Chapter 9 Chapter 9 Riley woke up to someone knocking on her door. Her chest ached terribly, her head was pounding and she felt sick to her stomach. Rose whimpered in her head but said nothing when Riley tried to talk to her. Slowly, Riley climbed out of the bed and opened the door. Standing there was a tall, beautiful woman with auburn hair and bright blue eyes. "Hi," she said cherrily, "sorry to wake you. Alpha asked me to come check on you. He said you were supposed to go to breakfast with him but he didn't want to bother you." "Oh, right." Riley glanced back in the room. "I must have forgotten to set an alarm when I went to sleep last night." "No worries." The woman smiled warmly. "If you still want to go, we'll be in the sitting room just down the hall while you get ready." Riley rubbed her forehead. "Umm... sure." She took a step back to shut the door. "Are you ok?" The woman's forehead was creased in concern as she looked at Riley. "Please don't take offense, but you don't look like you feel well." "I'm ok." Riley gave what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "I skipped dinner last night and I think it's catching up to me." The red head looked aghast. "Did Max not offer you any dinner? I told him to make sure you got something to eat, but I swear he never listens to me." Riley couldn't help but smile. "You must be Max's mate." "Oh, Goddess!" The woman smacked her forehead. "I didn't even introduce myself. I'm Penny, and yes, I am Max's mate." "Well, please don't blame him. Max did offer to get me something to eat several times but I refused. So it's really my own fault. Please give me a moment to change and I'll be right there." Penny smiled again and nodded. "I'll be down the hall with the alpha." Riley shut the door and rubbed her temples. Her whole body felt sore and tired as she made her way to her suitcase to find an outfit for the day. All the travel and the events of the last day seemed to have taken its toll on her. She hoped that coffee would make things a little more bearable. She put on a a pair of jeans, a light green sweater and a pair of dark brown ankle boots. She threw her long brown hair into a high ponytail and brushed her teeth. She looked in the mirror, seeing the dark bags under her hazel eyes. She washed her face and dabbed on some concealer, hoping to make herself look slightly more alive than she felt. She walked towards the sitting room, trying to ignore the way her stomach rolled at the thought of food. "Maybe you should go check on her again?" Kent was saying as she approached. "Give her a few more minutes," Penny replied, sounding annoyed. "I woke her up. She needs a few minutes to get ready." As Riley entered the room, she was greeted by the rich smell of sandalwood just before she saw Kent, his 1/3 dark blue eyes watching her intently. He was sitting in a chair by the window but rose quickly as she walked in. His scent was soothing, suddenly washing away the headache that had been threatening to split her skill. "Did you sleep well?" he asked, his deep voice sending a shiver down her spine. "Well enough. It's just been a lot of traveling in the last few weeks." He nodded. "The commander told me that. He didn't want to send you initially because you were just getting back from an assignment." "He gave me a choice," she said with a shrug. "I chose to come given how bad the situation is here." "We appreciate that." Kent motioned towards the doorway. "Should we get something to eat?" "The boys are probably giving Max a hard time," Penny said, turning towards the door. "Evan woke up with more energy than he knows what to do with." Riley turned to follow Penny out and Kent came up behind her as they passed through the doorway, placing his hand on the small of Riley's back. His touch sent a flood of sparks and tingles up her spine, causing her to shiver again. Rose immediately perked up and swooned at their mate's touch. Riley had to resist the urge to roll her eyes at her wolf as they reached the elevator. Once they reached the dining hall, Riley had to stop to take it all in. There were plenty of round and square tables set up around the room. Along the back wall was a buffet set up with pancakes, waffles, sausages, bacon, hash browns and scrambled eggs. The room smelled wonderful. It was alive with movement and noise as warriors and pack members moved about and enjoyed breakfast. Penny excused herself quickly and headed towards a table where Max sat with two boys who looked remarkably close in age. One boy had his mother's auburn hair and his father's goofy smile, but the other had jet black hair and olive skin that didn't match either of his parents. Kent placed his hand on her back again, sending another wave of sparks up her spine. "Let's get some food and sit. I've arranged for us to meet again with the team in an hour." He was leaning in to speak in her ear so he could be heard over the noise of the room. His breath hit her ear, sending another shiver through her body and rendering her unable to form a word. Riley simply nodded and allowed herself to be led over to the buffet. She got some eggs, bacon and a waffle before filling a mug with piping hot coffee. When she turned towards the tables, she saw Wesley and Leo sitting by themselves. Leo waved her over and she moved between tables to reach them. "How was your evening?" Wesley asked as she set her food on the table. Wesley had pale blond hair that was neatly combed back from his face and exceptionally pale blue eyes. "Restless," she muttered, sitting down. "I didn't feel the greatest. I just came off assignment two days ago and I'm already on the next one." Leo frowned. "I'd say you should take a break, but the situation here is pretty bad." "Yeah," Wesley added, "I feel bad that you're being overworked, but I am also relieved you're here. I'm at a total loss with the situation. We have no idea why these attacks keep happening. I need a fresh set of eyes." She sighed, taking a sip of coffee. "Well, the sooner we figure this out, the better." "Where are you bunking?" Leo asked. "In a guest room in the alpha wing." 2/3 Chapter 9 +15 Points > "Wow," Wesley said, raising an eyebrow. "I guess the alpha doesn't want to let you go too far." Riley shook her head. "It was the beta's suggestion. I guess there are so many people here from other packs that there are no other rooms. It was either the alpha wing or the barracks." "I can believe that," Leo said. "I'm in a guest room in the beta wing. They have two little boys and they are loud." "I'm surprised you didn't insist on sleeping in the barracks," Wesley remarked. "She tried." Riley turned to see Kent setting his plate down beside her. "But we came to an understanding." Riley rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. The understanding being that there wasn't really much of a choice." "Exactly." Kent took a sip of his coffee, his blue eyes watching her over the rim. "This is going to be interesting." Wesley smirked as he watched them. "What is?" Riley frowned at him. "You two." He motioned between her and Kent with his fork. "You are both exceptionally headstrong and stubborn people. I'm going to enjoy this show." "f**k off," Riley muttered, glaring at him. Kent chuckled quietly as he took a bite of food. Leo leaned back in his chair, an amused smile playing on his lips. "So how was the last assignment at Silver Streams?" Leo asked. "You were out there for a few months." Riley was grateful for the change in topic and happily dove into talking about how they negotiated peace between the two packs.