Here's a second chapter for today! It will have a Dimitri POV that I'm hoping will help explain some bits :)
Alberta.
My cup slipped through my fingers, landing on the ground with a smack, tipping and ice and drink pooling on the ground. It drew everyone's attention, staring at me in confusion. But Alberta looked at me in shock, jaw hanging slack as her eyes took me in.
Memories of my years spent living with her kept going through my mind. The day my mother had dropped me off was when I was four. Alberta teaching me how to ride a bike and then a motorbike. Teaching me how to throw a punch. She was there for everything.
She was there the day I presented and told me she would take care of me, and then the next week I was carted off to the academy and I never saw her again.
My fists clenched as anger and hurt flowed through my body causing it to shake.
Alberta took a step towards me, her shock morphing into elation. "Rose?"
Her voice snapped me back to myself, my face setting into a scowl, I turned away from them all and stormed back into Dimitri's office, slamming the door behind me. I couldn't face her. I didn't want to see her and remember that she had abandoned me just like my mother had. I trusted her and she let me be taken to that place.
I had thought I would be excited to see her, instead, I was just pissed off.
I was pacing the small office, hands tangled in my hair as I tugged at the strands, kicking the leather chairs as I passed them. Tears were blurring my vision, on the edge of falling.
The door opened and then closed behind me. I spun to find Dimitri standing before me concerned. He took a tentative step towards me, "Rose, are you okay?"
I turned away, continuing to pace. Was I okay? No. I wasn't okay. Nothing has been okay in my life for the last three years. I laughed; the sound had an edge of hysteria.
"Rose?"
"What is she doing here?" I demanded, not looking him in the eyes.
"I offered her a job here to help us train the people Court sends and she runs the security for the pack."
I nodded as he spoke, I had known Court sent people to Belikov's pack to be trained, sometimes the top students from the academies were given the option.
"How long has she been here?"
"Almost three years."
I inhaled sharply, sounding like a sob. She got rid of me and then came here and never contacted me again. I used to wait for her to show up, to take me away from that place, but when she didn't, I thought she had died.
At least, if she was dead, she would have an excuse for never calling.
Instead, I was just thrown aside and Alberta moved on with her life. Just like Janine did. The only person I had left was Lissa and didn't even know if she missed me.
"How do you know Alberta?" Dimitri asked. I hadn't realised the distance between us had lessened until I heard his voice beside me.
I jerked back from him, my eyes finally finding his. I shook my head. If I spoke about it, I would break. Everything would come rushing back, all those emotions I tried so hard to push down and ignore. I couldn't let myself break.
Someone was knocking at the door, the sharp sound making me jump. "Rose! Please, I just want to talk!"
Dimitri's eyes were on me, looking for a response, "I can make her leave. Just tell me what you want and I'll do it."
I believed him, as bizarre as it was, I knew he would do whatever I asked.
I didn't know what to do. On one hand, I was pissed, I wanted to scream at Alberta, to hate her. But there was a part of me that desperately wanted to know why she left me, wanted to know what I did wrong.
I curled my arms around my stomach as if it would help keep me together. I nodded, "I want to know. She can explain."
Dimitri dipped his head in understanding, stepping away from me, but my hand shot out and latched onto his arm. He looked back at me surprised.
"Don't go," I pleaded in a small voice. Something about Dimitri made me feel safe and right now I needed that.
He took my hand in his, "Okay." His expression hardened again, eyes glazing over, and then a moment later the door opened.
Alberta was wary, eyes landing on Dimitri first, and then moved to mine, her expression of joy from earlier returning though it was slightly muted now. "You've grown up," The tone in her voice sounded awed.
"I had to in that place," I told her bitterly. Everything I had to go through at the academy was her and Janine's fault. "Thanks for leaving me there, by the way. It was great seeing how much you cared."
Her brows furrowed, "There? What do you mean?"
I scoffed, "At the academy. Where you so kindly let Janine dump me at." Dimitri squeezed my hand, his posture stiffening. Alberta's eyes narrowed in on our clasped hands, making me feel uneasy. I dropped his hand, crossing my arms over my chest. "Why did you do it?"
She looked taken aback, "I never wanted you to go to the academy." She stepped towards me, "Your mother told me she was taking you to Europe."
Now it was my turn to be surprised. "Why the hell would she take me to Europe?"
Her eyes were flicking between Dimitri and me, trying to put the pieces together. "I don't know. But if I knew that she was taking you to an academy, I never would have let you leave with her."
"Did you ever try calling her? Calling me?"
"Of course I did. I called on your birthday. I sent letters as well but they were all returned."
I shook my head, becoming confused. "But why did you let her take me away in the first place? You promised me, and you broke it!"
"I didn't know, Rose. I swear. She said she was going to take care of you and I believed her."
My breath caught. Why did Janine lie to Alberta, they were meant to be close friends. "Why did she leave me there?" I asked weakly.
"I don't know." Alberta was close enough that I could reach out and touch her. I could smell her scent, like the sweetness of ripe apples, it reminded me of a home I used to have.
"Rose, I promise, I never wanted you to go there. I was even making plans for you to move here after you turned eighteen."
"Rose was the one you were talking about?" Dimitri asked, standing beside me still.
Alberta nodded, "I was trying to contact Janine to have you move here. When I couldn't get through to her, I even tried calling Lissa to see if she had heard from you."
My heart clenched, "You spoke to Lissa?"
"Yes. She's worried about you." Alberta glanced between Dimitri and me again, "What are you doing here though? How do you know Alpha Belikov?"
I bit my lip, shifting weight on my feet. "Ahh… The short answer is that I was forced into a mating with him." I regretted my choice of words as I watched the curious expression of Alberta's face change to pure rage.
"You forced her—!"
I jumped in front of her, stopping her from saying something that she may regret to her Alpha. "He didn't know. They lied to him." I glanced over my shoulder at him, his eyes had dropped in shame, "Dimitri never would have gone through with it if he knew." And I knew that to be true, from what I've seen of Dimitri, he wasn't that kind of man.
Alberta stared at me intently, as if she could see if I was lying, which at one point she could. She knew all my tells, she knew me better than Lissa even. Her shoulders relaxed, "Okay. I'm sorry Alpha, but Rose is like a daughter to me, if I knew you had hurt her like that…" The colour of Alberta's eyes flashed to gold before fading back to brown.
Dimitri's jaw clenched but he didn't say anything about the implied threat. His eyes shifted to mine, "I promise, it was never my intention for Rose to be hurt by the events that happened that day. I will do everything in my power to never let anything else happen to her while she is under my protection."
His words were spoken with such determination, with complete dedication to me. My body warmed under his gaze.
"Wait, so you two were mated? That makes you our Luna?"
I felt nervous again, both at the implication of my new role here and because I hadn't yet decided if I was going to take it. "I mean technically. But there is still stuff to figure out."
Her brows furrowed, "What do you mean?"
I wanted to reveal everything that had happened to Alberta but was hesitant with Dimitri here, especially knowing how upset he was at his actions. I looked back at him, surprised when he crossed the room to the door.
"You two stay here and talk, I need to take care of some things." Dimitri gave me a small smile, "Take all the time you need, Rose."
With that, he let himself out and closed the door swiftly behind him. I was grateful he understood what I needed.
Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I turned back to Alberta. "Just listen to what I say first, and then you can freak out, okay?"
XxX
Dimitri POV
Ivan was hot on my heels as I marched away from my office. I had told Rose I had things to take care of, which wasn't a lie, but none of them were pack business. Listening to the conversation between Rose and Alberta proved that there was a lot that I needed to find out about Rose's past, mainly about her mother and of her time at the academy.
I've known about these schools my whole life, a boarding school of sorts for teenagers where they are prepared for their lives as adults. Omegas were so rare that I hadn't heard much of what they were being taught there, or of how they were treated. And from what small bits I have heard from Rose, it wasn't good.
It didn't sound like Rose had lived an easy life these past years and it made my heart break thinking of her being in pain.
This past week went from being bad, to amazing, to terrible.
I had only agreed to attend the mating ceremony so that I could turn them down in person and put an end to their interference. My pack never caused trouble, and continued to produce the best warriors in America, wolves travelling from overseas even to be taught. And yet, the Queen had an issue with me for killing my father. I would never regret my choice of defending my mother.
I had gone to that ceremony, fully expecting some beta that the Queen was hoping to plant as a mole, to gain some control over me as a mate. But instead, I found her.
Roza.
My true mate.
I had heard the stories, remembering my mother telling me them as a boy, but as I grew older, I stopped hoping for it to happen to me. I didn't want a mate; my mind was made up no matter how much others tried to convince me otherwise.
When I walked into that room to call the whole thing off, I caught her scent. It was spicy and yet sweet, reminding me of cinnamon. It made my mouth water, and my body flush with warmth.
My eyes found her, body gravitating towards her. Every fibre in my body screamed at me that she was my mate, my true mate. And she was perfect.
Her dark curly hair was pulled back from her face and into a tight bun, how I wanted to release it from the hair tie and run my fingers through it. They had mentioned she was shy, and with how she was so focused on the ground, I believed them.
I cursed myself for not being more aware, for letting my wolf take over at that moment. I had enough control to ask her if she wanted it too, assuming she felt the pull to me as well. But all of that hope was shattered when she woke up and told me she hated me.
Rose's denial of me being her mate had felt like I was being stabbed in the heart, bringing my wolf closer to the surface each time. Now I realise how that must have appeared to her.
I had chased her down, risking her life even when I knocked her off the motorbike. By that point, my wolf had taken over, with a single task on my mind of bringing my mate back. Every moment she fought me just made things worse, which in turn just made me seem exactly like the Alpha Rose thought I was.
But things had changed between us since we were able to talk. Rose still didn't seem to realise we were true mates, though there were signs that she sensed something. Just the fact I found her in the room I had been sleeping in this morning proved as much. I had been so surprised to find her there, I didn't speak at first, watching her as she sat clutching my pillow close, nose buried in it.
My scent.
She must have been drawn to it. If it was anything like the effect hers had on me, it would calm her and make her feel safe. It took every bit of control I had to not pull her close and inhale.
"What was all that about?" Ivan asked, matching my pace.
I wasn't sure where exactly I was going, but I needed to work off the anger I felt surging through my body. I couldn't take any comfort from being near Roza right now, so this was the second best. "I need you to find out everything you can about how omegas are treated at that academy. I want to know about the staff as well. And then, I need to find out more about Rose's mother."
Ivan eyed me, "You think they did other things to her there?"
"Considering they drugged her, yes." My fists clenched at the thought of Rose being drugged. Any thought of her being in pain made my wolf stir restlessly. "I want to know what they drugged her with as well, something that made her submissive."
It didn't sound like any drug I was aware of, but if it was able to change Rose's personality as much as it had, then I needed to find out what I can. Something like that could be dangerous.
"Okay, I'll make some calls," Ivan had already pulled his phone out. His hand landed on my shoulder, forcing me to stop, "Are you okay? I don't think you have breathed since you left your office."
Ivan had been keeping a closer eye on me after I explained to him who Rose was to me, I hadn't told anyone else yet. He knew as well as I that being rejected by a true mate can have dire consequences, and we didn't know which way Rose was leaning as of yet.
I shrugged him off. "I'm fine," I told him gruffly. "I'm going to check in at the gym. If Rose is looking for me, send her there." I took off again, leaving Ivan behind as I marched towards the large gym.
I took it upon myself to check in with all of the wolves training with us, especially those sent by Court. Ten of which were sent from the academies. Maybe I could ask them what it was like there for omegas. I knew of how the packs in America treated omegas, led by a hatred that the Queen held towards them.
In Russia, I had grown up being taught to respect everyone equally. There was no stigma held against omegas for the fact that their children could be born as any of the secondary genders of alpha, beta or omega. Rose had said her being one would weaken my bloodline, but I didn't see it that way. There was so much to her, she was fierce and strong, anyone that thought she was weak was blind.
As they were rare, and most ended up at Court as glorified babysitters, we hadn't had one in our pack while I was Alpha. I could only hope that my pack members won't hold the same prejudices as those at Court. If anyone did try to treat her that way, I would deal with them personally.
Mikhail greeted me with a short nod, eyes returning to the fight before him, two female betas. When my father had been Alpha, he refused women being allowed to train, even if they were alphas. He saw them as only being good for having children. In the twelve years I have been Alpha, I have changed a lot of the ways things were done.
Men and women, regardless of what they presented as, were allowed to train, and it was by choice. My father made it mandatory for every male to train from the age of five, becoming pack warriors and sent off into any battles against rogues or other packs from the age of sixteen.
I raised the age for becoming an official pack warrior to eighteen, another way I irritated my great aunt. I refused to send teenagers off to die. Court and other packs had been sending more here to train these last couple of years, a rise in the number of rouges becoming concerning. They were getting braver, joining in groups to attack smaller packs. Before, rouges would be found in groups of five at most, but now our intel was saying they are working in larger numbers.
I walked through the gym, surveying those around me as I crossed to the staff room in the back. Celeste sat behind the desk, updating the training schedule for the coming week. Since Rose's arrival, I had asked to be removed from the rotation for a few weeks, at first it was because I thought we would want the time alone to explore being mated, but now it was just so I could earn her trust and favour.
I was going to have to court my true mate, all while already being mated to her.
Keeping her status a secret, for now, I had simply explained to those that asked, that Rose was just a new pack member and was staying at the pack house until a place could be found for her.
No one other than my family and a select few others I trusted knew Rose was their Luna. I couldn't wait until I could tell the rest of the pack, proudly showing off the amazing woman that was my mate. Not for the first time, I wished that we had met under different circumstances.
"Alpha," Celeste greeted me with her usual cheery attitude. She was a beta, and though she seemed harmless, she was one of our best fighters. "What's up?"
A lot of the wolves that grew up with me developed the habit of being informal around me, I never cared enough to enforce otherwise. I didn't want to be feared like my father was.
"Where is the list of the students sent by the academy?" Thankfully, like me, Celeste kept things organised. It only took her a moment to find the folder, passing it to me. Inside held the information on each student, including a photo. I flipped through, to find the ones from the same one Rose was at, setting them apart from the rest. Mason Ashford, the beta. Edison Castile, alpha. And lastly, Jesse Zeklos, another alpha.
Jesse must be related to Ivan, though I doubted they were close. Other than maintaining a handful of connections with Court, Ivan stayed away from most of his extended family. My father had encouraged a friendship between Ivan and me from a young age, two members of the Royal families to lead the next generation and make the Ivashkov Pack strong. The first thing I did after taking over as Alpha was taking my mother's last name.
"I thought you weren't going to be teaching anyone this week?" Celeste asked with a curious glance at the students I pulled out.
I shook my head, "I'm not. I just want to talk to these three. How are things going here?" I changed the subject, turning to look out through the window of the office, you could see most of the first floor from here.
"Emil had a student that broke their arm this morning, and Stan spent half an hour complaining about some of the students from last night's class. Other than that, nothing has happened."
I nodded, asking a few more questions before excusing myself. Eyeing the swinging boxing bag as I left, the urge to spend more time here grew. A couple of hours hitting something would help me work through my pent up energy, but I had work I still needed to do.
Returning to the City Hall, I was hesitant to return to my office. I hadn't heard anything from Rose to know if she was finished talking to Alberta yet. If she wasn't, I didn't want to intrude. It was obvious that the two women had a history and were at one point close. I remember Alberta mentioning a girl she had practically raised, never realising that Rose was that girl.
With everything Rose had been through, having someone she trusted here would help. Maybe it will even encourage her to accept the pack as her own.
"Dimitri."
I halted, turning around to find Rose walking down the hall towards me, arms crossed over her stomach. Her eyes were red and the skin under them puffy, but she looked more relaxed than when I had left her with Alberta. The closer she got, the more intense her scent became. I had to restrain myself from inhaling deeply.
She bit her lip, "Or am I meant to refer to you as Alpha here?"
I quickly shook my head, not wanting her to perceive me as anything other than her equal. "No, Rose. You can keep using my name. Is everything okay?"
She stopped just before me. With me being over a foot taller than her, she had to bend her neck to look up at me. Even for a werewolf, my height was unusual. There was still a guarded look in her eyes, but it was better than hate or fear.
"Yeah, Alberta just went to get me something to drink." Her eyes dropped, playing with the sleeve of her shirt where it pooled around her wrist. I had come to realise that none of her clothes really fit her, more like they were just what she was given. "Thanks for letting me talk to her."
I smiled, "Of course."
I wanted to cup her cheek and angle her head back up so her eyes were on mine. I could stare at her face all day and never grow tired of the sight, every bit of her was beautiful. She took my breath away.
"Do you still have things you have to do? Alberta offered to show me around a little if you're busy."
As much as I wanted to spend all my time with Roza, I didn't want to take away her time with Alberta. And it would give me a chance to talk to the students. "I have a couple of things. I'll let you know when I'm finished and then I can show you the town some more if you would like?"
Rose looked back at me, and the smile I received in response made my knees feel weak. "Sounds like a plan, comrade." It seemed that the nickname she gave me was sticking.
I rolled my eyes but grinned so she knew I didn't mind it. If it was Roza, then I could care less as long as she was happy.
Watching her walk away from me made my heart clench, but I knew she would be safe with Alberta, and there was a lightness in her step that wasn't there before. Maybe there was hope of her liking it here.
I returned to my office, laying the student files on my desk. With a sigh, I connected through the mind-link to Ivan. Get me, Edison Castile, I want to talk to him.
