Primal Desires

Chapter 18

Adrian's POV – 3 days on.

"Maybe you're not quite off your meds yet? They might still be in your system," Lissa said sadly from where she sat next to me on the sofa in Rose's apartment.

"No that's not it. I can feel it. I can feel the magic. It's working, but, it's like I can't connect to her. Like I'm reaching out to a brick wall," I said.

Once I found out Rose was missing, I immediately made the decision to stop taking my medication and try to search for her in her dreams. It had been a difficult and tense few days for everybody, made worse by the fact that I hadn't yet managed to connect with Rose. It hadn't taken long for me to feel the magic ignite inside me again but for some reason I just hadn't managed to find her. At first I thought that maybe she wasn't asleep whenever I tried dream walking, but I'd since began trying every hour at least, and I still hadn't had any luck. My magic was there, I could feel it. I had been able to see auras again within the first day of not taking my meds, but then again that had been my strong point of Spirit. But why couldn't I reach Rose?

"A brick wall?" Christian asked, moving to sit on the other side of his girlfriend.

"Yes," I confirmed. "I can feel her there, behind the wall, but it's like I just can't get through it to talk to her. I feel like I've experienced it before, it's a familiar feeling. I just can't remember when I felt it."

Thinking hard, I wracked my brain trying to remember when I had felt this way before. When Rose was on the run? No, I'd been able to reach her then, multiple times.

"Russia," I remembered, the memory coming to the forefront of my mind. "When she went to Russia I tried reaching out to her but I struggled then too."

"She's been bitten," Dimitri stated, contributing to the conversation for the first time.

I nodded, looking over to where he sat at the kitchen counter, various papers and maps strewn out in front of him. He looked devastated, and checking in with his aura, I saw that it reflected the dull emotion in his eyes. There were no bright colours – his aura was dark, muted, with a slight angry red around the outside. I couldn't tell whether the anger was directed at the memory of his and Rose's time in Russia, or the revelation that Rose was being bitten again now.

"The endorphins from the bite seem to block the connection. It's the same feeling now as when I tried to contact her in Russia. When you –"

"Yes, I understand. No need to go into detail."

Lissa let out a shaky breath beside me, obviously trying to collect herself and control the worry she was feeling for her best friend. "Can you keep trying? Maybe you'll get through soon, he can't drink from her too often."

"Not without killing her at least. I mean, Eddie barely survived Spokane." Christian added.

"Christian!" Lissa exclaimed.

"Sorry. I didn't think." He mumbled, his eyes flicking warily to where my guardian was leaning against the wall before lowering his gaze to the floor.

Ignoring the tension in the room, I returned my attention to Lissa's question. "Of course I'll keep trying. I managed to reach her before," I informed her. "But I don't think she'd been bitten the day I finally got through to her."

"Well it's been, what, three days? Maybe he'll give her a break soon. If he's as obsessed with her as he seems to be he won't want to kill her, surely?"

"Liss, he's a monster. He doesn't care about her," Christian said reluctantly.

"He doesn't want to kill her," Belikov stated as he moved from his seat at the counter and towards where we all sat in the seating area. "He did, at first. But now," he paused and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself. "Now he just wants her. He wants her to be his."