I can feel Dimitri toss and turn beside me and I open my eyes, rolling over to face him. I put my hand on his chest and he places his hand over mine. We both have been anxious since we got to Lissa's and all I can focus on is the sound of the twins' breathing in the playpen. Dimitri's eyes meet mine in the dark and pulls me closer to him, tucking me protectively into his body, curling himself around me.

We lay there like that for a while, not saying anything but pulling strength from each other in the dark. Eventually, I pull away from him to get out of bed and tiptoe to the pen. I lean over and scope Artyom up and set him down on the bed in front of Dimitri before picking up Nadia and placing her beside her brother. I lay down next to and grasp Dimitri's hand, holding it over the two small bodies that lay between us. "We will protect them, we are going to be ok," I whisper to Dimitri and he squeezes my hand tightly.

"I will fight until my dying breath for the three of you," Dimitri proclaims to us and I smile sadly. I hope he doesn't have to.

When I wake up a few hours later I take a moment to memorize the sight in front of me. Dimitri is still laying on his side with his arm stretched over the twins and his hand rests on my waist. Both of the babies are still fast asleep and perfect as ever. I lift my eyes up to Dimitri to see his gaze on me and I smile at him. "How long did it take for you to fall asleep?" I ask him.

"I stayed up for an hour before I finally fell asleep."

I nod and stifle a yawn as I stretch gently in bed and look down at the twins. These two people have become a warming sun in my life and the thought of having someone threaten that makes my blood boil. They are innocents and Tasha has taken it all a step too far.

"We will find them," Dimitri promises me, pulling me from my thoughts. Sometimes I feel like he can read my mind.

If anyone had an issue with us bringing the twins to the briefing, they graciously kept it to themselves. Ethan Moore wasn't been able to flee Court before the Guardians caught up with him and brought him in for questioning. Dimitri and I stand behind the one-way glass holding our children as we listen to Croft grill Moore.

"Why did you help Ms. Ozera?" Croft asks him, leaning over the table to stare him down. Moore sits there with a vacant look on his face, and the only words he hasn't uttered since being brought in was he didn't know where Tasha was.

I bounce Nadia in my arms as she starts to fuss, and I hold the soother to her mouth and hushing her gently. They have been at this for two hours and nothing has come to light yet. Croft shakes his head and waves for the Guardian to unlock the door for him to leave and makes his way towards the room we are in. He steps in and closes the door with a huff. "I'm sorry, he doesn't want to talk yet," Croft said apologetically. I nod and bounce Nadia again, dragging my eyes over to Dimitri to see frustration clear on his face.

"Let me talk to him."

I laugh humorously and look at him with surprise. "Are you serious?" I ask when he meets my gaze. He nods and looks to Croft.

Croft runs his hand through his hair as he looks between us. "Fine, you get thirty minutes." Dimitri nods and moves to hand me Artyom, but Nadia chooses this time to try to fling herself backwards in my arms and lets out a piercing cry. Croft moves forward and takes Artyom from Dimitri. "I don't think you should watch this," Dimitri says as he steps by me. I furrow my brows when he gives me a steady look and I frown when I realize why he doesn't want me to watch. He doesn't plan on using normal interrogation methods to get the answers he needs. I nod and walk out of the room and follow Croft to his office.

I sit down on the chair in front of his desk and set Nadia in my lap, chuckling to see Croft crossing his eyes at Artyom. "They're both really sweet children, and this little guy is a spitting image of his father. It's like looker at a younger version of Dimitri," Croft says kindly and I nod. "Yea, we were lucky with the genetics that came into play."

Croft raises his brows at me and chuckles. "I know they are not Lord Ivashkov's. If they were his, your children would have green eyes. Besides, Nadia has Olena's nose."

I bite my lip and look down at the little one in my lap who has her thumb jabbed in her mouth after spitting the soother out.

"I know Olena, that's how I know that Nadia resembles her grandmother."

I sat there dumbstruck as I gap at Croft. I was not expecting that from him. He smiles at me kindly before bouncing Artyom on his knee, speaking to him quietly about how sweet he is. I was able to get Nadia to go to sleep, and Artyom seems content to play with the lapels of Croft's jacket, pursing his little lips as he pulls on them.

The door to Croft's office opened what seemed like hours later, and Dimitri stepped through soundlessly with his right fist wrapped in a bandage. "Tasha and Robert are hiding out in a house thirty minutes south of here. I explained everything that I got out of him to the Guardian that was stationed outside of the room," Dimitri said firmly, and I can see from his rigid stature that he was furious, but he was leaving something out.

Croft stands up and hands Artyom to me, patting Dimitri on the shoulder and proceeding down the hall towards the interrogation room. I look up at Dimitri concerned but he merely shakes his head. He wants to get better control of his emotions before he tells me what exactly happened.

The Guardians that were involved in our investigation were thorough and had gotten all the evidence they needed. That means we can go home. When we walk back into the house, I notice that someone has cleaned up the disaster of the living room, and the only thing out of place is the T.V. we had. I gingerly walk down to the nursery to see that almost all the paint has been wiped off the wall, but there was still a vague mark along the wall. I shiver and place the carrier in my hand into our bed and lift Artyom from the car seat. I gently lay his sleeping form on the bed, setting up a blockade of pillows around him.

The cribs are spotless and new bedding has been put on them, so I grabbed the end of one and start to pull it out of the room and drag it into the guest room down the hall.

"Rose? What are you doing?" Dimitri asks as he steps into the hallway. I stop and brush my hair back from my face. "What does it look like I am doing? Having a picnic? I'm moving the cribs into the guest room until we can paint the nursery."

Dimitri moves down the hall and lifts one end of the crib and I lift the other, carrying it into the guest room and setting it down. We do the same with the other one and then move the sleeping babies into their cribs. We venture into our bedroom after that and change for bed.

I snag one of Dimitri's t-shirts from his dresser and pull it on before climbing into bed next to him. "Are you ready to tell me what happened?" I ask, running my fingers over his chest.

DPOV

I watch Rose and Croft walk down the hall as Nadia wails unhappily in Rose's arms. I take a deep breath and turn the reorder off before stepping into the room that holds Moore. I have felt anger in my life, but never as much as I feel now. He willingly has threatened my fiancé and my children, and I plan on getting answers; one way or another.

I open the door and eye Moore as he sits in his chair, cuffed to the table. I hold back the sneer that wants to escape when he shrinks back in his seat.

I move to stand in front of the table and lean against it on fisted hands. "I am going to ask you questions, and you are going to answer them. Understand?" I growl, and Moore shrinks further into his seat.

"Why is Tasha targeting Rose?" I ask and Moore presses his lips into a tight line, refusing to make a sound. I ask him again and he says nothing. I walk behind him and grip the back of his head and slam it down onto the table.

"I am going to as you one last time; Why is Tasha targeting Rose?" I snarl. Moore groans and tries to sit up, but I hold him down and watch the blood gush from his nose. "I don't know! Victor wanted to get back at her because he was put in prison," Moore exclaims, and I let go of his head. But I'm not satisfied with that answer. I take a deep breath to try and calm myself, but my rage is bubbling to the surface.

"Who was responsible for the charm given to the Dragomir Princess?" I ask, moving back to the other side of the table. Moore lifts his head and spits blood out of his mouth. "Tasha, she had Victor and Robert charm it. Christian had told her about the darkness and that Rose would take it from the Princess. Tasha felt that it was the best way to get rid of Rose without raising suspicion. Tasha thought she succeeded, that was until you found Rose after she tried to kill herself."

"She did not try to kill herself," I bite out and he flinches. "The car crash?"

Moore takes a deep breath and rubs his face against the shoulder of his shirt to get rid of some of the blood. "Tasha. She asked me to keep an eye on her when you both got back, and I saw that she had signed out a vehicle. Tasha didn't know that you were going to be in the car and panicked when you were brought in. She hired a human to do it and then compelled him to forget. That was when she found out Rose was pregnant," Moore explains, shifting in his seat.

I run my hand through my hair and dip my head down. It is hard to believe that someone I once considered to be a good friend would do something like this, but after Tasha tried to make me strangle Rose – I don't have many options now but to believe it.

I blow deeply though my lips and stare him down, enjoying the fact that I can see that he is scared. I have never been this kind of man - aside from the time that I was Strigoi – but if I can intimidate him enough to tell me everything he knows, I'll do it. "The box? The one with the photos."

Moore's eyes flicker to mine, and I can see disgust flash through them. "I didn't agree with that. It was disgusting, she had me take those photos of you and your whore-" he begins to say, and I cracked my fist against his cheek, hearing a sickening crack and more blood flies from his mouth. Rose earned a reputation that didn't precede her. People talked about her like she was a promiscuous teenager when really was innocent of almost all of the things people said about her. And I'll be damned if I let anyone speak about my woman like that again.

"You will not speak of her like that!" I roar as I grit my teeth together in furry. Moore rolls his head back to face me and spits more blood onto the table, glaring at me. "The box."

"Tasha wanted me to take the photos and send them to Rose. She was hoping that Rose was home alone when she opened them, but clearly she wasn't. The charm was also Tasha's idea, figured if she couldn't get to Rose directly, burning her with the charm would suffice."

Rose doesn't deserve any of this. She never deserved any of this.

"Why?"

Moore looks confused at the question and I glare at him. "Why would she do this?" I ask.

Moore scoffs at me and runs his tongue over his lip. "You know, everyone says you're this intelligent Guardian. But you really are stupid. She is doing this because she is in love with you, and to be honest, you could do better than that cheating whore you play house with. You can pretend all you want that those two bastards are family, but we all know that she was fucking Ivashkov before you two left for Europe and never said anything to you. She probably thought she wouldn't get caught, but there she was – knocked up."

The longer he speaks, the angrier I get, and I didn't make the conscious movement to punch him again – and again. This was not the response from the man that was a Dhampir, but these are the actions I had made when I was Strigoi. Once I snap out of my rage-induced haze, my knuckles are split, and he definitely has a broken nose along with a broken jaw. I pull away from him and flex my hand, not feeling the pain that I'm sure will be there later tonight. "Why did you help her? Do you get off on terrorizing people?" I snap. A gurgled chuckle comes from Moore's lips. "Tasha may be disgraced by society, but she still has old money. She promised me a substantial amount of money," Moore says, a small sneer crossing his face.

"What happened to Victor? We found his body months ago."

"The old man died in his sleep. Robert was a mess for a few days."

"Where are they?" Moore doesn't respond and I grab him by the collar of his shirt. "Where the hell are they?" I repeat and he rasps out a vague location.

"You will give Guardian Phillips a written statement of everything you just told me, or this," I say gesturing to his face, "Will be nothing compared to the world of hurt I will put you through."

I rip the door open and tell Phillips to go in and get a written statement, and he looks at me sympathetically before looking at my hand.

"I heard what he said about Hathaway. I don't believe any of that crap. Anyone that knows her knows the truth," Phillips says as he slips into the room. I lean against the wall and close my eyes, trying to calm myself down before I go and find Rose. She will be able to tell something is wrong the moment I walk into the room and I need time to process everything I learned. I spot in the break room and grab the first aid kit and wrap up my hand before going to Croft's office.

RPOV

We lay here quietly after he finishes telling me what happened, and all I can do is sigh. I don't know how to respond to this, he got the answers we needed, but I didn't expect to hear what he told me. He hasn't looked at me since he started talking, so I cup his cheek and turn his head to look at me. Dimitri's eyes are almost filled with hurt and I curl up against him and rest my head over his chest, toying with his cross. "You did what you had to. Moore was never going to give up that information to anyone else."

Dimitri wraps his arms around me and pressed his face into my hair, comforting himself while I stroke his chest lightly with the pads of my fingers. He sighs deeply and pulls his face from my hair, kissing my forehead gently. I tilt my head and catch his lips in mine, and I shift to straddle his hips. I cup his face in my hands and kiss him passionately, hoping to distract him from the last few days.

Dimitri moves his hands along my tailbone before cupping my ass and squeezing firmly, running his tongue along the seam of my lips for entrance and I give it to him greedily. Our constantly busy schedule has been getting in the way of us being intimate, and sometimes we can't get the twins down at night before we collapse from exhaustion. Last night we would have been able to make love without the risk of waking the twins, but I don't think I can hold out any longer. It has been weeks.

I can tell that he wants – needs – me too as he rocks up against my already heated core and digs his fingers into the skin of my butt. Dimitri moves his hands up to my waist quickly and rolls me onto my back, caging me in his arms against the bed. I giggle when he nips my lip as he ventures across my cheek to my ear, sucking on my lobe before biting down on it. I stifle a moan by biting down on my knuckle when his hot lips caress the hollow of my throat and his hands slid up the large shirt, pulling it up as he goes. "Are you sure?" he whispers against my skins, and I wrap my legs around him in response, showing him that I want him.

The first time we had sex after I had the twins was anything but glamorous. It was painful and we had to stop because I could not get into a position where it didn't hurt. We have tried three times since, but it hurt as well, so we have resorted to other forms of pleasure. But I want this more than anything.

Dimitri pulls the shirt over my head and brings his lips down to mine again as I hook my toes into the waistband of his pants and drag them down his legs as far as I can. He kicks them off and settles between my thighs. I can already feel him pressed hard against me and I rock up against him, revelling in the hiss it produces. He runs his hands possessively over my body and cups my breast firmly, kneading them in his hands.

A whine slips through my lips when his mouth moves down to my aching breasts, and he sucks on the skin gently as my fingers drag down his back. I squeeze his firm ass in my hands, pulling him closer. I love the feeling of his calloused hands on my skin, roughness a striking difference to the silk-like texture of my skin. These hands are deadly, but when they're on me they are loving. One of those said hands travels between us towards my dripping core and my breathy pants increase in anticipation.

"You are so beautiful it hurts me." He says into my ear, and I twist my fingers into his hair, pulling his lips up to mine again. His mouth swallows my moans when his hand slips into my panties and strokes my slit, teasing my clit with every stroke. Dimitri tears his lips away from mine and kneels between my legs while giving me a loaded look and pulls my panties down my legs.

I bite my lips as he runs his hands up my shins to my thighs – kissing the skin as he works his way up – and lays down, hooking my legs over his shoulders. "You tell me if anything is uncomfortable, ok?" he says, and I nod excitedly as he lowers his head between my thighs.

He takes his time to make sure I'm relaxed and ready for him, alternating between long and short licks, nipping and sucking at the sensitive skin, and thrusting his tongue into my core. My pants turned into breathy moans and I had to force myself to stay quiet, but the longer he keeps up with his ministrations, the harder it becomes – for both of us. Dimitri's hands are gripping my hips tightly as he licks and sucks like a starved man, and he moves one hand up to palm my breasts, pinching my swollen nubs.

I was so close that I was rocking hip in time with his mouth, and I let out a louder moan when he slips two fingers into my wet channel, triggering my climax. He pumps his fingers as I ride out my orgasm and when he withdraws his fingers, he sucks them clean while looking into my eyes hungrily. His breath came out in small pants as he unhooks my legs from his shoulders and crawling back up my body to kiss me.

I have never been opposed to taste myself on his lips, but tonight it seems sexier. It could be because I want him so badly, but nonetheless, it makes me want him even more. Our movements become more lust-driven and Dimitri pulls away from me long enough to pull his briefs off and settles back on the bed but leans over to the nightstand and pulls out a small black bottle. I quirk my eyebrows up at him as he squirts liquid into his hand and rubs it onto his shaft.

"What is that?" I ask. He gives me a cocky smirk and puts more liquid onto his hand and brings his wet fingers down to my lower lips.

"Lube, it will help."

I furrow my eyes at him but relax more as he rubs it onto me and I gasp quietly as it starts to warm up. A porn worthy moan escapes my mouth and my eyes roll back into my head as he slides into me and he stops abruptly. "What? Does that hurt?" he asks. I shake my head and rock my hips up against his, and he moves against me again. There is a slight twinge of discomfort, but it's so minimal that I can ignore it.

After so long I finally can enjoy this, and I rock in time with him and clutch to his back tightly as he wraps my legs around his waist. We move together in tandem, and I love hearing the grunts and quiet moans that slip through his lips as we climb higher. I moan slips through my mouth again as we hit our peaks, but Dimitri puts his hand over my mouth to stifle it – which was a huge turn on.

He slumps against me and presses kisses against my neck as we catch our breath, and I run my fingers down his spine and snicker at the ripples in his muscles as I move downward. Our perfect afterglow is interrupted by babbling over the baby monitor and both of our heads snap towards it. We both lay there with our eyes glued to the monitor as we wait for more noise to come through, but we are met with silence. We look at each other and crack up in laughter but to rein it in so that we don't disturb the twins in the room across the hall.

"I'm going to go and check to make sure they are still asleep," Dimitri says getting out of bed and pulling his sweats back on, creeping into the next room. I pull the blanket up and wait for him to come back. I can hear him shuffling around and a bit more babbling before he walks back into the bedroom and climbs back into bed. "Both still asleep. Your son likes to babble in his sleep. I wonder who he gets that from," he says pulling me into his arms and nipping at me playfully.

I giggle as he rolls on top of me and he continues to playfully nip at me, chuckling as well as his hands move to my waist. His fingers move lightly over my waist before he tickles my sides and I squeal, trying to squirm out of his hands.

"No! Stop! Dimitri!" I laugh as his hands continue to run over my sides and he presses his lips to mine as he stops tickling me. He gives me a megawatt smile and rests his forehead against mine. "You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you laugh, and see that smile," Dimitri says softly and I tilt my head to kiss him again.

"I love you."

Dimitri smirks and kisses me tenderly and rolling to lay beside me, pulling me to his side. "I love you too, my love."

I smile and snuggle into him, ghosting my fingers over his chest. Dimitri's hand rests on top of mine and our fingers dance together before we intertwine them. Dimitri lifts them to his lips, kissing my fingers before placing a kiss on the diamond on my hand.

"How much sleep do you think we'll get tonight?" I ask, rubbing my foot against his leg. He chuckles and kisses my temple, squeezing my fingers.

"Hmm, I don't know. I don't think I'm done with you yet," he growls playfully, and I crawl onto him, pressing my lips to his and nip at his lip. I smile as he wraps his arms around me, stroking my back as a thought pops into my head and I pull up abruptly.

Dimitri knits his eyebrows together at my movement and I place my hands on his chest. "I just want to state something, and I didn't think of it until you brought up what Moore said," I explain, and he nods encouragingly.

"I never slept with Adrian – like ever."

Dimitri bites on his bottom lip as a rumbling laugh erupts from him and I frown. "Roza, I knew that already."

I shake my head slightly, confused, but he continues to laugh. I playfully punch his chest. "I knew every move you made while I watched you, Roza, I had people working inside court. It's how I kept an eye on you."

I stare at him for a few moments with my mouth gaping open before I make a very unladylike snort and slump down on him, pressing my face into his chest.

"You're unbelievable," I mumble into his chest.

"Long night?" Sydney asks me and she slips at her coffee. I snort and sip my latte, reminiscing about the very long night Dimitri and I had. I feel a blush creep to my cheeks and I smile smugly at Sydney.

Dimitri stayed back at Court with the twins, despite his protests, while I snuck out to meet with Sydney. Dimitri has been working himself ragged lately and deserves to enjoy his day off. I'm sure the Guardian that came with me has many questions about why an advisor to the future Queen and an Alchemist would be meeting up in a human café, but thankfully, he has kept them to himself so far.

"So, how is motherhood? Your little ones are so cute," Sydney asks as I show her photos of the twins, and she awes at the photo of the two of them napping on Dimitri's chest, who was also asleep in the photo.

"It is surprisingly amazing. There was a point in time where I didn't think I would want any of this, but the moment I found out I was pregnant, I knew this was what I wanted. The only downside is that my breasts ache all the time. Also, cracked nipples were not a highlight," I say tucking my phone back in my pocket and Sydney chuckles, draining her cup and placing some bills down on the table.

I stand up and pick up my jacket as we walk out of the café arm in arm. Sydney had told me over lunch that she has been looking into Declan when she could, trying to see where he is located so Dimitri and I could meet him. I glance around out of habit and notice that the Guardian that was with me is nowhere to be seen.

"Syd, do you see Jerimiah?" I ask her, turning back to face her. She looks at me and opens her mouth, but her eyes go wide before a blinding pain splits across the back of my head. I stumble to my knees at the force and I try to reach for Sydney as a shadow moves behind her and hits her against the back of the head as well.

I reach my hand to the back of my head, my heading spinning. I look at my hand that has hot blood and I look up to see a pair of eyes I've grown to hate.

"Good to see you Rose, we have some business to take care of. Don't we?"

Dun Dun Dunn! Here we are, folks! What's going to happen to Rose now?