Chapter 27 Chapter 27 Riley woke up the next morning feeling ill yet again. She burrowed down in her bed, burying her nose in Kent's sweater. She had changed into pajamas after escaping to her room the night before, but had ultimately put his sweater back on. It smelled like him and she found it oddly comforting to sleep wrapped in his delicious scent. She had only ever slept in the bed with Paul on two occasions. Once was planned but the second time was because he had fallen asleep. That second time had been the beginning of the end for them. She never had anything that smelled of Paul in their house and on those long stretches of time when he didn't come she would be heartbroken, wishing she had just a shirt or pillow with his scent in it. But he was adamant that no one would catch his scent on her so he never let her have anything of his. Now she lay wrapped in the shirt of her mate, suddenly wondering what it would be like to have him in her bed for a night. It wasn't even really about s*x, but the idea of waking up with someone who wasn't itching to get away from her. She had spent the night with men since Paul, but those relationships had been purely physical with no real emotions involved. She reluctantly rolled out of bed, padding into the bathroom. She looked in the mirror, carefully pulling the bandage away from her forehead. The cut was healed, all that remained was an angry red line that would probably be gone by evening. She climbed into the shower, spending too long under the hot water hoping that the nausea and pain of her illness would pass. She hoped that Lana would find some answers in her blood tests. She got dressed, pulling on a pair of black leggings and a lightweight purple top, opting to stay comfortable. She braided her hair and brushed her teeth before heading into the hall. She headed towards the elevator and paused, looking at Kent's bedroom door. She briefly contemplated knocking on it as she replayed the conversation she had overheard last night. Finally she decided against it, heading downstairs. She arrived in the dining room and glanced around, vainly hoping to see Kent. He was nowhere to be seen in the bustle of the room and she cursed herself for pining after him like a wolf in heat. "Riley, over here!" Riley turned to see Max at a table with Penny, their two boys, Patrick and Lana. She smiled and wove her way over to them. "There's enough space here if you don't mind dealing with the twin tornados," Max said as she got close. Riley raised an eyebrow, taking in the two boys. "Are they twins?" "No," Penny laughed. "Max just calls them that because they are close in age. Go get something to eat and join us." Riley smiled and nodded before heading over to get some food. She didn't feel much like eating right now, but knew she had to get some food into her. Her head was splitting and Rose was moping in the back of her mind, seeming upset that they hadn't seen Kent yet this morning. She got some toast with jam and strawberries, opting for something light in hopes of keeping her stomach in check. "How are you feeling?" Riley looked up to see Patrick standing near her elbow. "Not that great, honestly," Riley replied. "I felt fine last night after you left, but woke up feeling bad again. I keep hoping it will pass." 1/5 < Chapter 27 +15 Points > "Lana said she'll have your blood tests back today, so hopefully that will show something." He began to put some fruit on a plate. "I hope so." Riley filled a mug with coffee. "What happened to your head?" Patrick frowned at the red mark on her forehead. "Lana didn't mention that." "It happened after she left. I fell down and hit my head on a table. Kent took care of it though. We talked for a while last night." "Did you tell him everything?" She nodded and sighed. "I did. I'm really sorry about the position I put you in. I know you didn't want to keep anything from Kent. I know he wouldn't have gotten so upset with you if I had just been upfront with him." "Don't worry about it," Patrick said with a wave of his hand. "You didn't do anything wrong." Riley sat down between Lana and Penny, forcing herself to take a couple bites of toast even though her stomach twisted at the thought of food. She watched Max play a game of rock, paper scissors with one of his sons. When he lost for the third time in a row, Max threw his hands up and declared his son the champion. The boy laughed. "You just don't want to play anymore." He sat back in his chair, his bright smile exactly like his dad's. He had his mother's auburn hair but his father's eyes. "I can't win against you, Alex," Max lamented, pretending to pout. "You're just too good." Alex giggled, taking a bite of cereal. "Play me next, Dad," said the other boy. He had dark brown hair, brown eyes and an olive toned complexion, very different from his fair skinned parents. "What's the age difference between them?" Riley asked, confused on which child was older. "I'm older," declared Alex, pointing at his own chest. "Alex is older," Penny said, glancing between the boys, "but we don't know the exact age difference. Evan is adopted." "That means I didn't come from my mom's tummy but she loves me like I did," Evan explained, earning himself a warm smile from his mother. "How did you guys come to have him?" Riley asked curiously. Max and Penny exchanged a look before Max cleared his throat. "It's a long story about how he came into our lives. We can save that for another day. But we don't know Evan's exact age, so we've had to guess. We do know he is younger than Alex but they are very close in age." Riley looked at Evan for a moment and he smiled widely at her. She couldn't help but smile back. It was clear that Penny and Max didn't want to talk about where Evan came from in front of him. He didn't seem very old. "How old is Alex?" she asked, taking a sip of coffee. "Six," Penny said, brushing some crumbs off Evan's shirt. "We think Evan is about five." "Wrap it up boys," Max said to his sons. "You have school." The boys acted like he hadn't spoken and continued playing. Suddenly Riley felt a tingle down her spine and turned to look at the doorway. Kent stood just inside the door, 2/5 looking right at her. He smiled when he caught her gaze and she felt a warmth spread through her chest as her cheeks flushed. "Someone's going to fill me in on what's going on with her and the alpha, right?" Penny said. Riley turned to find Penny watching her intently. She felt herself blush and Max snickered. "Maybe if we decide you're ready for the cool kids club," Max said, taking a bite of his french toast. Penny smacked his arm, causing him to laugh. She turned to tell the boys to get ready for school. Riley tried to act like she didn't care about Kent being in the same room as her, even though she knew he was standing at a nearby table, talking to some of his warriors. Penny finally succeeded in getting her boys to say goodbye to their dad and started towards the door, waving bye to Kent as she passed. Both boys reached out to hug Kent as they passed and he scooped them both into a hug, causing them to squeal with delight. "Don't look too hard or people might get suspicious," Patrick said, chuckling. Riley's eyes snapped to his and she felt her cheeks go red yet again. "I wasn't looking." "Right," Lana said, rolling her eyes, "and I'm not pregnant." All three of them burst into laughter, causing Riley to blush harder. She wanted nothing more than to disappear at that moment. "Looks like someone else is finally the butt of their jokes," Kent said from behind her, his hand grazing her shoulder as he walked over to take one of the seats that Penny and her boys left. "Just for a moment," Max said with a grin. "We still have more for you." "I'm sure," Kent said with a huff. "You haven't disappointed yet." Kent looked around the table, his gaze landing on Patrick. Patrick bristled, his eyes narrowing as he glared at Kent. "I'm going to get some food," Kent muttered, standing up. "Did something happen between you and Kent?" Max asked Patrick once Kent was out of earshot. Patrick shrugged and Max looked around the table at Riley and Lana. He sighed. "Why don't I get to know what happened?" "Because you're not ready for the cool kids club," Riley answered, causing Patrick and Lana to laugh. Max shook his head. "Burned by my own joke. Not fair." "I'm going to duck out before he comes back," Patrick said. "I'll talk to him later, in private." Lana nodded. "I'm going to go too. I need to head over to the hospital." She started to stand up but stopped, leaning over to Riley. "Are you feeling better?" She nodded at Riley's plate. Riley looked at her plate and realized that she had eaten all the food. Her headache had suddenly disappeared, the nausea leaving with it. "It's so strange," she murmured. "It just goes away all of the sudden." "What are you two whispering about?" Max said, watching them over the rim of his coffee mug. "Don't bother asking," Kent said, setting his plate on the table. "They don't talk about it." Lana huffed and shook her head! "On that note, I'm leaving." She turned to where Patrick was waiting a few steps away. "Pat," Kent called to him, "can you come to my office in about half an hour?" Patrick nodded tersely before taking Lana's hand and leaving. 3/5