"Where are we headed?" Rose asked Abe once Dimitri sat back down beside her. She lifted the top blanket of her nest, inviting Dimitri to cuddle beneath it with her as she spoke with her father. It wasn't a full invitation to share her temporary nest, but in the circumstances and given her mood, it was more than Dimitri hoped for!

"That's up to you. Your mother asked me to get you well away from Court, so we're headed to Ireland where we'll refuel. After that, the choice is yours. I have homes throughout Europe where you can stay, but if you want to go somewhere else, we can rent a house or stay at a hotel," Abe replied.

"You're coming with us?" Rose clarified. Since they had discussed nothing beyond getting away from Court, she was unsure what her father intended.

"I'd like to. What do you have planned?"

Rose looked at Dimitri, the two speaking without words.

"We plan to marry. Rose won't be safe from interference from Court until we wed."

"She's not even eighteen!" Abe all but shouted, clearly put out by this news.

"I will be in three months," Rose said calmly. "Once I'm eighteen, no one can stop us. However, I need a parent's permission to marry before then. The sooner this is sorted, the sooner we can return to St. Vlad's and get on with our lives."

"You intend to finish your Guardian training?" Abe asked. Already perturbed by the notion of his little girl marrying, learning she planned to return to the Academy shocked him even more. "You'd devote your life to protecting Moroi?!"

"I'm dhampir. What else would I do with my life?" Rose asked, genuinely perplexed.

Ten words. That's all it took to shatter the heart Abe never knew he had. With his money and connections, Rose should have the world at her feet. That she'd never considered a life beyond guarding Moroi was his fault.

"Fine. I'll give my permission for you to marry Guardian Belilocks…"

"Belikov!" Rose snapped, appreciating her father knew Dimitri's name and was being a dick.

"Yes, Belikov… provided he can convince me he is a suitable match for you. Let's give it a month. By the end, if Belikov convinces me he's worthy of you, I will give my permission for you to marry before you're eighteen, and give you both my blessing."

"And if he doesn't convince you?" Rose asked warily not liking the way Abe spoke about Dimitri as though he weren't even there.

"Like you said; in three months no one can stop us," Dimitri said, lifting his eyebrow to Abe in unspoken challenge. One way or another Rose was going to be his bride.

The guy had guts, Abe would give him that. Since he'd already claimed Rose there was no doubt they'd marry, and while Abe wasn't thrilled with the idea, at least Belikov was a decent guy. He treated Rose as the most precious thing in his world, which is just as it should be. However now Abe had met his daughter again, he was unwilling to let her go so quickly. He'd demanded a month so he could get to know Rose.

"So where would you like to go? Paris? London? I could show you my home in Turkey?" Abe offered.

"We can go anywhere?" Rose checked, an idea occurring to her.

"Anywhere you want," Abe replied indulgently.

"I'd like to spend two weeks in Turkey, then two weeks in Baia."

"You want to meet my family?" Dimitri asked surprised by Rose's choices.

She shrugged, a bashful expression on her face. "I thought you'd want your family at our wedding…?"


"Certainly, Lord Ivashkov," Janine replied. "I had been out for the evening visiting colleagues at Lord Szelsky's Court home. You will recall you were about to leave when I got back?" About to leave was a nice way of putting it. Matthews and Janine had strongly hinted they wanted to retire before they all but kicked the Moroi Lord out of the suite.

"After you left, Rosemarie made us all hot chocolates. We then took turns showering and went to bed. The next morning, the Guardians bringing breakfast had to wake Matthews and me. It appears Rosemarie slipped sedatives into our hot chocolates and escaped while we were unconscious."

"Did you know she planned this? Do you know anything about where she might have gone?" Adrian asked, adding maximum compulsion to his questions. If Janine knew anything, that would ensure she'd tell him.

"I had no idea she had something like this planned. As for where she might be? Your guess is as good as mine."

They talked for another ten minutes but it was clear Janine knew nothing.

Dazed and slightly manic from expending so much Spirit, Adrian made his way to the closest bar. He was about to step inside when he recalled it was the one where Amber and Caitlin or whatever their names were usually hung out. Not in the mood for a confrontation, Adrian kept on walking until he found himself in front of his apartment. Letting himself in and grabbing a bottle of Vodka from the well-stocked fridge, he climbed the stairs to his bedroom, preparing to ride out the wave of darkness he'd incurred compelling Janine Hathaway.

What a waste of time. He would have put odds on Rose's mom knowing where she was, but the woman was genuinely as much in the dark as the rest of them. Maybe Rose had copped some lucky breaks and escaped on her own—but it didn't explain how she was surviving outside the Moroi world. With no money or connections, it seemed unlikely she'd cope long. Someone had to be helping her…

Leaving it as a problem to solve another day, Adrian unscrewed the cap from the Vodka, savoring the burn as he took a large swig straight from the bottle. His steadfast and loyal companion, hard liquor was always faithful to him, even when others were not.

"I will find her, and then I'll make her love me," Adrian declared to the ceiling. Nude, and chugging down Vodka as quickly as he could, it was far from his finest moment.


"What exactly is it you do for a living?" Rose asked Abe a few hours out of Ireland. "You just said you were in business. It must pay well?"

"Oh, I'm into a bit of this and a bit of that," Abe replied evasively.

"Drugs, guns, prostitution, extortion, loan mongering and people smuggling?" Rose joked, with no idea just how close to the mark she had come.

"I don't people traffic," Abe said watching Rose carefully. "And I haven't owned a brothel in years."

"But guns and drugs?" Rose gasped her eyes widening.

"Along with other enterprises," Abe said a little defensively. "I know it's a lot to take in, and these days a lot of my business dealings are in legitimate, legal endeavors…"

"So are you like part of the mafia?" Rose asked in shock.

"No… I'm more of a lone operator…" Abe said struggling to explain to his daughter how he'd amassed his very considerable fortune. Dimitri felt a little sorry for the guy.

"I didn't grow up Royal or wealthy. My father died when I was very young leaving my mother and me on our own. I was fifteen when my mother died. She'd worked herself into an early grave, and I swore then I would never be poor. I started drug running, investing the profits into brothels. When I was twenty, I arranged my first arms shipment into Iraq. Since then I have invested in various enterprises and started many endeavors in both the human and Moroi worlds."

"Isn't some of that stuff dangerous?" Rose asked.

"Yes and no. I don't deal with the day-to-day operations anymore. I delegate everything. And like I said, more and more of my work is now in traditional, legal businesses like property development and finance. But I do have a bit of a reputation. In some parts of Europe, I am known as Zmey."

"Did you know about this?" Rose asked Dimitri.

He nodded. "Your father's name is known in all the Dhampir townships in Siberia."

"Is that why you weren't around when I was growing up?" Rose asked Abe trying to piece everything together.

"It's part of it. I wasn't ready to become a father when your mother fell pregnant, so we broke up. We met a few times when you were a toddler, but then your mother took you to America and I stayed in Europe. I've thought about you a lot over the years and I had intended to reach out after you turned eighteen, then this situation occurred, and Janine called me and told me you needed my help."

"What if they find me and try to take me back to Court?" Rose asked, Abe's comments reminding her of why they were meeting now. Abe smirked, as did Pavel, and even Dimitri looked amused.

"Sweetheart, no one would dare come after you if it's discovered you're under my protection—not even Her Majesty."

"She knows who you are?"

"Oh yes. Tatiana and I are well acquainted."


"Abe?"

"Janine. Always a pleasure to hear from you," Abe said answering his cell as Pavel drove them from the airfield to Abe's home in Istanbul. Sitting beside Rose in the rear, the two Alpha Guardians were in the vehicle's front.

"You've got them? Rosemarie is ok?" The usually unflappable Janine sounded worried.

"Yes. All went exactly as planned. We've arrived in Turkey and we're driving to my house in Istanbul."

"How long will you stay there? Are they going to marry?"

"We'll be here for a fortnight, then Rose wants to go to Russia to meet his family."

"A fortnight?! I thought they'd marry, and she'd be back at school in a few days?" Janine sounded unimpressed.

"We will spend a fortnight in Russia, too. I need to be sure Belikov's worthy of her," Abe said not caring that Dimitri could hear his half of the conversation.

"And you're making up for lost time?" Janine guessed.

"That too," Abe agreed, seeing no reason to lie to the mother of his child.

"Make sure you take care of her," Janine growled.

"I will," Abe promised, knowing Rose could overhear their conversation. "How is everything back at Court?"

"Fine. Adrian Ivashkov tried to compel me. I expected he would, so I was wearing the Nazar you gave me. You should have seen his face when I told him I knew nothing!"

"Hmm. He seems to have quite a penchant for compulsion. I might need to remind Tatiana it's a crime with significant jail time attached…"

"You lecturing Her Majesty about criminal activities. That I'd like to see!"

"You need to know the laws if you're going break them," Abe said with a grin. "Would you like to speak to our daughter?" There was no doubt about it—the legendary Zmey had an affectionate tone in his voice.

"Aye. I'll say a quick word."

"Hi Mom," Rose said taking the phone from her father.

"All good?" Janine asked.

"Yep. Hey—Abe told me I was born in Romania? I thought I was born in America?"

"No. I took you to America when you were three. You were born in Romania with a Dhampir midwife."

"Wow. I had no idea."

"Well, there's a lot I haven't shared with you. Maybe when you get back, I could come to the Academy and we could talk?"

"I'd like that," Rose confessed, "I have so many questions!"

"Yes, I can imagine," Janine said, her voice regretful. "Have fun and enjoy Turkey. It's a wonderful place. And give your father a chance. He loves you very much, as do I."

"Ok. You too," Rose replied getting a little teary. She couldn't remember the last time her mother had told her she loved her.


"Do you want anything?" Dimitri asked when they were settled into their room in Abe's Istanbul residence. A massive suite in a modern stately home high on the hill overlooking the coast, as well as an enormous bed, there was a large sofa piled with comfortable duvets, pillows, and blankets. As soon as she saw them, Rose dumped her bag and started to make a nest. Now, twenty minutes later, Dimitri had unpacked the little they'd brought with them and was ready to join his woman. "Are you hungry?"

Rose nodded. She wanted a meal, cuddles in her nest, then lovemaking with her mate. "Is there food? I could eat!"

Dimitri chuckled. He'd learned his woman was always starving! Stepping out of their room he hailed one of the private Guardians patrolling Abe's home and asked him to organize a large meal to be delivered for each of them. After an initial standoff when Abe had tried to put them in separate rooms, only to be met with pointed words from Rose and a calm request from Dimitri, Rose's father had retired to his quarters leaving Dimitri and Rose to settle in, agreeing to meet up in the morning for breakfast. Operating on diurnal hours because of his business dealings with humans, Dimitri and Rose were both excited to be spending their time in Turkey during daylight hours.

"Oh my Vlad!" Rose groaned when two enormous steak meals appeared for them, along with vegetables all covered in a rich mushroom sauce. It looked and smelled delicious.

"Do you want to eat there or at the table?" Dimitri asked, letting Rose choose whether to leave her nest. It was a close thing, but she didn't want to mess-up the duvets.

"Set up on the table," Rose ordered, climbing out of her cocoon. Sitting opposite Dimitri, they smiled at one another, starting their delicious meal.

"You know—I could get used to this," Rose said after taking the final bite, looking around the spacious room. It wasn't decorated to her taste, but it was far and away the most luxurious place she'd ever stayed. And it was huge; you'd be able to fit five or six St. Vladimir's dhampir dorm rooms into the space and still have room to spare.

"Try not to—it won't be like this in Baia. Speaking of which, I should let Mama know we're coming to visit."

"Won't she already know?" Rose joked as she climbed into a hollow in her duvets, referring to Babushka's uncanny ability to predict the future.

"Probably," Dimitri chuckled, excited at the prospect of showing off his mate to his family. "Let's ring them now and let them know to expect us."

Rose invited Dimitri into her nest, accepting his compliments about what a good job she'd done fashioning it. After a few minutes purring together, Dimitri pulled out his phone and placed a video call to his mother. As Dimitri anticipated, Yeva, Olena, and his sisters were over the moon that they would visit, and positively giddy when Dimitri explained he was coming home to introduce them to his Roza, and for them to marry. The only snag occurred when Dimitri explained to them who Rose's father was.

"Zmey?" Olena whispered, her eyes bulging. "The snake will come here?!"

Yeva said something in Russian and Olena apologized to Rose.

"It's ok. I'm just getting to know him," Rose laughed, amused that her father warranted such a reaction. A ruthless mob boss was hard to reconcile with the man who caved so readily when she'd demanded Dimitri share her room and bed! So far Abe had been very good to her, and Rose said as much. After they signed off, Rose checked the time. She wanted to call Lissa, but she'd be asleep now, so she'd call tomorrow instead.

"This is such a comfortable nest," Dimitri murmured, kissing up Rose's neck, paying particular attention to her scent glands. "And you smell amazing. It's hard for me to keep my hands off you," he admitted nipping Rose's skin lightly. Rose whimpered in pleasure. It had been too long since they'd made love. Now they were finally together and alone, she was more than willing!

"Then don't," she said, pulling away to divest herself of her top and bra, too.

"Roza," Dimitri growled, manly and possessive.

"Hmm…" Rose murmured, unbuttoning his shirt and running her hands over his muscled shoulders and well-defined abs. "Make love to me, Comrade."

Before she knew it, Rose was on her back in her soft nest completely nude. Dimitri had stripped her jeans like a man possessed, and was now tugging his pants and briefs down his thighs, freeing his rock-hard member. Kicking his pants off, Dimitri lay beside Rose, parting her legs so he could fondle her slit.

"You're excited," he observed, before bringing his lips to meet hers as his fingers dabbled in her arousal, spreading it from her opening up to her tight little pearl. Gently circling her clit with his thumb, Dimitri was kissing Rose as though his life depended on it. He loved the way Rose was so responsive, even outside her estrous. Groaning as Rose wrapped her hand around his shaft, pumping it up and down, Dimitri wanted to be balls deep inside his mate as soon as possible.

"Are you ready for me?" Dimitri asked, preparing to position himself between Rose's legs.

"Ah-ha," Rose assented, unexpectedly pushing Dimitri onto his back and straddling him, lifting up and then letting him guide her onto his cock.

"Fuck!" Dimitri hissed. Rose's pussy was wet and tight, and she stretched to take his all. It was almost impossible to describe how good it felt to reconnect in that way, although Rose's closed eyes and euphoric smile suggested she felt it, too. Resting her hands on Dimitri's chest, Rose started to move, smiling when he positioned his hands on her hips to help guide her into a mutually satisfying tempo.

Rose gazed at Dimitri, taking in every little detail. The tiny scar just above one eyebrow, his chocolate-brown eyes and full sensual lips which were presently shaped into a sexy smile. In need of a shave, even Dimitri's stubble was sexy, making him look more rugged and Alpha. She was proud to have such a strong, handsome man in her nest. Her mate exuded power, even compared to other Alpha like Croft and Pavel. She was a lucky, lucky woman!

For his part, Dimitri's hooded gaze regarded his mate enthusiastically riding his cock, her full, natural breasts bouncing in counterpoint to her hips' motions, her dark brown hair swaying as it slipped from her hair tie. He meant it when he said that Rose Hathaway was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, but she'd never been as beautiful as right now, flushed and excited as she worked to bring them both to the zenith of pleasure.

He couldn't wait to make her Rose Belikov. Although she bore his mark concealed in her pubic hair, when they married, he intended to add a second mark to her neck, so everyone could see he'd claimed her. That she was his!

Rose saw a change in her mate's face and seconds later he'd flipped them so she was pressed beneath him, pushed back into her nest. Upping the tempo, Dimitri took charge, rapidly thrusting into his mate as he plundered her mouth, his tongue tangling with Rose's. He could feel the tingle at the base of his cock signaling he was about to knot.

"Roza… cum!" he commanded growling in frustration, slamming into her hard. The sheer dominance in his voice was enough to excite Roza—and she flew over the precipice, shouting his name as Dimitri's knot swelled locking him within her as his orgasm started. He rolled onto his back, pulling Rose with him so she could ride out her pleasure slumped across his chest.

"I love you, Roza," Dimitri said as his cock twitched in Rose's tight cleft, filling her with his seed. "I always will!"


Thanks for your patience waiting for this chapter. I went away for a few days expecting to get lots of writing time in and it didn't end up happening :( Hence the delay! I appreciate those who took the time to check in and see how I was going. The rude PMs from people who never review demanding I update immediately? Not so appreciated ;) I've said it before and I'll say it again here... the best way to get quick updates is to review!