A/N: It's another short one, I'm sorry. But I wanted to get this out :)
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Finding a booth in the corner of the bar, Dimitri and I sit on one side with Ivan sitting across from us. Ordering a round of drinks, we settle in.
"How did you find us?" Dimitri asks, putting his arm along the back of the booth, and I rest my head against it. I can feel the uncertainty in Dimitri, and it is so thick you could cut the tension with a knife.
"Heard that my dear old friend had been awakened, thought I would track you down and catch up. But when I saw what a fine piece of ass you have with you, I got interested," Ivan says, sipping at his beer.
I roll my eyes at his comment, and Dimitri growls at Ivan. Ivan laughs at us and shakes his head. "So, how did you acquire this lovely creature?"
"I was assigned to the Dragomir Princess after you were attacked, and part of that meant tracking down the missing princess and her delinquent Dhampir best friend. Although I admired her the minute I saw her. She is intelligent, gorgeous and deadly," Dimitri explains to Ivan and turns his attention to me at the end. I smirk and take a sip of my drink and wink at Ivan.
"And when the headmistress tried to kick me out, he volunteered to be my mentor to help me catch up the two years I missed. I think I had him wrapped around my finger from that first morning," I say, turning and nipping Dimitri's lip and sending him a sultry smile.
Ivan quietly observes us as he stretches in his seat, placing his hands behind his head. It's weird finally having a face to the famous Ivan, and he has a striking resemblance to Jesse. That is someone who should be on our list.
"What's wrong?" Dimitri asks, snapping me out of my musing.
"Nothing, just realized how much Ivan looks like his piece of shit cousin," I grumble. Ivan starts laughing and shakes his head, leaning on the table.
"Jesse?"
"Yeah. I almost beat him to death during the field experience," I say, flicking my hair over my shoulder when I mimic his movement.
"Damn. I like her, care to share?" Ivan says, flashing a cocky smile. I scoff at him and shake my head, knowing that it's going to rial Dimitri up. I move my hand to his leg, but from where I am positioned, I rest my hand on his upper thigh. Ivan, noticing the gesture, smirks.
"Come on; it'll be fun."
Dimitri snaps something quickly in Russian, too fast for me to be able to understand what he said, and Ivan's smirk falters a little.
"She is mine, find someone else," Dimitri snarls and I sit up and lean into him, trying to calm him down by my touch. We are in a building full of humans; we cannot make a scene.
"Comrade calm down. You know I'm yours and yours only. Take a deep breath. He's fucking with you," I whisper, placing a kiss on his shoulder and taking his hand in mine.
I take a deep breath and try to soothe him mentally, rubbing circles on the top of his leg with my thumb, and resting my head on his shoulder.
It's funny how humans (Strigoi, Moroi and Dhampir included,) react the same way animals do. When an Alpha wolf is threatened, their mate will appear to cower under their Alpha's muzzle, but they are trying to soothe and protect their Alpha's jugular.
I may not look like I am cowering, but I am trying to soothe my Alpha. Fancy that, I remembered something from school.
"Don't worry, your lady seems to be loyal," Ivan says, draining the last of his beer and setting the empty glass on the coaster.
"Anyways, what have you been up to since being awakened?" I ask, trying to shift the conversation back to neutral waters.
"Not a whole lot, got myself into the business for drugs – its good money. Give me a minute, I'll be right back," Ivan says, sliding out of the booth and walking towards the bar.
I turn to face Dimitri, stretching up to place a hot kiss on his mouth and running my hand over his chest.
"Do you think it's a coincidence that he found us?" I ask quietly, mindful that Ivan could hear us.
Dimitri glances over to Ivan with a thoughtful expression before turning his body towards me, lowering his head closer to mine.
"I think so. I think he knew that you would be close by and took the opportunity to ambush you. I don't know why he wanted to find me, though," Dimitri whispers, moving his hand to my thigh, making it look as though we were a couple having a private moment while I kept my eyes trained on Ivan.
"Can we trust him?"
"I don't know. Let's keep him at a distance until we figure it out," Dimitri says giving me a chaste kiss as Ivan heads back towards us, balancing three more glasses of beer.
"You two look cozy," Ivan says as he set the pints down on the table. Dimitri chuckles and grabs his pint, taking a long drink.
"You were her mentor? I'm sure there is a story to that," Ivan adds, waving and finger between Dimitri and me. I snort a laugh and lean further into him.
"Well, that's a story for sure," I laugh, sending Dimitri a cheeky smile.
"Ivan is deciding to stay at the compound," Dimitri states walking into our bedroom an hour before sunup. I sigh and roll onto my stomach, folding my arms under my pillow. Though I can't sleep anymore – which sucks – I still like to lay in bed with my eyes closed, gives me the feeling of sleeping.
The bed dips as Dimitri joins me, but he straddles my butt and starts to rub my back, digging his fingers into the taut muscles and skin.
"Did he say why?" I groan, muffled by the pillow.
"No, but he seems excited to stay," Dimitri says, digging further into my shoulder. What is Ivan staying for? After the initial conversation, the three of us fell into an easy banter, and I got to see Dimitri interact with this childhood best friend. While Ivan is friendly to talk to, something about him rubs me the wrong way – especially when he looks at me when Dimitri isn't paying attention.
I swallow harshly, feeling the burn in the back of my throat from hunger. During the whole ordeal, I never got my meal, so hunger is starting to move to the forefront of my mind.
"If you keep moving your hands lower, this massage is going to turn into something else," I chuckle when his hands move down to my ass, kneading it firmly.
He laughs and leans down to kiss the back of my neck, leaving open mouthed kisses down my spine over the fabric of my shirt. I wiggle my butt against him when his hands slip under my camisole.
"Maybe that is exactly what I'm aiming for," he says against my back, sliding his hands between me and the mattress to cup my breasts. I hum in the back of my throat and flip over to face him, pulling him down to kiss me.
Our clothing flying to a pile on the floor and our limbs tangling together as we cling to each other, rolling in the sheets, I push Dimitri onto his back, grinding against him while he thrusts into me. He sits up, pulling me to his chest and kissing me passionately, gripping my waist in his hands to guide my movements. Moving my lips across his cheek to his jaw, nipping and kissing down his neck, he murmurs three words I haven't heard from him in months and hum against his skin.
His scent is so strong here; it's mouthwatering. The sound of his heart, the smell of the sweat on his skin, the blood rushing through his veins is overwhelming to the point where I don't make the conscious decision to sink my fangs into his neck.
He whispers my name while I drink and I become greedy, clutching to him harder as his mind invades mine and I watch the faces of his family flit through my mind, and memories of watching me in my classes.
"Rose," Dimitri groans, but I barely hear him, and I hardly feel his hands gripping my shoulders, trying to pull me from him. The blood running down my throat is hot and sweet, and I continue to drink vigorously, pushing him down to hold him in place as he fights against me.
"Rose! Stop!" Dimitri yells, trying to shove me off, but it's futile with his blood loss.
He has one of the most amazing minds ever; the clarity of his thoughts and memories are beautiful and the things he would think about me back at the academy make my heart flutter.
Roza, stop. Please.
His voice rings in my head before a set of hands clamp down on my shoulders and pulls me off him, slamming me into the floor at the end of the bed. Snapping my eyes open, Dominic is standing over me, eyes blazing as he glares down at me.
"What the hell are you doing? What the fuck are you thinking?!" he yells at me, pulling me up from the floor and slamming me against the wall.
"It's not what you think," I say, struggling against his grip as his hands wrap around my throat.
"Really? Because it looks like you were trying to kill him," Dominic hisses, increasing his grip around my throat.
"I wasn't!" I squeak.
"Sure. I'll leave you for Dimitri to take care of when he comes to," Dominic snarls, slamming my head back against the wall with a sickening crack, and the world goes dark.
I can hear them whispering fervently – hissing at each other in the other room. I swallow and sit up in bed, seeing that I've been dressed and cleaned up. Sliding out of bed, I tiptoe towards the door to eavesdrop, but the door opens quickly, and I step back to see Dimitri standing on the other side.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what happened!" I whisper, stepping backwards again at the coldness in his eyes. The warmth that was in them the last time I saw him have disappeared and all that remains is ice. Unprecedented fear floods my veins as he creeps closer to me.
"The sun is down, you can leave," Dimitri says, and I flick my eyes over his shoulder to see Dominic smiling smugly at me.
"Alright, boss," Dominic says, retreating down the hall to the stairs.
In this moment, we are no longer equals. He stalks me like a predator stalks his prey, his eyes pinning me in place as he grips my chin in his hand harshly.
"I'm sorry," I whimper, closing my eyes, preparing for whatever is to come, and a single tear rolls down my cheek. If I weren't so terrified by the look in his eyes, I would be shocked at the fact that I could even cry.
So many emotions are racing through me; fear, dread, guilt, love… things I should not be able to feel.
Dimitri steps closer to me, placing his other hand around my throat and I suck in a deep breath, shaking uncontrollably.
"Just do it quickly, Comrade," I sob, fisting his hand in my shirt, clenching my eyes shut.
Again, we are just like wolves in a pack. You try to kill the Alpha and fail; the Alpha will kill you.
I love you, I'm sorry.