Chapter 17 - In the woods, again

Present day - March

Rose POV

My head hurt so much. Moore had hit me harder than anyone had ever before. My ears were ringing, and I couldn't see anything. I had no strength in me anymore as I felt him position himself between my legs.

My head hurt so much that I hoped that I wouldn't feel the pain of what he was about to do. That hope didn't last for long when I felt him tear my panties off. If I felt that, then I would most definitely feel what was about to happen next. I tried to close my legs, I tried to fight but my limbs were not cooperating with me. I only managed to whimper in pain and terror, hating how helpless I was.

I heard the sound of the door opening abruptly. I thought that I couldn't be more scared than I already was, but the terrifying growl that filled the entire room made me flinch. The source of the growl was closer now, and I felt Moore being yanked away from me. Maybe Alto or Igor came to help me, but that sound of pure hatred and power didn't seem to belong to anyone I was familiar with.

The sounds echoing in the cold, bare room were truly disturbing. I managed to raise my head and blinked several times before I could see anything. I instinctively shield away, trying to crawl back when I saw the massive shape on top of Moore. The man looked like a guardian, but it didn't look like anyone I knew. His brown hair was tied back, some of it hanging loose. I could only see a small fraction of the side of his face as his back was mostly facing me, but I saw enough to confirm that he wasn't any of the guardians that worked at the Institution. Was it a bad thing? Was it a good thing? When was a guardian ever a good thing?

The part that scared me the most was his iron grip around Moore's throat and the way his fist seemed to want to drive through Moore's face. Blood splattered on the cement floor and I couldn't even recognize Moore anymore. What if I was next?

I looked around the room, trying desperately to find something to defend myself with. But the small voice at the back of my head reminded me that I hadn't been able to defend myself against Moore, who hadn't stood a chance against the guardian that had ripped him off me like a ragdoll. I got on my knees, crawling away from them. I had to get away.

I tried to get on my feet, but I fell down and scraped my knees. The second time I tried, I managed to steady myself with a hand against the wall. As I looked up, I noticed a shovel in the darkest corner. Why the fuck hadn't I noticed that before, I thought drily. With shaky steps I walked over to it and grabbed it. I turned around again, my legs considerably more stable with each step I took as I approached the monster who was still pounding at Moore. I swung the shovel down as hard as I could, the metal part hitting the guardian in the head. The shovel dropped to the ground as he fell limp next to Moore, who wasn't moving. Hell, I didn't even know if Moore was breathing.

I briefly registered some blood on the shovel before I turned around and ran out the room. I'd only reached the bottom of the stairs when I heard someone groan and curse in Russian behind me. Panicked by the fact that he was awake, I took three steps at the time, stumbling once and hitting my knee hard. I barely felt the pain and I forced myself to move faster. I had to get away from them, from that room.

I couldn't see or hear anything in the common room, so I kept running. I prayed that the doors in the library weren't locked, and oddly enough, they were wide open. Something was wrong, maybe it had to do with the stranger downstairs. But right now I felt nothing but gratitude to whoever had left the doors open so that I could escape.

I was already out of breath as I ran towards the treeline. A part of me told me that it was a bad idea, that Strigoi would kill me if they found me in the woods. I would end up just like the boy, mangled up and emptied of blood. But I didn't have any options. If the guardian downstairs wouldn't, someone else would hurt me if I stayed.

Tonight, I was going to be my own person, even if it killed me. So I ran.

Dimitri POV

My eyes flickered open, and a string of foul words escaped my tongue. My hand probed my head and I felt something sticky. Blood. I got up, stumbling slightly, and immediately scanned the room for threats. Who had hit me? Was it the girl? Fuck, it was the girl, wasn't it?

The bastard whom I lost my control over was lying on the ground next to me, barely breathing.

I heard someone stumble in the staircase outside the room. The sounds of the steps were faint, and it didn't sound like anyone who was wearing shoes. I took one final glance at the animal, lying on the floor bloodied and unconscious. With bile in my mouth I stomped down hard on his revolting crotch with my boot, and he whimpered in pain, almost a ragged sob. Apparently not completely unconscious after all. Good.

I bolted out of the room, leaving that sorry excuse of a man there. I didn't know how much time had passed since Arthur had left but I needed to get the girl away from here. I was more and more certain that it was the girl who had hit me in the head. I reached the staircase and took three steps at a time with ease. When I got to the great hall I heard Spiridon's voice calling me from the backside of the building, and I turned to my right and ran outside through the library doors.

When I got out on the stone terrace I saw a glance of her small figure disappearing into the forest. I ran across the yard after her and registered Spiridon coming in from the right.

"I'll get the car, you get the girl. Call me when you know where I should pick you up," he said and bolted towards the direction we had come from. I continued to run after the girl. I was fast, and it didn't take long for me to get a visual of her again.

She was barefeet and I could only imagine how cold and hard the ground must've felt. Her nightgown barely covered her body as she ran with the wind in her hair. She was also fast, and it was clear that she was running for her life, pushing herself to the extreme. Every now and then her nightgown would reveal more of her bare lower body, and I felt sick to my stomach knowing that I'd found her too late. The thought of Moore raping her just pushed me harder. She clearly thought I was a threat, someone she needed to run away from. Someone like Moore.

I realized that we had crossed the ward line when I felt the feeling Spiridon and I had felt earlier, only now it was helping me run away from this hell-hole.

She glanced back and seemed to flinch when she realized how close I was. I felt fourteen again as the overwhelming need to protect her washed over me. I wanted to prove to her that I wasn't anything she needed to be afraid of. I prayed that the girl was Rose, and that she would forgive me.

I wasn't able to dwell on any of it, only thoughts that flashed through my mind as I got closer and closer. I realized that I wouldn't be able to get her to stop without grabbing her, so I quickly thought of the best way to engage so that she wouldn't get hurt.

I got a hold of her arm and pulled her to the side, bringing us down. In the air I managed to close my other arm around her as I steered us to the ground. My body hit the ground first while I held her body with her back flush against me, and although I took the brunt of the fall I knew it must've hurt her as I heard the painful cry. We rolled on the ground until we came to a stop, with her on top of me, still in my arms.

She didn't waste a moment after recovering from the fall. With a deep breath she started struggling against my hold, terrified whimpers escaping her. I remembered the look of pure terror on Rose's face when I had grabbed her in the woods a decade ago, and fought the urge to have the same reaction this time. I couldn't afford her running off again since I needed to get her away from the Institution as soon as possible. The woods weren't safe, and I had no idea when they would come looking for us.

I rolled us over so that she was under me, her back still pressed against me. I held off most of my weight so that I wouldn't crush her small figure, but enough to keep her from hurting herself. "Stop, I won't hurt you" I commanded. As I'd expected, it did nothing to calm her down. If it was Rose, maybe she would recognize me if she saw my face. Maybe she would remember me the way I remembered her after all these years. But you were twice her age the last time you met, a voice in my head reminded me.

I managed to roll her over so that she was lying on her back, and pinned her to the ground with my body, careful not to position myself between her legs. Instead, I pushed her legs together and pinned her down by her thighs. Her head was turned to her left, and I registered that her left hand was frantically feeling the ground, searching for something to defend herself with. Her right hand was pushing me back, but I was simply too strong and heavy for her. "Stop," I tried again. "I'm not going to hurt you." My voice was calm and assured. I held her down by her shoulder to allow me to get some distance between us.

Her head turned towards mine and her eyes met mine. The air left my lungs and everything stilled.

Fierce, dark eyes stared into my soul, her face lit up by the moonlight. An eerie feeling of déjà vu swept over me, and I knew that I had my answer. Under me, writhing against my hold, was the same Rose I had been searching for. My Rose.

It felt like I gasped for air when the initial shock left me. "I've got you now, you don't have to be afraid of me," I whispered, barely containing all the emotions that whirled inside me.

Her expression changed ever so slightly, almost as if she had made up her mind, and she narrowed her eyes at me. I was too overwhelmed to react properly. "Fuck you!" she growled right before something hard hit my right temple. It hurt and for a brief moment all I could see was black spots, but it wasn't hard enough to throw me off my balance. I grabbed her left wrist and noticed the rock she had found and hit me with. She tried to push her knee up between my legs in order to hurt my groin but I blocked her attempt with ease.

This was really not going well at all, not like I had imagined it to go. She was still fighting me and I needed to get her to safety. "Rose, please, stop. I'm not going to hurt you. We need to get away from here." My voice was calm and stern, and it surprised me that I was able to keep the whirlpool of emotions in check.

When I said her name, she didn't react at all. I'd hoped in vain that it would've helped calm her down. "Please, we need to get out of here. We don't have much time, they will come for us." Only years and years of training prevented the desperation from seeping into my words.

That spurred a reaction. She looked around and seemed to realize something. "Strigoi?" she breathed.

Strigoi? Why did she think that Strigoi would come? Now was not the time for questions, I had to get her out of here. I stood up and dragged her up with me. I wasn't sure if she was going to run again so I held onto her arm, but kept as much distance as I could. I looked around and couldn't register any signs of movement in the dark forest around us. I had a good idea of where we were, and if I was correct there was a gravel road less than half a mile ahead of us where we had parked the car the first time we had searched through the area. I took out my phone from my pocket and called Spiridon.

He answered on the first ring, and I explained our location to him. We quickly hung up. Rose had not stopped trashing against my hold for the entire time, kicking my shins and trying to pull herself free. Exactly as she did when I held onto her the last time. I knew she would have a bruise from my grip, but I couldn't let her go now. It was for her best, and I hoped that she would forgive me.

I started dragging her towards the rendezvous point. I was too strong for her and didn't have any issues dragging her with me, but it slowed us down too much. "Your struggle won't help, it's only going to slow us down. If you don't stop I'm going to have to throw you over my shoulder," I said calmly. If she would just understand that this was for her best then everything would go so much smoother. "I just want to take you to safety."

"You are absolutely fucking delusional if you think I'm going to go with you," she growled, and managed to land an impressive kick on my knee. A grunt escaped my lips. "I don't care if you or Strigoi will kill me."

Again with the Strigoi. What experience did she have with them?

I spun around and pulled her close before she even knew what I was about to do. It was probably for the best anyway, she didn't wear any shoes and already had several cuts on her feet. In a swift motion I draped her over my shoulders. With her in a fireman's carry I started running towards the car, one hand draped over her thighs, the other one held one of her arms, and my iron grip prevented most of her struggles. I felt bad for forcing her to come with me, and even worse for knowing that the position was compromising for her as she only wore the nightgown. But this was for her best. I refused to fail her another time. One time was already too much.

Running with her thrown over my shoulders was easy, and her weight didn't bother me the slightest. It slowed me down a bit since I didn't want to jolt her too much, but we still reached the car in no time.

Spiridon was already there waiting for us. I knew that her backside probably wasn't covered, so I turned her away from him and set her on the ground to give her some modesty. The moment her feet landed on the ground she started kicking and hitting me again.

"You need any help?" Spiridon said, trying to contain his laughter.

I was not in the mood right now. "You're driving. Start the car," I answered bluntly, and Spiridon got into the driver's seat without another word. I glanced at her, struggling against my hold while trying to cover herself up with an arm draped over her chest, and I looked at my watch. The thin nightgown did very little to conceal anything, and after what I had witnessed in the basement I could only guess how uncomfortable she was with two unfamiliar men dressed like that. Instead of forcing her straight into the back seat I pulled her towards the trunk. When she realized that she started struggling even more in sheer panic.

"I'm not going to force you into the trunk, I'm only going to give you some of my clothes," I tried to reassure her. I still wouldn't let go of my hold on her as I opened the trunk and shuffled through my bag with the other hand. I found a pair of long-legged thermal underwear and threw them over my shoulder. Just before I was going to close the trunk I saw my duster, and grabbed that as well and. "Here, put these on." With the duster draped over my arm I handed her the thermal underwear.

"Will you let go of my arm now?" She was angry and scared, but at least the panic had settled a bit. After evaluating her for a moment, I released my hold, hoping she wouldn't run away from me. I cringed when I saw that a bruise had already started to form on her arm. I did that, I hurt her. Luckily she took the clothing article and started pulling them on. I couldn't help but glance at her inner thighs trying to see if there was any blood from his assault, or something else. Even thinking about it made me shake with anger and self-hate. I couldn't see any bruises forming or any traces of bodily fluids, but it did little to ease my feelings. As she straightened herself my eyes snapped up again, and I realized she had caught my glance. Great, that must have been reassuring for her.

My thermal underwear were far too big for her small frame and the legs gathered around her ankles. When I saw that she held them up with her hand, I released my hair tie and gave it to her. "Here, you can tie them up with that so that they won't drop." With shaking hands she took the hair tie from me, careful not to touch my fingers, and did as I suggested.

While she did that I looked at her again, analyzing her, searching for other injuries while trying to understand if I was mistaken. I was certain that she was Rose, but she hadn't seemed to react to her name at all. She had long, brown hair that fell in waves over her shoulders. Even in the dark, her eyes seemed to be the exact brown shade that had haunted my dreams for so long. A nasty bruise was already visible, spreading across her left eye and cheek. Her thick eyelashes framed her eyes, adding to her exotic features. Her skin was slightly tanned, and her nose was straight and small, leading down to a set of full-

I interrupted myself, not wanting to be a creep. But the eyes had told me the truth. Obviously she wasn't the child I had seen for so long ago, but there were traces of similarities between them. The eyes though, the eyes were the same.

I held my duster out and helped her into it. It dragged the ground and she was drowning in it. "Can you please get into the car now? We won't hurt you, we're here to take you to safety," I said as I opened the car door. I almost said the same words as I had said ten years ago, but bit my tongue. I wanted to promise her to protect her, but I refrained. I had already broken my promise once.

It was clear that she didn't believe me, and was eyeing her surroundings. She was trying to find a way out of the situation, calculating her odds of escaping.

"I'll just drag you back," I warned her calmly. She was clearly not happy that I had guessed correctly what she was thinking. With a final glare she sat in the car.