Rose's hips bucked up from the mattress. She hadn't been sure how Dimitri's bite would affect her, but it was powerful and instant!

"Oh Vlad!" she screamed, instantly forced into another orgasm. Dimitri immediately lowered his mouth to her pussy, flicking his tongue on her nub to extend her pleasure. As she floated back down to earth, she wondered whether their joining had affected him as much as it had her. Dimitri was snuffling and gently licking her mons as she lay back thoroughly spent on the bed. While his bite had hurt his tongue rasping between her curls gave instant relief. As he'd promised, the pain quickly dissipated.

"Dimitri… Do you need something?" Embarrassed to ask Dimitri about what he wanted sexually, Rose told herself to get over it. They were mates now, and if being claimed had given her a mind-blowing orgasm, it stood to reason he might be likewise affected.

"You could stroke me? I love your touch."

Dimitri was doing his utmost not to sound needy, but hell! He'd just claimed his mate! He wanted to fuck her every which way to next week, still, she'd just had her first experience, and would no doubt be sore! Plenty of time for fucking when she came into estrous.

Uncertain how to pleasure her man, Rose started by wrapping one hand around his thick, hard shaft. Moving her clenched fist up and down the way Dimitri had shown her earlier, Rose was gratified to hear soft grunts of enjoyment escaping her mate's lips.

Her mate! Passing her eyes up and down over his sexy naked form, Rose was ecstatic to regard the man before her as hers! Every inch of him irresistible, she focussed on the hard, sexy inches she had her hand wrapped around as she sought to give him pleasure.

When Dimitri had wanted to thrill her, his go-to had been oral. Not that she could fault him—his mouth on her pussy had been nothing short of sensational. With that in mind, Rose wondered whether reciprocity would elicit a similar response? She'd never given head before, however, the idea wasn't unappealing. Her personal motto was that she'd give anything a go once, twice if it felt good! Unsure how a blow job would be for her, if it made her mate feel as good as he had made her feel earlier, Rose was up for the challenge.

Continuing to stoke not so mini Dimitri, she copied his earlier actions of kissing downward. Like he had with her, Rose spent time on his nipples, sucking them and nipping at his pecs. Rose particularly liked how every time she bit him, his abs would clench in response.

Speaking about his abs—they were a work of art. Chiseled, lean, and beyond sexy, it was a joy for Rose to kiss her way across them as she made her way to her ultimate destination. Yes, she'd touched it—she was right now. It had been buried inside her mere minutes before. Yet as she moved ever southward, Rose had a single goal in mind. Her mate's cock—and particularly wrapping her lips around it!

Worried about her inexperience, Rose tried to remember any comments Lissa had on the topic, yet nothing came to mind. While Rose was grateful Lissa was not the type to overshare, it left Rose woefully underprepared for this situation! In fact, the only person Rose could recall speaking about that activity was Christian's aunt! That Tasha was experienced was undeniable. Indeed, she took pleasure in promulgating her promiscuity. While Rose had not been a participant in the discussion, she'd overheard an awkward conversation where Tasha had shared with Lissa her experiences about giving head.

Closing her eyes while fervently hoping, in this aspect at least, Tasha knew what she was speaking about, Rose started kissing up her mates cock then slowly started to suck the tip.

"Whoa!" Rose's head shot up, and she looked at Dimitri in alarm, her eyes wide. The second she'd put her mouth on him, Rose experienced a shot of unadulterated gratification. Yet somehow, it wasn't hers! Inexplicably Rose had experienced Dimitri's pleasure. Lying on his back, Dimitri had an exultant expression on his face.

"What the hell was that?" Rose growled, surprised more than scared.

"What happened?" Dimitri asked, not answering her question although he had a fair idea of what she was talking about.

"It's like I could feel your pleasure," a panicked Rose explained, all thoughts of sucking Dimitri off now forgotten.

"It might be the start of a pair-bond? We read about it, remember? It's when a mated couple can sense how the other feels," Dimitri replied quickly, hoping Rose might go back to what she'd just started.

Rose ceased her ministrations. They had read about pair-bonds. At the time, the concept of mates had been so foreign, she'd paid little attention to the possibility of a pair-bond. It didn't happen to every mated pair, so she paid it minimal attention. In retrospect, that might have been remiss!

"Can you remind me about it?" Rose growled, feeling irritated, and a little blindsided. She wasn't angry with Dimitri per se; it was just so much had happened, she was just struggling to find her new normal.

Appreciating words from the book would be better than his imprecise recollections, while also recognizing he wasn't about to get a blow job any time soon, Dimitri pecked Rose on the lips before streaking across to the living room to retrieve the book. Thumbing through it as he walked back to the bedroom, Rose didn't waste the opportunity to admire her naked mate. He really was a stunningly handsome man! While still cross about yet another revelation about her, and their, new status, if it meant she got him she figured it was worth it.

Dimitri sat on the bed beside his mate, pulling her onto his lap and curled into him as he read out loud the pertinent passages. It wasn't particularly complicated… Around a third of Alpha experienced a pair-bond with their mate. It varied from being able to sense emotions to full voiceless communication between the mates, and often became stronger the longer the pair were together. That only moments after their union Rose could already feel Dimitri's emotions suggested theirs would be an exceptionally strong pair-bond. It wasn't a surprise to Dimitri—he'd already sensed what was between him and Rose was abnormally intense!


Curled up together on one of the pushed together twin beds, Dimitri and Rose avoided the sizeable wet spot from their previous lovemaking. As embarrassed as Dimitri had been asking Alberta to pack numerous sheet sets, with Rose coming into estrous, it had been an astute request! He was tired, now—but he'd change the sheets for them in the morning.

After their discussion about pair-bonding, and what it might mean for them, Rose had become sleepy, so they'd cuddled tight, Rose wrapped in her man's arms as they purred to one another. Different, now they were bonded, the tender act was even more significant. Rose asleep, Dimitri lay on his side, staring at his beloved illuminated by the flickering fire.

In repose, she looked so peaceful, but also so young. Their seven-year age difference rarely occurred to him, but in his arms now he knew she still had much to learn. Ideally, he'd have waited until she was eighteen to claim her, but the unexpected discovery she was Omega had forced his hand. Appreciating Alberta would be worried, he reached over for his cell, quickly texting a message: Arrived and settled in. Enough to let her know they were safe, without mentioning anything else.

While he had his cell in hand, he thought to contact his family. It was too late, their time, to call—so he settled for another message. Sending it to Karolina, since his Mamma was not great with technology, Dimitri briefly explained that he had claimed Rose as his mate and that he would be in touch as soon as he could. It would surprise no one in the family. It had never been if, always when.

Knowing the cabin was secure, the area warded, the fires stoked and burning, and his beautiful mate asleep, Dimitri allowed his eyes to close. Despite sleeping on what amounted to a twin bed, his whole life was in his embrace, so Dimitri had never been so comfortable. Rose was his every dream come true!


Dimitri was in the kitchen when he felt Rose's discomfort. He'd slipped away from her embrace ten minutes before to make their breakfast. Toast, eggs, mushrooms, and spinach almost ready, her feelings through the bond forced him to take the pans off the heat, heading into the bedroom to see what was wrong.

Writhing on the bed, still asleep, that Rose needed her mate was clear. Her scent even more obvious here, Roza was starting her estrous. Stripping off and climbing back into bed beside her, Dimitri prepared himself to take care of his beloved.

Only just awake, Rose turned to him and moaned: "It burns Dimitri!"

"It's ok. I'll take care of you!"

Both naked, Dimitri rolled Rose onto her back, slipping a hand down to check her slit. He needn't have bothered… Her opening was wet with slick. Thicker and more abundant than a woman's usual arousal, Rose was indisputably ready.

"Please? I need you!" Rose was more skittish than he'd ever seen her.

"I know," Dimitri replied, purring softly to reassure his mate as he positioned himself above her. Roza needed her man to look after her in estrous, and he would; every time for as long as she needed it.

Sliding into his mate, Rose's loud moan of relief gratified Dimitri. If their first time had been about pleasure and enjoying the experience, their second was all about racing to the final goal. Feeling his mate's pain, and knowing that only his seed would extinguish the burn Rose was experiencing, Dimitri set a fast almost punishing pace, not that Rose objected.

Powering through her orgasm, Dimitri could feel his mate's pleasure combined with her pain. He pushed on until he felt the familiar tingle that signaled he was about to knot. Vocalizing this to Rose, they both stilled. His knot locking Dimitri within Rose, with the first twitch of his cock spurting his seed, the burning inside Rose subsided. Clasping one another tightly, pain slipped away leaving only pleasure in its wake. After a minute or two, Rose relaxed, aided by Dimitri's loving purr. By the time Dimitri's knot had deflated, Rose was lying on the bed beneath him, eyes closed and almost asleep.

"Rest, baby. You need your strength."

"I love you, Dimitri," she murmured before cuddling into her pillow and drifting off.

"I love you, too," he replied—the last thing Rose heard before she slept.


It was hard to believe three days had passed. Rose had spent the time wanting sex, having sex, or resting after sex. Dimitri hadn't left her side except to make them food, to carry her to her nest to rest while he changed the sheets on the bed and restock the logs in the fireplace, or to use the bathroom. Even showering had been done together, Dimitri pushing his mate against the wall as he took her from behind when necessity required it. Now—finally—it seemed Rose's estrous might be over. She'd slept without interruption for five hours, Dimitri also taking the time to sleep.

"Comrade?" Rose asked, curling closer into Dimitri. Only partially awake, she wanted nothing more than to be close to her man.

"How are you feeling?" Dimitri checked, thrilled to feel overall contentment through their bond.

"I'm ok. I feel like myself again…"

"Are you ready to head back to the Academy?"

"Can we stay another day? I'm tired… and I want to be us again before we have to return. We need to work out how to handle things."

"Yes," Dimitri agreed. They were weary, newly bonded, and just through Rose's first estrous. "We still have plenty of food. How about I make us dinner and we can talk?"

"I'm mated to the perfect man," Rose teased playfully. Truthfully, she was embarrassed about what she'd become over the last few days. She'd treated Dimitri like a sex object—and while he'd not objected to being treated like a living dildo, Rose was humiliated by what her need had reduced him to. He must feel so used! How could he possibly love her after what she'd subjected him to?

Dimitri carried Rose out to her nest. While she didn't need it the way she had coming into estrous, there was no denying sitting in it immediately calmed her. Dimitri dropped loving kisses on her nose before stalking to the adjacent kitchen, getting the ingredients for a hearty meal. Through the bond, he could sense Rose becoming anxious. Preparing the easiest meal he could, he put everything together before asking to join Rose in her nest. When she agreed, he sat down, immediately letting her climb onto his lap.

"I'm glad you shared your estrous with me, baby. You were vulnerable during your time of need and I loved that you trusted me to be there for you."

"You didn't feel used?" Rose asked, finding the courage to voice her fear.

"I will never feel used to be the man who gives you what you need! I could feel your pain, Roza. How could I not help assuage it?!" Dimitri asked rhetorically.

"You could feel my need?"

"The burn and the relief. You are my mate. I'll do whatever, wherever, whenever! Anything you need!"

"As I will for you," Rose pledged, shy that Dimitri had felt the force of her desire. Distracted by her estrous, Rose had yet to explore their pair-bond. She had experienced an echo of Dimitri's pleasure when they'd joined during her estrous. His pleasure during their unions had made the burn somewhat less—it was as though in experiencing his pleasure, it had alleviated part of her pain? Now she knew her mate had also felt the burn, Rose wondered whether perhaps they'd shared the pain, and the combined pleasure, between them?

"So much has happened, but you're mine now, Roza. As I am yours!"


They'd eaten, opened the second bottle of wine, and were now curled in Rose's nest working out where to from here.

"Your scent will be different now we're mated. Moroi and Beta won't consciously notice it, but Alpha will. You need to stay away from Novice Reyes if you can."

"And if I can't?" Rose asked.

"Then leave him to me. There are Alpha and then there are Alpha. We have our own hierarchy—if he becomes an issue, I will handle it!" Dimitri was all but bristling with tension, so Rose trusted him and his knowledge of Alpha culture. Hell—it was all Greek to her!

"How will we explain our absence? We left New Year's Eve, and it's been days!"

"We'll work that out with Alberta. She allowed us to leave; she must have explained it away somehow?" Dimitri rationalized. "We'll call her on our way back."

"Will I be able to tell Lissa about what happened?" Dimitri looked at Rose with a lifted eyebrow before she continued with her explanation. "Being Omega, I mean, not specifics about our time here!"

"Whatever you think is best. This needs to be kept quiet, but if you trust her that's ok."

"You're tense…?" Rose asked, rubbing her face against his neck.

"We need to keep our bond and you being Omega undercover until you are eighteen. Once you are of age, I will mark you again on your neck where it's publicly visible. If you're willing, we could marry then, too?"

"You'd like to marry?" Rose gasped, wide-eyed.

"I'd marry you today, Roza if I could! It is safest if we keep everything quiet until your birthday. Then I can legally claim and marry you, there can be no objection to our union."

"And until then?" Rose asked, preparing herself for the kick in the guts she knew was about to come.

"For two-and-a-half months, we need to pretend I'm just Lissa's Guardian and your mentor."


Each could sense the other's anxiety as they drove to the Academy. It was 2:00 pm, so the middle of the Moroi night. Alberta had suggested they arrive then as it minimized the chances of them being observed. Meeting them at a side gate, Alberta let them through before locking the gate and climbing into the SUV's back seat.

"Welcome back Rose. Belikov." Alberta wanted to say more but given the circumstances, nothing seemed appropriate. "I take it all went well?"

"Yes, thank you," Dimitri replied as Rose blushed.

"Right. Well, Belikov? I told the team you were called to Court. Rose? The story is you spent the time off-campus with your mother."

Rose groaned. As a cover story, it made sense—there was really no other way they would allow a Novice off campus—and on the plus side, everyone knew Rose's relationship with her mother was difficult, so no one would ask her too much about it.

"Does Lissa know…"

"She does. She realized it after seeing your nest. I've explained to her in detail what would likely happen to you was it discovered you are Omega, so she understands the importance of keeping your status to herself, and has pledged not to say anything to anyone."

"Ok."

"The two of you will have to be very careful," Alberta cautioned. "You can't give anyone reason to suspect there is anything more to your relationship than Novice and mentor. I'll do everything I can to help you, but you can't afford to be discovered."

"Thank you, Alberta. I'm sorry - I know this has put you in a difficult position."

"Never mind that. Let's just get you through to your birthday, then things will become easier."

Dimitri drove Rose to the Novice dorms, letting her out without even a kiss. Alberta was right—they could not get caught.