I just wanted to wish everyone a late Merry Christmas. Sorry it has taken a while to update, I am currently out of state and my internet comes and goes. So here goes the next chapter, please enjoy and review.
I pressed my ear to the door attempting to hear what they were saying. I figured I wouldn't recognize the voice since I didn't hang out with Strigoi often unless I was killing them.
"How long do you plan on keeping her?" the voice asked. I was surprised to hear the other voice was a woman. This caused me to press my ear to the door a little bit harder attempting to stay as quiet as possible knowing that Dimitri's hearing was exceptional.
"Forever, why do you continue to question my choices?" he asked his voice full of venom. I knew that was not a good sign for however he was talking to. Whenever he got that voice with me I usually ended up pinned to the wall with Dimitri's face inches from mine.
"Because I don't understand what you would want with a little girl when you could have me" she said her voice attempting to sound seductive but to me she sounded like a cheap prostitute trying to talk a business man into cheating on his wife so she could make a hundred dollars.
"I do have my uses for you, I may have to keep you around" he was saying until his voice became muffled. There was a thump against the wall and the faint sound of a moan. I moved away from the door shocked that Dimitri confessed his love for me and now was in the hall making out with some slut. I couldn't figure out which emotion was the strongest. I was angry that he felt like he could keep me here yet have someone else on the side. But there was a hint on sadness not because I wanted anything to do with Dimitri but because whatever feeling he had confessed were a lie. It was stupid I should be happy that he had someone else because that meant that there was a possibility that I could talk him into believing she was better for him than I was and letting me go.
The moaning became louder as it moved down the hall, I was assuming to one of the spare bedrooms. I walked quickly out of the room once I heard the door down the hall close. I had to pee so bad that it was either go out in the hall or pee on myself.
I pulled the door open slowly peeking my head out to make sure the halls were clear. If Dimitri invited someone over to have sex I was sure he didn't have my safety on the top of his priority list and there was a chance that there were more visitors in the house. Once I scanned the hall and saw that it was clear I tip toed to the bathroom.
Once I relieved myself I considered going back to bed and seeing if Adrian would come back into the dream so I could tell him it had all been a lie. But I couldn't, what I said to him the night before, the look on his face when I told him I didn't love him was unforgivable. I couldn't let myself be upset or hurt by his words because I knew he didn't mean them. The look on his face as he said them, there was so much hurt and then shock that he said them in the first place. I was just happy he couldn't control his anger and he walked out of the dream before he could start to take it all back. I needed him to stay angry with me because if he started pleading with me I wasn't sure if I would have been strong enough not to close the distance that separated us and take all of his pain away.
I needed to be strong for the both of us. It would be better this way, he would be safe and once I had the baby I would find a way to get us both away from Dimitri. I decided to jump into the shower after standing in the bathroom battling what my head was telling me to do because my heart was definitely not agreeing. I stood under the water attempting to wash away the tears and pain from the previous night. But thinking about last night just caused my heart to swell and I hiccupped a sob back into my chest knowing if I released it now there would be no stopping it once it was out.
Once I finished showering I slipped into the hallway after I looked out making sure Dimitri or his little girlfriend were not out there. I made it to the bedroom door and was attempting to push it open when a cold hand grabbed my wrist. I cried out from the surprise then again when the hand that was holding mine tightened. Turning my head I came face to face with a Strigoi that was not Dimitri. I was guessing it was his girlfriend or sexual partner whatever they were to each other I didn't really care all I knew is whoever she was, was about to lose her arm. If I weren't pregnant it would be her life but I would settle on her arm.
"So you must be the little Roza I have heard all about" she hissed at me attempting to pronounce my name as Dimitri did.
I turned my body so my stomach was as far away from her as possible so she didn't get any ideas that hitting me there would be a good idea. Although my body had shifted my eyes stayed focused on her. She was maybe a inch or so shorter than me, her hair was blonde and curly, her chest resembled mine in size but she had far more curves than me like she didn't work out as much as I have. She would definitely be one of the first ones dead if she was ever in a battle.
"You need to remove your hand off of me before I remove it for you" I said letting the anger I was feeling to filter into my tone. I had a hard enough night and a pretty crappy morning I didn't need some bimbo harassing me. Her eyes went wide and then she started to laugh still not removing her hand from my wrist.
"Don't say I didn't warn you" I said before shifting my body so I had more momentum when I brought my other arm down onto her forearm.
She let out an awful sound along with a string of profanities as she let go of my wrist so she could grab at her arm. I knew that I most likely broke it, and knowing that I couldn't help but smile.
"What the hell is going on?" Dimitri screamed coming down the hall from the stairs.
"Your girlfriend here thought it would be a good idea to touch me. I was just teaching her a lesson on why that is not a good idea" I said pushing the bedroom door open. Still standing in my towel it was starting to get chilly and I didn't feel the need to stick around.
"She is not my girlfriend you know I only have eyes for you Roza" he said stepping forward attempting to touch my arm where there was a nice size bruise forming where she had grabbed me.
"That is not what it sounded like this morning. If you want I can move to the guest bedroom if you guys would prefer the larger bed in the master bedroom" I said swatting his hand away from touching me. I didn't like when he touched me ever, but I wasn't going to let him touch me with his filthy hands that had been all over the stupid blonde that was still whimpering holding her arm.
"It is not like that" he started to say before I interrupted him.
"You know what I don't even care, it is none of my business what you do" I said walking into the bedroom closing the door behind me. To my surprise Dimitri let me go.
"What did I tell you about my Roza?" Dimitri screamed as I heard a thud against the wall. I moved away from the door to the dresser to get dressed. I couldn't her what she was saying and I didn't feel the need to stick my ear to the door like I had this morning because nothing she said would be helpful now.
"That's right, she is off limits. I told you not to speak to her and the first thing you do when you see her is mark her" he screamed again followed by another thud. I heard her scream like she had when I broke her arm.
I cringed away walking to the bed to sit down and dress. The noise in the hall had quieted down, I decided to rest so I walked to the recliner and laid down. My body settled into the darkness that I had become use to.
"Roza" I heard someone calling my name shaking me lightly.
I felt exhausted and did not want to open my eyes but the voice continued to call me.
"What" I moaned slowly opening one eye and then the other. Dimitri was hovering over my body. His face gentle not like I had seen in the hall.
"You have not eaten, you need to come down stairs I made you lunch since breakfast is over" he said taking my hand to help me off the recliner. I would have pushed his hand away but the chances of me being able to get off the recliner without his help was lessening the further along I got. I only had two more weeks and the baby would be coming, the thought made me want to cry because this was suppose to be the happiest time of my life but now all I could think about was how I could keep her safe once she was here.
"Come" he said leading me to the door. I hesitated once we got to the open door before we walked into the hall.
"You do not have to worry Julie is no longer a threat to you" he said pulling me into the hall. I wasn't sure if I should feel relieved or sickened by that thought knowing that he could kill so easily even though it someone that he actually had some sort of relationship with.
I remained silent following him down the stairs into the kitchen. There was a plate of with a turkey sandwich and chips on it. I sat down and started to eat trying not to focus on the fact that Dimitri's eyes hadn't left my face since I sat down.
"Did you kill her" I finally asked once I had finished my food.
"Yes." I wasn't sure how to feel about that. The fact that he had killed her and then his voice held absolutely no emotion when he talked about it.
"Is that all you have to say, I know you kill to survive but do you also kill for fun?" I asked raising my voice slightly from annoyance. The baby started to kick and I quickly changed my tone. He had just killed someone for touching me, I didn't want to push it.
"I kill to survive and to protect those I love and that would be you and our baby. Julie was an associate that pushed my buttons one to many. This morning she pushed me to far and I took care of her. Now I am done having this conversation with you" he said standing offering me a hand to I could get up from the chair.
"Can I ask you one more thing?" I asked taking his cold hand into mine to I could pull myself up. As much as my stomach had become an inconvenience I still wished that it would not be gone in less that two weeks.
"Yes, but please do not ask something that you know will anger me. I do not enjoy being angered by you" he said stopping in front of me staring at me.
"Will we be having any more company? I did not like being surprised this morning and a little warning would have been nice" I said staring up at him through my hair that had grown even longer the recent months something to do with the hormones that were overloading my body.
"We will but they will not be allowed near you and they will be coming before the baby. Once the baby comes we will not be having company for some time" he said taking my hand leading me to the door.
Since we had arrived at the house he hadn't let me go outside.
"Lets go for a walk it has been a stressful morning" he said scanning his hand and entering the codes to unlock the door. The weather was slightly cooler since it was night, Dimitri turned and walked back through the first door leaving me outside alone. If this was last year I would have run but now I wouldn't make it down the stairs before he caught up with me. So instead I stood there helplessly waiting for him to return. I also thought maybe this was a test, he wanted to see if I would run or attempt some type of escape, but it would be pointless to anger him because nothing would be achieved by running.
"Here" he said sliding a coat onto my arms.
"Thanks" I said before walking slowly down the stairs. The night was clear the moon was shining brightly lighting the sky and the path we were walking down. I waited for Dimitri to guide me since I had no clue where we were going.
"Did you care about her?" I asked after we had walked in silence for five minutes. I enjoyed the silence but I needed to know what was going through his head.
"No, like I said she was an associate" he said his voice light he paused looking at me with a look in his eyes that I remembered from before the change.
"Do you sleep with all of your associates?" I asked knowing it would not go over well but I had to know if there were going to be a lot of women coming and going through the house once the baby came.
"Rose" he said raising his hand to his face pinching the bridge of his nose. "I have certain needs that you can not currently provide, so I found someone else to provide those needs until you can" he said his voice continuing to be light but no matter the gentleness he said those words they still meant the same thing.
"Have you raped women?" I asked feeling the bile rise in my throat from the thought of some poor woman being taken advantage of not having a chance to defend herself.
"Rose I may be a monster but I can find plenty willing partners. I have not nor do I plan on forcing anyone to have sex with me" he said his voice now laced with anger.
"Including me?" I asked wondering if he would ever force me because I knew I would never willingly have sex with him again.
"You may not want me now but eventually you will realize it is for the best" he said before continuing his walk. I watched him silently walk away from me and then followed. The comforts I had received from the night were no longer working now all I wanted to do was go back to the house and curl up in my bed.
We walked for another twenty minutes when I could no longer keep up.
"Dimitri can we head back I am tired and my feet are killing me" I asked stopping and turning back toward the house.
"Let me help you" Dimitri said before sweeping me off my feet.
"Dimitri put me down" I screamed before clutching his shoulder incase he dropped me. "I am huge and we walked over two miles" I continued to protest but he keep walking toward the house.
"Rose please calm down carrying you is nothing and I quite enjoy having you this close to me" he said pulling my body closer to his.
I gave up fighting when I realized no matter what I said he was not going to put me down.
"Have you thought of names for the baby?" he asked when the house came into view.
"A few but we hadn't decided" I responded my chest feeling heavier with each word thinking about Adrian.
"I suppose we have a couple of weeks to decide, are you getting nervous?" he asked setting me down to walk the rest of the way.
"Yes, I worry that something will happen and you won't have the knowledge or equipment needed to make it better. I can't lose this baby Dimitri she is all I have left" I let my tears fall freely walking up the steps to the door waiting for Dimitri to start the process to unlock the doors.
"Sit with me" he said pulling me to the porch swing. I didn't want to go, I just wanted to go inside and lay down for a little while, but I didn't tell him that instead I followed him to the swing and sat down and waited form him to start talking.
"Things will never be as they were. They can't be because I am not the same as I was. But you can not continue to defy me or think that I am something I am not. I kill because I have to, it has become my nature to not care about anyone else but myself. But with you that all changes, you have always been and will always be important to me. I know that right now it is hard, you believe you fell in love with someone else but if you recall you were once in love with me and we can get back to that" he said taking my hand into his kissing it.
"I am not sure what you want me to say. I get that by nature you kill but it is the way you react to killing that causes me concern. I am not here willingly, and just because I am here or because what I said last night does not change the way I feel about Adrian. Everything I said last night was a lie and it was said because you forced me to and it was said to protect him to keep him from coming here and getting killed" I said pulling my hand from his icy lips.
"No matter why you are here, you are here to stay. It is best if you get use to that fact and accept it. It will be best for all of us" he said bringing his hand to my stomach to get his point across.
"If you would like I will let you remain outdoors, it appears that you are enjoying it" he said standing.
I nodded my head unable to speak.
"Do not try anything Roza I may love you but I will not hesitate to lock you in your room until that baby is born and change you as soon as he or she is" he said opening the front door and leaving it slightly open for me to come in when ready.
I sat there silently thinking about everything he said trying to process that he was right. No matter what I said I was here now and this baby would be coming in the next two weeks, it was time I accepted that I would never be with Adrian, but that being the case I still could never be with Dimitri like we had been.
I leaned back breathing the cool air in, I was tempted to go to Lissa but I didn't think I could handle another scene like yesterday. I couldn't see Adrian hurting like he was.
LPOV (Although it is from Lissa's point of view Rose is not in her head.)
"Are you sure you don't want to wait, it will be safer if you stay with the cars. I will come and get you personally once it is safe" Christian said holding my hand in his.
"Christian she is by best friend and if she is injured then I will be needed to heal her. Please don't ask me again" I said letting the irritation that I was feeling to seep into my words. The whole drive here he had asked if I was ok, if I wanted to stay behind, if spirit was becoming to much for me to handle. I knew he asked because he loved me but I didn't understand if he thought I would ever say yes and stay behind.
"I want the guardian's to go in first if there is more Strogoi in the house they will need to be taken out. I want the house surrounded before you make a move, in case they try and escape. Lissa I want you to be one of the last to enter and stay with Alec, your goal will be to find Rose and make sure she is not injured. If she is Alec get her outside before Lissa attempts to heal her. I don't want you in that house any longer than necessary. If the injury is life threatening then heal here wherever you find her" Abe said looking over the front seat toward Adrian, Christian, and I that were sitting in the back seat. Alec was currently driving followed by over fifteen other vehicles that were full of guardians.
"They could not heal her when she was injured last time because of the baby" Christian said.
"I don't think he would have injured her because of the baby but no matter what we will attempt to heal any injury that she has. It is Lissa's choice to go in, so please Christian recall the time that Rose risked her life to save Lissa's and stop trying to talk her out of helping because you know as well as I that it won't work" Adrian said finally breaking the silence that had consumed him from the time we left the jet over a hour ago.
"I just worry" Christian mumbled.
"I know" Adrian responded, the look on exhaustion and worry consuming his face as it had since that night Rose was taken/
"We are less than five minutes away" Abe said. I stared ahead to the fading sun. The plan was to go in earlier but we were delayed due to the weather so now the sun was quickly fading and we were on a time crunch to get inside before the sun faded out completely. Closing my eyes I said a silent prayer that this would be the right house and that Rose and the baby would be healthy and safe.
"Stay close to me" Christian said as we pulled our car into the trees for cover. A few guardians were staying behind to pull the larger SUVs to the house once the house was cleared.
We parked almost a mile away and stayed inside the tree line as we made our way to the house.
"Lets go" Adrian said moving toward the house attempting to stay out of the direct sun light as much as possible to cause as little discomfort or distraction as possible. Michelle and Alec moved in behind him followed by Christian and I. There were over fifteen guardians that were in front of him and over thirty behind us. Abe moved quietly behind us next to Janine.
"There it is" Adrian said pausing so everyone could catch up and go to there assigned area.
"Move in" Abe hollered as two guardians that were hired by Abe ran toward the door with some mechanism that was suppose to enable the doors that we were assuming would be locking securely. We all stood in silence watching to see if it would work, after three short minutes they waved us forward.
Adrian was the first one out of the trees. Christian grabbed my hand pulling me forward. We were in the house before I knew it.
"Rose" Adrian hollered running up the stairs that stood before us. Christian, Alec, Michelle and I followed. The guardian's were running from other rooms clearing them as they went.
"Rose" I hollered walking into a room at the end of the hall.
"Rose" I called seeing her still body on top of the bed.
"Oh my gosh are you ok?" I asked once I had reached her. I didn't even realize that Christian was no longer with me my main focus was solely on Rose. I reached over to roll her body toward me to see if she was injured or just asleep.
"She is in here" I hollered before returning my attention to Rose. "Open your eyes, come on Rose open your eyes please. Please tell me it is not to late" I cried shaking her body lightly when I realized the stomach we had gotten so use to was no longer there.
"Is she ok?" Adrian asked running to the side of the bed.
"I don't know she is not waking up" I said moving so Adrian could get next to her. As soon as he replaced my spot next to her I started to scan the room looking for the baby.
I moved quickly to the bassinet by the window.
"I found the baby" I said looking over to Adrian that was still crouching over Rose's body trying to wake her up. His eyes lifted quickly to look at me before returning his attention back to Rose.
"Is she alive?" he asked.
I moved slowly picking the tiny baby up into my arms. She shifted slightly then opened her eyes.
"Oh my gosh" I cried in horror.
"What, what is wrong?" Adrian called.
"The baby's eyes. They're red" I cried out.