Her Alpha - Complete

Chapter 2

"He seemed nice?" Lissa said optimistically once Rose and Christian were back in her dorm room. Eddie had returned to the Novice dorm block to tell Mason all about the new Guardian.

Christian shrugged, unwilling to form an opinion. "He barely said anything."

"Saying nothing is better than barking orders at people," Rose murmured, thinking about Lissa's new lead Guardian. He was handsome—disarmingly so. Yet he didn't appear to have the rampant ego some Alpha's were renowned for. Yes, Guardian Dimitri Belikov was an Alpha, and hot hot hot, but he didn't give off the vibe that he knew it. "It will be interesting to see what he's like in training."

"When are you working with him?" Christian asked.

"Not sure, yet. Alberta was suggesting five to six pm each weekday then five to six am, but she needs to check with Dimitri first."

With a start, Rose noticed she'd used his first name, omitting his surname and title. Mentally chastising herself, she quickly reminded herself to call him Guardian Belikov in the future. Sure, she'd call Alto 'Stan', but Stan wasn't the one who'd be handpicking Guardians for Lissa's guarding team in a few months!

Catching a meaningful look from Christian, Rose made her excuses to leave. Christian had a range of activities planned to distract Lissa from the anniversary of her family's death. Happy to hand over that responsibility, Rose kissed Lissa goodbye, wandering back to her dorm room. Now 7:00 pm, it was still early. The start of the day. Flopping back onto her bed, she savored the prospect of a full day off. Being Sunday, there were no classes, no training and—thanks to Christian—no Lissa.

Lying in bed and napping all day was appealing, and Rose lounged about until lunchtime, but after a quick meal, she went for a run. It had been a while since she'd ran just for the joy of it, so changing into a set of skins, a sports bra, and a hoody, Rose set off to run the ward line. She could have run anywhere, but with the wards so poorly protected, it made sense to set a path that would also allow her to protect the campus. Also being 1:00 am, the ward line would be illuminated by lights so she could see where she was going.

Rose had been running for less than half an hour when she heard footfalls behind her. Not fast enough to alarm, the person following her was steadily catching up. Refusing to turn around, it surprised Rose when a few minutes later Guardian Belikov pulled up alongside her, matching his pace to hers.

"Guardian Belikov," Rose greeted professionally. "I thought you'd be resting after your long journey?"

"Switching time-zones," he explained brusquely. "I'm tired but I can't sleep." It wasn't that Dimitri wanted to be curt. Just something about Rose disconcerted him.

"That must be hard," Rose replied, not knowing what else to say. "I've heard jet-lag is a bitch."

"You've not experienced it?" Dimitri asked, just to have something to say.

"Afraid not. I came to the Academy at four years old and other than the odd day-trip to Billings, I haven't left it since."

"Yet you know of jet-lag?"

"Lissa—Princess Vasilisa I mean—is my best friend. Before her family passed away, they traveled to Europe every summer. Liss always enjoyed it, but complained about the jet-lag when she returned."

"It can be trying," Dimitri commented, matching Rose's speed as they ran alongside one another. "Is there a reason you chose this course? It's a long way from campus." The silence had stretched between them, and he felt he needed to say something.

"Not really. I mean—there's not enough Guardians to patrol the wards properly. If I am going to run, I might as well run here where I can help keep an eye on things."