Her Rogue Mate

Chapter Twenty Two

I woke up on Sunday morning with a headache that had sprouted from nowhere and a heavy arm around my waist. I pushed it off me and sat up, my loose hair tumbling around my shoulders. Today was the day that Piercing would be questioned, and I wanted to be present for it. It felt like the day Aiden and the rest of the guys had been interrogated about their reasoning for bothering the Blue Dawn pack, only this time there was no getting out of it for Piercing; he didn't have a mate who happened to be the Alpha's daughter.

I went through my usual morning routine and then decided to go downstairs for breakfast. Rian was at the kitchen table scarfing down bacon and eggs when I got there. He greeted me with an enthusiastic grin which I tried to return, although I probably looked like a constipated hippo.

Most people were still shaken up about Annie's death and I caught several girls looking around as if expecting Rick to appear out of nowhere and murder them. I wasn't too worried - it would take a lot of power to come into the kitchen at the pack house without being caught by guards. Patrols had almost been tripled, and anyone who was able-bodied and a good scout was patrolling the perimeter. Dad hadn't let Mark or Rian or even Aiden go because he was a little suspicious, even though he tried to cover it up by saying they didn't have enough experience.

I saw Dan in the kitchen, but instead of acknowledging me, his eyes flitted straight past to look straight out the window. I knew he'd seen me; I wasn't invisible. But it kind of hurt - we weren't as close as we had been anymore. We barely talked, and when we did our conversations were short and awkward. I kind of knew that our friendship wasn't what it used to be, and there was no going back to those times where we would hide from our parents, before his were killed. There was no going back to when we used to share everything with each other, either.

People drift, and right now Dan was busy and I had enough worries on my mind. We might be able to fix everything later on, but for the moment I had to be content with the other friends I had.

"Hey," Rian said brightly, drawing me put of my thoughts. He was oblivious to the conflicts Aiden and Dan had with each other; I guess Dan felt as if Aiden was replacing him. Not with me, but with the rest of the pack. Everyone seemed to like Aiden a lot, and he was always being asked if he was up for a game of soccer, or if he wanted to go to so-and-so's party next weekend.

"Hi," I replied, sliding into the seat across from him and grabbing a plate from the pile at the side. I took a share of bacon and pancakes, pouring myself a glass of orange juice to wash it all down.

"Did you hear when they're going to see that dude we caught yesterday?" Rian asked conversationally.

"No...did you?" I inquired, hoping he would know so that I could 'sneak' in like last time.

"No, that's why I was asking you," he replied, causing me to roll my eyes. I looked over at Dan, who was standing by the window, gazing out as if he were deep in thought.

"Dan?" I said tentatively. "Do you know?"

His shoulders tensed when he heard me talking to him, but he quickly composed himself and ignored me as if I hadn't said anything at all.

"Sheesh," said Rian in a loud whisper, "Who peed in his cereal?"

"Rian!" I chided, although I knew he could see the way the corners of my mouth tilted upwards the tiniest bit. "Leave him alone."

"Okay, okay," he said, holding his hands up in mock surrender.

Just then, Lisa bounded into the kitchen. "What's up guys?" She said loudly, taking a seat beside me and reaching for some of my food. I slapped her hand away, but not before she managed to nab a piece of bacon.