Hello, lovelies! Thank you all so much for the love and support from my last chapter. I'm really glad you guys liked it! I'm very appreciative :) I hope you like this one.

"I still can't believe I got drunk," Lissa said in class the next day. All the soreness I had before was gone now, but I was already missing my time in the cabin with Dimitri.

We were sitting at the back and I had stopped paying attention to what was being talked about in class. Our professor—one of the female moroi instructors—was giving a lecture on ethics and morality. Once we started talking about prostitution, I stopped listening. Out of all the things in the world, I had no idea why she wanted to talk about that in the first place.

"I heard about Avery," Lissa said, keeping her voice to a whisper. "I think all her compulsion wore off when she crashed. She was good at it. I didn't even realize she was compelling me until now."

I hadn't seen Avery since the party. She had been given a suspension from school and was now doing community service. I hadn't seen Adrian since the party either. He had been avoiding all of my phone calls and text messages and I was starting to worry, but I decided to give him space for now. I hoped he wasn't heartbroken over a girl he had only known for a few weeks.

"Avery was using her magic on everyone," I said, shaking my head. "It explains why she went crazy. And she's also a total psychopath! Did you know she fed on Chloe?"

Lissa nodded. "I heard about that too. Is she okay?"

"I'm not sure. I might check on her later, but I'm supposed to see Nevaeh after class."

"Miss Hathaway!"

Lissa and I turned away from each other to face our professor. I hated being called out, but I straightened myself and answered the woman at the front. "Yes?"

"Since you're so talkative, why don't you share your thoughts with the rest of the class?" she asked, crossing her arms. Some of the students turned their heads and I groaned as their eyes landed on me. What made things worse was the fact that Dimitri, Alberta and my mom were all guarding this class and had to see me get called out.

"I'm good, Mrs. Callahan," I replied, not showing any signs of defeat.

"No, please, I'd love to hear what you have to say. What is your opinion on prostitution? Do you think it's morally right to make such an act legal?" she asked, tapping her foot on the ground.

"If you want my honest opinion, I don't think there's any right or wrong answer as to whether it should be legal or not. Why were we even talking about this?"

"Expand," she ordered, ignoring my last question. I sighed, leaning forward on my desk.

"I don't think we should shame girls if they decide to make money like that. I'm not saying I ever would, but it's their choice—"

"But don't you think it strips a woman of her dignity?" Mrs. Callahan interrupted.

"I don't think that's something that should concern the rest of us. Like I said, it's—"

"I thought you just said there's no right or wrong answer."

"And I will get to that in a second if you could let me finish and stop interrupting." I raised my voice and there was an awkward silence in the room as well as some heavy tension. Mrs. Callahan scowled at me and I rolled my eyes before continuing a moment later. "While some people choose that lifestyle, there's also a vast majority of people that are forced. So, how can you make it legal while protecting a prostitute from the abuse of their pimps? The answer is: you can't."

"You'd know a lot about that," she sneered. "Wouldn't you, Hathaway?"

Although I didn't show anything on the outside, I was starting to get angry. She never liked me, but she was taking things too far now. She was humiliating me in front of everyone. Rumours had been spreading about me in the school for the past few weeks and she must have heard them. Now, she was using them against me.

My mom spoke up despite being on duty to guard the class. "Mrs. Callahan, that's enough."

"We're not finished yet," she said, keeping her eyes on me. "What do you mean by being unable to 'protect' a prostitute?"

"What I mean is that they're not always treated so nicely. Some people will get them hooked on drugs. Some people will prey on them if they're in a bad situation by luring them in with cash. Maybe someone will pretend to be nice when they're actually thinking of ways to get you involved. Or," I continued with a shaky breath, thinking of my situation, "some assholes will simply throw you into the back of their car and take you far away in the middle of fucking nowhere and they won't take you back!" I wasn't yelling, but I had raised my voice out of frustration and anger that it made the professor take a step back. The rest of the class had gone silent except for a few whispers and Mrs. Callahan stared at me apprehensively. Even the guardians were staring at me, and through the bond, I could feel Lissa's worry. She placed her hand over mine to calm me down and I swallowed, relaxing against her touch.

"Mrs. Callahan," Dimitri said, grabbing her attention. "As guardians, we need to make sure things don't escalate. Please move on." Underneath his professional expression as a guardian, I could see the frustration in his eyes. His voice was hard and clearly warned her not to argue any further, so she pursed her lips and let it go.

I was still left feeling angry after class. I told Lissa I was fine, but in reality, I wanted to strangle my professor so much that I had to hold my hands in fists to prevent myself from doing something I'd regret later. At least I had first therapy session today which would take my mind off of things.

I had a solemn expression on my face while Dimitri and I waited in the waiting room. It was a small room, separate from the rest of the clinic and much quieter. It was specifically for therapy and counselling sessions, so that way probably why.

"Are you okay?" Dimitri asked me.

"I fucking hate that bitch," I blurted out. Dimitri was probably the only adult who could listen to me swear endlessly without scolding me for it. Well, unless I was around Nevaeh.

"Yeah, I don't blame you," he sighed. "What she did was unnecessary. We were all unhappy about it. Your mother even told Abe."

"Good. I hope he gets her fired," I spat. "She doesn't know a thing about what I went through. She doesn't know what I was forced to watch. She doesn't know the first thing about getting raped and assaulted by a dozen people in one night!"

Thank god nobody else was in the waiting room. I wasn't sure how my friends would have reacted to me shouting horrible things—things I wished weren't true—but Dimitri remained calm, letting me get my anger out as he rubbed my back. I put my head in my hands, taking deep breaths to calm myself. I wasn't just angry, I was frustrated. I could handle rumours and I tried not to pay attention to them, but the things people were saying about me was unbelievably disgusting. A lot of people thought I had left the academy behind to willingly become a bloodwhore and pimp myself out. I had no respect from anyone because it was all they thought of me. I had no idea who started those bloody rumours, but they deserved to have their fucking heads ripped off. I didn't want to come out and tell the whole school I was forced into things, but I wished people could understand how wrong it was to shame victims of sexual abuse.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, staring at the ground with my hair hanging around my face. "I don't mean to get all worked up. I'm just frustrated."

"You don't have to apologize, Rose," Dimitri said, still rubbing my back. "You have every right to be angry. We'll find out whoever's spreading this crap. You don't deserve to be treated like garbage. You saved dozens of girls and you're still helping them despite dealing with your own problems. You deserve so much more respect than what people give you."

"What about you?" I asked, lifting my head. "You help me all the time. I've barely asked you about your problems. Oh, god, I'm sorry. I should be just as supportive and I've been—"

Dimitri placed a finger on my lips to silence me. "Roza, relax. You're overthinking. I like to handle my problems by myself, and you've helped me in a lot more ways than you think. Honestly, I don't think I'd be the person I am now if it weren't for you."

My earlier anger was dissipating more and more. "You don't think I'm a burden?"

"No, you silly girl," he said warmly, weaving his fingers through my hair. "You're anything but a burden. While some of the moroi students are gossiping, believe it or not, a lot of dhampir novices look up to you."

"Well, that's something," I murmured.

"Rose Hathaway?"

Dimitri and I both turned to find a moroi woman standing in the waiting room. She had blond hair and was wearing a black skirt along with a white work blouse. I recognized her already as the counsellor I had once talked to back when I was seeing Mason's ghost.

I stood up, straightening out my clothes. "Deirdre?"

"Nice to see you again, Rose. How are you?" she asked. She was usually a little uptight and usually asked me questions as a police officer would, but she seemed to be a little bit more friendly this time.

"I've been better," I admitted with a sigh.

"Well, that's why we're here," she said. "Did you want to bring Guardian Belikov in with you? Or would you like it to just be you and me? I'm simply asking because some people prefer to bring someone they trust while others come in alone. It's all up to you."

"Uh..." I looked over at Dimitri with uncertainty. I was so used to only talking to him about my problems, and although Deirdre wasn't necessarily a stranger to me, I wasn't entirely comfortable with telling her everything. I constantly felt like I needed Dimitri to ground me, but I had to learn to deal with things without him. He couldn't be there for me all the time and I couldn't expect him to either.

"I guess I could go in alone," I said slowly. Dimitri smiled at me and patted my shoulder, sensing my uncertainty. Therapy with someone else was a step out of my comfort zone.

"I'll be right out here if you need me, okay?" he said, sitting back down in his seat.

"Okay," I whispered, nodding with a sad smile. Deirdre led me into the little office, but before she had the chance to close the door, I abruptly poked through the doorway. I quickly ran out and gave Dimitri a bear hug before going back in, hearing him chuckle behind me.

"Sorry. I just needed to do that," I said apologetically as Deirdre closed the door.

"No worries. Sometimes it helps to have that reassuring hug," she said, sitting down in her chair behind her desk. There was a long couch in front of her and I was grateful for its softness when I sat down. The room was a little dark with only a tall light stand in the corner, but I found it to be very relaxing. Although small, I felt like I was in someone's living room rather than a doctor's office.

"Alright," Deirdre began, looking at some files on her computer. She was probably looking at our old records. "The last time you were here, we were talking about some of the things you went through..."

We talked a little bit about Mason and the incident in Spokane as well as my ability to see his ghost. We also talked about the first strigoi attack at the school but it was nothing more than a quick recap which I was so far fine with. When we got to my most recent events, I started getting a little anxious.

"Why don't we go from the day you went shopping with Lissa?" she asked. "For today, I only want you to tell me everything and then we can figure out where to go from there."

"Well...we went shopping, had fun, whatever. And then I got taken," I said hastily. I was leaving out major details here and Deirdre could see that. She gave me a look, waiting for more explanation, so I continued. "I was with two guardians who were working with my abductors. On the way out to the car, I was shot with tranquillizers and the next thing I knew, I was waking up in another place."

"And can you describe this place for me?" Deirdre continued, taking notes on her laptop.

I shifted uncomfortably on the couch as I replayed the first memory I had there. "I heard some screams in the house from the other girls. And then I heard a woman's voice. She was a nurse." I had also killed her when I was awakened, but I wasn't going to share that yet. "And then there was a man—a human. His name was Damian..."

Although the session lasted for almost an hour, I didn't get a lot of information out. I was still trying to get comfortable and it wasn't going to happen overnight.

Dimitri and I were happy to see Nevaeh again, but when I saw who else was in her classroom, I didn't feel so happy anymore. Out of all people, the last person I expected to see hanging around in here was Tasha. Maybe she wanted to spend time with kids while she was still here, but she seemed particularly fixated on Nevaeh who was putting puzzle pieces together in the corner as she sat on the colourful carpet. Dimitri and I scooted past the little kids in our path, heading towards her when her teacher called my name.

"Rose!" she said, almost bumping into a little boy who was running around with a toy in his hand. She smiled at us. "I'm glad you're both here. How are you?"

"I'm good, thanks," I said, smiling back. I glanced behind her to watch Tasha talking to Nevaeh. I started eavesdropping on their conversation, barely paying attention to whatever her teacher was saying to me. Luckily, she mostly spoke to Dimitri.

"Did Rose also buy you this?" she asked, tugging on the little white sweatshirt she wore. I didn't like it when she was so close. That might have made me sound like a controlling mother, but I didn't care. I was just as territorial over Nevaeh as she was over me and Dimitri.

"Mommy and Daddy both got it for me," she replied, keeping her eyes on her puzzle. Tasha's brows furrowed.

"Why do you call them that?" she asked.

"Because that's what they are," Nevaeh said throwing one of the puzzle pieces away when it didn't match. I could see that she was irritated by Tasha's presence.

"But they're not your real parents. See, I'm much older and I can give you something better. Someone like me could give you something stable. Dimitri may be old enough, but Rose is still technically a teenager. She's not ready to raise someone like you."

Seriously? Did she really think Nevaeh was old enough to even comprehend what that meant? Yes, I was young. I was eighteen and therefore a legal adult now, but I was still a teenager. If Nevaeh was my biological daughter, I would have had her at the age of fourteen. I was aware of how bad that sounded, but I loved her so much that I stopped caring about my age. Even Dimitri could see how much my maternal instincts bloomed when I was around her.

Nevaeh stopped what she was doing and looked up at Tasha for the first time. She didn't hide the annoyance in her voice. "I don't care what you think. She's the best mommy in the world and nobody can take her away from me. If you don't have anything nice to say, then leave me alone." She turned around, facing her back to Tasha who clenched her teeth in frustration.

"...Rose?" I snapped my attention back to her teacher who had put her hand on my shoulder. I blinked, sighing apologetically.

"Sorry. Just zoned out a little bit."

"Oh. Well, it's no big deal. I was just saying how good Nevaeh's been with her school work. She's still a little shy with people, but I think if we give her enough encouragement, she'll be able to socialize a bit more."

"Right. Of course," I said, watching as Tasha tried to grab Nevaeh's attention again. "Excuse me."

I walked over, clearing my throat. "Hey, Tasha."

Both of them turned around to see me looming over them with my arms crossed. Tasha stood up as Nevaeh ran up to me and threw her arms around my legs.

"I didn't expect to see you here," Tasha said, flashing me a smile.

Fake bitch.

"Well, I didn't expect to see you here either. I see you're trying to get to know my little girl," I pointed out, scratching Nevaeh's head who was still clinging onto my leg.

"I didn't realize you and Dimitri were...together," she said, emphasizing the last word. "To even go as far as parenting a child, well, that's a little far fetched if you ask me."

Actually, no one asked you.

"But I am happy for you," she continued. She didn't sound very happy, but maybe she was trying to avoid conflict. She probably now knew why Dimitri had turned her down.

Nevaeh was grabbing my hands greedily now, constantly reaching up and calling for me. She was always like this when she wanted attention, so I gave in and picked her up. Dimitri approached us, nodding at Tasha in the process. "Hello, Tasha. I'm surprised to see you here."

"Well, you know me. I love kids and it's not like I have any of my own. Nevaeh was keeping me good company."

Asking her personal questions was what she considered 'good company'?

"Daddy!" Nevaeh exclaimed. I handed her over to him and she threw her arms around his neck, kissing his cheek.

"I was just having a lovely conversation with Rose about your...relationship," she said. She sounded so passive-aggressive before she talked to Nevaeh again. "You're a very lucky girl to have Dimitri as a parent." She reached out to caress her cheek and Nevaeh back away like she usually did with strangers, turning her face to hide behind Dimitri's head.

"She's shy," he said, holding her tightly.

"Maybe you should encourage her to be more outgoing. Why don't you let me spend a day with her? I can watch her so that you two can have a break. I mean, I can only imagine how hard teen parenting must be," Tasha said, narrowing her eyes at me.

"We're fine, thanks," I said in a hurry, tugging Dimitri's arm. "See you later, Tasha."

"Of course," she said, dropping her smile when she realized we were leaving. "We'll talk later, Dimitri. I still need to catch up with you. Call me!"

Once we were out of the classroom, I took Dimitri's hand while he carried Nevaeh with the other. "Tasha had some very interesting things to say about me as a mother figure."

"What did she say?" Dimitri asked.

"She was just going on about how I'm too young and that Nev would be better off with someone older like her. I get it, I'm young, but she didn't need to say that to her."

"Definitely not," Dimitri agreed. "I think she's just fed up over the fact that she doesn't have a child of her own, but what you decide to do isn't her business. Do you want me to talk to her?"

I shook my head as we reached the door to Nevaeh's dorm building. "No, it's fine. If she has a problem, she can talk to me herself. I just want to get Nevaeh to bed."

"I think she wants to go to bed too," he mentioned. I looked over to find her half-asleep on his shoulder and smiled at how cute and peaceful she looked.

When we got inside her room, Dimitri put her down and took off his shoes so that he wouldn't get the floor dirty. I did the same and watched Nevaeh go into her small bathroom to wash up.

"Her room is messy again," Dimitri pointed out, picking up some of her clothes from the floor and throwing them into her laundry bag. I helped him clean up until I heard Nevaeh coughing in the washroom.

"Nev? Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah," she said, opening her door to come out. She was dressed in her pyjamas now. "My throat just hurts a little."

I stopped what I was doing and looked at her with concern as she crawled into her bed. I walked over and sat down on her mattress with Dimitri standing by my side. I grabbed one of her hands, noticing that they were a little cold.

"Did you drink blood today?" I asked her. She nodded, grabbing her teddy bear and hugging it against her body.

"Maybe it's just because of the weather. It's pretty cold out," Dimitri said. "Does your throat hurt really badly?"

Nevaeh shook her head. "No, just a little."

"You probably just need some sleep," I sighed, running my hand through her blonde locks. I brought the duvet up to her chin, tucking her in and placing a kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight, Nev. Let me know how you feel tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay," she whispered. Exhaustion was pulling her under already and she closed her eyes to sleep.