever pain (mentally or physically).

My dark mood started to dissolve away as I flashed him a wide grin, straightened my back and walked up to him. "Use that nickname again Castile and I might just have to kick your ass-" I paused to smirk,"-regardless of how bruised it is by now..."

He let out a deep throaty laugh as he joked, "Trust me, my ass is the least of my worries, besides I could take you on anyway."

A sassy cat call escaped my lips as I taunted, "Ooo... don't tempt me Castile. I'd hate to hurt you so early in the day."

His warm, hazel eyes met mine daringly as he chuckled, "Oh it's on Hathaway. You. Me. Mats. Now."

I snickered at his blind foolishness as he crouched into a provocative stance on the nearby sparring mats.

I clenched my fists, listening to the knuckles pop before I flexed my fingers and joined him on the mat.

Suddenly the playfulness left our eyes as we circled each other and slipped into our guardian modes. This past week has really toughened us up and I learned to switch into my battle lust instincts within the snap of a finger.

I sized him up as I measured my distance from him. Eddie had grown a lot taller since our school's graduation and he's now a towering 6'5" and although his body's been battered up substantially the past couples of days, his sore muscles still looked ripped and intimidating. That was one thing I always admired about him, Eddie was incredibly buff for a dhampir yet it wasn't too overbearing like most guy because of his long, lean frame. Instead it made him look more... elegant like a Moroi but with more definition and shape to his physique. His messy, dark sandy blonde hair was a nice contrast to his tanned skin and if it wasn't for the fact we were good friends, I'd say he's pretty damn hot.

His narrow facial features seemed to be regarding me in the same way I was with him except I noticed there was a small flicker of longing in his eyes before he quickly hid it away.

Typical. I mentally clicked my teeth. Thanks to the trauma of his life, Eddie always takes his duties and everyday tasks too seriously. He never loosens up too much anymore and it always bothers me so much to see how stiff and emotionless he's become. Seriously, the guy needs to get-

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted as he made the first move—lunging forward with his hands poised and ready to grip my neck.

I hissed letting my primal instincts take control of my body as I easily side-stepped him and sent a nasty blow to one of his bruised biceps. He winced slightly before hooking an arm around my elbow and launching his full weight against me.

I snarled as we both fell backwards, but I managed to pivot my body so that his absorbed the majority of the fall as I straddled his waist.

Seeing as he was still restraining one of my arms, I struck my free one out aiming it for his chest like I would if I had a stake. I grinned in anticipation as my movements took advantage of him—gaining the upper hand.

But what I didn't anticipate was how fast his reflexes were. I suddenly gasped as one of his arms shot forward and collided with my stomach before I painfully felt him jab two fingers against my exposed sternum.

The air was literally knocked out of my lungs as my chest burned from the stunning hit.

Before I had a chance to recover, he flexed his torso upward, snaking his legs behind mine and flipped us over.

My back hit the mat hard as he pressed his tall frame against mine and trapped me still.

Rage floored my body into overdrive as I quickly sent an uppercut to the right side of his jaw just before his hands seized mine and pinned them above my head and effectively blocking my last escape. Shit.

I growled, trying to wiggled myself free from beneath his hovering body, but he had too much power over me and without hesitation, he dipped his head down and lightly bit my neck—the gesture signified his kill as if he were strigoi in this scenario.

I sucked in a sharp intake of breath as a quick surge of excitement shuddered down my spine at the wonderful feel of his teeth on my skin before I hastily brushed the dirty thought away.

Instead I let a frustrated sigh leak from my parted mouth as I relaxed my muscles and accepted my defeat.

Eddie pulled back, amused by his triumph, as he breathlessly spoke, "Aw don't take it so personally Hathaway. Even the best fall."

I scowled and glared at him as I demanded, "I want a rematch. You got lu..."

I trailed off when my eyes met his caramelized simmering gaze. Amidst the fight's rampage, I hadn't noticed that something in the way Eddie moved had changed. Yeah sure, the sparring match had gotten intense, but what I didn't pick up on was the animalistic heat that had slowly began to envelope us and possess his body's motions.

His grip on me tightened as I noticed my breaths were just as labored as his. Suddenly the atmosphere around us changed completely. I no longer saw a him as a target or fellow guardian but instead as a very attractive, sweat coated man.

His rigid facial features softened to reveal his handsome youthfulness as his eyes roamed up my body in a hungered, lusty way.

I felt my eyes widen and dilate as his liquid honey orbs captured my attention. Time seemed to slow down as I felt my body begin to tingle and crackle with extraordinary warmth. In this moment I knew he wasn't seeing me as just a friend either, the want in his golden eyes promised he wanted to be hell of a lot more and that's when my head lifted up towards him and without a second thought, I crashed my lips to his.

Do you ever have those days where you just want to punch Dimitri and slap Lissa? Cause I sure do.

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-xXLove-BiteXx