Rogue Squad

The Ceremony

My stomach turns in queasy circles as I stare at myself through the mirror in Damien's room. A blonde maid hurries around me, preparing my hair and makeup. She is sure to make everything perfect. My fingers entwine nervously around one another. I stare down at the large bruise on my arm that's being smothered with cover up.

This morning, I awoke alone in Greyson's bed.

I checked the time and knew I had woken later than I planned. Actually I was running very late, I was already supposed to be getting ready for the announcement. Yet, I still hadn't told Greyson about any of it.

Clarity filtered my mind last night. I decided that in the morning I wanted to tell him everything about Damien: him becoming my mate and how I am being forced into it. I also wanted to mentions my feelings for him, ignoring whether or not that would be a smart decision.

So I hopped up from the bed and got dressed. I searched around the room, obviously couldn't find him. I ran into the hall, checked Derek's room and Leo's room, but Greyson still wasn't there.

I was headed to the kitchen when I was intercepted.

Damien caught me by the arm. He smelt Greyson all over me and nearly snapped my limb right off. He dragged me to his room while I assured him that noting happened, lying through my teeth to protect Greyson. Finally he believed me, but now here I am, with a bruised forearm and getting ready for the announcement.

Maybe I will be lucky enough to catch Greyson before the announcement?

"Ow," I squeal as the maid tugs my hair in a strange and unpleasant direction.

"Sorry!" She tells me quickly, "I'm running short on time... my apologies."

I smile at her through the mirror. She is clearly worried that she won't finish before I need to be on stage for the announcement. "Don't worry about it. Just relax." I try and calm her as my heart palpitates in my chest.

What I really want is for her to hurry. If she doesn't finish soon, I won't be able to look for Greyson.

I notice the relief in her eyes as she nods. I watch as she takes in a deep breath and steadies her hands. She continues to work at a steady pace, but sadly for me, it's not as fast as I would like.

"You know," the maid tells me as she fiddles with my hair, "I'm surprised Damien chose a mate."

"And why is that?" I ask, but not really curious. I don't care much about Damien and his choices, but I suppose I should considering we will be a matched pair soon.

"Well... it's just... oh I'm sorry I shouldn't be talking about this. Especially to his soon to be mate."

"I really don't mind." I tell her. "You know how it works in this pack, I didn't choose him, he chose me."

"Are you sure? I don't want you thinking bad about Damien..."

"Oh trust me, I don't think I could hate him anymore than I already do."

"You don't like him?"

I laugh, "does anyone?"

I notice her cheeks blush in the mirror. "Well... I've never really thought about it that way..."

"So go on with your story," I offer.