Companion piece to Bonds of Time. Something about Rose Hathaway intrigues Dimitri. He is determined to figure her out. Will he fall for her instead? Only Time will tell. Rated M for future lemons, language and violence.

My heart broke in that moment. I don't know whether it was Lissa's sadness that I was feeling or my own, but when I looked into Dimitri's dark brown eyes I felt as though my world had been turned upside down. I had not allowed myself to think of his name until then. To name him would make it personal and I wasn't sure if I could take it. But it hadn't been a dream. I had lived through every second of it and I knew it. I had loved this man with all my heart and he had loved me right back.

"You were very brave to protect her like that." Dimitri was gentle as he wiped the blood from my forehead and lips. "You will make a fine guardian someday."

-Bonds of Time

Bonds of Fate

Chapter One

In The Air Tonight

Two thick files sat in the seat beside me while I waited in the parking lot of a Portland train station. They had been fairly interesting and informative, the dhampir girl's file had been so thick and full of disciplinary charges that it made for very entertaining reading. It was most likely she that had been the mastermind for this escapade. The search for princess Dragomir had been a long and drawn-out manhunt that had been going for almost two years, and I was determined to find her. We had received a call from an anonymous source that had given us their location the day before and there was no way that I'd let the opportunity pass by without checking it out.

"What was the apartment number, Dimitri?" Laurence's voice sounded into my earpiece.

"Fifteen B." I responded quickly as I stepped out of the SUV and surveyed the surrounding area.

I had purposely parked far enough away to avoid being seen by anyone who might find our group suspicious. But as I peered around the corner, staying hidden behind a large brick building, I saw that those efforts had been for nothing. The other girl was pushing the Princess into the drivers seat of a small green car, both still in their sleepwear. We had just arrived in town not even an hour earlier, there was no way that they could have known or have been warned that we were here. From a block away I couldn't hear what she had said, and I feared that our window of opportunity was closing on us. I could not let them escape again.

The Honda peeled out of it's parking space at an alarming speed headed towards the north. The girls apparently had some kind of getaway plan in place for situations like this.

"Green two door Honda headed north on Brown." I hissed into the earpiece. "Princess Dragomir is driving. I'm going after the other girl."

"We have visual on the Honda. She won't get far."

"Laurence," I turned around to speak to the guardian that was waiting on the other side of the vehicle, "bring the vehicle around while I speak to Miss Hathaway."

The girl stood on the sidewalk, pulling her hair up and twisting it on top of her hair. Her expression was calm and steady and she was ignoring me completely, as though my presence didn't even matter. Slowly, I walked closer, hoping that I could speak to her and talk her out of this foolish game that she and the Princess were playing. The cold autumn wind gusted in through the buildings and she shivered as her eyes met mine. It was like a switch had been flipped, she flinched the moment she looked at me as though she had been slapped. Without saying a word, she took off like a bolt of lightning down the alley behind her headed south. She was going in the opposite direction that the Princess had.

The wind whipped around me as I gave chase. The girl was fast, I'd give her that, but I had my height as an advantage. She dodged boxes and trash cans with ease and I could see that she would do very well in the obstacle training that we would start at the Academy in a weeks time. The alley ended and she veered off into a small park. It was now or never. I had to talk her down or she'd be running around for hours.

"Miss Hathaway." My voice must have caught her off guard because she turned around at the sound of it and crashed straight into a large low hanging tree branch.

The impact should have knocked her out, but all she did was gasp as she stood up and took off running again. There were droplets of blood on the sidewalk and I worried that she had seriously hurt herself. My worry was almost eclipsed by the shock that she still kept going. Most would have given up after taking such a hit.

"Miss Hathaway, we need you and Princess Dragomir to return to St. Vladimir's at once." I tried to keep my tone non-threatening as I hoped for her to cooperate.

The opposite happened, as she ran even faster than before, pulling further away.

"We have the Princess." Laurence's voice crackled over the headset.

I stopped running immediately and headed to the edge of the park where Laurence sat waiting in the SUV.

"The other's are with the Princess at the train station. She is unharmed." He informed me as we took off towards the station. "Where is Hathaway?"

"She still running." I responded shortly. "If that was their rendezvous point then I am sure she will show up there."

It was a very short drive to the train station. And when I walked inside, I could see the guardians surrounding the princess as she sat on one of the benches with her head lowered as she cried. I knelt down in front of her and bowed my head in respect.

"Princess Dragomir, there is no need to be frightened." I said quietly as she looked up at me. "We are not here to hurt you. We are going to return you to the Academy at once."

"Leave her the fuck alone," the dhampir girl's furious voice caught everyone's attention and we all turned to look at her, "You want to bully someone, well come and fucking get it."

"Rose!" The princess screamed as she took in her friend's appearance.

Her frightened scream only spurred the girl on. Her dark hair had fallen from it's tie and flowed over her bare shoulders. Her forehead had been cut to the bone by the tree branch and blood trickled from the wound and down the side of her face and neck. Her arms and legs were badly bruised and her clothes were dirt stained, but what caught me off guard was her eyes. While her stance screamed rage and hatred her eyes were filled with fear and determination. She had the eyes of a battle scarred warrior, a look that I had never seen on someone so young. She was a force to be reckoned with and the guardians that accompanied me were less than prepared to deal with such a threat.

She ripped a pole away from the ropes and the stand that held it and brandished it like a sword as a few guardians moved forward to subdue her. She was lithe and quick as she dodged, ducked, and fearlessly attacked them. Three guardians lied groaning on the floor as four more walked up to the fray. Yes, the wild girl had impressed me. And I was confident that anyone attempting to really harm the last Dragomir would have hell of a time getting to her if this girl was her guardian.

The Princess had a hand covering her mouth and tears streaming out of her eyes as she watched her companion fight. "ROSE!"

I stalked toward her, as she swayed on her feet and dropped the pole to the ground. The other guardians formed a circle around her, cutting off all exits, but still she stood fist at her sides ready to take on all of us if she had to. And then she dropped to the ground, my first instinct was to think that she was pulling a feint, but still I caught her head before it could hit the concrete floor. She pulled herself up to sit and doubled over as she coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"Fucking trees, right, comrade?" Her voice was harsh and muffled.

Her eyes were narrowed as she stared around the circle and I wondered if she was still planning on fighting even in her current state.

The Princess pushed her way through the circle and slammed into Rose as she pulled her into a hug. "Oh my god, are you okay?"

The taller girl grabbed her friend's head like she was searching her face. "You're coughing up blood!"

"I'm okay, Liss, I just bit the inside of my mouth." Rose pushed her hands away and I wondered if the Princess had hurt her somehow. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

After both teens agreed that they would return to the Academy without any more fighting, I pulled Rose to her feet, trying to support her as walked on unsteady legs. Her skin was soft and smooth under my fingers. She was like a siren, luring her enemies into her trap with them believing that she was young and inexperienced, when she was really cunning and deadly. No, I couldn't wait to see how training with her would be.

She sat beside me on the plane. The other guardians were very skilled, but this girl was unpredictable and I didn't think any of them would be able to handle her if she had another outburst. But that was not my only reason to sit beside her. She intrigued me more than anyone I had ever met before. It unnerved me with the intensity of it. Her eyes were guarded as she kept her gaze focused on the back of the seat where the Princess sat. She had wrapped an arm around her rib cage and her forehead was still bleeding.

"How badly are you injured?" I broke the silence, but she did not look at me. "I know you lied to the Princess."

The hand at her side balled up into a fist. "Punctured lung, cracked ribs, concussion," her tone was calm and carefree as though we were discussing the weather, "well, possible concussion. I've got a pretty hard head."

"I can see that." I held back a laugh at her attitude. "Can I help stop the bleeding?"

"Have at it." She shrugged.

She turned to look at me and her eyes widened as the towel touched her forehead. My eyes met hers and I felt as though she was looking into my very soul, like she somehow knew exactly who I was. She stared at me with a look of dawning realization and I wondered what she was thinking about. To my knowledge I had never met her before in my life. I would have remembered someone as beautiful as her. But part of me felt like she was here with me now for a reason. I just had to find out what that reason was.

"You were very brave to protect her like that." I wiped the blood from her lips and looked upon their natural pink shade as my fingers itched to know if they felt as soft as they looked. "You will make a fine guardian someday."

"If I survive that long." She said in an undertone that had me pulling my hand away.

Her last comment caught me off guard. Rose turned back to stare out the window as I mentally shook myself out of the haze of improper thoughts. I would have to be very careful with my thoughts and actions around her. If her records and widely spread reputation were to be believed, she had been very popular among the young male population at the Academy. But as I looked at her, none that of that seemed true. Only time would tell. And I had plenty of patience to wait and see just who Rose Hathaway really was.

End Chapter One

Thoughts? Comments? Let me know if I should continue.

Okay, this one is short and sticks to BoT, next one will have more behinds the scenes stuff.

Special thanks to Caden29 for her awesome editing skills.