The thing that most annoyed Adrian about visiting St. Vladimir's was the lack of diversion. Without school work, training, guarding or teaching to occupy his time, his free hours were indolent. While being unscheduled at Court had its advantages—there were dozens of bars and innumerable women to keep him occupied—a lack of distraction at St. Vladimir's proved irritating. With an hour and a half to kill before dinner, Adrian decided to pursue his secondary interest at St. Vlad's. Novice Rosemarie Hathaway.
She trained in the Novice gym most afternoons with another Novice, Castile. While watching the repetitious techniques they practiced was as boring as bat shit, it was worth going to the gym just to observe Rose in workout clothes. Her skin-tight exercise gear left nothing to the imagination. In fact, on many drunken evenings, Adrian had stroked himself to satisfaction imagining Rose's actions in a more intimate application.
A worldly man, and the Queen's favored great-nephew, Adrian understood what was expected of him. He could stay single for a time and play the field, fuck anything in sight provided he was at least nominally discreet and left no issue, and eventually settle down with an eligible Royal Moroi virgin. With his connections, he was expected to marry well. By well, that meant strategically.
While he benefited from being closely related to a reigning monarch, once his Aunt Tatiana passed, Moroi law mandated Adrian's family would be ineligible to reign again for several generations. The tacit understanding amongst his kin was that while an Ivashkov sat on the throne, each of their family should do their utmost to position the family favorably for the future. Adrian's mother, Daniella, had busied herself plotting suitable matches for her only son, starting with the ultimate prize—the Princess Dragomir—and working backward from there.
It had been a bitter disappointment to most of the Ivashkovs, bar Adrian, when a match with Vasilisa did not appear possible. Paired with Lord Christian Ozera, once Daniella recognized the Dragomir Princess was spoken for, she'd researched and promoted a long list of nubile, and more to the point politically suitable, Royal Moroi virgins for Adrian to consider.
Not that Adrian was thinking about marriage, yet. Hell—he'd never even considered more than a long weekend with a woman; and even then, she'd have to be exceptional to hold his interest for three days.
No. Adrian Ivashkov was happy playing the field. Except for Rose Hathaway. If she showed any inclination, he'd be willing to consider something further. Sadly, for him, Rose had given no indication she was in any way interested. Maybe that's what made her so tempting, Adrian pondered. He was used to women throwing themselves at him. Any woman he expressed interest in had surrendered to his attentions, and sooner rather than later. That Rose denied Adrian intrigued him even more. Rose's apathy is precisely what made her irresistible.
"Guardian Belikov? I didn't expect to see you here?" Adrian said, unhappy to find the new dhampir Alpha in the gym training with Rose and Castile. The Novices were sparring as Belikov looked on, calling out recommendations and observations throughout.
"Lord Ivashkov," Dimitri greeted coolly. "Part of my assigned role is to mentor Novices Castile and Hathaway. We will train here every morning and afternoon."
Dimitri disliked Adrian on first sight. The poster boy for rich, indulged Royal Moroi, that Adrian was a carbon copy of his father, and uncle, didn't endear him to Dimitri, either. But the way Ivashkov stared at Rose was what really angered the dhampir Alpha. Speaking with his mother had clarified things for him. If Rose was his mate, and everything about her screamed to Dimitri she was, he didn't appreciate Adrian's interest in her.
"All training and no play make a very boring boy…" Adrian said, feeling animosity toward the Alpha Russian Guardian, even though he didn't know why.
"And all play and no training make… well…" Dimitri retorted languidly, letting his eyes drift over Adrian's form before lifting his eyebrow mockingly, implying he found Adrian's physique lacking.
Adrian was stunned. Belikov's insinuation was rude bordering on the downright insolent. Not that his own comment had been particularly friendly. Still… what else would one expect from an Alpha?! All that mattered to them was brawn. Choosing to ignore it, for now, Adrian took himself over to the benches at the side of the gym to admire Rose.
"You roll your shoulder every time before a left punch," Belikov barked at Rose a few minutes later. Adrian's presence had put him in a foul mood which he was trying not to take out on the two Novices. "We need to train you out of that. For the next ten minutes, I want you to punch with your left for at least three of every four moves."
Rose nodded, recognizing the wisdom of Dimitri's words. While she did the required left-handed punches, conscious not to roll her shoulder first, her mind was elsewhere. She couldn't reconcile the angry man in front of her with the man who'd ravished her earlier. There was no softness in his voice, or kindness in his eyes. It was almost as though he regretted what had happened between them.
"Castile? Once she's done, spar and watch Hathaway. The second you see a tell, voice it. Hathaway? I want you to answer whether he was right."
They continued like this for an hour, Rose and Eddie following Dimitri's barked instructions, trying to correct themselves when he pointed out their innumerable flaws. It was so different from how he'd been with them this morning. Their earlier session had been fun. Now Guardian Belikov had a bug up his ass in a major way.
Ignoring Adrian's presence in the gym, Rose focused on taking Eddie down and not fucking up in front of Dimitri. When Rose ended up 'staking' Eddie on their third sparring round, the only man's praise she wanted was Dimitri's. Not that she got it.
"You both have a lot to learn," Belikov's deep Russian voice snarled as Rose helped Eddie up from the padded sparring mat, and the two stood before him "I'll see you here tomorrow morning. Don't be late."
"Thanks, Guardian Belikov," Eddie said.
"Yeah, thanks," Rose said, hurt clear in her tone.
He'd sought her out and asked her to show him around, kissed her senseless, aroused her in ways she was still trying to understand, and now he'd been as rude as hell to her. Deciding Guardian Dimitri Belikov was a fucking asshole, Rose concluded that while she would have to train with him, she didn't have to like him!
Adrian sat to the side, watching the brief interaction between Rose and Belikov. It was hard to get a sense of them; emotions flitting across their auras so fast they were difficult to identify. What disturbed him was the intensity of their auras. How could a man on campus mere hours illicit such a profound response in a woman who'd been apathetic toward himself for months?!
The hurt tone and the look of disappointment Rose shot him as she walked to the women's locker room upset Dimitri. He couldn't stop thinking about what happened in her dorm room, earlier, so Rose's tone alarmed and worried him. Somehow, although he was unsure how, he had to fix this. Tempted to pursue Rose, even into the women's change room if it were necessary, Lord Ivashkov's presence prevented him doing that, which irritated Dimitri all the more.
"Why are you even here?!" Dimitri snapped, angry at the Royal Moroi's presence; on campus but specifically in the gym. Adrian's interest in Rose brought out Dimitri's possessive Alpha side.
"I'm here because Her Majesty, my Great Aunt, wants me to be," Adrian said smugly. He rarely drew attention to the familial connection, but he was not above name dropping when he thought the situation called for it.
"Our Great Aunt you mean," Dimitri murmured under his breath, unheard by Adrian. Stalking from the gym, he left a perplexed Adrian in his wake.
Rose was lying on her bed, trying to avoid thinking about the horrible training session, when there was a determined knock at her door. Since male Novices weren't permitted up to the girls' dorms, the only person it could be was Lissa.
"I really don't want to talk right now," Rose groaned, still opening the door in exasperation. Lissa, being Lissa, was unlikely to take no for an answer!
"Rose…" Dimitri asked warily. "Can we talk?"
"No. We can't," Rose snapped.
"Please? I've upset you, and I'm sorry…"
"I don't give a shit how sorry you are! You can't kiss me one minute then shout at me the next! I don't know what happened here earlier this afternoon, but if it made you treat me the way you did in training, then I can assure you it sure as hell won't happen again. I'm sorry if I've given you the wrong idea about me - I'm not the sort of girl to throw herself at a guy, even if he is Alpha. I deserve better and won't put up with being treated with anything other than absolute respect!"
Picking up her keys, Rose pushed past Dimitri, storming out of her room and slamming the door behind her. She didn't bother looking to see whether he followed as she high-tailed it down the corridor and off to dinner.
"Who climbed up your ass and died?" Christian asked as Rose smacked a plate full of food onto the cafeteria table.
"Since when do you give a shit?" Rose growled, earning a reproving look from Lissa. Usually Rose could cope with Christian's comments, but thanks to Belikov, she was in a decidedly pissy mood.
"Belikov was a hard-ass in training," Eddie offered from where he was seated. "He was fine in training this morning, but this afternoon he was brutal."
"You didn't antagonize him, did you?" Lissa asked Rose in despair. "You said you would do your best to stay on his good side!"
"She did nothing wrong," Eddie declared loyally. "One minute he was fine, the next he was bitching us out!"
"At least you get the chance to train with an Alpha," Mason said, almost sounding like he wasn't jealous as hell.
"You're welcome to my place. He seemed like an alright guy, then he became an asshole," Rose retorted.
"Really, Rose?" Lissa asked in disbelief. Rose had a way of getting on the wrong side of some people. Guardian Alto was a prime example - Rose had goaded that poor man for years.
"It's true, Princess. He was like Jekyll and Hyde!" Eddie said. "And it wasn't just Rose, it was me too! I'm not looking forward to training tomorrow…"
"What are you still doing here?" Rose asked, returning from dinner to see Guardian Belikov leaning beside her door reading what looked like a Western book. He tucked it into the inside pocket of the long leather jacket he was wearing.
"I told you. I want to speak to you."
"And what makes you think I want to speak with you?!"
"It's clear you don't. But I need to apologize. Please, Roza? Let me in so I can explain."
"Roza?"
"It's how your name would be said in Russia. It's the Russian word for Rose."
"I like it," Rose said with a small smile despite herself. Taking that as an invitation to continue, Dimitri followed Rose inside when she unlocked her door, sitting on the edge of her bed, patting the space beside him as she shut the door.
"I'm sorry about this afternoon. I was frustrated and angry, but not with you."
"It didn't seem that way."
"I took my feelings out on you and Novice Castile. You didn't deserve it and I apologize."
Nodding at him to continue, Rose sat beside Dimitri. He paused, not knowing how to start.
"Maybe you could explain what upset you?" Rose prompted, not pulling away when Dimitri took his hand in hers.
"It's a long story. Do you have time?"
"I have an hour. Long enough?"
Dimitri nodded. "Let's get comfortable," he suggested, unlacing his boots then climbing lengthwise on Rose's bed, sitting against the head using a pillow behind his back. He gestured to the space beside him, so Rose sat next to him, leaning back side by side.
"I declared not long after I was sixteen," Dimitri started. "I know most dhampir guys want to become Alpha, but it was not something I aspired to. However, not long after my fifteenth birthday I started to grow and put on muscle mass. And, of course, there were the other changes."
"That must have been really scary," Rose mused out loud.
"It was. I withdrew from everyone and spent a lot of time in the library reading up on the changes and what to expect. I didn't want to admit it was happening, but my best friend Ivan eventually called me out about it. So, I declared when I was sixteen and spent the next two years working my ass off so I could be the best Guardian to Ivan."
"Your first charge," Rose said, resting against Dimitri's side, recalling what Dimitri had said about him during their runs.
"Ivan, to me, was like the Princess to you. My best friend, I devoted myself to his wellbeing. Eventually, I came to see being Alpha as a blessing as it meant I could better protect him. Of course, it didn't work out that way…"
"I'm sorry," Rose whispered, tilting her head up and looking at Dimitri. Unable to stop himself, he leaned down, tentatively brushing his lips against hers, encouraged when she didn't push him away. They shared a smile, then Dimitri drew away as he continued.
"Thank you. When Ivan died, it felt as though my reason for living died with him. I took on a few short-term guarding positions in Russia, but my heart wasn't in it. My babushka, that's Russian for grandmother, suggested I put in for an overseas allocation. She said I would regain my purpose in America. I thought she meant with a new charge, but I'm now thinking she meant something else."
"Oh?" Rose asked, not really following where Dimitri was going with this. Although it hadn't escaped her attention that as he spoke, they'd been getting nearer and nearer to one another. In fact, if they were any closer, one of them would be on top of the other.
"What do you know of Alphas? Other than the obvious," Dimitri asked.
"Not a lot. Other than the physical differences," Rose admitted with a blush thinking about how huge Dimitri's cock had felt pushed into her stomach earlier. "I know they are dominant and possessive…"
"Especially when they find their mate," Dimitri agreed, placing a tender kiss just behind Rose's ear, followed by another. Rose wasn't sure why, given she'd been so angry at Dimitri earlier, but now his kisses and caresses felt so natural to her. "An Alpha will become angry and aggressive if he feels his mate is being admired or courted by another; especially if he hasn't yet claimed her."
"Claimed?"
"Claiming is when an Alpha and his mate make things official, usually through lovemaking. Some Alpha will take it a step further by marking their mate via a bite during sex. An Alpha's bite has a venom which makes the site scar. It doesn't hurt, but it's a visual sign a mate has been claimed, so is unavailable to others."
"Does that mean you have to be careful giving someone a love bite when you have sex? In case you accidentally claim them?!" Rose asked, curious about how the whole thing worked.
"It doesn't work that way. Marking is a conscious decision an Alpha makes to claim their partner for the rest of their lives. Since I am unmated, it's not something I've experienced, but the books I have read describe it as an overwhelming need to declare a permanent connection. The act is said to be extremely pleasurable for both partners…"
Thinking about her almost immediate reaction to Dimitri's presence, Rose had an idea where he might be heading with this information. Still, she needed him to spell it out… "And you're telling me this, why?"
Dimitri moved so he could look Rose in the eye, gently taking both her hands in his.
"We've just met, and don't know each other yet, but I feel an incredible connection with you. From the first second I saw and scented you, I've been unable to get you out of my mind. The pull to be near you, with you, is overwhelming. Seeing Ivashkov ogle you in training infuriated me! It took every ounce of control I had to stop myself pulling him off that bench and ripping his head from his shoulders just for looking at you! I was furious with him, especially given what happened between us here earlier, and I took it out on Castile and you. You didn't deserve such treatment—especially from me. You have my word it will never happen again."
Feeling Dimitri tense, even in recollection of his actions, Rose put her hand against his chest, stroking it lightly. Almost instantly, she could feel him relax.
"You're not saying much?" Dimitri prompted as Rose lay her head against his chest, still caressing him.
"You think I'm your mate?" she stated.
"I believe there's a distinct possibility," Dimitri replied, trying not to scare Rose off by outright declaring what he already knew to be true.
"It's a lot to take in," Rose murmured. Without time to process and consider all he'd said, for now, Rose was enjoying their physical closeness. Closing her eyes, and pushing her thoughts away for a while, she made a soft rumbling noise in the back of her throat.
"You're purring," Dimitri observed his voice tender.
"Purring?" Rose asked, before resuming the tone. Unfamiliar, nonetheless it felt completely natural for her to do it.
"It's something one does to soothe their mate," Dimitri explained, emitting a similar but deeper rumble from his own throat. As soon as she heard it, Rose appreciated what he meant. The sound was like being wrapped in a soft, fleecy blanket. Dimitri's purr made Rose feel loved and safe; she snuggled closer into his side.
"That's… nice…" Rose muttered before purring with Dimitri again. Moving down on her twin bed, Dimitri rested his head on her pillow, pulling Rose with him and encircling her in his embrace. She laid her head on his chest, the two cuddling and purring together. "I feel warm and sleepy. Was it like this when you purred for others?"
"I don't know, Roza. I've never purred for anyone before," Dimitri replied, closing his eyes and nuzzling her hair.
Dimitri woke up in heaven. He was in Rose's dorm room, her beautiful soft body curled into his. The last thing he could remember was telling her he thought she was his mate, then they'd cuddled and purred. He'd read in books how relaxing a mate's purr could be, however now he'd experienced it for himself, he appreciated it was more than relaxation. It was a comfort and an affirmation of their shared connection.
Glancing at the alarm clock on Rose's nightstand, Dimitri noted it was late. Or did he mean early? Only hours until they were due to train again, for propriety's sake, he should return to his own room.
Loathe to leave her, nonetheless, Dimitri eased himself out of Rose's bed, carefully covering her with the duvet and waiting to make sure she remained asleep. Satisfied she was unlikely to wake, he found a notebook, ripped out a page and jotted a quick note before setting her alarm for 4:45. Stopping only to kiss her forehead, Dimitri let himself out of Rose's room, making sure she was safely locked within then walking soundlessly back to his own quarters.
After the events of the day, Dimitri was in no doubt Rose Hathaway was meant to be his. Climbing into his bed to grab a few hours rest before their morning training session, Dimitri lulled himself to sleep via recollections of his mate's purr, and his plans to romance the woman he intended to spend the rest of his life with.
