We left for the lodge in the late afternoon. The school had a single private plane for emergencies, and we were able to borrow a few others from court and a couple from more prominent Royal families that would also be utilizing the Lodge over the holiday. I was slated to leave with the last group, and Tasha held back to fly over with me, Christian, and Lissa. We were settling into the jet as the last few students piled in.

I shouldn't have been surprised that Rose was one of the final few to board. I probably should have been surprised that someone didn't have to drag her out of her dorm just to make the flight in time. I tried to catch her eye to greet her, but she didn't look at me. In fact, it seemed like she was purposefully not looking at me. It was enough to set me on edge.

I couldn't understand the sudden change. Yesterday she was distant, but she wasn't exactly giving me the cold shoulder. We just avoided each other, perhaps out of confusion and awkwardness more than anything else. I didn't know what to say to her and she probably didn't know what to say to me. Now though, she was actively ignoring me.

She passed the row Tasha and I sat in without sparing even a casual glance our way. I watched her as she also passed Christian and Lissa, who were too preoccupied to notice, and finally finding her seat another row or so back by – who else – Mason.

I tried to ignore them, I really did, but my eyes kept glancing back to her while talking to Tasha beside me. I couldn't hear what they were saying over the chatter of the other students, but at one point I saw her flinch slightly and look down. The bewildered look on her face ignited my instinct to jump in, but before I could make any move towards them, I saw Roza smile softly.

A student shifted just enough for me to get a clear view of what had caused the abrupt change in her demeanor. Mason's hand was laying on top of her's, looking completely natural. The jealousy that I expected never came, because before it could rear its ugly head, I saw Rose lace her fingers in his.

My heart dropped out of my chest.

It's time to move on, I thought. Rose obviously has. You should have done it a long time ago.

I slipped my hand into the one Tasha had resting on the divider between us, settling deeper into the seat and tightening my jacket around me.

I had seen pictures, blueprints, even aerial satellite images of the resort, but despite all that, I was still impressed by the how stunning it was in person. I was never one for tropical vacations – perhaps a blessing considering my line of work – and the nature and seclusion that a cabin surrounded by forests offered was right up my alley. Granted, there was no doubt that this cabin was just as technologically advanced as a 5-star metropolitan hotel. Even the various walkways around the resort were heated for our convenience.

I peeked around Tasha to glance at Rose. She seemed just as enamored with the accommodations as I was. It seemed like everyone was, to be honest.

"Dimka...this is...stunning!"

I snapped my attention to the woman next to me again. "We chose if for the safety features, but yes, it is quite beautiful. That isn't a bad perk. Apparently there's a full spa and several other recreation options beyond the ski trails also."

Her face lit up the moment I mentioned the spa, just like I knew it would. I mirrored her smile, happy that Tasha would be able to get some of the pampering she deserved. I knew that she had access to these sorts of luxuries often when she was younger, but it had probably been a while since she had allowed herself to indulge like this.

"I haven't had a massage in years," she said dreamily, confirming my unspoken thought, "but I think I'll take a day or two to play on the mountain first. It doesn't quite make sense to work those knots out only to kill my body the next day. How about you? Are you planning to enjoy something special while we're here?"

I choose not to reply, knowing that it would be enough to confirm Tasha's suspicions.

"I do wish you'd take some time for yourself, Dimitri. You deserve it." Her hand brushed against mine, perhaps accidentally. "You deserve a lot of things."

I watched her walk to the front desk for her room assignment, but was quickly distracted by Lissa's joyful shriek. She must have realized that she and Rose were rooming together. I had also made sure that they were put in one of the nicer rooms available. I had called in a favor or two to make sure it happened, but it was worth it. It may not have been anything too elaborate, but I knew it would make this trip a little brighter for them both. After the past few weeks, I knew Rose could use any little happiness right now.

It didn't take Rose long to find that well earned happiness and relaxation like I had hoped. I could occasionally see her, Mason, Christian, and Lissa as they made their way up and down the ski slope over and over the first day. It was nice to see her acting like a normal teenage girl. It wasn't something that she had the opportunity to do very often. It was sometimes hard to remember that she was still a kid in many ways, even if she was more mature than someone her age should need to be.

The sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon when I caught a glimpse of the group near the mogul hill. Mason and Rose raced down at speeds that were just shy of perilous. I could even see Mason stumble once or twice on his decent, though he recovered before any damage could be done. Part of me wanted to call them out on their reckless behavior, but I resisted because I knew the desire was at least partially motivated by the idea of breaking up the pair of Novices, even for a moment. Instead, I contented myself with getting distracted by the work in front of me. There wasn't much to do in a simple patrol of my designated area, but since there were quite a few people around, it was enough to keep my mind occupied.

That changed rapidly when I saw Christian and Lissa walk pass me on their way back towards the lodge. If those two were here, it meant that Rose and Mason were now alone. I kept my anxiety in check with the mental reminder that Mason truly cared for Rose and would never hurt her, not to mention that Rose wouldn't hesitate to defend herself is she saw fit. I had seen her take down Mason in their combat classes more often than not when the two sparred. Still, I wasn't thrilled with the idea of them spending time together unsupervised. Try as I might to keep my focus on those around me, I kept glancing back towards the hill and the various ski trails that descended it.

I finally saw them about an hour later, once again near the mogul hill. My heart nearly stopped as I saw her take a jump off a short ridge, finally feeling another stuttering beat as she gracefully hit the powder on the other side. I couldn't do much more that watch and pray as she attempted one hairpin turn after another, dodging trees along the way before finally coming to a stop with a flourish of spraying snow. All the while, Mason cheered her on from the top. If it hadn't been so incredibly dangerous, I would have been impressed.

Well, I thought, there goes the idea about him never putting her in harm's way. I couldn't fault Mason entirely though. While Rose was fully capable of putting herself in dangerous situations all on her own, it would at least help if Mason didn't encourage her antics. All it took was one small misstep and she could have been seriously injured.

Apparently he didn't learn from her near death experience, because before anyone could stop him, Mason was off to attempt the same insane obstacle course. He only made it about half as far as Rose had before he missed one of the landings and fell hard.

My radio was raised to call for the medic before he finished sliding to a stop. Celeste, who appeared to be the closest guardian in that area, was rushing to the scene. Rose kicked off her skis and did the same. Though he didn't get up, I could see Mason moving slowly on the ground, and felt relief lighten the weight in my shoulders. If Mason had been hurt, I knew Rose would have taken it personally and blamed herself.

After a moment or two, I could see the medical team assist Mason down the rest of the hill while Rose carried both of their gear back towards the rental area near the other entrance to the lodge. I also caught sight of my shift relief for the night making his way towards me. Once we completed a short debriefing, I left the new guardian to take charge of the area and started towards the medical wing to have a conversation with Mason.

I walked into the sterile room to see the nurse finish wrapping Mason's ankle in a brace, handing him an ice pack with the shake of her head before walking away. Mason returned the gesture with a sheepish grin. It looked like he only had a sprained ankle and I wondered if he understood just how lucky he was. With what he had tried, he could have easily been left with a broken neck.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't try to kill my student."

Mason, previously unaware of my presence near the door, jumped at the sound of my voice. I wont deny the slight satisfaction it gave me to see him so intimidated by me.

"I-I'm sorry, Guardian Belikov." he stuttered. "We get so competitive, it was stupid. I didn't think she'd actually attempt the challenge and once she did it so flawlessly...well, I couldn't let her show me up. I should have known that I couldn't compete with her though." Mason's embarrassment quickly morphed into a distant look of wonder. "Rose is amazing. She always has been."

I didn't disagree with him. Rose had surprised me more often than I could count and I couldn't say that I wasn't just as awe inspired by her on occasion.

"Still, I'm sorry we got carried away. We haven't had the chance to spend much time together recently. Not that I mind her extra training sessions..." he quickly amended when he realized what his complaint insinuated. "If anything, I'm a bit jealous of her chance work one on one with you. I'm glad that you're helping her. It just hasn't left a lot of time to hang out with her like I used to. I guess I just jumped at the chance and wasn't thinking straight." He was rambling a bit at this point, but I allowed him some time to compose his thoughts. "I'm glad that I'm the one that took the fall, not her. I'd never want to be the reason she was hurt."

His sincerity was as apparent as his freckles and red hair. It was almost painfully easy to see just how much Mason cared for Rose and I felt a bit guilty for my jealousy towards him. He had done nothing except fall prey to the same wild and beautiful girl that I fell for.

"I know," I acquiesced. "She cares about you, too. I'm grateful for how you've stood by her through everything and I know she's lucky to have you as a friend."

"Friend," he scoffed, giving a huff at the word as if it was some offensive slur. "Right."

I worried the corner of my mouth as I considered my next move. I had come to give Mason a hard time about endangering Rose, but now that I was here, I was tempted to do something else with this opportunity. As much as I hated the idea of anyone else with Rose, Mason really was a good kid and I'd rather them be together, even for a short while, than for her to be completely alone. Or even worse, for her to be taken advantage of by some self entitled Moroi Royal who felt like he was doing a favor to our race simply by looking at her.

"Have you asked Rose out?"

Mason's eyes widened in surprised, obviously caught off guard that I was even talking to him about something like this. It wasn't exactly a subject that made me comfortable, and I could tell it was a bit awkward for him, but I didn't back down and he finally answered me.

"No. There hasn't really been much of an opportunity. I wanted to ask her to the Equinox dance last month, but things kinda got in the way, ya know?"

I nodded, understanding some of his hesitance. A mysterious trail of dead animals and a sudden kidnapping definitely can distract a person.

"Well, forgive me for my bluntness and please understand that I don't typically feel the need to meddle in the love lives of novices, but..." I gave a small breath, bracing for what I was going to say. I can't believe I'm doing this. "...perhaps you should take her on a date or two over the holiday break. I'm busy with guarding shifts and we wont be keeping our normal training schedule, so she should have some extra time on her hands."

Mason looked at me incredulously, clearly not expecting me to suggest anything regarding his dating habits. His silence got the better of my nerves and I continued.

"It's obvious that you like her. To be perfectly frank, I think she is harboring more than friendly feelings for you as well."

Mason's grin brightened considerably at my confession.

"You both have a few more months before graduation. You deserve the opportunity to be teenagers and have some fun before you receive your promise marks. Take the chance and ask Rose out. If anything comes of it...I promise to make sure she has the occasional Friday night off from training. Deal?"

"Deal!" Mason eagerly reached for the handshake I offered him. "Thank you, Guardian Belikov."

"Please, call me Dimitri." If I'm going to play reluctant wing man to the guy perusing the girl I loved, there was no reason to be formal about it. "Rest that ankle and I'd be happy to help you work on some balance techniques when we get back to the Academy."

Somehow, he looked even more thrilled at this proposition, offering nothing more than an eager silent nod.

With that, I took my leave. It was time to have a chat with Rose about her own reckless behavior.

It took a while to find Rose. I knew where I had last seen her – walking towards the equipment rental to drop of both her and Mason's skis – but that had been almost twenty minutes ago. She would probably be long gone by now. A part of me missed the familiarity of the Academy where I knew her haunts and could find her almost as easily as she could find Lissa at a moment's notice.

It was a surprise to me then, when I finally found her ten minutes later near the same entrance where she must have come in from returning the gear. She wasn't alone though. I heard her voice mingling with that of a man's, and when I finally caught sight of her, she was talking to none other than Adrian Ivashkov.

He was only a few years younger than myself, but his reputation as a party animal and playboy had made him notorious. When I had warned Roza about entitled Moroi men using her for nothing more than their momentary pleasure, Adrian was just the sort of person I was describing, even more so than Jesse who I had caught her with earlier this year.

Due to their age and royal status, Ivan and Adrian had run in similar social circles, but Ivan avoided him as often as possible and I followed his lead. I had yet to really have a proper conversation with Adrian, and he seemed content to dismiss me entirely, the way most other Royals regarded guardians and other dhampirs.

Unfortunately for everyone, he had taken notice of Rose. Based on his body language, I could see that he was interested in her. He kept a respectable distance for now, but he made his intent known in the way he leaned towards her and occasionally raked his eyes over every inch of her body. The way he looked at her held a vague possessiveness that came with generations of getting anything and anyone you wanted. With a last name like his, there was no doubt in my mind that he was used to having his way.

Roza didn't seem willing or charmed though. At least not at first. The longer they spoke, the more I watched the initial disgust on her countenance fade into something that resembled intrigue more than interest. I made my way a bit closer to hear their conversation as he extended his hand to her, perhaps properly introducing himself.

She pulled her hand from his as she shook her head. "You don't know anything about me. And I only know of your family. I don't know anything about you."

"Want to?" His voice was taunting, but not so much as to disguise the actual offer in his question. I felt my temper flare at actually hearing him proposition her.

Rose seemed unimpressed. "Sorry. I'm not into older guys."

Adrian's eyes flickered towards me for the briefest moment, somehow avoiding Rose's notice while acknowledging me for the first time...though I sensed that he had known my presence for longer than he let on. I was grateful that my face wouldn't betray the amusement I felt at Rose's false claim, nor would I give that secret away.

"I'm twenty-one. Not that much older," he pressed.

"I have a boyfriend."

In the back of my mind, I knew that she was simply seeking a different excuse and way out of the conversation, but I couldn't help the way it made me feel to think that she could be referring to meme with that title. It was only a moment later when I realized that she could be referencing Mason just as easily as me, and perhaps even more so considering her first statement.

When Rose's attention shifted elsewhere on the snowy mountain, I caught Adrian glancing my way again. It was both curious and all together unsettling in the way he seemed to understand what was going through my mind. He seemed almost...amused?

As Rose stared at whatever had caught her eye among the many skiers, and Adrian's focus completely on me, he replied. "Funny you didn't mention that before."

The way he said it chilled me. There was no way that he could know the truth about the situation between Rose and I, but the way he considered me as he spoke hinted at the impossible knowledge of something more.

Seeing that Rose was currently holding her own against his abrasive charisma, I slipped behind the wall and out of his view. I could still hear the sounds of conversation, and even though I couldn't hear the exact words, their tone would warn me if thing got out of hand. I was close enough to break up things if she needed me to, but I didn't want to feel exposed under Adrian's gaze a moment longer than I had to. It was fairly unnerving.

Soon, a second female voice joined the duo, and they entire group broke only a few moments later. The Rinaldi girl, Mia, passed me in the hall, hardly even seeing me through her own seething. A few minutes passed before I saw Rose walk down the hall in the opposite direction of where I had concealed myself. I was about to follow her when I heard the heavier footsteps of a man coming closer to me, and it didn't take an introduction for me identify the voice that spoke to me from around the corner.

"So...she isn't into older guys?"

I stayed silent, hoping that he was simply speaking to himself out loud. My hope was quickly dashed.

"And let me guess, you aren't into younger girls?"

I stepped around the corner to see him leaning casually against the wall, waiting for me to emerge. I didn't dignify his question with a response, but I apparently didn't need to do so to confirm his suspicions.

"I'm guessing you aren't the aforementioned boyfriend..." his eyes flickered from my face to the space around my head "...but ah, you want to be. Don't you?"

I set my jaw, fighting the urge to grab him by the collar and throw him off the nearby balcony. I tried to remain as visually impartial as I could, but I could feel the tension building and my teeth start to grind against each other.

"The apathetic guardian act wont work on me Cradle Robber, I can read you like a book. Trust me, I don't blame you one little bit. Rose is quite tempting." He looked off towards the direction she had left before adding, "I wouldn't mind getting her naked and alone."

I knew the comment was designed to goad me more than anything else, but my reaction was instinctive. Two emotions surged at once. The first was the unrelenting rage that this arrogant, self-centered womanizer would suggest such a thing. It was followed quickly by the overwhelming guilt when my mind flashed to a moment when I had done just that. I would have expected him to anticipate and perhaps react to the former. However, his eyes grew wide, not in fear but in surprise, morphing easily into delighted grin of someone who now held all the cards.

"No..." He hissed, astonished.

I kept my face neutral, but it didn't matter to him.

"Ah, this is too glorious. The good Guardian isn't quite as honorable as he seems. Thankfully, I have no pretense of honor to live up to. I'm sure I'll get my own chance soon enough."

The building tension broke quickly in a blast of energy. Before I could think about what I was doing, I had him pinned against the wall, my forearm pressed against his chest and my face close enough to smell the trace of alcohol on his breath.

"Stay away from her." Each word in my demand was enunciated carefully to make sure there was absolutely no chance of miscomunication between us. Like Jesse so long ago, I was powerless to truly follow through on any threat. The only difference was this time, my victim knew it. Adrian knew I couldn't hurt him and even worse, he knew that held power over me. His momentary shock at my attack faded into something closer to pity until I couldn't stand to look at him any longer.

I released him, feeling smaller and more powerless than I had in years.

The bastard laughed as I walked away.

Author's Note

Hey guys! Thanks for reading :) Last week I asked if you guys believed in soulmates and many of you replied with your opinions. Thanks! I really enjoyed hearing what you had to say. Some of you also asked what I thought and I figured I'd share it here. I tend to follow Dimitri's line of thinking (surprise!) that almost any two people can find happiness if you both are willing to work at the relationship. Some people are more compatible than others, but I don't buy into the notion that there is only one perfect person for anyone and you'll never be truly happy until you find that person.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, especially with the introduction of Adrian. We will be seeing more of him interacting with Dimitri in the near future. I should tell you upfront that I really like Adrian, and I think he was actually a pretty good guy, but he is really horrid the first few times we see him and Dimitri's opinion of him will amplify that preception. I think 'scoundrel' would be a good word to describe him. A lovable scoundrel to most of us, but a scoundrel none the less. It's fun to see how his personality changes from when we first meet him as compared to him at the end of the series (and even into Bloodlines, if you've read that *random shout out to Ruby Circle releasing* **no spoilers please**).

Question of the week: I know we're all Romitri fans, but if you had to ship Rose with anyone else, who would it be? Mason or Adrian?

Personally, I think both boys left their mark on her. Mason was the epitome of the sweet teenage romance that everyone deserves once in their lifetime and I wish that we could have seen more time between the two. Adrian was also a pretty good guy and I'm kinda sad that Rose really never gave him the chance he probably deserved. He really ended up getting the short straw in that drawing. I might have to write a little love story between the two at some point, what do you think? Make me choose...I'll have to say Adrian.

That you all again for being such loyal readers! Don't forget to favorite and follow, and I would REALLY love to hear your thoughts. Also...fair warning...I'm pretty sure some of you are going to want to hit me because of a scene in the next chapter. Brace yourselves.