A/N:

Hey guys! I can't believe I haven't updated this story since last year. Yikes! :/ Regardless, I do hope you enjoy reading this chapter! My new goal is to update this story weekly, so we will see how that goes! Lol. Enjoy & Thanks for being so patient with me! See you all soon! =)

Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, profit from this story and all creative rights to the characters belong to Richelle Mead.

The original content, ideas and intellectual property of this story are owned by Ms. Belikov. Please do not copy, reproduce, or translate without express written permission.

RPOV:

"How's training going?" Lissa asked Tasha, as they zoomed through a mini-marathon on the elliptical trainer. Sweat poured down both of their bodies.

"I don't know why I haven't died yet." She responded, panting like a dog.

"That bad, huh?"

"You have no idea."

They both jumped off their machines.

I chugged an entire bottle of water followed by a blue PowerAde, and was still absolutely ravenous. It was incredible the amount of fluids my body required to do basic functions because of how physically active I had recently become. I used to get winded going up a flight of stairs. Now I owned the world.

"That's not sweat…" Lissa said proudly, swiping a hand over her forehead. "That's the fat crying."

I rolled my eyes and snorted. "You are such a dork. Hey Tash, what time do you have training tonight?...Tash?"

Tasha dabbed the water from her face with a towel, eyes glazed slightly.

I trailed my eyes to where she was staring, across the room.

Pavel was working on weights. In a black tank top. Sweat glistening his skin. Muscles bunching and flexing.

Yeah, I could see why she seemed mesmerized.

The instructor dropped his weights, said something to Ivan who had been spotting him, and the two men laughed. Then he looked over and caught Tasha's eye, gave a heart stopping smile, and winked.

Her cheeks turned bright red. She immediately turned away, embarrassed that she'd been caught totally checking him out.

Lissa wiggled her eyebrows. "Mmm, papi. Good choice, Tasha."

I looked at her, grinning from ear to ear.

"Don't even start with me," Tasha put up a finger to stop me, before following Lissa into the girls locker room.

"Have you banged him yet?"

"Rose!"

"Graduation is in less than two and a half weeks. Your final exam, which will decide whether you graduate or not, officially starts next Monday." Sydney concluded to the gymnasium full of recruits. "This is what you have all worked so hard for. Don't let us down. And most importantly, don't let yourselves down. Thank you."

As the room began to dissipate, I looked over at Lissa, who was nibbling on her thumb nail and staring blankly into space.

"What's the matter, cupcake?" I gave her shoulder a nudge and stood up, slinging my backpack onto my shoulder.

She seemed to snap out of her spell and came back to reality. "What's the matter? Did you not hear everything that they just told us?"

"Whoa, whoa, Liss. Calm your tits."

"Why aren't you as nervous as I am?"

"The only thing I'm worried about is getting something to eat. I'm so hungry I could eat your arm off right now." As if on queue, my stomach growled.

Lissa's face scrunched. "Ew."

"Come on, let's go." I hooked my arm through hers and headed towards the cafeteria.

"Graduation is in two weeks..."

"I am aware of that."

"And the test starts next Monday."

"I know."

"There's so much pressure. This amount of stress is going to be the death of me."

I squinted to read what was on the menu for today from afar. Pepperoni Pizza, Hamburgers, Chili Dogs, Mac n' Cheese...

"Rose? Rose."

"Huh? What. Yeah."

"Why aren't you listening to me?"

"I absolutely am."

"What did I just stay then."

"Listen, Liss. I know there's a lot riding on this for you. For me. For all of us. And we are all sort of freaking out about this exam." I told her. "But instead of breaking under that pressure and that fear you have of not succeeding, take that energy and channel it to something good. And go out there and kick some serious ass. I know you're capable of such great things."

She thought about that for a couple of moments, and then a small smile came across her lips. "Thanks. That actually makes me feel a little bit better."

"Good, now shut your yapper and let's EAT! I'm frickin' starved."

"Your form is pretty much the worst thing I've ever seen."

I glanced over and gave the evil eye. "Now's not the time, Ivashkov. I'm tired, sore as a son of a bitch, and hungry. Not the best combination on me."

"Are you ever not hungry?" Adrian questioned.

I continued to pound the bag with my fists mindlessly, almost numb. All I wanted to do was destroy it. Sweat poured down my body, stinging my wounds. I kept going.

"It's amazing how a girl like you stays so small with the amount of food you eat."

I swear I growled.

Adrian put his hands up. "I'm just trying to help."

"By insulting me? Get the fuck out of here."

He swore under his breath. "Boy, you really are rough around the edges. Just stop for a second. Stop. Please."

My fists fell to my sides and the battered punching bag swung back and forth through the air. I didn't notice until now that the gym was dark and empty except for Adrian and I.

"Where did everyone go?"

"They are all asleep. I went to take a piss and heard grunting noises coming from here. How long have you been here?"

"Since seven."

"PM?"

"In the morning."

"It's eleven-thirty PM." Adrian said, his face shadowed by the dark. "Jesus Christ. You're bleeding."

I looked down and saw red smudges covering the bag, the splatters of deep cranberry on the floor, my hands raw and bruised and dripping blood.

"Cool." I murmured.

"Damn it, Rose. Sit down." He demanded, and surprisingly I listened. The pure exhaustion state my body was in finally registered with my brain, and I was too tired to put up a fight. I had pushed myself too far. My knees felt like jelly as I collapsed down on the mats and lay there.

Adrian appeared above me, and I blinked heavily. Very carefully, and with a surprising amount of gentleness I didn't think he was capable of, he wrapped a cloth around my destroyed fists.

"Hey!" I mumbled, half coherently. "That's your shirt. You totally ruined it with my blood."

"I don't care." There was a sharp edge to his voice. "I'm just worried about you."

"Well, you're the first." I said. "And don't lie...you were just looking for an excuse to get undressed in front of me."

Adrian rolled his eyes. "I'm not entirely naked. Wouldn't want to shock you and throw your body into cardiac arrest or something along those lines."

I snorted. "You're such an ass."

"And you're such a bitch."

I gasped, "I can't believe you just said that."

"So." Adrian said, as he began to cleanse my fingers and scrub off the crusty blood and dirt. "You know it, and so does everyone else."

"True." I shrugged.

Adrian took his time drying my hands, then began spreading ointment over my wounds. Finally, he finished by bandaging them up.

"There." he said. "Good as new. Try to take it easy on those puppies for a while until they heal."

"I had no idea you were so domesticated. Can I make you my future housewife?"

He snorted. "Are you hungry?"

"Duh."

"Let's go then."

"The kitchen is closed."

"Not for us."

I gave him a strange look. "I can't move...Ow! Ow! Owwwwww!"

Adrian scooped me up. "Oh, quit your bitching."

I smacked him in the back of the head.

"Would you like me to drop you right here?"

Concrete. No way. "No. Sorry."

We made it to the cafeteria and he slowly set me down on my feet.

"What are you doing?" I demanded. It was dark and freezing outside. Plus, Yogi could be out hunting for a late night snack.

"Getting us some grub."

"Don't tell me you're going to pick the lock...oh Lord, you're picking the lock."

The lock busted and the door opened. He smiled victoriously at me.

"That was pretty bad ass." I had to admit.

Fifteen minutes later, we were completely stuffed full of microwaved pizza and sugary treats.

I stared at Adrian in the dark for moments, realizing that I felt happy and relaxed around him. He was fun. He was careless. When I'd become so accustomed to the uptight atmosphere and high expectations that constantly surrounded the academy, it was nice to just be myself and let my hair down for a little while, so to speak.

My traitor eyes traveled down on their own accord. Hey, I might be entirely in love with another person, but I was still a girl. I enjoyed some eye candy here and there.

Adrian was hot, undeniably. With nice arms, a broad chest, hard stomach...

"Sorry, Hathaway." His voice jolted me back to reality. "I don't put out on the first date. I'm just not that kind of guy."

I snorted and regained my cool. "You're so full of shit."

"Okay, okay. Sheesh. You just can't take no for an answer, can you? I will make an exception for you. Next time I expect to be wined and dined first."

I rolled my eyes, and suddenly became serious. "Thank you."

"For what?"

Holding up my hands, I said, "These. It's been awhile since anyone has taken care of me like that. I really appreciate it."

Then I surprised the both of us by reaching forward and hugging him. When I sat back, Adrian was grinning.

"Can I get just one more of those? I didn't feel the appreciation in that one..."

"Shut up!" I smacked his arm and stood up, very slowly and painfully. "Shit!"

"If you think you're sore now, you're going to feel dead in the morning."

"Tell me about it." I winced. "I have to get some rest. Good night, Adrian."

Smack!

"Holy shit!" I groaned in pain. "What the hell?"

I looked up through a tangled web of brown, curly hair, and spotted Dimitri standing there, pissed off as ever. That was his usual look. I would be lying if I said it no longer intimidated me.

"Did you seriously just flip my mattress over while I was sleeping?"

"You're late."

I looked around the empty cabin. No recruits. It was also sunny outside, indicating that I had overslept by several hours. Shoot.

"That's still no reason to get your panties in a twist."

"Grow up." He threw a fresh sweatsuit at me. "Get dressed and get out there, or I will kick your ass and drag you by your hair to where you're supposed to be."

"You can't hit a girl! That would be domestic abuse!"

"No, it wouldn't. You aren't my wife." Dimitri leaned down, put our faces inches apart. "And while you're in my academy Rose, I'll do what I damn well please with you."

I gulped, and felt the heat pour over my body. Damn it. My muscles were already on fire.

He turned around and left, and I instantly felt the loss. Boy, I had a rainbow of emotions for that man, didn't I. Hatred. Anger. Lust. More anger. More Lust. Even More anger and lust. Love...

I shook my head to clear my ridiculous thoughts and quickly got dressed.

Training was as it usually was - beyond brutal. It seemed as if no matter the amount of muscle I gained or how much endurance I had built up or how high my pain tolerance became, I never got used to what those instructors put us through on a daily basis.

Inside the cafeteria, I grabbed two trays and made my way through the food selections. Not even halfway through the line it was time for a third tray, but I was too lazy to go back and grab one so I began stacking goodies on other goodies.

I spotted Dimitri in line and swiftly scooted over to him, eager to get an update on Mason's case. "Anything new?" I asked.

He glanced at my rather full tray and briefly lifted a brow in question.

"Sort of beautiful, isn't it? I had no idea I was so artistically talented."

Dimitri ignored that. "Nothing worth reporting."

"Are you serious?" I whined, taking a chomp from a bagel. "This is unlike anything I've seen on Law and Order: SVU. It's taking so long. And it's so boring."

"You do realize that show is fiction, I hope."

I stared him as I chugged my chocolate milk.

"This is real life, Rose. You have to be patient. We aren't going to solve this over night. It might take many more months, possibly even years."

Popping some Cheetos into my mouth, I exclaimed, "Years? Years? We don't have years! I want whoever did this to pay for what they did. It's not fair that Mason is six feet under while they are out there living their life."

"You think I don't want justice too, Rose? Everything takes time." He locked eyes with me and put his hand on my shoulder. "We will figure this out. I promise you."

"I'm sorry," I said, feeling assured and strangely safe. "I didn't mean to freak out on you. It's just I've been really worried lately and I'm an emotional eater, you know. It's not healthy. I could start gaining weight."

Dimitri's gaze swept slowly - and I swear appreciatively - over my body. He cleared his throat. "Yes, clearly all of this stress eating has been wreaking havoc on your figure." he replied dryly.

I socked him in the arm and laughed loudly. "Oh, my god! My sarcasm is totally rubbing off on you. You're starting to become a little smartass yourself!"

Dimitri rolled his eyes and made a dismissive gesture with his hand, but he knew I was right. Amusement was written all over him, even though he tried his hardest to hide it.

"Hey, Little Lady," Came a familiar voice over my shoulder. "How can you eat so much and look as good as you do?"

Dimitri's gaze hardened and he slipped on that damn detective mask. "I'll talk to you later." He gave me one last look and left. On his way out, I saw him flip open his cellphone and hold it to his ear.

I turned around and socked Adrian in the shoulder. Hard.

"Ow!" He rubbed the sore spot. "What the hell, Rose?"

"You ruin everything!" I growled, annoyed.

"I take care of you and this is the kind treatment I get? Oh, the humanity!"

"Shut up." I smiled and couldn't resist. I punched him again in the same spot. "Thanks again, douche bag."

"Ouch! Son of a-"

His words were drowned out as I turned around and jogged to catch up to Dimitri. The long-legged Russian was already at his cabin door, unlocking it. Damn. He was fast. And really tall.

"Now is not the time, Rose." He said without turning around. Did he have eyes in the back of his head? I swear I had been so quiet.

"It's never the right time with you. At least when it regards me." I said.

Dimitri entered his home and went straight for his room. I followed.

"What's going on? Why the panic and hurry?"

No response.

"Does it have to do with Mason?"

Nothing.

"Hello, Cop." I said, waving my hands. "Can you hear me? Stop ignoring me."

And then all thoughts I had vanished. Completely. Without a trace.

Dimitri started to undress. Right before my eyes. Like I wasn't even there.

I think a part of my soul died and went to heaven. I was never the same Rose again.

He ripped his shirt over his head. Unbuttoned his jeans and dropped them.

Trying to pick my jaw off the floor, I murmured, "I was right."

"About what?" He pulled on his police uniform shirt and quickly buttoned.

"You're a boxer-briefs man."

The edges of Dimitri's full mouth twitched as he fought his smile. Then it dropped completely. "What kind of man is Adrian?"

I glared. "I can't believe you just asked that."

He buttoned his pants and worked on his boots. "So are you going to answer it or not."

That pissed me off. "Why would I know? He's just my friend."

"The way you two were last night seemed more than friendly," he replied dryly.

"Are you stalking me?"

"I always keep an eye on you, Rose."

"That's creepy."

Dimitri shrugged carelessly. "I am aware of everything that happens on these grounds."

"I didn't kiss you because I wanted Tasha to stay." I blurted. "I did it because I wanted to."

He narrowed my eyes. "I can't get into that right now. I have to go."

"Where are you going?"

He grabbed his keys and headed for the door. "Police station."

"Is it an emergency?"

"Yes." He opened the door.

"Wait, wait." I slammed it shut and his jaw clenched. God, it was so easy to piss him off. That was funny.

"I hope this is important."

"It is." I said. "Kiss me."

"What?" His thick accent came out like he was cursing.

"I want you to kiss me."

Dimitri stared at me, bottomless eyes hard. "Why?"

"What if you get shot or killed while you're on duty?" I asked. "Wouldn't you want to - damn it, why do I have to explain myself? If you give a damn about me or have a shred of the feelings I have for you, then you'll kiss me right damn now before you go out there risking your life for someone else-"

"You're so dramatic." Dimitri grabbed my face and pressed his mouth hard against mine. It was rough and forceful and only lasted a second, but I was left breathless.

He rubbed his thumb against my lips and stared at me for a long moment before stepping back and leaving.

LPOV:

It was 3:34 AM. Absolutely pitch dark outside. Not one ounce of light. You couldn't even see two feet in front of you.

I banged on the door as hard as my fists would let me. It was a surprise the bones in my hands hadn't shattered. Maybe they had. I didn't care.

"Christian! Christian! Christian!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, absolutely hysterical. He was the only instructor on the academy grounds right now. All of the others were in town investigating a shooting at the station. "Christian! I need you! Please open up!"

The lights snapped on a split second before the door flew open. "What is it? What's wrong?" Christian demanded, gun at his side. He had obviously been sound asleep since his hair was a mess and he was shirtless.

"Rose and Tasha are gone."