Chapter 17:

RPOV

"Mom?" I had three pairs of eyes stare at me.

It took my mother only a few seconds before she closed the distance between us and pulled me into a giant hug. "Rosemarie?" Obviously it had been a shock for her to see me here. That made two of us.

I returned the hug. I hadn't seen her since I was little. I honestly figured she was dead. I held her close and tried hard not to cry, but my mother wasn't being so stubborn. I could feel the tears in my neck, even if I couldn't hear her cry.

After a few moments she pulled back and looked me over. Her eyes landed on the mark on my cheek. It was already healing. Now that my wolf was beginning to integrate with me again my alpha healing capabilities shone through. It didn't hurt as much as yesterday and I figured the bruise would have healed by tomorrow.

The man who had been sitting in the chair was now standing next to my mother. He wore a suit I have seen on courtiers around here. And although the outfit was gaudy to say the least, with impossible bright colors I wouldn't be found dead in, it suited him. He had dark hair and dark skin. His eyes glowed a bright amber and his rage was palpable in the room. He wasn't as strong as Dimitri, but he was definitely one of the stronger Alpha's I met.

"Did he do this to you?" He said, I didn't know which he he meant. But seeing as his rage wasn't directed at Dimitri, he was probably talking about the King.

I didn't even have time to answer before he turned to Dimitri. Now his rage was directed at Dimitri.

"He did this to her and yet he still breathes? Why didn't you end him?" Did he just seriously accuse Dimitri of not murdering the King? What was he supposed to do and why was this man so mad about the King handling a slave girl. He moved towards Dimitri in a very menacing and threatening way. Even if he knew he could never take Dimitri head on, he showed no fear, only fury.

Dimitri was staring between my mother, this man and me. This man who I refused to acknowledge as who I knew he must be. Dimitri seemed to be realizing this too. He eventually turned towards the man and answered his question.

"There were a lot of guards around when I saw him. My first priority had been to find Rose and make sure she was safe."

My mother and this so-not-my-father person were looking in between me and Dimitri. Taking us both in. For the first time they seemed to understand I was here in his private chambers and we both had wet hair. And we had needed a bath. The man's eyes narrowed again but a touch from my mother silenced anything he might have said, or threatened.

"Let it go Abe." but her eyes narrowed in on Dimitri too. "For now."

I crossed my arms over my chest and started to tap my foot. "Can someone please explain what is going on here?"

All three people seemed to be at a loss as to where to start. So I helped. "You didn't know these were my parents?"

Dimitri shook his head. "I had no idea, Abe is an alpha the King summoned. He was getting too strong so the King wanted to humiliate him, and Abe in return wanted to overthrow the King." He paused for a moment. "That is why he is here right now, to discuss a coup."

Right, because my parents would be here to overthrow the King. Of course they were.

I turned to my parents. "So." I tried not to let my voice crack. "You're not even here for me?"

My mother was in front of me in a second. "No, Rosemarie, we are here for you." My father joined my mother. He rubbed her shoulders but didn't make a move to touch me, I think he noticed I wasn't really in a touchy feely mood.

"When you were little your mother and I were in some turf wars with Alpha's from bigger packs. We placed you with Alberta, she is one of your mother's friends. You were disguised as a slave. It was for your own safety. It took us years to get a stable pack where we felt you could be safe. But by that time Alberta had been attacked and there was no trace of you. It took us a while but we tracked you to Sorokin and then to the palace."

It would explain a lot.

"But now you truly are a slave, at least in the eyes of the law. Not that I care much about the law. But the King would never allow an exception for you, so we take him down."

He looked at me a little weird. He seemed intrigued and a little proud. "Although I hear you slid his throat when he took too many liberties, That is my girl."

I smiled as he smiled. I felt a strange and immediate connection to him. I walked back to where I had put the blade pin. I picked it up and showed it to my father. Still very weird thinking of him like that.

"I lost the one that actually cut his throat, I love these."

He held out his hands and I gave him the blade pin. He inspected the jewelry/weapon. "This seems very expensive, how did a slave get something like this?"

I shrugged. "Tatiana Ivashkov gave it to me." I had three pairs of eyes on me. Dimitri hadn't known this either. Apparently, his great-aunt giving me a weapon was not something he had expected. Abe and my mother also seemed to know the name.

"You spoke to Tatiana?" Abe's eyes darkened. I had a feeling he didn't like me talking to Tatiana.

I nodded. "Apparently, it is a ride of passage for all concubines. I think she knew I would be targeted by the King eventually, and she made sure I was protected."

My parents' eyes shot up so fast, I didn't really know what I said. I mean, Tatiana helped me right?

"You are a concubine?!" Both screamed at the same time.

Oh, so that was the problem. They didn't really know what kind of slave I was. I could sort of see how that might be upsetting to parents, certainly if they never actually meant for me to be a slave. Yeah, I might not actually forgive them for that.

Abe turned to Dimitri again, Apparently, the 'later' in dealing with Dimitri had come. "You."

That was all the man could say. Rage seemed to make him unable to talk. And I realized they probably thought that Dimitri had bought me for the night, instead of saving me. Before I could say anything my mother was attacking Dimitri. Abe wasn't far behind.

I was shouting over them to stop, but nobody was listening to me. I threw my hands up in the air as Dimitri was defending himself against two Alpha's. I knew he didn't need my help. I sat down in a chair waiting for someone to notice me. Dimitri was holding his own pretty well I must say. He was obviously stronger than my mother or my father, but the combination of the two was powerful. My mother did most of the actual fighting, but I know my father hadn't come this far by simply letting others fight.

My mother let her wolf out, and it forced Dimitri and Abe to do the same. It was a sight to behold. Dimitri's giant near-white wolf, against my mother's gray and my father's dark wolf. If I had any doubt that he was my father then the sight of his wolf would have squashed those doubts. His wolf looked exactly the same as mine, except her eyes were a little lighter than my father's wolf. But even with their wolves out they were at a stalemate.

"Enough."

I had mimicked Dimitri the first time we had met. I put so much alpha energy into that command, all three alpha's obeyed.

I calmly walked in between my parents and Dimitri. My parents seemed to be a little shocked at the power of my outburst. Being a daughter of alpha's didn't necessarily make me an alpha. I had known my mother was alpha the moment I saw her fight, but I was used to keeping my power hidden. No more, not here.

"Rosemar-." I held up my hand silencing my mother.

"I said enough." That seemed to piss my mother off and make Abe look a little proud.

I shot both down with just a look, letting some of that alpha energy help me. Although they seemed to be able to resist it just fine, I knew they still felt it. "You come here after years of abandoning me and you attack the only person who has helped me, who has saved me?"

Abe pointed an accusatory finger at Dimitri. "I know he slept with you Rosemarie. I can smell him on you."

I shrugged. "Just because I chose to have sex with him, and even though I am technically his assigned concubine doesn't mean you get to attack him."

The last part set my parents on edge again. Dimitri whispered in my ear. "Not helping Rose."

I actually wasn't interested in helping. In this whole conversation nobody seemed to ask my opinion, ask how I had been, ask what I had been through. It was one conclusion after another. My parents' rage was palpable. But they had nobody to blame but themselves. They abandoned me. I know it was supposedly to protect me. I really wonder how much safer I had been. Although I couldn't deny I had had a good life with Alberta.

After a couple of moments of silence, I sighed, I was suddenly very tired. "I need a moment to process this. I think you should leave."

That shocked my mother. I saw hurt in her eyes. "Rosemarie. Please."

"It is Rose, it hasn't been Rosemarie in over a decade." Again the hurt in her eyes. "Since you can't even be bothered to ask me about my story or what Dimitri and I have been through, I have no need for you right now."

I leaned further back into Dimitri. He put a protected hand on my hip. Abe snarled a little, but he was wise enough not to command.

"Alright...Rose. We will give you some time. Perhaps in a few days we can sit down and talk."

I nodded. Maybe a few days to calm down and process wouldn't be a bad idea.

My mother was about to protest, but Abe silenced her with a look. It seemed to physically hurt her to leave me. But she brought that down on herself.

DPOV

I closed the door after her parents left. "Well, that was interesting." My wolf was still out and stayed by her side, rubbing his head against her head. She petted the wolf, letting him know she was alright. Sort of.

She sat down on the bed and my wolf climbed on the bed with her, curling around her back while I sat down next to Rose.

"Are you alright?" she asked. Her mother had landed a couple of blows, but I was fine. It warmed my heart she asked if I was alright, while her world was just turned upside down.

I nodded. "They are powerful, but I am fine."

She put her head in her hands. "I am sorry. They really shouldn't have attacked you."

I chuckled. "Yeah, they should have. They thought I was using you as a concubine." I had understood the reaction. I know if I ever have a daughter, I would have attacked the person too. Except he wouldn't be alive right now. Yeah, they should have asked Rose, obviously she didn't fear me. But it is hard to think straight when you just found out your daughter is a concubine.

"I suppose." She groaned then leaned into my wolf. She petted his head and scratched his ears. It seemed to calm her down. It sort of had the opposite effect on me.

"I just can't believe my parents are alive...and alpha's... and leading a pack... and planning a coup."

I chuckled. Yeah, it was a lot to take in.

"As a little girl, I used to dream about this day, the day my mother would come and pick me up from Alberta. I sort of remember her leaving me there. I didn't understand back then that I was a slave… Actually I really wasn't, I suppose. But as I got older I knew the dream was foolish. Slaves didn't have happy endings. Most of them were orphans, why would my fate be any different."

But it had been different. A lot different. As an alpha she would have always felt a little different, even if she wouldn't present her wolf for many years.

"Are you disappointed?" The hug in the beginning notwithstanding. This isn't how she must have imagined a reunion. And she must have imagined it so many times. Reality didn't measure up to the dream.

"I guess. It is nice to know both my parents are alive, I sort of remember my mother, but I don't remember my father. I think I would enjoy getting to know him, you know, if they hadn't been giant asses. Or abandoned me to be an actual slave."

I pulled her into a hug. "Maybe you should follow your own advice, just like you have a story to tell, I am sure they do too. They wouldn't abandon you for nothing. They thought you were safe."

"I suppose."

"Come on. We'll have some breakfast and then we will be going back to the soldier's courtyard. I want you trained and ready for when your father plans to strike, you need to be ready for whatever crazy, elaborate plan he has concocted."

She laughed. "He does strike me as some mastermind."

She has no idea.

We arrived at the courtyard after breakfast. There were a couple people training in the courtyard. They all looked up when we arrived. They stiffened a bit and then bent down a little. A pure sign of respect. I appreciated it, but didn't really know what to do with it. Luckily the lieutenant came up to me, nodding in both our directions.

"You here to train?" We both nodded. "Good, I am very interested to see what you both can do."

He led Rose and me towards an empty training ring. He indicated to Rose to start on one of the younger recruits. She was wearing her mothers clothes which were sensible enough to fight in. She entered the ring and they started to slowly circle each other. I don't think the soldier knew what to expect. He probably hadn't seen her take down the other two yesterday.

The lieutenant turned to me. "We have everything under control. We found several slaves that from a distance could pass for Rose, their hair is a bit lighter but not that anybody would notice. We have whisperes from all over the palace. If either the King, or any of his guards come this way, one of these women will be placed in a soldier's bed, their faces obscured. All they need to see is a woman broken, turned away from them, maybe with a few cuts and bruises and the King will be satisfied."

I was amazed that so many people would be willing to help us. It would take a whole network of servants and slaves to keep this ruse going.

"How long do you expect we need to do this?" He asked.

"Not long." Either he would grow bored and call her back for punishment, or Abe would attack. We just needed a few days. A few days to prepare. For Rose to come to terms with her parents and her parents with her, A couple of days to hone some of her skill.

Although by the looks of it, she was doing just fine in that department. She had taken down her first opponent and was busy taking down her second. I realized even if she was a bit rusty, she must have sparred with the soldiers at Alberta's place, she seemed natural in the ring.

"She is doing well."

I smiled. "She might need an actual challenge."

He looked a little shocked when he realized I meant myself. "You can't, you can't expect her to fight you."

He didn't know. He hadn't realized she was alpha, probably thought that her attacking the King was luck. She had some skill and he wouldn't have expected that. And although that was partly true, it wasn't the whole truth. I knew if push came to shove, Rose would survive. She would find a way to take him out.

"I can and I do. If she can take me on, she can take on pretty much anyone." I had trusted them this far, I needed them to know who they were protecting. "Besides, it is only fair she should fight an alpha, she is one herself after all. Your soldiers never stood a chance."

I left a speechless lieutenant behind while I entered the ring.

"Are you ready for me?" I asked. She smiled at me, the smile and heat reaching her eyes. "Always." And if that didn't just turn me on I didn't know what would.

I slowly circled her. She followed. I knew Rose was more on the impatient side, so I waited for her to make the first move. I didn't have to wait long. She lounged. She was fast, but I managed to evade her just in time. I tapped her on the shoulder while I spun away, letting her know I could have hit her just the same.

She growled at me and quickly attacked again. This time she did make contact. I was able to block it, but I could feel the force of her kick in my arms. I would have broken a rib if I hadn't blocked that attack. Okay, I guess no more kid gloves.

I attacked too and Rose hadn't expected me to be this fast, I hit her stomach and she flew back a couple of feet. She winched, rubbed her belly once and got back up. Her eyes were glowing that beautiful amber again. Good, use your power.

I could tell a couple people nearby were shocked. Only alpha's could show their inner wolf like this, and the eyes were an unmistakable sign.

She moved again, her wolf lending her speed and strength. I wasn't quick enough to dodge the punch to my face. It was beautifully executed and it rattled the teeth in my mouth. I even tasted a little blood.

She smiled. My vision sharpened, the colors brighter, the smell of blood and sweat in the air stronger. My own wolf was making its appearance.

And that is when we truly let loose. It felt amazing. Here, in this ring, we were free.

I haven't had someone who spared with me like that in a long time, if ever. She could follow my moves, keep up with me.

We moved together like we had spared together for years. It fell into a steady rhythm of blows. We both got a few hits in on the other. Blood stains on the ground and bruises on our limbs were starting to form. But I didn't notice it. I didn't notice the pain, I only noticed me being in sync with this woman. She was pushing me further than I had been pushed in a very long time.

Eventually my ample years of experience got the best of her and I landed her on her beautiful ass. I fell on top of her, pinning her hands above her head and keeping her legs locked down with my own.

I hadn't noticed we had gathered quite the crowd. I hadn't noticed they were all silent. I hadn't noticed anything but Rose heavily breathing beneath me, her breasts pushing up against me as she did so. I was reminded of last night when we had been in a similar position while in the throws of passion. This is what I always imagined being with an alpha was like. And I couldn't wait until we could go all out in other departments.

Her eyes told me she was thinking the same thing. She kept going from my eyes to my lips and back. If we didn't have an audience of at least fifty people I would have kissed her. Hell, I still might. I was losing control fast, certainly with my wolf so close to the surface.

"General Belikov."

My name broke me out of my haze.

Someone motioned that a guard was coming. I quickly pulled Rose up and shoved her towards a soldier's barracks. The lieutenant followed her, making sure she would be safe.

I was still in the sparring ring. Some of Rose's opponents had moved into the ring again, so it would look like they had been fighting me.

The Guard entered the courtyard and every one stiffened. He looked around and his eyes landed on me. He calmly walked up to me.

He bowed a little, as is customary for a lower soldier to do to a General, even a slave General.

"General, the King would like to see you."

Oh, no. I had been so worried about what he would do to Rose, I hadn't considered what he would do to me.