"What's going on, Hathaway? Your head has been in the clouds since Christmas." Eddie stepped back from where they were sparring, regarding Rose with worry. He'd staked her four times in a row, and that wasn't normal!

"Just tired," Rose replied. It was the truth—at least partially. Staying up with Dimitri when he guarded Lissa found her sleeping different hours. While she loved spending time with her mate, it left her feeling majorly run down. It didn't help that her sleep, when it came, was filled with dreams of Dimitri giving her physical pleasure in every way imaginable. Rose could barely look at her mentor without almost exploding with lust. In fact, they'd tried to limit their contact in front of others in case their interest and connection became obvious. Now, only hours before they planned to fulfill their desires, Rose was an odd combination of exhausted but jumpy.

"Castile is right. Your head isn't in the game today, Rose. Let's call it a day. No training tomorrow. After tonight's dance, I expect you'll both want to sleep in." Dimitri smirked, knowing tomorrow would probably find him and Rose waking up in the church attic after finally becoming lovers.

In the days since Christmas, Rose had been preparing the attic. New candles, a large comfortable duvet, a bottle of wine plus glasses, and even a pump-pack of lube had found their way into the hallowed space. Carefully tucked into a previously vacant cupboard, the attic looked the same but had everything Rose and Dimitri might need for their special night together.

"Are you alright?" Lissa asked when Rose and Eddie made their way across to breakfast. The bags under Rose's eyes were so large they almost needed their own luggage tags, plus Lissa thought her best friend seemed unusually jittery.

"I'm exhausted," Rose explained. "I know you have the beauty thing with Tasha this morning, but can I crash in your room? It's warmer there, so easier to fall asleep, and that way I can rest until it's time to get ready for the dance."

Lissa had no objection to Rose crashing on her sofa again. Over the last week, Rose had spent more time there with Dimitri than in her own room. If Tasha's complaints were to be believed, the dhampir dorms were all but sub-arctic; so of course Rose was welcome to crash in Lissa's suite while she and Tasha were busy being primped and pampered!

In the past, an Academy dance would see Rose, Lissa and often Natalie spending their afternoon together preparing themselves, however for the Yule Ball, Tasha had other ideas. A group of Moroi mothers visiting their children for Christmas and New Year had engaged a large team of dhampir estheticians and hairdressers to attend the Academy the morning of the ball. The team had set up in a large space on the ground floor of Guest Accommodations, and they had invited other Royal Moroi women on campus to make bookings.

While typically averse to spending time with other Royal Moroi, Tasha had evidently overcome her ethics for the day. Starting with a social champagne brunch in the hastily repurposed Academy's physical therapy spa, Tasha had booked massages, manies, pedies, trims, blow waves and up does along with full makeup for herself and Lissa before the dance. Part of Lissa's Christmas present, it would occupy the two for the better part of the day.

It disappointed Lissa Rose could not attend. Tonight was her best friend's big night, and if anyone deserved to be pampered and looking a hundred percent, it was Rose. It wasn't a matter of money—Lissa would pay without question - but without asking, Lissa knew a dhampir would not be welcome at the Royal Moroi pamper session. More to the point, Rose wouldn't enjoy it either. So Lissa agreed to spend most of the day with Tasha, explaining to Christian's aunt that afterward, she wanted time alone to help Rose prepare for the dance since her best friend wouldn't have the benefit of a professional team.

Tasha still had no idea that Rose was Dimitri's mate, and that tonight was the night they planned to become one. In fact, Tasha was hoping tonight might be the night Guardian Belikov finally succumbed to her amorous attentions. Everyone except Tasha appreciated that would never happen. Belikov was becoming less and less subtle in his rejection of Tasha's less and less subtle advances. Lissa was actually amazed that Rose had been so subdued about the whole situation. Had it been Christian being hit on like that, Lissa would have been furious! It spoke volumes about Rose's trust in Dimitri that, for the most part, she had taken the situation well.

"Are you sure you're comfy there? You can sleep on my bed if you want," Lissa offered.

"No. I want to sleep here," Rose said resting on the sofa, sleepy but with wired eyes. "I'll see you when you get back."

Lissa agreed, saying goodbye to her dhampir friend as MacAllister accompanied her to the Royal Moroi beauty get together.

"Here you are!" Tasha exclaimed, embracing her nephew's girlfriend at 10:00 pm outside Guest Accommodations. While Tasha thought Lissa was far too conservative, she seemed sold on Christian, so Tasha loved and accepted her for that. "Are you ready for a day of pampering!? We need to make ourselves hot for our men!"

"Looking forward to it," Lissa replied, still feeling a little out of sorts. Despite Rose's assertions, Lissa worried about her best friend. She'd never seen Rose so discombobulated, and she was certain it had to do with what would happen tonight.


Despite officially being off shift, Dimitri had been walking the ward line for hours. Yesterday Rose had told him she wanted to give herself to him. Tonight. Sometime during the Yule Ball, he would make love to his mate. To say it excited him was the understatement of the century. He wasn't a stranger to sex, but he had never desired anyone the way he did his Rose. And tonight would be her first time - he wanted it to be perfect.

After training, he'd gone to the church attic to check it over. It wasn't as romantic a spot as he'd like, but given the options, it would have to do. Too restless to sleep, and desperate for a way to kill a few hours, he'd started walking the wards. As the minutes ticked away, one question plagued him… Would he claim Rose tonight? Or more to the point would he be able to stop himself? If he marked her, then she would be permanently his. It was a link akin to marriage. While he was ready to commit, he didn't want to mark Roza unless she wanted him to. It was a conversation they needed to have before things got hot and heavy.

At 3:00 am, Rose would probably be with Lissa starting to prepare for the dance. Accordingly, Dimitri strode back to the main part of campus, headed for Princess Dragomir's suite. He was just passing Guest Accommodations when he spotted Vasilisa in front of him, unfortunately in the company of Tasha Ozera.

"Princess Dragomir," he called out. As one MacAllister, Lissa, and Tasha stopped. "I was just on my way to see you. I wanted to run through some changes to your watch I was considering. When is a good time?"

Formal in front of others, Lissa knew Dimitri was probably looking for Rose.

"I can see you now if that suits? I'm just headed back to my suite. Please walk with us."

Dimitri fell into step as the group continued walking.

"Guardian Belikov. Since you're not working tonight, I hope you'll save me a dance at the Yule Ball?" Tasha said suggestively, stopping and grasping Dimitri's hand. "I'd love to be in your arms on the dancefloor." With those words, Tasha ran her fingers up Dimitri's arm and onto his chest, before the other made its way to his outer thigh. As a come on, it didn't get much more blatant than that.

Not trying to stop himself, Dimitri issued a loud growl. "Lady Ozera!" he snapped, grabbing each of her wrists more firmly than was strictly necessary, removing her hands from his person and holding them away from his body. "Do not touch me! I have been more than patient enduring your unwelcome comments and advances; however, you just don't seem to get the message. I am not interested in you. I will never be interested in you. Your sexual comments and innuendos repulse me, and I do not enjoy being the subject of your interest!

"What you say disgusts me! I have no interest engaging with a woman who respects herself so little she throws herself at a clearly disinterested man! As a Guardian to your nephew's girlfriend, from time to time our paths will cross. When they do, I will interact with you professionally; and I expect you to do the same! However, you need to appreciate your advances will not be tolerated, and if they continue, I will have no choice but to report you."

Dimitri's outburst stunned Tasha. At that moment he was very much in his dominant Alpha mode, and it was the sexiest she'd seen him. While her first instinct was to swoon, she managed to control herself.

"Guardian Belikov—if I have given you reason to suspect my interest in you was anything other than friendly banter I apologize. My humor sometimes gets away from me," Tasha simpered, backpedaling as fast as she could.

"In which case please understand I do not appreciate that kind of joke. There are many women of questionable morals and character who throw themselves at Alpha men. They are a laughingstock to my kind. While some Alpha may use them for a night, I choose not to debase them or myself by doing that. You don't want anyone to think, even in jest, that you are one of those contemptible individuals."

MacAllister had a smirk on his face. He'd been waiting for Belikov to put Lady Ozera in her place. The whole team had witnessed her blatant come-ons and frankly were surprised the boss had not exploded before now. Had a man interacted that way with a woman, people would have called it sexual harassment long before now. He was pleased the boss had finally said his piece.

Princess Vasilisa was also unsurprised. Tasha had been anything but subtle in her attempts at seduction. Her actions had embarrassed their whole group. Conscious of keeping the peace, Lissa said: "I'm glad you can appreciate Lady Ozera's comments were in jest, Guardian Belikov. Of course, she will be mindful to consider your sentiments in her future interactions." The look on her face suggested she'd only made the comment to allow Tasha to save face.

Tasha nodded in agreement, and the group continued walking toward the Novice dorms. "I'll leave you here. You need to help Rose get ready; shall we meet at the hall at eight?" Tasha's comments were solely directed to Vasilisa. Hardly surprising considering Dimitri's previous remarks to her.

"That sounds perfect," Lissa replied, classy as ever. "Thank you for spoiling me today! It was lovely, and I appreciate it!"

"My pleasure," Tasha said before slipping across to the stairs that led to the female dhampir dorms, heading upstairs to lick her wounds.


"Please come in, Guardian Belikov," Lissa said, opening the door to her suite. As was his custom, MacAllister leaned against the wall in the corridor outside. Matthews was due to take over any minute now.

Inside Lissa's suite, the Princess stood stock still, surprised by the sight in front of her. There, in the middle of the sofa, rocking back and forth with her arms wrapped around her knees, sat Rose. Far from looking rested, it was obvious she hadn't slept. Instead, she was perched in the center of a mound of cushions, pillows, blankets, and duvets. Peering into her room, then Natalie's, it was clear Rose had ransacked both spaces for anything soft. Regarding the pile carefully, Lissa noticed there were also cushions from the smaller Moroi Common room.

"Rose? Are you ok?" Lissa asked.

Rose looked at her best friend suspiciously. Before she had a chance to answer, Dimitri spat out a word in Russian that Lissa knew was not used in polite company. His agitation was through the roof, matched only by Rose's.

"Princess? Lissa... You need to get out of here. Can you go visit Christian in his dorm, please? I need to take care of Rose."

"What's going on? Why is she acting like this?"

"I'll explain later. Right now, I just need you out of here, ok? And don't tell anyone about this. Not Guardians, Christian or anyone else. It's for Rose's safety."

Lissa nodded. Something serious was going down, but she trusted Guardian Belikov to take care of her best friend. As her mate, it was his job now.

"Rose—I'm going to visit Christian… I'll see you a bit later, ok?"

Dimitri walked Lissa to the door, stepping outside. MacAllister was gone, replaced by Celeste who was standing against the wall in the spot recently occupied by her colleague.

"Guardian Matthews—can you escort Princess Dragomir to Lord Ozera's room please?" Dimitri ordered, doing a remarkable job of sounding his usual unflappable self.

"Certainly," Celeste replied, wondering what Dimitri had been doing alone with Lissa in her suite. Guardian protocol stated a male Guardian and female charge should never be in a dorm room alone together. The boss was many things, but he wasn't stupid… So if he'd been inside Lissa's suite, then Celeste would bet that Rose was also there. "After you, Princess."

Dimitri watched them leave down the hallway, pulling out his phone as soon as they disappeared down the stairs.

"Alberta? It's Belikov. I need you to come to Princess Dragomir's room right away. Everything is ok, but there is an emergency situation. Say nothing to anyone and please come alone."

For a woman in her fifties, Alberta showed remarkable fitness. She was at the Moroi dorm in minutes, arriving on the third floor only a little puffed. "Belikov? What's going on? Is the Princess ok?"

"Princess Dragomir is fine. It's Rose…"

Dimitri opened the door to Lissa's suite, ushering Alberta inside. Rose had not moved in his absence, so was still rocking back and forth amongst the cushions and pillows. Wild eyes darting from side to side, she looked unhinged.

"What the…!" Alberta said, eyes bulging.

"Roza…" Dimitri said, drawing the brunette dhampir's eyes toward him. "It's Dimitri and I have Alberta here with me. You're safe..."

"Safe," Rose whispered, her voice low and raspy.

"I'm just going to talk to you for a while if that's alright? That sofa looks very comfortable… Is it soft and warm?"

Calmed by the sound of his voice, Rose slowed her rocking and nodded.

"It's a beautiful nest… You must have worked very hard on it? But you've done a wonderful job…"

Rose smiled, a look of pride crossing her face. She had been fretting about her nest all morning. It had taken hours to get everything just the way she wanted it. To hear her mate approved pleased her immensely.

Stepping forward tentatively, Dimitri ran the back of his knuckles across the trim on one duvet. "It's a very nice-looking nest, indeed. Do you think I could join you in it?"

Nodding, Rose lifted a few pillows to give Dimitri space to sit on the many layers cushioning the sofa. As soon as he sat down, Dimitri opened his arms and Rose eagerly climbed onto his lap. She was shaking with nerves, so he started purring to calm her down. Not the soft purrs he used when he was content, these purrs were louder, but they had the required effect. Almost immediately Rose closed her eyes and started purring in response. Locking his arms around his mate, without breaking his purr Dimitri used his eyes to tell Alberta to take a seat on the nearby armchair. Rose's breathing became heavy and her purrs slowed until finally, she was asleep.

"What the hell is going on, Belikov?" Alberta hissed, conscious not to wake Rose. "If I didn't know better, I'd say…"

"That Rose is going into estrous…" Dimitri completed for her.

"No!" Alberta gasped, horrified.

"I'm pretty sure that's it. I didn't detect it earlier, but just now I could smell her when I came down the corridor. Give it twenty-four hours, and every male on campus will be responding to her—consciously or not." Even thinking about other men lusting after Rose caused Dimitri to stiffen with rage. Conscious his mate needed to sleep, he pushed the unhelpful thoughts away.

"That poor baby. But she trusts you?" Alberta asked, noticing how Rose cuddled into Dimitri, relaxed enough to sleep in his arms.

"We're mates," Dimitri explained. "I pegged her on my first day here. We've been getting to know one another, but we're in love and plan to be together."

Alberta sat back in her armchair, stunned. The student she'd known since a little girl was now grown up, and apparently an Alpha's mate. While Alberta respected Dimitri as a man, and approved of him as Rose's potential partner, Rose wasn't yet eighteen.

"Have you…?"

"No. We'd planned to tonight. I love her. She loves me. We both want this. But if she's Omega, I could impregnate her," Dimitri said, voicing the long-known fact that an Omega woman could bear a child to a human, Moroi or dhampir male, the offspring being the same race as its father. "I need to find out if she's on birth control. Because of knotting, condoms aren't suitable for an Alpha."

"We put all Novice women on birth control at the start of their freshman year," Alberta stated. "Provided Rose has been taking it, she is safe in that respect."

Dimitri sighed. That was something.

"Alberta—I need to get her out of here. In a few hours, her scent will entice every human, Moroi, Alpha and Beta male. And in her estrous, she will be incapable of stopping them. I won't have her used by man after man when she is unable of censoring her activities! She is my mate and I will protect her!"

"She needs the estrous blocking medication. If I order it, she will be spared all of that," Alberta murmured.

"I thought that was heavily monitored?"

"Yes. It requires three separate calls to Court to get the combination to the safe where the meds are kept. I am one of the authorized parties to call. Dr. Olendzki is another, and a Moroi teacher is the third. We each have to ring to get our part of the combination. There's no way we can access the medication without Court knowing…"

"In which case, Rose will be medicated then taken to Court where she will be drugged and no doubt coerced into a marriage with a leading Royal Moroi," Dimitri hissed furiously. He was shaking with anger at the thought of his mate being with anyone other than him.

"There's no alternative. You said it yourself—in twenty-four hours, Rose's scent will drive every male on campus mad." Alberta shuddered. She'd seen an Omega come into estrous or heat before. It had been absolute mayhem. The Omega had been lucky to survive as numerous men had mated with her. Traumatized, and ending up with child, the Omega had never been the same again. That wasn't something Alberta would let happen to Rose.

"There IS an alternative," Dimitri asserted furiously. "I'll take Rose away and support her through her estrous."

"Support her?" Alberta barked with a sarcastic laugh.

"Rose had planned for us to be together tonight, anyway," he explained. "But if she doesn't want me to mate with her, I won't! Most Omega estrous every three months. With luck, her next season will occur after she is eighteen. If we can hide it until then, I will claim her, then she'll be safe from anyone else's interest."

"How do I know this is what Rose wants?" Alberta asked. She was prepared to flout the Moroi laws of mandatory reporting a suspected Omega—but she wasn't going to hand over her surrogate daughter in estrous to an Alpha without knowing that's what Rose wanted.

"She'll be awake, soon. You can ask her."