Her Rogue Mate

Chapter Twenty Six

  I wanted to scream after Jesse, to find him and get answers to all of the questions I had. But he was out of my sight before I had time to process anything, and he still didn't have a scent that I could follow. I wondered how that was possible — I should ask Dad. I should actually have gone to tell him what had happened a while ago, but I had taken a minute to gather my thoughts first.

  Now, I stood up and checked my surroundings to make sure that no one had snuck up on me while I wasn't paying attention. There weren't any hints of a scent nearby, so I let my guard drop the tiniest bit — although not a lot, after seeing what Jesse could do. I began the walk back to the pack house, slowly at first, and then faster, until I was practically running. I passed a few people on the way there, and some of them gave me curious looks, as if I were an alien.

  When I got inside, Aiden was pacing in the hallway. He must have sensed my presence because his head snapped up and he quickly closed the distance between us to crush me in a tight hug. I let him hold me, knowing his wolf needed it for some reason or other. And I had to admit, it was kind of comforting after what had just happened with Jesse.

  After a moment, I pulled away. Aiden searched my face as if to check for injuries. "Where were you?" He burst out. "Are you okay?"

  "I'm fine," I reassured. "I went to the pond to think for a while — sorry I didn't tell you. I just need to talk to my dad… maybe you should actually come too."

  "What? Why?" He asked, following me up the first flight of stairs. "What's going on?"

  "You'll see in a minute," I replied, sparing a glance over my shoulder. Aiden looked unsure. "It's really important."

  "Okay," he agreed. "As long as it's not another dead pack member. I don't think I could handle that anymore, even though I didn't know anyone who's died."

  "It's not," I said, attempting a small smile. "But it could save some lives."

  I knocked on Dad's door with two sharp raps. There was a pause from the other end before a voice that was unmistakably Mom's called for us to come in. I turned the handle and stepped inside, Aiden right behind me. Dad was sitting in his usual chair and Mom was perched on the edge of the desk.

  "Hey Mom, Dad," I greeted, and then my eyes fell on Dan, who sat uncomfortably in the chair in front of the desk. "Dan."

  I felt Aiden stiffen from behind me, but thankfully he didn't let out any threatening noises. Instead he inclined his head towards my parents and blatantly ignored Dan, which was an obvious sign of disrespect seeing as he was the Beta. Aiden still ranked higher than him if you thought about it, but because he was a visitor to the pack, he was expected to show respect to all of the high-ranking wolves.

  "Perri, Aiden, what a nice surprise!" Mom said, trying her best to be enthusiastic. "What can we do for you?"

  "Um, we have some information that might be important in regards to the rogues," I said grandly. Dad's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he stood up.

  "Of course," he said. "Dan, go and fetch a pair of extra chairs for Perri and her mate and bring them back here so that they can tell us whatever it is."

  Dan stood up with a scrape of his chair and left the room, with a heavier step than usual, might I add. He didn't like taking orders that meant he had to do something nice for Aiden. I really didn't want them to hate each other, but I also couldn't force them to get along, especially when Dan wouldn't even talk to me anymore.

  When he came back, he was holding two chairs. One was wooden and the other was made of a light plastic that looked as if it would break at any second. I wanted to laugh— that chair was obviously meant for Aiden. Dan was so childish sometimes.