Babes! I'm back with Chapter 18! Someone asked what's happening in the pack (I'm sorry, I forgot who...) But I can tell you that you will find out in this chapter. So, I'm just going to leave this here, and let you get to reading :P

~DA2014

Meet Me In The Moonlight

Chapter 18

"Y'all want vanilla or chocolate?"

"I want vanilla. Dimitri?" Alberta said.

"I'm good, thank you though."

With that, Rose nodded and left to get Alberta's ice cream. It wasn't hard to make the cone. Rose grabbed the large waffle cone then walked over to the ice cream freezer. She grabbed the scoop, then bent to fill the scoop, before pressing it to the cone and rolling it subtly to get the ice cream into the cone. Then, Rose added a light chocolate drizzle, just the way she knew Alberta liked it.

When all was said and done at the ice cream freezer, Rose returned to the table. She gave Alberta her ice cream before finishing their meal ticket. Rose took the time to look up at the clock and noticed she only had a few minutes until the dinner rush started.

Jumping up, Rose looked at Alberta and Dimitri in shock.

"Oh, I have to go. Dinner rush is about to start. I've got the meal covered, I'll see y'all when I get home tonight okay?"

With that, Rose rushed off to service the next group that settled in her section. Not to long after she go tback on her feet, she saw Alberta and Dimitri get up to leave. But, Dimitri didn't follow Alberta to the door. No, instead he walked right over to Rose, who had arms full of a family's dinner, and decided to leave her with a surprise.

He bent down and swiftly captured Rose's lips with his own. Rose, overcome with surprise, dropped all the dishes she had been holding. Her eyes grew to be the size of the moon before closing and surrendering herself to the action in motion. His lips were soft and smooth, and tasted of salt and mango.

Before Rose knew what wsa happening, Dimitri pulled away and smiled at her.

"I'll see you at home, my Roza. Be sure to tell Keith to keep his hands off of what's mine."

His husky whisper danced around the edge of her ear. Rose's breathing was suddenly hard to catch. The normally rambunctious diner-goers had decided it was the perfect moment to grace Rose with a deafening silence. Rose could feel everyone's eyes on her. Before Dimitri could say anything else, Rose turned and ran for the back office. There, she grabbed her possessions, and swiftly ran from the establishment. Rose didn't care where she was going, she just ran. It was her solution to everything.

Before anyone knew what was happening, Rose was knocking on the front door of the Sage home. It was just after 7:30, so the family was likely settling down to dinner. When Rose heard the lock on the front door being unlocked, she looked up to see Carly standing there. Unbeknownst to Rose, tears were making their way down her cheeks. Carly didn't have the heart to ask her at the moment, so she simply opened the door wider, allowing Rose to slip inside before closing and locking the door again. Then, her attention shifted to Rose.

"Do you want something to eat?"

Rose, to overcome with emotion, denied the opportunity to have another meal, having just ate.

"Can I crash here tonight?"

"Yeah. I'll set you up in my room, come on."

And with that, Rose followed Carly to her room, where she pulled a few extra comforters off her closet shelf. She turned and handed them to Rose, allowing her to do as she pleased.

"Can you not let anyone I'm here? If Alberta, or anybody who knows me, comes looking for me?"

Carly, clearly taken back by the request, only nodded and left to go finish dinner with her family.

APOV

"Here's a key to the apartment. I have some business to attend to, and I don't know when I'll be back. If I find out that you hurt her while I was gone, and you'll regret ever asking me to teach you how to turn. Do you hear me?"

Dimitri nodded his head in an affirmative at Alberta's question.

"Good. Now get on home. Rose will either be back late tonight, or sometime tomorrow. Tell her I love her when she gets back, and I'll see you both when I do."

With that, Alberta turned and left the establishment. She ran in the direction of the forest's edge. Once she got beyond the tree line, and was confident she was hidden from sight, she started to search for the small chest that she kept hidden in a hollowed out tree, so she could hide the few possessions she had on her. There, she started to undress, wanting to keep from shredding everything on her, and then shifted. It felt good to be a wolf again, in her natural form. Not that she didn't mind being a human, because it allowed her to be closer to her only granddaughter.

Once all was done, Alberta took off in the direction of where the pack was residing. Alberta could feel the impending chill of winter settling into the winds as they raced through her fur coat. She ran, hard and fast, until she could hear the faint howls of her fellow pack members. She slowed down and trotted along until she found her son, curled up with Janine. It would be mating season soon, and Abe still expected Rose to mate with the Belikov boy.. The one that wasn't Dimitri.

Alberta had known of Rose running off to meet him as a pup. She knew it the moment that the Belikov family was brought to stand before Abe. When she caught the scent coming from Dimitri, she remembered it from when the scent would linger on Rose. Then, as she filed that bit of information away, she realized that it all made sense. When Rose was upset for those many months, why she didn't want to mate with Andre or Mikhail. It all made sense to Alberta. But would it make sense when she explained it to Abe?

Ibrahim. We need to talk.

Abe, having suddenly heard a voice that had been considered missing for a few weeks now, sprung to his feet.

Mama, have you found her? Have you found my little kizim?

Yes, but I can't tell you anything about her whereabouts.

Why not? That is my daughter! My only daughter... Please, Mama, you have to tell me.

Alberta simply turned and walked out of the den. Abe, shocked that she didn't tell him, got up and followed her. Alberta continued walking until she knew they were out of range for anyone from the pack to hear.

She is safe Ibrahim. She has made a life for herself, one that makes her happy.

That's something..

Do you remember when she was a pup, and she smelled strangely, every morning?

Yes. Why do you bring it up?

Because, the reason for that being the one she loves. She won't admit it, and neither will the other party. Not to themselves or each other. Do you know why she disappeared so long ago?

No. Just tell me what I need to do to bring my kizi home!

Do not get that tone with me! She left because you are trying to force her into an arranged mating, while your boys get to pick who they mate with. Did you not notice Dimitri's scent when he came to the pack? He smells just like she used to. That is who she loves! And you are trying to make her love his brother, who, if you would pay attention, has become smitten with the little Karp girl. Let Rose do as she pleases. That is the only way you will get her back.

Having thoroughly scolded her son for his temper and telling him the truth, even if he didn't want to hear it, she turned and went back to see Janine. There, she lay down and rested with her, tucking the alpha female's head under her snout. Alberta knew Janine couldn't be handling Rose's disappearance very well. Rose was her only daughter after all, and nobody knew of the times when Janine's body had almost rejected the conception of her children multiple times. Alberta spent the night comforting the woman, even when her grandsons came in and made a fuss. Everyone wanted to know where their leader's daughter was, and if she was okay. Alberta put all their minds to ease. She had a small rabbit, and settled in to stay with Janine.

The nights that followed were quiet, and things were now tense between Alberta and Abe, but he needed to know that his actions had played a part in pushing Rose away. Looking up at the moon one night, Alberta wondered if her son would make the right choice where it concerned his daughter.

There loves! Chapter 18 is done! I hope this cleared up a little bit of what was happening, but if you have any questions, you can shoot me a PM, and I'll give you an answer... But, you know, you could also leave me a review. Let's see if Chapter 18 will be the chapter that breaks 200 reviews? Please? Kay, I hope you all have a great day/night, where ever you may be.

~DA2014