It was a thirty-five-hour drive to Court, practically driving across the whole damn country. We left early in the morning and didn't stop at a hotel until the sun had long set. Dimitri would rather just drive through the night, but even he was feeling fatigued.

The town we stopped in was small; I didn't even know which state we were in anymore. Dimitri refused to share the driving, and so I sat there and stared out the window, lost in my thoughts that came up with every worst-case scenario it could. I attempted to distract myself by talking to Mason and Eddie, but they both fell asleep or wanted to talk about Court.

Mason had only been once, and it was only for a couple of hours; his family lived in a pack back in California while Eddie grew up at Court. He was the same as me, sent to the Academy after he presented, the difference being he was welcomed with open arms because he was an alpha.

"Okay, stay in the car while I get the keys," Dimitri instructed after pulling up in front of a small inn. It looked like a giant cabin and even had carved beavers out front with a faded welcome sign.

I eyed the place and wasn't impressed. "Nice place, comrade."

Dimitri gave me a weary smile. "It's owned by a pack we are friendly with. They won't ask any questions," he explained and then climbed out of the car, locking the doors behind him. He met with Ivan, discussing something until Abe joined them.

I searched for the other two cars; both parked a couple of spaces from us. The questions we wanted to avoid were about Parker and Andrew wearing silver-infused handcuffs—it prevented them from shifting. While other wolves understood, it looked suspicious to humans.

A couple of minutes later, Dimitri was back, grabbing our bag from the back of the jeep. "Here, you two are sharing," he passed a key to Mason and Eddie and then put his arm around me. Dimitri was tense, eyes scanning around us.

Everyone was on edge. While the inn was owned by a pack we knew, it wasn't within the bounds of their land and wasn't protected from a rogue attack. Travelling with an omega after all of the attacks was practically painting a target on our backs.

Our room was small but a blessing after being in the car for almost nineteen hours. I dropped onto the bed with a sigh.

Dimitri double-checked the locks on the door and finally relaxed. "Did you want to shower first?" he asked, dropping the bag on the small cabinet next to a television set I was sure was older than me.

"You go first," I replied, stretching out on the mattress. It was nowhere near as comfy as ours, but I welcomed it. Dimitri hummed and crossed the room to lean over me.

"You're going to fall asleep if you lay down."

I waved him off, "No, I won't. I'll just relax while I wait. Go shower. You stink."

He chuckled and kissed my cheek. I made myself comfortable and listened to the sound of the water running, a smile on my face as I imagined Dimitri in the shower. Maybe I should get up and join him.

"Where do you think you're going, Rose?"

I jerked off the bed; terror filled me when my eyes met Jesse's. His shirt was covered in blood—his. I backed away.

"You're dead," I reasoned. This couldn't be happening.

Jesse smirked and advanced on me. "And you are going to wish you were."

Pain shot up my arms, my wrists burning. I looked down and found them bound in silver, hearing the sound of it burning my skin; blood ran down from the cuts. I wasn't in the hotel room any more—I was in a cell.

The cold bars pressed against my back, making shivers run down my spine. Tears blurred my vision.

Jesse towered over me; the dim light and the blood made him look like a scene from a horror film. His smile was chilling, and his dead eyes piercing. "This is your future. Poor omega locked away, and no one is going to save you."

I began to tremble and shook my head, "No. Dimitri will—Dimitri!" I screamed. He wouldn't abandon me. He wouldn't.

"No one is coming, Rose." Jesse crouched, and he reached for me; ice-cold fingers trailed down my cheek. "It's just you and me here. You'll never escape me."

Tears fell down my cheek from my fear and the pain from the silver. This was my future.

I sobbed and cried out again. "Dimitri!"

Hands grasped my shoulders, shaking me. "Roza. Rose, wake up!"

I gasped, a sharp inhale, and my mouth opened with a scream on the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed it when I realised Dimitri was staring down at me.

My chest heaved, and tears ran down my face. My racing heart slowly calmed as I looked around and found I was back in the hotel room; the curtains were slightly parted, but it was still dark out.

"Rose?" Dimitri whispered, hand brushing through my hair. I looked back at him and felt I could breathe again. His eyes were full of concern. "Are you okay?"

"Nightmare," I replied. I rubbed my cheeks, ridding myself of the tears. The image of Jesse covered in blood flashed in my mind; I almost began to cry again. I focused on Dimitri instead. I glanced at him, he was dressed in different clothes and wore his duster. "What's going on?"

His expression hardened. "We have to go."

I squinted at the clock; we had barely been here four hours. "Why? Did you even sleep?" I must have passed out while Dimitri was showering. I had no memory of taking off my shoes or getting under the blanket, yet that's how I woke up. The other side of the bed looked slept in, but it mustn't have been for long.

Dimitri encouraged me up, placing the bag beside me so I could retrieve some clothes. "They are still far away, but we picked up a rogue's scent. I don't want to be here in case they come closer," he explained and stalked to the window, peering through the curtains. "Get dressed. You can sleep more in the car."

I wanted to ask if he had slept enough but didn't want to delay leaving. I quickly changed, pulling a face that I had to skip a shower. The dream wouldn't leave my thoughts, no matter how many times I tried to push it from my mind. I could still feel the silver on my wrists.

"I'm ready," I told Dimitri as I exited the bathroom. I pulled at my coat, attempting to cover my wrists. If things did go badly, I would be locked in a cell—there would be silver around my wrists again.

Dimitri was silent for a moment before he picked up the bag and opened the door for us. He stood behind me protectively, scenting the air and growling. Ivan and the others were outside already; Mason and Eddie looked like they had only just woken as well.

Dimitri nodded at them. "I want you two to travel with Ivan for the rest of the drive." There were a couple of confused expressions, but no one questioned his order. "Let's get out of here. We should make it to Court by this afternoon." He looked towards Emil, who was driving Parker. "If you notice anyone following us, let me know immediately."

My stomach twisted. Dimitri was on edge, and it was setting me off. The rogues must be closer than he was letting on.

His hand pressed to my lower back; his thumb brushed back and forth. "Come on, Roza."

XxX

Dimitri POV

I rubbed my eyes again, thankful for the coffee I thought to grab when we stopped to fill up half an hour ago. The sun was high above us now, and we still had another six hours to drive.

Rose had been quiet, absent-minded as she rubbed at the scars on her wrists, only to realise what she was doing and aggressively pull her sleeves down to cover them. I reached over and took her hand in mine.

I had thought being alone in the car would help; give her a chance to relax around me, which was why I moved Mason and Eddie to the other car. I knew she was nervous; I could feel it rolling off her. If we weren't driving, I would hold her close, but as it was, I was limited.

"Did you want to talk about it?" I offered. She didn't react at first, but slowly she turned to face me with a grimace.

"Court has cells, doesn't it? Just like how you do at City Hall, and the Academy."

My eyes snapped to hers in alarm. "Why are you thinking about that?"

"That's where they'll put me when they find out I murdered Jesse," she muttered, eyes returning to the road. "My future."

I squeezed her hand harder than I intended, but it drew her attention back to me. "You won't be locked up, Rose. I promise you that, and if they try anything like that, I will kill anyone that lays a hand on you."

She snorted. "At least we will be cellmates."

"Rose–" I started, but she shifted in her seat. She pulled her seatbelt out of the way and reached for the button of my jeans. I was surprised and jerked the wheel. "What are you doing?"

"I'm bored, and I want to distract myself," she declared, her hands moving fast and undid my fly, fingers slipping through the opening of my briefs to grasp me.

"Roza," I repeated. She looked at me with determination.

"Do you want me to stop?" Her tone was innocent, but the look she gave me wasn't. When I made sure we were alone in the car, that wasn't what I had expected to happen. I swallowed and shook my head. She smirked. "Good. Now lift your hips."

I did as instructed so Rose could push my jeans further down, and made herself more comfortable. I was grateful for the dark tint on my windows and that there were hardly any cars on the road.

Though I knew what she was doing, I still inhaled in surprise when Rose pulled out my cock and wrapped her lips around the head. The car veered again, and I had to jerk the wheel.

"You okay up there, Alpha?" Ivan asked through the link. I felt Rose smirk and knew she had heard him too.

"It's fine," I replied and then blocked him from asking more. I hated to think of Ivan or the others knowing what Rose was doing. I especially hated the thought of her parents knowing.

All of those worries faded to the back of my mind when Rose swallowed me down until I hit the back of her throat.

"Fuck," I groaned, fingers tensing around the wheel.

Rose pulled up to grin at me. "Keep your eyes on the road, comrade," she ordered, and dropped her head back down and dragged her tongue up my length from the base to the tip, and enveloped me back in the wet heat of her mouth.

I dropped a hand to the back of Rose's head, gathering the curls so they weren't in her way as she worked her mouth up and down, cheeks hollowing as she sucked. I was grateful for cruise control at that moment. If we weren't on a schedule I would pull over somewhere secluded, but as it was, I just had to make do.

"Roza." Her name slipped from my lips, along with praises and compliments. Everything she did was fantastic, and I was captivated by it all. I never pushed her to go down on me; I knew she had had bad experiences in the past, so when she chose to give me attention like that, I relished it.

She pulled off me, her mouth made a wet pop sound, and I groaned. Rose peered up at me with lust-filled eyes and a smile that could bring me to my knees. "This is definitely making me feel better," she grinned.

The sun had set by the time we reached the outer wall of Court; to outsiders, it looked like a large gated community. Wolves patrolled the area constantly; I had already spied at least four wolves running along the trees in the surrounding forest as we approached. We were deep in the Pennsylvania forest, nestled against the mountains. The landscape made it harder for humans to reach and made them less likely to discover the small city that was hidden there.

I had cracked the windows a couple of miles back so they could scent us and know we were wolves. Ivan had called ahead and alerted Hans to our arrival, but they would still be suspicious at the gate.

Rose had finally fallen asleep an hour ago, and I dreaded waking her. I reached for her thigh, rubbing my thumb back and forth. "Roza, we're here."

She woke more easily that time; it wasn't like when I woke her at the Inn. When I returned to the room to wake her and found her crying and calling out my name, I panicked. I could guess what was haunting her dreams.

Rose blinked a few times, taking in our surroundings before she straightened, a hard look on her face and a flicker of fear in her eyes.

"Everything will be okay," I reminded her, hoping to soothe her fears. Rose's eyes met mine, and her fingers curled around mine on her thigh.

"I know, comrade." She put on a brave face. If you didn't know, you wouldn't be able to tell Rose was terrified; she was being strong.

It filled me with pride.

We reached the high metal gate and pulled to a stop as a man walked towards my window; another walked past us to the other cars. I wound the window down and greeted him. "I'm Alpha Belikov. We are expected." I pushed some of my command through in my voice.

The man inhaled and then his brows knitted together, eyes flicking to Rose. I growled in warning. He was a beta and recognised my strength, eyes dropping to his clipboard. "How many are in your party?"

"Fifteen." I didn't mention that two were arrested and that there were three bodies in the back of Ivan's car.

"What's your reason for visiting Court?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Ask your boss." Usually, I would have been granted entry by then, but they were making it difficult. "Call Hans and let him know I'm here," I ordered. The beta's eyes kept shifting to Rose; the third time he did she openly glared back.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," she snarled.

"Right," he began, "one moment."

I wound up the window and watched him scurry back to the guard house they had at the front. Rose scoffed, "The guys guarding here don't have much of a backbone, do they?"

"They are often warriors they couldn't find anywhere else to assign. The ones that wouldn't be of much use in a fight."

"Wow. I sure hope you didn't train them."

I side-eyed her, biting back a smile at the teasing look she gave me. If letting her poke fun was how I kept her from panicking, then I was happy to be teased.

She tilted her head to the side as she eyed the other warriors casting glances at us. "They really aren't used to omega's being in the front seat, are they?"

I squeezed her fingers. "You are going to endanger everything they believe. And I look forward to it."

The heavy gates opened, parting enough for the cars to drive through. There was no turning back. I prayed that Zmey's plan worked and that Adrian was able to gather the information we needed. So much was reliant on things going our way.

I glanced at Rose, she stared straight ahead and rolled her shoulders back. I promised to protect her, and I intended to do so, no matter what the cost was.

We parked again; the Warrior's Headquarters towered above us. It was more imposing at night. Hans was awaiting us inside; he knew everything that happened and was aware of Parker, Andrew, and Jesse. When I had called, he had been silent for most of the conversation; his only response was agreeing that we needed to sort it out sooner than later.

I stopped Rose before she could climb out of the jeep and handed her a hair tie. "Put your hair up."

She raised her brows. "Why?" she questioned, even as she gathered her hair back into a high ponytail.

I fiddled with her collar next, folding it down so her neck was more exposed—so my bite showed. "You need to show the bite; it will stop others from approaching you," I warned her sadly. "And keep an alpha with you whenever you are out in Court; if you're by yourself…" I trailed off with a grimace.

Rose frowned, fingers brushing over the bite. "Will it really be that dangerous for me?"

"I wish I could say no. I wish I could say you would be treated the same way as you used to be here, but it will be like the Academy—if not worse." I never liked being at Court for long periods of time; the way omegas were treated always turned my stomach—especially how royals would treat them.

While I doubted anyone would attack Rose, I knew they would belittle her. There would be alphas that would want to break her strength.

"Just be on your guard," I finished.

She nodded and brushed her hair over her shoulder, her bite obvious to anyone that looked. I leaned forward and kissed her soundly.

"I love you, Roza, exactly as you are."

She smiled. "I love you too."

I kissed her forehead. "Show them that you are not to be messed with."

I hope you enjoyed my lovelies!

Things are about to get rocky :3

I'm totally stealing this from Gigi, but a little question of the week: What book are you currently reading? I would love to hear some recommendations :)