Dimitri POV

Leading missions to find and kill Strigoi was challenging, especially considering I had to supervise all the guardians, including my spirited girlfriend, Rose. However, that didn't stop Rose from treating my orders as mere suggestions and acting independently, which often drove me insane.

I dispatched guardians in pairs to search an old, abandoned estate where, according to our sources, a pack of Strigoi had taken up residence. As much as I wanted to go with Rose, this time, as commander-in-chief, I had to deal with the disposition of forces and I joined the group raiding the most likely location of the hideout. I sent Rose and her partner on the perimeter to the farthest (and most safe) houses. If there was no one there, she would join the fight anyway, but the chances were that she would miss at least the first moment of surprise. She sent me a furious look while moving away, knowing full well why I had sent her there.

In the hideout of the Strigoi, we encountered a smaller number than expected and dealt with them quite efficiently. After the fight, I contacted each pair to inquire if anyone required assistance. One group said they had found another hideout, so I sent all the guardians there.

I rushed into the ongoing battle and joined a lone guardian fighting a Strigoi. As other guardians joined in and we gained the upper hand against the Strigoi, we finished off more and more monsters. I caught a glimpse of Rose's partner for a second, but I couldn't see her anywhere, so I focused on finishing off the enemies, which took us relatively little time.

When it was all over I ordered to dispose of the bodies of Strigoi and to take care of wounded guardians. I was relieved that no one was killed or seriously harmed. I was pressing the gauze to the cut on my temple when I spotted Steven again, who was paired with Rose. I still couldn't find her anywhere.

"Hey, Steven, where is Rose?" I asked him. The guardian froze and slowly turned to look me in the eye. The concern on his face made my insides clench.

"She wanted to see one of the houses we had already checked. I wanted to run as fast as possible to the call, so she said she would just look there and come to us."

Not once during the battle with the monsters did I feel such a strong fear as the one that caught my heart at Steven's words. My head whirled as I reached for the earpiece, dialing Rose's number, which I knew by heart.

"Rose, can you hear me?" I asked, feeling disconnected from my body.

Every second of silence drained the last remnants of my sanity. I looked at Steven, feeling empty inside.

"Where did she run to?" I asked in a blank voice. He gave me directions, and I dashed running in that direction. If I had taken even one second to think about it I probably would have called back up, but I didn't wait a second, running as fast as I could in Rose's direction.

I found one of the small abandoned houses following Steven's directions. I ran through the door with my stake in hand, ready to throw myself into the fight and help Rose. However, I wasn't ready for the sound of complete silence, signifying that Rose's fight was already over.

I looked around desperately, searching for her defeated opponent or any sign of her. In the abandoned building, a cloud of dust floated over the broken, moldy furniture, but I saw no one inside. I wanted to call out her name, but when I saw the bloodstained tiles on the floor my voice was trapped in my throat, and with it, my heart stopped.

I followed the trail of blood and in the next room discovered traces of further struggle. I gripped the broken kitchen cabinets, surveying the bloody surfaces and shattered glass from the cupboards. Blood on the countertop, on the chairs, on the windows. I tightened my fingers on the stake, ready to kill whoever hurt Rose.

I halted abruptly when, amidst the ringing in my ears, I discerned the sound of water splashing from another room. I directed my steps in that direction, being careful not to make any sound as I moved. My heart began to beat rapidly as I prepared to throw myself on my opponent. I was set to fight until I could screw information out of him about what had happened to Rose. Until I sank the very edge of my stake deep into his heart.

I swung open the door to the bathroom and the stake slipped out of my hand.

"Rose," I breathed out, relief flooding through me as her name escaped my lips. Startled, she leaped up and grabbed her stake from the countertop, but her tense posture relaxed into relief upon seeing me.

Slowly, I approached her, carefully assessing the wounds on her body. The deep cuts on her forearms, and on her two hands were striking. The long, jagged wounds looked like both deep scratches and bites. Her face also showed a cut above her eyebrow, which was bleeding, and numerous scratches on her cheeks. Her shirt was torn and all her clothes were dirty from dust.

But all this didn't matter, because she was standing on her own two feet, looking at me, and breathing. She was alive. The part of my mind that had been considering the other alternative calmed down, and I felt that I could breathe normally again and that I was standing confidently on my feet again.

And now she was also assessing me, and her eyes widened with fear when she looked at my face.

"What happened to you?" she asked, frightened. I touched my hand to the temple she was looking at, vaguely recalling that I had an injury there.

"What happened to me? What happened to you ? I thought you were dead!"

Rose grimaced and looked away to turn off the running water and show her wounded arms.

"I know, I'm sorry. It was such a stupid mistake, I should have waited, or at least made Steven come with me. Rookie mistake, really."

Gently, I took her hands, assessing the bruises and the severity of the wounds. The gashes, rinsed under cold water, began to bleed again. I couldn't see anything in sight clean enough to serve as gauze, so I gently directed her hands again under the cold water stream.

"What happened?" I asked more gently. Rose sighed.

"It seemed to me that we had missed one house, and Steven insisted that we had checked them all. You called out to us, but I wanted to make sure no one was there, so I told him to run for the call, and when I was sure it was clear I would join you. Guess what, it wasn't clear, and the bastard was waiting for me."

"Why didn't you call for backup?" I asked. She showed me her empty ear.

"At the beginning of the fight, I lost the earpiece, or he pulled it out. I couldn't call."

I ran my hand gently over her scratched cheek, catching it in my hands and analyzing the wounds on it. However, I found it difficult to focus on the gashes when I held her warm, familiar face in my hands when I looked into my beloved eyes and felt nothing but overwhelming relief that nothing had happened to her.

Leaning in, I pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead, unable to pull away. She also relaxed, nestling closer to me, seeking warmth and, perhaps, safety. I put my arms around her, feeling better holding her close.

"You can never do that again, okay? Never."

"I know, I know. Scout's honor."

I shook my head in exasperation; she had never been a scout, and we both knew it. She laughed softly.

I led her out of the abandoned house straight to the medical team. I stood beside her as the medics dressed her wounds and stitched up the worst cuts. I organized other guardians and their actions, but I kept Rose always in my sight. Steven and everyone who stuck close to me listened to a long lecture about how they can never, under no circumstances, separate from their pair, even if their partners behave irrationally and insist on splitting up. Rose whispered "I'm sorry," to Steven, who measured her with a theatrically angry look, although the relief on his face betrayed his true feelings.

When we had dealt with everything I ordered the return to the Court and set off with our whole team. I settled down in the seat next to Rose, unable to bear the thought of driving several hours home without any physical contact to ground me in reality. One that would remind me that nothing had happened to her, that she was napping peacefully leaning against my shoulder and snuggled against me. That the blood-stains on the tiles in that abandoned house weren't the end of my world; they were just a clue guiding me back home.