Chapter 10

A/N: I know it's been so long since I last updated. I sort of lost inspiration and motivation but now I'm back. Promise. I know people are reading, and even if you don't like it please review and tell me what I'm doing wrong. It'll help me grow and I would really appreciate it. But, thank you to those who did review, favorite and follow. I love you guys and I hope you love this chapter. You've been waiting long enough so here it is.

Rose xoxo

Rose POV:

Why was it always me? I start falling for someone I could never have, I have a twin brother I didn't know existed for 16 years, and my dad was a psycho that wanted to kill me. That was my daily life now. But, I had to come to the terms that it was never going to change. It was me and my family or them, the ones who wanted to kill us and I knew who I was going to choose. Hands down. The next morning, after hearing that voice again and almost dying of pain, I went out to sit by the lake. Dimitri was already standing there.

"Hey," I said, softly, but he just responded with a nod. "Can we talk?"

He looked at me with those brown eyes I would love to keep staring into. We just looked at each other for a few moments. Brown to brown. Then he led me over to where one of those benches that swung back and forth. I sat down and he sat next to me but not very close. He's been distant from me ever since our kiss. I knew he wanted me, even if he didn't want to admit it. Even if he couldn't feel anything for me, I knew that it wasn't a mistake. At least not on my part.

"The kiss..." I started.

He glanced around to make sure no one was listening before cutting me off, "It never happened. There was no kiss."

I swallowed, hard. He wasn't going to be like Evan, right? I couldn't handle going through that all over again. Dimitri was sweet. He barely smiled, yeah, and he was hiding things I knew were hurting him but that's what drew me to him. We were opposites yet we were so similar and I didn't want to give anyone a chance but him.

"Dimitri-"

He turned his body to face me and he had that emotionless mask up again. But I hated it. Why did he always have to hide himself from me? It made me just want to slap him sometimes.

"Rose, look at me. I'm 23, I'm a grown man. What do I look like fooling around with my charge, a 16 year-old girl? I don't want to sit here and hurt you but I don't have a choice. If I get caught up in caring for you, I won't be able to keep my mind on anything else," I looked away from me. "Roza...you deserve better than what I can give you. More than this. Even if I did feel something, how would we do it? Sneak around all the time? That's not something that you should have to deal with."

He reached up to brush a traitor tear away but I pushed his hand away, standing up.

"Don't you dare touch me. I know what I deserve and it's better than you hurting me despite you saying you don't want to," I used the back of my hand to wipe my tears away before turning and storming off.

When I went into the kitchen to find something to eat, I was met with Avalon already sitting at the table, eating pancakes, bacon, eggs and hash browns with a tall glass of orange juice. There was another plate and glass of orange juice across from him.

"Mom made something for you," he said and I sighed, sitting down aacross from him.

"Where is she?"

"Went to the store to get a few things. She says since we have to stay here, we might as well be comfortable. But don't worry, she has a whole security detail," explained Avalon.

I just nodded. Dimitri consumed my every thought and all I wanted was for him to forget about the rules, forget about everything and just admit that he at least felt a portion of what I felt. But the last the thing I was going to do was let my life be hurt by some guy I barely knew, no matter how much I liked him.

"You were crying. What happened? Did Evan do something?" Avalon's fists clenched so tightly, his knuckles were turning white.

"No. Evan won't even talk to me anymore and I want to keep it that way."

Av thought about it for a few more moments before I suddenly felt a strange sensation. It was like I was looking through a scrapbook full of memories. And then realization crossed Avalon's face. Holy crap. Did he just invade my mind.

"It was Belikov. I'm going to kill that bastard," Av started to get up but I grabbed his hand. "He should get what's coming to him for doing that to you."

He did see my memories.

"I'm fine, Avalon...for right now, can we just talk about something other than the fact that we're weirdos or that I have a nonexistent love life?" I looked up at him with pleading eyes and he nodded, sitting back down. "Tell me about your life. How you grew up."

I barely knew him but I had a stronger connection with my twin brother than I've ever had with anyone. It was like we made each other stronger. And how were we even possible? Amory said that twins was now so rare it was starting to become an extinct species to our world. So did Mom get lucky or was it a sign that we could bring our kind back to what it used to be? The more time I spent with these people, knowing who they truly were...the more the fact that I was a Hunter grew on me.

"Well, Amory told me that when Mom found out she was pregnant with both of us, she was so depressed because she knew she would have to give one of us up. But, Amory did something for her that made her want to become the mother she needed to be. There was a woman he knew, she had a farm, and he trusted her more than anyone else besides Grandma, of course. Her name's Angelica. Mom talked to Angelica and grew close to her during the remaining months of her pregnancy so she knew that I would be safe with her," started Avalon.

I was engaged in the story already. "How did Mom choose who to give up?"

"Angelica was running her generation's Resistance. So, Amory thought that it would be better if I was the one that went back for training."

"Oh," I looked down at my food before sipping my orange juice which was signal for him to continue.

He leaned back in his seat and folded his arms before continuing,

"Mom didn't just abandon me, Rose. She made sure I was okay. Every holiday, somehow, she managed to come see me. And she never missed one of my birthdays. I'm actually glad I got to train with the Resistance because now I know everything that I need to know to protect my family. And when it comes that time to fight Marcus...I'll be ready. That's why I Changed a year ago. It's-indescribable when it comes to the pain but it's all worth it in the end. You have an unlimited amount of power. Some people let it get to their heads but if you don't, it's a feeling like no other."

I chewed on my bottom lip. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. I hated being useless and weak. If Avalon could do this to protect Mom, then why couldn't I? The only thing that was getting to me was the fact that the pain seemed to be unbearable.

"You're up," Mom gave me a small smile when her, Amory, Sam, and the others walked in.

"Yep. Ohmigosh, are those donuts?" I practically tackled Sam to get the bag of Krispy Kreme donuts out of his hand.

Everyone laughed as I practically inhaled two of them but I didn't care. Donuts are life.

"Okay, so are you ready to train?" Eddie asked, overenthusiastic.

"You guys were serious about that?" I looked between them and they were unblinking. "Okay, well...I'm just gonna go take a two hour nap and then we'll discuss my training."

Avalon laughed but I didn't see what was funny. I was completely serious. We had no school and it was too early to be moving that much.

"Oh, no. You're gonna go change into some comfortable clothes and then come out to the clearing. We have a lot to do in very little time," Amory said with an edge to his voice.

I groaned and stomped out of the kitchen. When Amory took that tone on, there was no arguing with him. Mom sent Ali after me, probably to make sure I didn't lay down. But, Ali seemed overly excited this morning.

"What's going on with you?" I asked, rummaging through the clothes they had packed for me.

"I think my dad's gonna ask your mom to marry him," she was beaming. "I heard him talking to Amory, you know, he wants his permission."

We've dreamed about this for a long time. Officially becoming sisters. And we were. If what Ali heard was true. Which I'm sure it was. Mom and Sam have been seeing each other for years, they deserved a little happiness in all this chaos.

"That's great!" I felt myself smiling, feeling happy genuinely for the first time in a while.

I changed into shorts and a fitted T-shirt with a pair of sneakers. Ali was gone for barely a half a minute when she came back in the same outfit as me. Except her shirt was pink while mine was blue. And her sneakers were purple and black while mine were all black.

"How did you-?" I didn't even have to finish my question before she answered.

"One of the many perks of Changing. I'm telling you, you shouldn't even wait any longer. You'll feel super powerful and free. There's no feeling like it."

I was leaning towards just doing it since everyone was saying how amazing it was but I was hesitant about the pain part. The reason I didn't let a lot of people in was because I was scared of being hurt.

"I'll think about it," I nodded, honestly, and she beamed.

We went downstairs and I tied my waist-length hair up in a high ponytail. The guys were downstairs, talking, and I smirked when I saw Dimitri's eyes widen a little when he saw my outfit. He was the one that missed out.

"You're wearing that?" The brother side came out in Avalon.

"What? I'm comfortable," I countered.

He looked like he wanted to drag me upstairs and make me put on a turtleneck and some very conservative pants.

"I have no objections," one of the hybrids, Jeffrey I think his name was, grinned and I shot him a charming smile.

Evan clenched and unclenched his fists but he had no right to be angry. He wasn't my boyfriend. We weren't even friends anymore. Just acquaintances.

"So, can we get this started?" I put a hand on my hips, tilting my head to the side making my ponytail swing wildly.

"You're gonna regret asking that," Mason clapped me on the shoulder before they led me outside.

They showed me to an archery range and Avalon handed me a bow. I shot him a weird look.

"You aren't Changing yet so you need some form of a weapon to use in case Marcus attacks before you do," explained Amory and I took it, hesitantly.

"Okay. This should be easy."

Mase had his own bow and arrows. He lifted his bow, aimed at the target and drew back, releasing the bow in one grateful motion. It hit the bulls'-eye. When I tried...the bow barely flew two feet, going straight into the ground and when I released it, it cut my hand.

"Shit!" I exclaimed.

"Language," Mom scolded before walking forward and wrapping one of her hand around my cut one.

The pain went away and when she reclaimed her hand, the cut was gone. I looked at her in surprise. I tried to hit the target a few more times but I only hit it twice and they were both in the white part. Evan stepped up behind me, putting his hands on my waist and changing my stance. He guided my hands, showing me what I had done wrong before releasing the arrow and it hit the center perfectly. Dimitri's eyes darkened at Evan's up close instruction but he had no right to be upset considering he practically told me I would never have a chance this morning.

"Thanks," I whispered.

"I'm sorry," he brushed his fingers across my cheek. "I really never wanted to hurt you."

I nodded and he stepped back. After that, it was hand-to-hand combat, which I was excited about. It was me against Avalon. We circled each other and I lunged at him but he dodged it like he already knew what I was going to do.

"Don't think too hard," warned Avalon before his hand collided with my shoulder.

Damn that hurt. Pushing through it, I anticipated Avalon's next move. He was aiming for my left side because my arms were defending my right. He did what I expected and I slid past him before kicking one of his legs out from under him. I silently cursed myself when he caught himself from falling. Maybe I should've kicked him harder. It went on for a few more moments before Amory called it a draw. I was breathing hard.

"My body hurts," I moaned. "Can't we just finish tomorrow?"

"Marcus isn't going to give you a break," Sam said before handing me a gun. "You need to learn how to use one and keep it close at all times. It doesn't kill us but it paralyzes for two or three minutes, depending on where you hit them. Heart is your best shot but you never aim for the head."

"Why?" The silver metal felt cool against my skin and the weight felt weird for some reason, like it was lighter than I expected.

"It's hard to explain, but trust me...you don't want to test it," Sam gave me a look and I nodded.

They worked me so hard, when I laid down on my bed that night...I was as stiff as a rock. After taking a hot shower, I felt a little better but then my laptop dinged with a new IM. When I opened it, my heart stopped. It read:

I'm watching you so why don't you put on a good show?

Quickly, I typed a response:

Who is this?

It was a few moments before the person responded:

You know me. I'm the one who is going to make your life a living hell. Starting now.

Everything happened so fast. All the windows in my room kind of just exploded and glass flew everywhere. I screamed loud enough for Paris to hear me. Usually, I wasnt the kind of girl that screams whenever something scares her but how the hell did that just happen? The flying shards of glass cut my face, my arms, my legs, every inch of my body that wasn't covered in clothes. Everyone rushed in with worried looks on their faces and took in the scene in front of them. Amory grabbed my laptop and looked at the messages before ordering,

"Belikov, get her out of here."

"How long?" Dimitri was in full Guardian mode.

"However long it takes for us to find out if this is Marcus or a different threat," responded Amory. "You know the procedures."

I was so out of it that I didn't realize Dimitri helping me into a jacket and putting some slippers on my feet before carrying me to his car.

"Where are we going?" I whispered.

"To a safe place. Are you okay?" He looked genuinely concerned but I didn't care.

If he really cared about how I felt, he wouldn't have said what he said earlier. If he didn't have feelings for me, all he had to do was say that.

"What about the others? My mom?"

"They can take care of themselves. And you would be surprised how well your mother can handle herself. And Sam would never let anything happen to her," he assured me.

Oh God. What was I going to do? Not only with a fucking weirdo determined to make my life miserable and a dad who takes abandonment to a whole other level, but also I had to be alone with a guy who refused to even look at me. Perfect. Just fucking perfect.

Not my best chapter and, honestly, I'm not entirely happy with it but I hope you guys at least somewhat liked it. Sorry for any mistakes and please please please review. If you guys review, I will make next chapter a very Romitri chapter. ;) Thanks.

Rose xoxo