Sorry for the delay, I went to a little convention this weekend :)

Enjoy!

I think Viktoria enjoyed that their apartment became our meeting ground because then she felt like she was part of it. She was still in training and couldn't go patrolling yet, and she definitely couldn't go with us tonight.

There was a tense atmosphere, thick with worry about what could go wrong. I was going to be offering myself off as bait—everything could go wrong.

Dimitri stood close to me, a slight brushing of hands when we moved; all of us crowded around a map of the city; no one questioned it, though Janine caught it. She gave me a look, and I couldn't tell if she was mad, or disappointed, or both.

"The warehouse is the best spot to start," Alberta started, tapping on the map and then at other spots nearby. "We can set up teams and be prepared. They might not be there anymore, but they could still be in the area. Are you comfortable with that?"

Her eyes met mine, and I shrugged. None of this made me comfortable, but I wasn't backing down. "Just tell me where to be," I replied with a smirk that made me look more confident than I felt.

"We'll be close; if any do attack, you won't have to hold them off for long," Dimitri promised, a smile on his lips that was just for me.

Alberta pulled out a case with radios and earpieces, handing them out now so we were all prepared once we got there. "I have three teams ready. I don't know how many Strigoi will show, and I don't want to take any chances. If you notice anything or need to get out, tell us. Understand?"

Again, she focused on me. "Yes, ma'am," I replied with a salute and more cheek than others could get away with with Alberta. She rolled her eyes and gave me my radio.

"Just try to follow orders," she requested in exasperation, "and don't call me ma'am."

I kept my expression serious, "Yes, sir."

I glanced over the map again and made note of where the teams were going to be stationed. They were further away than I would like, but they had to be so the Strigoi didn't pick up on their scent. If Strigoi knew it was a trap, they would never approach, and I needed this to work.

Any answers I got from this could be the thing that keeps me alive in the future.

The others moved away from the table, Alberta and Dimitri discussing their positions, and left Janine and me at the table. I pursed my lips, side-eyeing her. Janine didn't look at me; instead, she focused on the map.

I never had the chance to approach her after Abe told me I needed to ask her for the answers; Janine had a way of disappearing as soon as I tried to start the conversation of why me?

Janine started to nod her head, stood up straight and placed her hands on her hips. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah," I replied quickly, turning to face her. I took the chance, "Dad said you might know why the prophecy is about me, do you?"

Her lips tilted down into a frown, "This isn't the time, Rosemarie."

"Why not?" I asked, gesturing around us, "It isn't like we are going anywhere yet. What's your theory?"

Janine wouldn't even meet my eyes, fiddling with the watch on her wrist and then with her radio. "I need to do a final check with the teams, make sure everyone knows what to do." She marched away from me, and I huffed in annoyance.

"Yeah, walk away. You're good at that!" I yelled after her, not missing the tension in her shoulders as she left the apartment. Of course, my outburst drew the attention of the others, but I ignored them, yanking out one of the chairs and dropping down into it.

No one approached me, and I was thankful for it. My nails tapped on the table in irritation. Abe had been nothing but eager to reconnect, but Janine was the opposite. Maybe she already accepted that I was good as dead, so why bother salvaging a relationship?

The chair beside me pulled out, and Yeva sat down, her latest knitting project in hand. Viktoria followed her and sat down awkwardly with both hands held up with yarn wrapped around them. She smiled at me; I knew helping Yeva was her way of being in the room when we discussed the plan. "That didn't go well," she jutted her chin to the door.

I frowned, "It never does."

I glanced at Yeva, leaning my elbow on the table and my head in my hand. She didn't say anything, barely even looked at me, but her eyebrow did raise. I guessed she was who Dimitri gained the habit from.

"So you know a lot about the prophecy," I started, earning a look from her that felt a lot like no shit. I shifted a little closer, "I'm going to die, aren't I?"

No matter how often I or Dimitri said everything would be fine, there was a sinking feeling in my stomach that just knew it wouldn't. If anyone knew what was going to happen, it would be the person that foretold it.

Yeva glanced at me for a second and scoffed. "Yes." Viktoria's eyes widened; she opened her mouth to deny it but was silenced by a look of warning from Yeva.

Ice filled my veins. I struggled to swallow around the lump in my throat, eyes dropping to hide the tears building. "So Victor will kill me."

"I didn't say that."

My eyes snapped to hers. "What?"

"You have everything you need to understand," she replied with a nod, her steely stare giving nothing away.

I was even more confused; I shared a look with Viktoria and knew she felt the same. "No, I really don't," I disagreed with a scowl, "I'm pretty sure I'm still in the realm of knowing nothing."

"You are connected."

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah. Shadow bond, I know."

"No," she interrupted me. "Connected to Dimka. He will always find you."

I stared back at her in confusion, trying to figure out what she meant. Viktoria started to speak again but Yeva muttered at her in Russian.

Any more questions I had were forgotten when Alberta said it was time to leave. I looked back at Yeva before I left the apartment, and her expression was guarded, but her eyes never left mine.

It was strange walking around by myself, especially in this part of town and this late at night.

I could almost pretend it was like when I didn't know vampires were real—when my life was just about making it to the next paycheque. Back when Dimitri was just the hot guy that I considered dating and my parents had died instead of disappearing.

The upside to my life being turned on its head was that I did get to start a relationship with Dimitri; one that I felt growing stronger each day.

Before we had split up into the different cars, Dimitri had pulled me back into the hallway away from the view of others and kissed me breathless. "Tell me the moment you need help, and I'll be there"—His promise to me before we kissed again, then joined the others.

The best part was I knew he would rush to my side instantly.

I breathed deeply, enjoying the fresh air and the brief silence I was granted. At least the plan gave me that. It was nice for a moment alone again.

I kept waiting for that slight churning in my stomach that made me aware of the Strigoi, but it had yet to happen. Instead, my stomach twisted from nerves as I got closer to the warehouse. I couldn't help but think of the woman that died in my arms. I also kept thinking of the voice that called me.

Victor.

Having a name to put to it didn't help; if anything, it made it worse—made it more real.

I waited to hear his voice again; my body vibrated in anticipation. Part of me feared hearing it again, and a treacherous part wanted to hear it again. Whether to prove it wasn't just all in my head or because I was curious, I didn't know; either way, I hated it.

The building came into view, the roof just visible over the fence. I paused for a moment and waited.

And waited.

There was nothing—I didn't feel a pull towards it and I heard no one call me forth.

I didn't know if I was relieved or disappointed.

"Rose?"

Dimitri's voice in my ear startled me. "I'm okay," I replied and then kept walking. Guess they were right when they said the Strigoi had cleared out of the area. "There's nothing around here," I continued.

"Keep going. Just stay in the perimeter we set up," Janine ordered. I held in my sigh and accepted that I would be out there for a while.

"Okay."

I was humming as I walked, nearing the fourth hour since I started. No Strigoi showed, but my boredom did.

"Why do you know so many Madonna songs?" Dimitri asked in an amused tone, playing along with my game of guessing what I was singing.

I smirked, "I do have tastes. I just like to vary my music, so it isn't only the eighties."

"Can we limit the conversation? You need to be aware of your surroundings." Janine scolded me through the radio. She seemed determined to be the fun police.

"I am aware," I replied defiantly. I looked around myself, noting the empty street, "Yep, still no one."

"It takes time."

I scoffed, "Strigoi are drawn to me, but they just all take tonight off? Sure."

"Rose–"

"Shut up," I suddenly cut my mother off. The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and then I felt the familiar sensation of my stomach rolling. I spun on my heel and found myself staring back at glowing eyes.

A female Strigoi stood before me with long brown hair and a beautiful face that would have been welcoming if I didn't know what she was. A gentle smile appeared on her face, and she held a hand out to me, "You must be Rose."

I was thrown by her knowing my name, but I quickly shook it off, retrieving my stake and then calling through the mic, "Got one."

We thought we would have to go through a couple of Strigoi before finding one that knew what was going on, but considering she knew my name, I guessed she had an idea. I briefly heard voices through the earpiece, but I wasn't listening as I lunged for the woman.

The smile didn't leave her face as she dodged me, a tilt of her head as she appraised me. "They will be happy to know you've offered yourself up so willingly." Her voice was soft and as gentle as her smile, a stark difference from how roughly she gripped my shoulder.

I didn't hesitate. I broke from her hold and punched her in the face and stomach. She appeared shocked I fought back, or that I managed to do some damage. The gentle look dropped, and she snarled.

A clawed hand lashed out, the nails just missed me as I jumped back, and then I moved forward again and threw another punch. We continued to grapple as I waited for someone to show up to help. Holding down a Strigoi on my own was difficult, though I managed to force her body to the ground and pinned her arms.

The Strigoi growled, putting up a fight. "Grab her!" she shouted.

My eyes widened, and I had to dodge back as another Strigoi dropped down from above us. Their hands caught the back of my shirt and threw me down an alley; I rolled, trying to soften the impact. There was the sound of glass breaking, and I felt pain flare in my arm.

"Fuck!" I cried before I crouched on my feet. My stake was still in my right hand, but there was blood running down my left. I ignored the pain and focused on the second Strigoi.

The moment I looked at them my stomach dropped.

It was the same Strigoi as that night. The one that got away from me.

"Grab her quickly," the first Strigoi ordered. The one that escaped me nodded and rushed forward.

I brought my stake up and slashed at them, backing up again to keep a distance between us. There was the sound of footsteps, and I heard my name yelled. I glanced away to see Dimitri and the others.

"Grab that one!" I yelled and pointed at the woman; then focused again on my fight.

Again, the Strigoi appeared skittish and ready to run once all the guardians showed up, but I wouldn't let that happen again. I jumped at them, punching them in the face multiple times. They snarled at me and struck me with their nails, cutting my cheek and neck.

We continued to struggle for the upper hand, but I managed to pin them down. In a quick motion, I plunged my stake deep into their chest. I kept pressure on the stake even after they had stopped moving, staring down into their lifeless eyes—they wouldn't be able to hurt anyone else now.

"Roza," Dimitri whispered, his hands gently curled around my arm and hoisted me to my feet. "You're hurt," he frowned, eyes on my bleeding arm. I glimpsed at it and noticed the pieces of glass glinting in the street light, my sleeve torn and stained.

"I think I hit a bottle or something," I shrugged and winced from the motion. "Did they get her?"

We both turned to see the others restraining the Strigoi in chains. It wouldn't hold her forever, but it would be enough until we had her somewhere we could question her. Janine stood to the side, Alberta rubbing a hand on her back; it struck me as strange that neither of them was in the thick of it giving the orders.

I nodded towards them and asked Dimitri, "What's up with them?"

He looked over and grimaced, "They knew the Strigoi—or who it used to be. She was a friend."

"Do you know who?" I pressed.

Dimitri's eyes met mine, "Sonya Karp."

Dimitri flicked on the lights; the bright white of the walls and furniture made me wince. White cabinet ran along the walls, a fridge on one side and in the middle were three beds with curtains around them.

"How didn't I know there was a med bay here?" I asked, strolling behind him and looking at all of the equipment.

"Because you ran off before I finished my tour," Dimitri explained as he rummaged about and gathered supplies, "and the last time you were in here, you were unconscious."

"Ahh, yeah, that time." That memory made me both laugh and frown. My little escape led to us having a big fight, but it also led to our first time together. "So, are you my nurse?" I teased, spinning around to give him a flirtatious grin.

Dimitri kept his expression neutral. "Sit on the bed."

"You know, you could say please," I complain, hopping up onto the closest bed, "I respond well to positive reinforcement."

Dimitri came over to me, pulling one of the wheeled trays closer to hold the supplies. A playful look crossed his face, a devilish grin pulled at his lips, "Does that mean you want me to call you a good girl?"

My body flushed, and my cheeks heated. "That's not what I meant."

His face moved closer to mine, "You're not denying it." Desire shined in his eyes, a look of promise in them that made my core clench. I licked my lips, his eyes flicking down, then back up to mine. "Are you my good girl, Roza?" Dimitri asked in a husky tone.

I lost the ability to speak; even my mind couldn't think properly, except for imagining all the ways I could be good for him.

Dimitri's mouth was beside my ear, long fingers brushing the inside of my thigh. I was like putty in his hands. "Be good and stop sassing me," Dimitri whispered and then drew back with a chuckle. "If you can do that, then maybe I'll tell you some positive reinforcements."

I kicked him lightly in the shin, a frown on my face as I willed my body to calm down. "You aren't funny."

"But you love me anyway," he grinned, knowing I couldn't deny him that. Sobering, Dimitri looked over the cut on my arm, carefully removing the glass. I only wore a long sleeve, though he had to rip half of the sleeve to see the cut. He clicked his tongue, "Might be easier to just remove your shirt."

"You always want me to take my top off," I snorted, but started to lift the material. Dimitri's hands replaced mine and helped me take it off without hurting myself more. Dimitri returned to working on my arm with a quick kiss on my lips. It stung when he cleaned it, but luckily none of the wounds were deep enough to need stitches.

"So what do we do now?" I asked as he was finishing up.

His eyes flicked to mine and then to my cheek. His hand tilted my head as he examined the scratches. "They took her to a building nearby. Once it's daylight, we will go over and question her."

"I can't imagine making a Strigoi talk would be easy."

He shrugged, "It might be hard to watch because you've never seen it before."

I tilted my head, "You question Strigoi often?"

"Sometimes. It's one way to find out what's happening out there that we don't know." He released my face and then stepped back, removing the gloves he wore. "How do you feel?"

I blew out a breath. "Excited and nervous. Oh. Apparently, you and I are connected," I informed him. "Yeva said you are good at finding me." That made Dimitri smile, it was genuine and made my insides melt.

"That's true." Dimitri closed the distance between us, his body slot between my legs and his hands placed on either side of my hips. We were eye to eye, his mouth inches away from mine.

Feeling impatient, I gripped the front of his shirt and pulled his lips to mine. My good arm wrapped around his neck as I deepened the kiss, feeling sparks when his tongue met mine. Dimitri didn't hold back, hands exploring, grasping and pulling my hips against his.

We were moments away from just saying fuck it and laying on the bed when there was a very sudden and angry clearing of a throat. Dimitri broke away from me and took a couple of steps as I spun to see who had walked in on us.

Of course, there standing with her hands on her hips, was my mother.

Crap.

"This is what you've been doing all this time? Rather than protecting and helping prepare my daughter to fight, you have been coercing her into a relationship." Janine accused in a sharp tone, eyes ablaze and all of her anger aimed at Dimitri.

"No!" I defended, jumping off the bed and standing between them, "There's been no coercing. This is very mutual!"

She didn't listen to me, pointing her finger at Dimitri, "We told you to stay away from her!"

"Hey!" I stepped closer to her, "You don't have any say in this."

Janine finally looked at me, eyes pinched, "I'm just doing what's best for you."

"I don't give a fuck about your judgements or what you think is best for me." I reached behind me and took Dimitri's hand, squeezing it, "You gave up the right to have a say in my life the day you left me."

Janine's lips pressed together in a thin line. For a moment, her mask broke, and I saw how much my words hurt her—I watched her break—and then it was gone. She shook her head, "Fine. We will be starting soon." Her tone was low and lacked any emotion other than anger, "And put a damn shirt on!" She spun on her heel and marched out, leaving as quickly as she came.

There was a beat of silence following her departure.

"Roza–"

I held a hand up, "Not right now, okay." I dragged my fingers through my hair. I didn't even want to try to understand what all of that was about. A part of me felt bad; a flash of the look on her face kept appearing in my mind. "I need to find a shirt," I mumbled; the torn-up remains of mine didn't appeal to wear again.

Dimitri removed his duster and then started to unbutton his shirt. I raised my eyebrows at him incredulously which he shook his head at. "You can wear this; I have an undershirt," he explained as he slipped off his black shirt and held it out to me.

It was about five sizes too big for me, the hem halfway down my thighs, but it was my only option unless I wanted to walk to Lissa's apartment in just my bra. I pulled on the shirt, taking the ends and tying them into a knot so I wasn't swimming in it. I glanced down at myself with a sigh, "Better than nothing, I guess."

Dimitri's hand caught mine, pulling it up to his lips and kissing it, then he cradled it and brushed his thumb over my knuckles. "She was probably caught off guard."

"Please don't defend the woman that just accused you of forcing this relationship on me," I groaned. Everything with her was one step forward and two steps back—or more like twenty. There didn't seem to be anything that made her happy. "Let's just go get answers, okay? Whatever Janine wants to think, she can. I don't care."

He pulled a face, not agreeing with me but not saying anything else to defend her. Dimitri grew up with a mother that loved him, I didn't. Even when we did live together, we always fought; there was no getting better.

That's what I told myself as I ignored the pain that I had truly lost the relationship I once had.

So, there's a chance that the future updates may be slow. I have managed to get a job, because bills must be paid. This means that I won't be able to write as often.
Sorry in advance for that :)
I will be posting (hopefully as often as normal) on my Instagram Hiccupped_studio, so feel free to follow me over there :)

Who's excited to see what Sonya knows?

And we learn something fun in the next chapter :D