This should be a very exciting chapter hope you all enjoy. Things are heating up for all our favorite VA characters. If you are enjoying the story plz Review.

I don't own VA. Only my unique story line. Please no copying :D

Previously in the Wild, Wild West…

I felt myself drifting off to sleep with only two thoughts, Dimitri and finding the horses.

Chapter 10 Missing

The door squeaked as I opened it. The room was dark, but small streams of light peeped around the edges of the blinds. Everything was silent as I stepped forward; my heart was racing as I looked into the shadows. I had made it half way across the room when they stepped in front of me. Like magic Isaiah and Elena appeared out of thin air.

"Children, children, this isn't how the game works. You're breaking the rules." Isaiah said with a chilled voice and a cruel smile played over his lips. …."Fast and far Mason" I said staring straight at Isaiah…"My, my if looks could kill, are you thinking you can take us both by yourself?" They gave a nasty laugh….I felt in that moment I was going to die, but I would be one hell of a distraction.

I lunged for Isaiah and pulled a gun shooting Elena in the thigh. She shrieked in rage and clawed at me. I heard the door open and I knew Mason had gotten Eddie, Mia and Christian out. Isaiah screamed in fury and grabbed my wrist dragging Elena and me with him….

"Get OUT!" I yelled. I spun around just in time to see them clear the threshold. Isaiah turned to me with a monstrous heaving anger. "You want to be the hero little girl! I will make you suffer the worst pain of your life, you will die a slow agonizing death! You will beg me to let you die!" he said in a low vicious growl.

"Let her go, or I'll kill you." A dark and angry voice said. My head snapped to the sound. There in the doorway framed by light Mason stood holding the gun I had dropped….. "Mason, GET OUT!" I screamed, but before I even knew what was happening Isaiah simply stopped grabbed Mason's head with both hands and gave a quick twist. There was a sickening crack. Mason's eyes went wide and then hazed over into the blank stare of death.

"NOOOOOO!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. I franticly sat up in my bed, my heart was racing, my breathing came out in rapid gasps, my whole body was racked with tremors and sweat poured from my skin. I looked around the dark silent room with panicked desperation. "Mason!" I said in a strained whisper. Tears began to stream down my face. My heart ached with unbearable pain. I sunk my head into the palms of my shaking hands sobbing.

I heard soft footsteps padding down the hallway. Seconds later Lissa burst through the door. "Rose, Rose are you ok?" she said as she ran towards me on my bed. I couldn't answer I was so shaken, I could only sit there and weep. She sat down next to me and tenderly touched my forearm. "Rose, what happened? Did you have another one of those nightmares?" I was so distraught I threw myself into her arms and sobbed. I just kept repeating over and over. "Not Mason. Please not Mason."

Lissa was rubbing my back rocking me back and forth whispering "It's ok Rose, Mason is fine, he is home, in his bed sleeping. He's ok I promise he's fine. It's going to be ok, Rose. You're going to be ok. Just calm down. It's ok. I promise. It's ok." Her words were soothing and I began to calm down. I was taking deep breaths and I wiped the tears from my face.

"I'm sorry Liss, I didn't mean to wake you. I….. I …..just…. I don't know. It was so horrible. It was real! I know it was real I was there!" I said getting hysterical.

"No, you are right here with me Rose, you are ok! Mason is OK! He is warm, safe, and happy. He's ok Rose." She said more strongly trying to calm me once again. I just shook my head. "Lissa, if you saw what I saw it was so awful I can't even begin to describe it." I said with a raspy whisper. I could hardly recognize my own voice.

"I know, Rose, it's all going to be ok. Just take a deep breath. That's it just breath nice and slow." She said so warm and lovingly while she stroked my hair. "Rose look at me, see I am right here nothing bad is going to happen" She held my head in both of her hands and made me look at her in the eye. I stared into her captivating pale green eyes and took a long slow deep breath.

"Ok, I think I'm ok now." I said shakily. She brushed some hair from my face and placed it behind my ear.

"Are you sure? Do you want to tell me about it?" she asked sweetly. I sighed and shook my head.

"No, I can't, not yet." I said quietly hanging my head "No… I think… I will just try to go back to sleep. I have to get up in just a few hours. I need to try to sleep." I said with a little more strength in my voice. She looked at me seriously. "Ok. I'm right here if you need me. You know that right." She said hesitantly. I nodded.

She gave me a long warm hug and just held me for a moment. It helped a lot I felt myself calming in her loving embrace. It made me realize why I call her my sister. She is always right there for me as I am for her. She is the best sister I could have ever asked for. I take a deep breath as she pulls away. She gave me one more look in the eye and then got up and left the room.

I lie down and try to settle myself in the soft bed. I started to replay the dream, but then I stopped myself. I do not need to go back through that again. It was bad enough the first time. No need to get myself worked up again. I just need to rest. I closed my eyes, what can I think about, something good, something calming. Dimitri.

Yes, Dimitri would be the perfect thing to distract my mind from that horrible dream. He seems to have this amazing effect over me. With just one touch my mind is consumed by his very being. His scent, his warmth, his dreamy brown eyes, he takes me into our own world. I let my mind fantasize about his hands on my body and his warm soft lips on mine. Soon I find myself drifting off to the thoughts of being in my lovers arms. I feel my body relax and then the blackness waves over me.

I hear a faint sound and my name being called. "Rose wake up, it's time to get up now." It's far away in my haze of sleep. I find myself struggling to come to. I want to wake up, but the darkness is thick like a dense fog. The kind of fog so thick you can't see the hand in front of your face. I feel like I am swimming through mud and its pulling me down. I can't move in the direction I want to go. It's so thick and encompassing I am absorbed into the folds of time and space.

I gasp, abruptly I am brought to the brazen sounds around me. My eyes snap open to see Lissa's face hovering over mine. "Lissa?" I say trying to collect my faculties.

"Yes, Rose it's me are you ok?" she asked me with a worried expression.

"Ah…. Yeah…. Umm … I think so." I say sitting up. The room coming into better focus, I rub my eyes.

"You are supposed to go meet Makhail to search for the horses remember?" she said. "But maybe you should just stay here. You have had a really bad night. You could use some more rest."

"No, Liss, I'm ok" I climb out of bed stretching my body and giving a big yawn. "Really I'm fine. I just was really in a deep sleep there for a few minutes. I will be just fine, don't worry about me, okay." I say reassuring her. She shakes her head and smiles at me. "I will always worry about you Rose Hathaway." We laugh

"I know, I know, but I'm good." I give her a reassuring nod and hug her.

"Ok, get dressed Makhail is waiting for you" She said pointedly

I hurry around my room and throw on my riding clothes. I grab my hat and jacket. I run down the staircase and I am heading out the door when Lissa yells "Wait!" I freeze and turn to look at her. She is running to me with a little wrapped up package in her hand. "Here you will need some food while you are out there. Makhail filled your canteen with fresh water so you are all set." She said hurriedly. "Thank You!" I say with a hug "See you later" I run out the door.

Makhail is standing out front with Jezebel all ready to go and his horse Thunder, Jessie and Ralf are sitting in their saddles ready to go. "Morning Rose." They all say as I run towards them. "Morning ….. Sorry I had a hard time waking up this morning." I say with a shrug. "Its fine Rose we have all day to search." Makhail says with a nod.

I look around and notice that the glowing rim of the sun is just barely peeking over the distant eastern horizon. Big black shadows cast over the land from the mountains and foothills surrounding us. The air is chilly and crisp, but it will warm up fast. I take in a deep breath of the cool morning air, which helps me wake up the rest of the way. I look at Makhail "So what's the plan?" I ask.

"Jessie is heading out towards Dry Creek; Ralf is going towards Mission Creek. I will go in the direction of Ashley Creek and you head for Red Sleep Mountain. I told Lissa which direction we are all going incase something happens. Rose, be careful, don't do anything foolish. If you find them try to heard them back if they don't follow your lead just come back and we will all go out together to bring them in. No need to be a hero. That goes for you boys too. Jessie, Ralf just find them and try to bring them in, if you don't find them by the time the sun is touching the treetops in the west just head back. We can look again tomorrow." He said seriously. We all nod and I mount Jez. He climbs on to Thunder "Just be careful we don't need anyone getting hurt." He said looking at me. "Alright, let's go."

I set off with the rising sun to my back, across the vast open prairie, through the tall flowing grass. I can see Red Sleep Mountain way off in the distance. Tapping my heals into Jezebel's sides she takes off like a streak of lightning. I lean forward in the saddle as I feel her legs coil under her and her strong legs bare down eating up the soft grown. I let Jezebel run till her hearts content loving the feel of the wind zooming past me. Flying across the ground at breathtaking speed brings a sense of freedom that is indescribable. I smile from ear to ear as she pounds her hooves into the ground. I feel laughter bubbling up inside from the sheer joy of being out here.

We cover a lot of ground in a quick hurry, fortunately it was flat and I could see for miles. But now we are coming to a steady grade in the land. I slow Jez down to a pace that won't wear her out. I take the higher route so I can see more distance. The sun is up high enough that the light is finally helpful. I can see hoof prints on the ground which gives me hope that I am on the right track.

As I ride I am thinking, if I were a heard of horses where would I be? I pull Jez's rein's "whoa girl" I say. She responds to my simple command in a second. We are at the top of a large gully. I look around trying to decide which direction is best. It makes sense to stay to high ground. I can see more. So I decide to stay on the edge of the gully. I can see down into it and across the land for miles. I slow our pace because it's a little treacherous right here. No need for Jez to slip. Her powerful legs hold us steady as we maneuver the slippery slope.

I have been riding for a while and I have lost sight of any hoof prints on the rocky ground. The trees are becoming thicker, but I can still see in every direction. I am on a down slope when I hear a faint noise in the distance. I stop to listen. I hear it again a whinny of a horse echoes off the walls of the valley below. I know I am heading in the right direction, but I can't pinpoint them yet. The sound carries too well. Still I am very encouraged by the sound.

I decide I need some food so I bring Jez to a halt on a flat area. I climb down and reach into my saddlebag for the small package Lissa gave me. I am thankful for her thoughtfulness. My stomach has been complaining to me loudly for the past ½ hour. The roast beef sandwich is delicious and I devour it in a matter of a few short minutes. Lissa was even thinking of Jezebel, she gave me an extra piece of lettuce that she ate happily. I take a big swig of my water, store the remnants of food and paper away in my saddlebag. I am back in the saddle in no time.

After a few long minutes of riding I hear more sounds of agitated horses. Something is wrong, but I will have to get closer to find out. We work our way down the slope into the valley. I have a feeling where they are, I am really familiar with this area. I have ridden every inch of the mountains and creeks over the past 8 years. I used to go with Makhail and the ranch hands to round up the horses. Then as I got older I loved exploring everything.

I was brought out of my thought when I heard much clearer sounds coming directly ahead of me. I know this valley has a dead end. I now know that the horses are down that dead end. The valley walls start to narrow and become steeper as I get closer. I can see the mouth of this dead end. There is only one way in and one way out. It opens up to a big area almost like a corral with high jagged rock walls. The evergreen trees stand tall all around the edge. I look up at them they look twice as tall from way down here.

I am finally in range of the horses I can see a few through the narrow opening, but I also see something on the ground. It looks like a horse that is not a good sign. I decide to get off Jez. I tie her up to a tree to the side of the valley. She is out of the way so I can herd the horses through. I take off my hat and hook it on the horn of my saddle. I walk into the narrow passage. It looks like maybe 3 horses could get through that opening at one time and that would be a tight fit. I can see that it's just the horses bottled up at the far wall about 200 feet from the mouth. Unfortunately, as I get closer I see there is a down horse. One horse is laying down about 5 feet on the other side of the confined entrance.

When I get a few feet away I see he has claw marks on its hindquarter. Deep claw marks, they look like Mountain lion claw marks. The horse is still alive and huffing, he is nervous with my approach. He tries to get up, but fails. "Whoa, easy boy" I say in a quiet calming voice. I kneel down next to his head and stroke his neck, talking to him in a nice quiet voice. "What happened to you, huh boy? It's ok I got cha." I have a sugar cube in my pocket that I keep for Jez. I pulled one out and gave it to the poor stressed horse.

I look at my surroundings taking in as much as I can. It looks like all the rest of the horses are ok, still very agitated, but none of them has injuries. I know there are several different large animals that hunt in this area. This is a perfect trap for animals. They would be cornered. Predators are smart, they can come from above and the trapped animal wouldn't even see them coming.

I pet him and use a soothing voice as I work my way closer to his wounds. They are fairly deep and he has lost a lot of blood. I can only imagine that his other side looks the same. There is a pool of blood saturating the ground with dirt sticking to him. I decided the best thing I can do for him is try to help him up. If the horse can stand he will have a chance to live.

I hear something like the sound of horse hooves coming in my direction. I look out the opening of the dead end, but I can't see anything. I move to the front of the horse by his head.

I have my back to the rest of the horses trying to coax him up when I hear a god awful scream. It rips through the air like a crack of lightning. I whip around and snap my head up where I see the huge mountain lion pacing back and forth getting ready to pounce. He is looming right above the tightly packed horses. A growl rumbles down the walls of this perfect hunting trap. The horses are really agitated now. They are stomping with there hooves and bobbing their heads and dancing around unsure which way to go. But unfortunately for me there is only one way out and I am standing in front of it with a lame horse. Crap

I stand there frozen in fear as my mind is racing trying to come up with a way out of this. The horses are going to stampede right over the top of me. I will be a small obstacle in there way when they charge. My heart is beating rapidly; I can hear my heart pounding in my ears. My breathing is coming out in fast, short pants. Panic floods my body locking me completely terrified in place.

The Mountain Lion lets another growl like scream rip and it vibrates and echoes off the steep walls. It feels like it cuts through me like a knife. My feet feel as if they are in quicksand. My knees and legs tremble beneath me. My mouth is dry and I swallow a hard painful gulp. "Oh god I'm gonna die" I say out loud to myself. My life begins to flash before me. One more ear-piercing scream violently shatters the stilled heavy air. That's all it takes the horses begin to stampede. I watch as every thing seems to go in slow motion. The dust flies as their hooves tear into the dirt and fling it up in the air as they charge in my direction. I close my eyes with fear and cringe as I brace for the impact.

Suddenly, I feel a strong arm around my waist as I am flying spinning through the air. His warmth encircles me as he pulls my body into his. I franticly reach out and pull myself closer to the man wrapping my legs around his waist as he whips his horse around and takes off in the other direction. I hang on to him for dear life. My eyes snap open as we clear the mouth of the dead end. All the horses stampede around us. The swell of horses is like a sea around us. They tear off down the valley as fast as they can.

He slows down and I can finally look up to see who has just saved my life. I take a deep breath and his scent hits me. A very familiar scent I would know anywhere. The scent that I dream about. None other then my handsome Russian cowboy, Dimitri. I hold on to him tight as he slows his horse to a stop by Jez. He wraps both arms around me as tightly as I am around him. "Rose, Roza are you ok?" I laugh a shaky laugh.

I breathe him in one more time before I loosen my grip and look up into the beautiful brown eyes that I thought I would never see again. A tear escapes one of my eyes as the shock of it all begins to hit me. As he looks down at me he says "shh…. You're ok baby, I got you." His light Russian accent circled around me like a warm blanket.

"Oh Dimitri, I thought I was going to die! I couldn't move! I was frozen! How did you get here? How did you find me? Oh my god I was so scared! I can't believe you are here with me! Are you sure you are real and I'm not dead!" I ratted out my hysterical questions. I reached up and touched his face making sure he wasn't a figment of my imagination.

He smiled down at me and used his fingertip to move the strands of hair that had flown in my face. He tucked the strands behind my ear and strokes my cheek with his thumb. The touch is so gentle, but it leaves a trail of fire in its path. The look in his eyes is so loving, so caring, I don't think I will ever forget it for as long as I live. He brings his mouth to mine in a soft gentle kiss.

He pulls back and whispers against my lips "I won't ever let anything hurt you." He caresses my cheek softly, but tightens his grip around my waist. I close my eyes and get lost in his embrace.

Suddenly another growl like scream rips through the valley and my eyes snap open. The mountain lion is not happy and is heading our way at a fairly rapid pace. "Dimitri, we need to move the Mountain Lion is coming after us!" I say as I jerk myself from his embrace. I fling myself off his horse and scramble towards Jez. She was only loosely tied so I grabbed her reins and threw myself on the saddle.

Dimitri was doing something and when I looked back I see that the injured horse had gotten up and had walked out to us. He threw a lasso around the horse's neck. Dimitri pulled out his pistol and shot off a few rounds toward the big cat.

"He-yah!" I yell as I kick my heals into Jezebels side. Dimitri and I take off together down the valley as fast as we can go with the injured horse. I look back after a minute and I see the Mountain Lion has given up its chase. Relieved I slow my pace so the injured horse can walk. A little ways off in the valley I can see the other horses have stopped their stampede. We slowly approach, Dimitri rides around back as I take the lead and we move at a sluggish and painstakingly cruel pace to herd them back in the direction of the ranch.

On the way back a whole bunch of questions were floating through my mind. Mainly, how did Dimitri find me and what the heck was he doing here? Besides saving my butt, of course. I was worried sick about the injured horse I kept checking over my shoulder making sure they were still back there. It was nearly night fall by the time I saw the ranch come into view. I could feel the flood of relief fill my body. It was still a good hour ride at our pace though.

Finally, we came into view of the people waiting for us. Makhail and a few others came out to help herd the horses in to the corral. Time seemed to speed up suddenly because of all the things going on. After the horses were safely corralled Dimitri and I took the injured horse to the barn to tend to it. I had sent one of the ranch hands immediately into town to get the doc. We were cleaning the wounds on horse when the doc arrived. I was relived to see her walk through the barn door because these were serious wounds; they were going to require stitches. The horse was not happy with us cleaning his wounds at all, but amazingly he stood there and let us help him. I tried to keep talking to him in a low quiet voice to keep him calm. He seemed to respond well.

Dimitri and I shared a few glances at each other, but we were pretty busy at the moment. The doc thanked us and started in on what she had to do. I think it is going to be a long night for her there were 4 long deep claw marks on each side of the horse.

I was pretty wiped out from the events of the day, but I needed to clear my head so I walked out to the fence of the corral. It was now dark and the stars were starting to light up the sky. I heavily leaned against the fence and looked up into the night. My mind was going over all the things that had happened. I looked out over the horses in front of me as the stampede floated through my mind. A chill swept over me as I thought about it, making me shiver. They would have taken my life had it not been for Dimitri.

I heard footsteps behind me so I turned to see who it was to find Dimitri within reach. Without a second thought I wrapped my arms around him and held him tight. In another second his arms were around me pressing me tightly against him. I took a deep breath and said "Thank you for saving my life." He rubbed my back and stroked my long hair. I felt him relax and let out a long slow breath. "No need to thank me, I'd do anything for you Roza."

I looked up into his eyes and our gaze locked, so many emotions played across his face. He leaned down and kissed me softly at first, but with our emotions running so high the kiss turned into something more. I opened my mouth and his followed mine gladly giving my tongue entrance. His tongue explored every inch of my mouth as our tongues mingled in a seductive dance.

My hand slid up his chest and around his neck to his soft brown locks. I laced my fingers through his hair and grab a handful pushing his mouth closer to mine. A small growl escapes his throat. His hands are firmly caressing my back and pushing my body up against his so there is no space between them. The passion between us is intensifying when we hear a loud cough behind us. I pull back and together we turn to see Doctor Olenski standing there.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I thought you might want to know that I am done for tonight and I will be back in the morning to check on him." She said looking a little uncomfortable, but a slight smirk across her face. We both smiled a little embarrassed by how she caught us, but I said "thank you" and she nodded and walked away. I was surprised that she had gotten done so quickly, but I didn't bother to ask.

After she walked away I remembered that I had some questions for Dimitri. I looked at him playfully leaning into his chest and said "Dimitri, don't take this the wrong way, but why are you here? And how did you find me?" I grinned. "I didn't know a stampede of horses required the Sheriff's attention." I said laughing.

"Apparently it does require my attention because who knows what would have happened to you if I had not been there." He says seriously and grimaces at the thought. "I found you by following your tracks. I asked Lissa which way you had gone. And you did exactly what I would have done. You stuck to high ground so you could see as far as possible and only went into the valley when you heard them." He smiled at me. "and I was worried about you."

"How did you….. never mind." I looked at him confused for a minute. "Yes, but there must have been another reason for you to come out here."

"Oh! Yes there is with all the other excitement I forgot why I was here!" … "I came to ask you if I could escort you to the dance coming up next weekend." He smiled a full breathtaking smile his eyes lit up like the stars above.

"OH! I wasn't expecting it to be anything like that! But it would be my pleasure to go to the dance with you." I smiled my man-eater smile at him.

"Yes?" he asked a little surprised. "YES! Of course, why would you be surprised I would love to go with you, I kind of already planed on it." I said sheepishly.

"Wait, you planed on it?" He said smiling.

"Well, yes and no, Mason asked if I had a date and I told him yes, but I decided if I would be there with anyone it would be you, even though you hadn't asked me yet." At first he looked a little upset when I mentioned Mason, but then when I said the rest he looked much happier. He laughed and my heart warmed with the sound of it. He leaned down and kissed me firmly on the mouth and then hugged me twirling me around.

We are standing there hugging when we both heard the sound of horses approaching fast. We stare at each other with concerned looks. I can't help but wonder, now what. We stand there watching as 2 riders come into view. Instantly I realize that it is Mia and Meredith. I don't know why, but my heart clenched right then and there.

Mia looked frantic and Meredith had been crying. I run to them and ask the only question "What happened?"

Mia screamed, "Rose, Strigoi took Jill!"

Ok my pretties, I hope I surprised some of you and thrilled you with this chapter. Didn't see that coming did you? Next few should also be really exciting. Please don't forget to Review!