Chapter Seventeen

Stefan began pacing as soon as we took off and the pilot told us we could take off our seatbelts. I knew that he hated flying for the simple fact that he hated to be contained. The windows were not big enough to make him feel like he wasn't caged up. Even if the whole thing was made of glass, I think he would still feel like he was being detained.

"Sweetie, do you want something to help you relax?" I asked softly. I knew from experience, it took shifters a long time to get used to frequent traveling. Which is why I always came prepared. I got in my bag and pulled out some belladonna. I put a small amount in a drink and held it out to him.

"No, I'll be fine." He said gruffly.

"Just take it, it will put you to sleep for a few hours and then you will feel refreshed and ready for more fun. You are going to be useless to me when the plane lands if you exert all your energy pacing about like a Neanderthal on display in a museum." I commented.

He took it and drank it wordlessly; he kept pacing for maybe ten minutes then collapsed in the seat beside me. He muttered a few words before he passed out completely and was snoring by the time I pulled out my laptop to check my messages. Tommy was a tech wiz, and had rigged up all of our computers to get satellite internet so we could literally be anywhere and be online if we needed it. I was scrolling through my e-mails and saw where Carlos had forwarded me some information on the Rezzorris. Not only were they nobility, but they were the original alphas that were ever recorded in our history. Now I see why Jason always wanted me to read up on my shifter history, I just never got around to it.

The Rezzorri line dates back to the Roman Empire. When the Dark Ages rolled around and the Black Plague swept across Europe, the remaining humans realized that the Rezzorris and their pack were all quite different from them. They could not understand why no one associated with the Rezzorris had succumbed to the plague, so they watched them night and day until one young boy saw a woman strip away her clothes in front of him, oblivious to his presence. He stayed silent until she began to change. The boy was frozen in fear at what he had just seen, believing it to be witchcraft he tried to run away to warn his people. When the she-wolf realized her pack was in danger, she attacked and killed the boy, unaware that he was not the only spy. The other spy was the brother of the boy, who made it home and told the tale to his family. The humans drove the Rezzorri pack from their home and the pack was split up into three different locations. The Rezzorri family consisted of Aurel Rezzorri, and his mate Roza Rezzorri, and their three sons Costel, Anton, and Wadim. Aurel Rezzorri sent his three sons in separate directions each with one-fourth of the pack so each Alpha was responsible for ten to twelve members.

Aurel gave his sons specific instructions to find a place they thought suitable to stay safe and secluded away from man, for only man fears what he does not know. Costel went into what we now know as the Ukraine, Anton went to Russia, Aurel went into Austria, and Wadim went to Romania. When Aurel found safe passage he visited each son, and later moved each of his son's packs to Romania where the Rezzorri pack still remains as the capitol of Shifter society. I didn't even know we had a society.

As time progressed alphas began to be born in other families other than the Rezzorri line. Aurel, saw the young prematured alphas as a threat to his rule and at first executed any young male wolf that came to show characteristics of an alpha. To describe it plainly, if he was challenged by a young wolf that would not stand down, they were executed for insubordination. When the alpha finally died, well into three hundred years, Costel, Anton, and Wadim decided to split the responsibilities in three ways. Costel was first born and so he was named alpha, with Anton and Wadim as his advisors. Anton became the first Beta, while Wadim was his third. Wadim was the wisest of the brothers and when a wolf began showing the characteristics of an alpha as the brothers had experienced, Costel moved to execute the young shifter, when Wadim stopped him. He proposed that the young wolf be taught the way they had been taught to control themselves and their wolves, he spoke of a world where not only could Costel gain power, but the shifters could expand their territory and gain more power. Costel agreed that it wouldn't be a bad idea so they nurtured the young alpha and when he became of age, he and his family, and other families that decided to have a fresh start in a new place, mostly those that had been excommunicated by the higher society moved to Russia.

Over the years the shifter society expanded as did the human's. Now, there are packs all over the world. Our kind tended to stay away from the tropics, pretty much wherever there were wooded areas and chilly weather at least part of the year. The brothers formally appointed Costel as the first Ulfric, or "Wolf King" named after the son of Loki and the fountain head of the Rezzorri family, over the Alphas of the various packs that began to form. Now, the current Ulfric was the grandson of Costel Rezzorri.

The son of Anton, Beniamin Rezzorri found the first ‘crime' within the pack. He discovered a group of young shifters that were breaking pack law by hunting and killing human girls. So, Beniamin formed a group of his own to police such actions. Originally, it was meant to keep pack members in check, but as Anton began finding alphas that were not treating their packs with a steady hand, but with one of power-hungry greed, the Notte Guardiani the Night Guardians or Arm? de apreciere, the weapon of discretion was created. Formally it was named Arm? de apreciere, but the pack members called them Notte Guardiani.

Over the years, exceptional warriors were selected secretly as part of the Arm? de apreciere, or they inherited their place from their predecessor. The Arm? had not selected a warrior that was not already a part of the five families in one-hundred and fifty years. My guess was that they tended to be a bit pig-headed. I couldn't help but wonder, why had I dreamed of them? Were they trying to tell me something? Why did I think my father was a part of them? Dreams could be odd, but it truly felt like a vision. Perhaps, it could mean that my father was part of the Arm? de apreciere, thus giving me a place in the Arm?. Or, it could be I had no connection to the Arm? and I was being offered a spot, but how would they know my abilities? Didn't they know I found most pack law to be archaic and ridiculous? I had watched packs that had strict alphas. They seemed to bow and expose their necks every few seconds to show submission to their leaders. Their females were treated like dirt. It was like the males ruled every aspect of their lives. What appalled me was that these she-wolves were happy about it. They seemed perfectly content being bossed around saying things like ‘Yes, my mate,' and ‘whatever you see as right, is what I will do,' and my favorite ‘what will you have me do today?' I would not, be like that. I don't care if the entire societies of shifters look down on me for it. I was not going to be completely submissive to my mate. If he could love me for whom I was, then they sure as hell could deal with me for a few days.

I looked over at my mate who now had his mouth hung open like he was attempting to catch flies with it. I laughed to myself until he began to snore, quite loudly. I could not believe that he actually snored. I pulled out my earplugs I used to for ear protection at the gun range and immediately his noise died down some, but I could still hear the gentle rhythm. I continued to read about various rules of etiquette I would be expected to know. A mated female for instance, was not expected to appear without her mate, unless escorted with other females and a guard. No mated female ever spoke to another male unless her mate was present and approved of the interaction. Knowing Stefan, it didn't matter if we talked about the medical procedure of a hemispherectomy, he would still think it was a ruse to flirt behind. He was okay with me talking to my team, because it was work stuff, and he saw how I kept Dean in line. Dean was not a threat in any way possible. The Rezzorri pack was like the court of a king and queen, highly fashionable, a million ways to offend someone, and a billion ways to make you look bad.

I couldn't believe how many different dresses I was going to have to buy for staying maybe three to four days. I needed a dress for the day, a dress for supper, and a dress for evening parties. That makes twelve different outfits that were expected to be of the highest fashion and style and had to be paired with shoes, jewelry, and other accessories. I was going to have to hire a damn team to make myself presentable to these fools.

I started calling stores in Bucharest and every single one of them said they couldn't help me in that time frame. I growled aloud and slammed my computer shut. Of course they wouldn't want to work that hard. It's not like I wouldn't pay a convenience fee. I began pacing the length of the plane myself trying to think of how I was going to pull this off. If only I could go to my apartment in St. Petersburg. That's where all of my undercover clothes were. Maybe, I could take a flight up to St. Petersburg, and then make a big impressive entrance. That would certainly impress his mother. I'd almost forgotten about his mother… This was turning into a disaster already.

I decided to change into some workout clothes and do some stretches and a bit of my normal workout routine I had been slacking off on. I got in the aisle and bent over to touch my toes. I relaxed my muscles. Surely, I wouldn't be expected to be presented as soon as we got there. If I was, I was going to have a talk with Stefan. Unexpected was not my thing. I had to have a plan in place. I stretched my shoulders, pointed my toes and pushed the tips on the floor, and then started doing combination punches and kicks. What most fighters forgot about fighting was that it didn't always matter how strong you were, it was the cardio that mattered. Endurance wins fights more often than brute strength.

Maybe the couple of cocktail dresses I packed would be enough until I could go get more. I knew it would be totally unacceptable to wear the same dress twice. To me that just seemed plain wasteful. Why spend that much money on something you are only going to wear once? What kind of dress was acceptable for the day? Surely not a gown. Maybe I shouldn't have knocked Stefan out so he could answer my questions. Would he know what the women wore? If he did know should I be worried? I needed a girl friend to talk to. The only friends I had were my team and they were all overtly male in every sense of the word. Although they could be vain like women when it came to looks but they paid no attention to women's fashion unless they could see plenty of skin.

I dropped to the floor and started doing pushups. Once Stefan woke up I would worry about that. We would worry about that together and figure out a solution. That is what mates did. Now you are thinking like a mate. My wolf whispered through my head.

I'll just wait until he wakes up and not worry about anything else. I told myself. There was no reason to worry so much about everything when there was nothing I could do about it. Exactly. You are such a smart ass I said to my wolf.

I felt Stefan start to stir as I was halfway through a round of sit-ups. I knew he would be awake soon and looked at my phone. Could it really have already been three hours? I finished out my light work out and got a bottle of water from the small fridge. Which subsequently put me right in front of Stefan when he woke up to find me sweaty in shorts and a tank top drinking water, which in his eyes meant that I must have been doing something bad because that jealous fire rolled through him like a tidal wave.

"What were you doing?" he growled lowly, "Or should I ask who?"

I lowered my water bottle cautiously and looked at him straight on. "Stefan, I was working out to clear my head," I growled back low enough that only he could hear.

"If you were, why are you so defensive?" He challenged stepping closer so he towered over me intimidatingly.

"Don't confuse the truth with defensiveness." I hissed. "How dare you? How can you accuse me of such a horrible betrayal?" I asked as an angry tear slipped down my cheek and I quickly turned my head so he couldn't see it. "How can you think so low of me?" I questioned condemningly.

I walked to the bedroom and shut the door and locked it before he could come in.

"Open the door, Jezebel." Stefan growled.

"I need to be alone." I choked out.

"Need to clean up?" He roared. "I'm going to wring the neck of every damn male on this flight until I___"

I swung the door open, feeling my own flaming rage and his coursing through me.

"Shut your mouth Stefan!" I commanded feeling my wolf surface. She was just as angry at him for his accusations. It was an insult to our fidelity. "If you don't believe me check the damn security tapes before you go off and start making an ass of yourself, or here's a notion, use your nose!" I could feel myself inch toward ripping him a new one, but held myself back.

"You don't get to command me, mate" he spat. "I am alpha, and you will only be mine."

"I only want to be yours, but I'm starting to question that decision if you can't control yourself enough to even smell my skin to know I haven't been with anyone but you!" I yelled. "Hell, you can read my damn thoughts!"

Stefan's face sobered considerably. I felt him probe my memories and I thought of my workout and all the things that were on my mind that I wanted to talk to him about. Stefan began looking at the floor and I felt him mentally curse himself for his behavior and distrust in me.

I'm sorry. He said.

"Say it out loud." I replied crossing my arms.

"I'm sorry, my beautiful wonderful mate, my darling, my love," he began and then dipped to one knee. "Forgive me for my outburst, my accusatory offenses, and I promise I will not let it happen so easily in our future together." He said managing to keep a straight face that actually resembled pleading. "I cannot promise that I will never be jealous, possessive, or angry, but I can promise to think first. As an alpha, I do that with my pack, but seem to lose the ability when it comes to you."

I knew he was completely sincere in his apology, but the wording was so formal and archaic I could not help but laugh. It came out as a small chuckle that I attempted to swallow down, then guffawed into a large boisterous lilting melody that burst from me. I assumed the adrenaline from the argument needed to release, and found that laughter suited the moment. I always found romantic mush to be comical, but not quite that comical. I could not stop laughing. Tears sprang to my eyes and I wiped them away as I lost my balance and toppled over. Stefan caught me before I hit the floor and cradled me in his arms.

"Calm down, sweetheart." Stefan chuckled.

"I can't" I choked out still laughing hysterically.

Stefan smirked and leaned down and kissed my shoulder where he had marked me. I gasped at the sensation that tightened muscles deep in my base, but couldn't bite back a chuckle at his attempt to distract me. He kissed his way up to my lips where they were spread wide into a smile, tight against my teeth and stretched ear to ear. Stefan stared down at me and I focused on his face, trying very hard to bite back my dying laughter. I was so focused on what his mouth was going to do next, I didn't notice his hand as it rubbed across my core; over the material of my shorts. I effectively shut up then as I felt my eyes darken at the tease. My back arched reflexively, and my hips ground down onto his hand, increasing the pressure and a nearly inaudible, low moan escaped my lips. Just as soon as his hand was there, he removed it and pulled me to my feet.

"All better." He commented brightly and went back to his seat.

I gaped at him.

"By the way, I have an appointment at a local dress shop that most of court goes to. She has your size and is making the attire that you need for our visit. She is quite the talented designer and she is a shifter so it makes it all the better for all the ladies at court that they can go to her." He said absently. "If you drop my last name, the Rezzorri name, or any of the big five family last names to the other shops in town you will get told to go to hell." He picked up my computer and pointed out the e-mail I had pulled up and the search engine. "How the hell are you online?"

I smiled and made my way to my seat next to him. "you will have to ask Tommy. He rigged it up for me. Tech is not really my thing. I know how to find things online and communicate, but the moment you ask me how to establish a private worldwide network, that is Tommy's department. From what I understand, he hacked various satellite internet servers as if it was a maintenance program and it actually sends us wireless anywhere we are. If we get to a place with bad reception, the network switches automatically to whatever service is around that we can pick up. If we can't even get satellite internet which has happened only twice before and we were underground. He has a box that boosts the signal."

"I am definitely talking to him when we get back." He said.

"So, I have effectively found out that all the things I was worried about, save two, are already taken care of." I said scoffing in disbelief.

"What do you mean, love?" he asked sinking further into his chair and resting his head on my shoulder.

"I have been racking my brain to find out how I was going to find something to wear, and here, you already have it taken care of." I explained. "I called just about every dress shop in Bucharest and they all told me they didn't have enough time to fit me out a wardrobe."

"Well, the shop I am taking you to is most definitely, unlisted." Stefan smiled slightly and kissed my shoulder lightly where my shoulder turned into my arm. The familiar tingles travelled down my arm and up to neck and cheek. They spread heat and ice at the same time, making it near impossible to focus.

"That would make sense," I whispered, surprised I could form an intelligible sentence.

"I am ready to be off this plane, and alone with just the two of us again." Stefan whispered and very deliberately put his head in my lap with his face turned toward my more sensitive areas.

"You are such a tease." I cursed lowly and got up dumping him in the floor.

"Oh, I'm a tease?" he chuckled darkly. "I'll show you__"

"When we are not surrounded by paper thin walls." I said with finality as I poured myself a drink of Scotch and effectively downing it in one swig of the glass. I poured another and sat back down in my chair with Stefan looking at me a bit deflated.

"We could be quiet." He bargained.

"No, you couldn't." I argued back.

"More like you couldn't be quiet." He chuckled looking at me pointedly as he remembered the sounds he elicited from my lips.

"Oh, I could be quiet, it's you who goes so wild over me, you just can't contain yourself." I teased.

"My darling, I most in fact do go wild over you, but I can control myself." He got a mischievous glint in his eye as he said, "Why, I would bet that I can go longer than you without making one sound"

"My dearest love, I am not falling into that set up." I chastised with a laugh-filled tone.

"And just when I thought I would appeal to your competitive nature, you respond with a highly evolved quip to silence me, your sex confounds me with its indubitable ability to maneuver your way out of sure embarrassment." Stefan said taking on his formal tone once again, his eyes bright with laughter.

"Must we speak in such a formal tongue when addressing others in court?" I asked adopting his slightly condescending, formal, and elegant tone.

"But of course, my darling." Stefan laughed.

"How lovely, and I expected it was the twenty-first century." I bantered sarcastically.

"Why darling, it is the twenty-first century, it is just for appearances that they wish to be spoken to as if you are talking down to them so they may gauge the intelligence of you and your vocabulary." Stefan laughed at his joke.

"Perhaps, you should do most of the talking, as I don't believe I can hold up such a guise for longer than a day." I laughed.

"As is proper my dear, your sex is expected to only speak when spoken to in such a society as this one." Stefan explained.

"That could be an issue, in regards to our previous arrangement as equal leaders." I growled out.

"Relax my dear, I value your commanding spirit, but it is not as highly revered in the Bucharest high society, in fact it is chastised, because of their insistence on remaining in the old fashions of the time." Stefan explained smoothly.

"When you speak so eloquently, I can't find a reason to be angry with you." I laughed.

"See, it is not so hard as you think to speak like you have a long skinny object inserted in your rectum." Stefan grinned from ear to ear as I busted out laughing.

We landed on each other, entangled together as we relaxed in the company we gave the other. I dozed in and out of sleep until we landed. When we got outside, I felt a hint of the Russian air I had grown to love immensely. A hint of that bitter cold twisted in the wind and around my skin. I took a deep chill filled breath of it and followed Stefan to the limo waiting for us. Stefan carried all of my bags for me, as was the expectations of high society. Females were to be taken care of and protected was how Stefan explained it when he pulled my bag away from my hands. The only reason I let him do it was because I was about to meet his mother and she was going to look down on a female who did not let her mate take care of her.

His mother emerged from the blacked out limo and my heart jumped into my throat and proceeded to beat like a jackhammer.