Rite of Submission - Rite 1

52: The Bond

I was relieved to see Blake and not Nathan or Dmitri sitting there watching me sleep. He gave me a cheeky grin when I got dizzy from sitting up too fast, and he laughed when I stuck my tongue out at him. "So, how much trouble am I in this time?" I tried to smile, but I knew I wasn't going to like the answer.

"I think you'll have to define 'trouble' before I can answer that," it had to be a good sign that he was still smiling and sounded a little jovial.

"Did mom and dad ground me to this room? This suite? The house? Or are they packing me up and shipping me off to boarding school in hopes that I'll change my wicked ways and be the good girl they raised me to be?" his good mood was contagious and I couldn't help but be a little over dramatic.

"I don't think you're anymore grounded than you were before," he grinned, "but I don't know if that is because of interpack politics or because they don't think they can do more than observe rather than control you anymore. I heard you caused quite the stir today."

I shrugged, "Now do I look like the kind of girl to stir up trouble?" We both laughed for a while. "So," I tilted my head, "What are your orders for now?" I needed to know what I was dealing with before I could find a work around.

He shrugged, "Same as before, keep you safe, report on your whereabouts, don't let you go near the Alpha or into his suite, Don't tell you where he is, and blah blah blah," he made a goofy face and used his hand like a puppet.

I couldn't help but to laugh, I was going to miss him and his silly antics. "So how much about what happened today do you know about?" I doubted that letting it slip, even as obscure as I was about it, was information that would be shared with many people. I wasn't even sure that Sophie was going to be looped in.

He gave me a small shrug, "I know about your trip down to the med wing and the Beta's suspicions about what happened to you, not that I believe it. And I know you perfectly fine one minute this afternoon, and the next you were so tired you couldn't even stand on your own. They've been a little sketchy with the details after that, but I have my own theories about all of that," there was a twinkle in his eye as he grinned at me. "I've noticed things besides the change in your attitude and scent; he hasn't really done anything to hide it from anyone." He wiggled his fingers at me.

It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my chest that I hadn't realized was crushing me until just now. Maybe now I had someone that I could talk to about all of this. "If I wanted to ask you and maybe your mate some really personal questions about that kind of thing, would you two be ok with that, and do you have to tell him about it?"

He gave it a thought, a wide smile on his face. "I am supposed to keep him informed of where you go and what you do, but unless it's a direct command, I don't have to give him a detailed play by play. What did you have in mind?"

"Is Sophie still with him? I don't need to know where they are," he gave me a curt, tight lipped nod. I probably could've asked where she was and be told of their location, but I didn't want to see either of them right now. "Kelly got a favorite food or any special cravings yet? I'd like to do something nice for her since you haven't been able to spend very much time with her because of me."

The dimples on the apples of his cheeks showed as be beamed at me, "Chinese food has been her go to for the last few weeks, did you want me to order us all some?"

"Chicken or beef, and does she like fried rice?" I hopped off the bed and slipped on a pair of flats.

"Beef mostly, you know, red meat..."