Perri's POV

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Aiden and I woke to a knock on the door. It took a moment to get my surroundings, but I quickly realized that I was in my bedroom at the pack house. Aiden groaned from beside me and buried his face in the pillow, so I knew I would have to be the one to get up and see who it was.

Surprisingly, it was Rian. "We have school today, get up!" He exclaimed.

I groaned. I didn't remotely care about school right now. I could probably miss today and then catch up later. "I don't want to go today", I said with a yawn.

"Too bad", he said. "You have ten minutes."

With that, he disappeared as quickly as he came. I sighed, deciding that it couldn't really do any harm to go into school, unless I was murdered on the way or something. I decided to let Aiden sleep for a while longer since he looked too damn adorable whilst doing so.

I showered quickly and pulled on a random outfit. I probably looked like some sort of street urchin but I didn't care. I brushed my hair and put it up in a ponytail to make sure it wasn't in my face after blow drying it a little. I was taking longer than the ten minutes I'd been allocated but Rian wouldn't mind. I hoped.

I moved towards Aiden and laid a hand on his shoulder, gently shaking him awake. "Aiden? Aiden, wake up."

He lay there unmoving, subconsciously refusing to wake up and face the world for another day. "Aiden!" I hissed, slapping him across the face.

He stirred, letting out a sigh before rolling over and resuming his previous heavy breathing. I frowned, not knowing what else to do. He should have woken up by now; I mean I didn't exactly go easy when I slapped him. He might even have a bruise for a few hours before his advanced werewolf healing would clear it up.

Okay, there was only one more thing to do in an effort to wake him up that wouldn't piss him off. As tempting as it was to pour water over him or push him out of the bed, I decided against either of those and instead I leaned down to press my lips against his quickly. It was a short kiss, but it did the trick and his eyes popped open right away.

I moved back as he sat up and stretched, showing off his impressive muscles. Damn, I was glad I got a hot mate. He smirked, his eyes still a bit puffy from sleep, which automatically gave him points for adorableness. Why couldn't I look like that when I woke up? "That was quite a nice way to wake up", he said, holding the attempt at looking smug.

I rolled my eyes. "I tried hitting you. Turns out that was the only thing that would magically bring you back to life."

"I'm sure throwing water over me would have had the same results", he said, rubbing his eyes to clear them of sleep.

"Would you rather I'd done that?"

He thought for a moment, but then his shoulders slumped and he accepted defeat. "No, I suppose not."

I grinned triumphantly. "Well, I just woke you up to say that I need to go to school, and I'll see you later."

"Okay", he said, falling back into bed and closing his eyes. Wow, he loves sleep.

I grabbed my bag from beside the door and left, walking downstairs. The kitchen was filled with groggy teenagers and anxious parents. Several small children were eating breakfast at the table.

I didn't know where Rian would be, seeing as no one here knew who he was. He was probably still up in the guest room he'd been assigned to. I lifted a tray from one of the cupboards and started filling it with a bunch of pancakes one of the omega women had made for everyone.

Omegas were the lowest rank in a pack, with the least power. They usually had sweet natures and were kind and helpful to every member of the pack. They didn't speak much and merely went about with smiles on their faces, glad to help out. Once they found their mate, they would become more open. Two omegas were never paired together by the Moon Goddess.

Some packs took advantage of their kindness and abused them, both mentally and physically. Not my pack, of course. Over the years we'd had more than one desperate wolf come to seek sanctuary with us. We didn't push them to do anything, but some, like the woman who'd made breakfast for everyone, wanted to help out and did it of their own free will.

Of course, it wasn't only omegas who cooked, cleaned, and cared for pack members, but they did a lot on that side of things. So, in their own way, they were the strongest people in the entire pack.

I carried the tray with me over to the guest wing of the house. My werewolf senses helped me to easily find Rian's room. I knocked, then entered without waiting for a response,

Both Rian and Lisa were inside, cracking up at something I didn't even want to know about. They looked up when they saw me and their eyes immediately zeroed in on the food in my hands.

"Food!" Rian exclaimed, scrambling towards me and almost tripping over a shoe in his haste. I laughed, setting the tray down on the dresser.

We ate our breakfast quickly, then gathered our stuff. I wondered how we'd get outside without being noticed, but Rian answered my question for me by promptly jumping out the window.

I rushed over; he'd given us little to no warning and the jump was quite far. I stared down at the ground but didn't see him anywhere. Oh god, where did he get to? And how did he find the strength to get up again right away?

"Rian?" I called out the window. Lisa stood beside me, staring around as well.

"Right here guys!" Rian's voice shouted from below. I looked down and Rian was perched on a window sill a few metres directly below us. He was probably looking in on someone's bedroom right now.

"How the hell did you get down there?" I yelled, a little irritated. What if someone saw him?

"Oh, lighten up a little", he said. "I jumped and used my amazing acrobatic skills to grab onto this ledge. You should try it; it's fun."

I rolled my eyes. "Not when you almost died!"

"But I didn't", he said impatiently. "Now get down here!"

With that, he jumped the last few metres to the ground and somehow landed on his feet, spreading his arms wide. "See? I'm perfectly fine."

"I want to try", Lisa spoke up, shoving me out of the way and swinging her foot out onto the ledge. I didn't try to stop her as my efforts would be useless and it would probably result in her falling.

She didn't waste a moment in dropping down to the same window sill that Rian had been on. It was actually quite wide and didn't look too difficult to land on. I went to get all of our schoolbags before I would jump out myself. When I saw that Lisa was safely on the ground, I tossed all three bags out the window and left them for those two to catch.

I then climbed onto my ledge and looked down. Maybe it wasn't so far. I knew Aiden wouldn't want me recklessly leaping out a window but he wasn't here right now, and Rian was currently assuring me that he'd catch me if I fell. Which resulted in Lisa huffing that he didn't say that to her, which in turn sparked a whole new argument between them both.

I just blocked them out and let go, falling to the ledge beneath. I stumbled a bit before regaining my balance. Now came the ground. I shut my eyes tightly before practically flinging myself down towards the ground. I felt a rush of air and then suddenly I was on my knees on the grass. It was slightly painful but I was okay.

"You did it!" Rian cheered, and I sent him a smile. I led the way to the garage since Dad had had the Aston Martin brought there last night. Rian had the keys which probably wasn't a good thing, but we were set.

Lisa climbed into the driver's seat with Rian on the passenger side and me in the back. She started up the engine and backed out of the garage. I noticed a few other teens doing the same and wondered how they hadn't noticed us yet. Surely they would have noticed the strange scents of a couple of rogues. I understood how it didn't happen in the pack house since there was so many people that it would be hard to distinguish a rogue's scent unless you were in the same room as them, but here we were, in plain sight. I could only blame it on the morning sleepiness that seemed to affect everyone.

"You know, Mark found his mate last night", Rian said conversationally as Lisa navigated the narrow roads that led to the edge of pack territory.

"Really?" I asked, interested. Maybe it was someone I knew. "Who was it?"

"Some girl named Gail", he informed me, causing my jaw to drop open. I remembered our conversation in the kitchen that fateful day when I was basically kidnapped by Aiden, and how she'd spoken of wanting a mate. Although I didn't know her all that well, she seemed like a sweet girl and, now that I thought about it, she was perfect for Mark. I was happy for them.

"You know her?" Lisa questioned, keeping her eyes on the road.

"Yeah", I responded. "She's really nice. We should see her at school today, actually."

But Rian shook his head. "Mark came back late last night all smiley and shit. He left early this morning to go back and see her, said they were spending the day together. So I think she'll be missing school today."

"Oh", I said. I suppose that's what I would have done if I'd just found my mate, although my case was a bit different since Aiden marked me without my consent.

Lisa and Rian carried on the conversation, but I fell into deep thought. My relationship with Aiden hadn't exactly started on the best note, but right now I felt as if it was perfect, and everything was going great. I just worried about the future of my pack.

~•~•~•~

School went by quickly, and soon it was time to go home. I was the first one to wait by the car this time, so I called dibs on the passenger seat, leaving Rian to complain at us from the back. Apparently all of the teachers "bullied" him by giving him way too much homework. I stifled a laugh, glad I was facing the front.

We reached home in no time. What we didn't expect was to see my dad standing on the steps of the house. "Perri!" He exclaimed when he saw me. "I need you in my office."

"Okay", I said, a little unsurely. "Will you guys be okay?" I asked Rian and Lisa. They responded with yeses and left to head up to the guest rooms. Hopefully they wouldn't get lost.

I followed Dad as he led the way to his office without another word. His silence was slightly unnerving, but I didn't want to worry myself over nothing and instead I just walked with him until we came to the door.

He strode in and I was surprised to see several people already in there. Dan, Aiden and my mom all stood around something on the desk. Shockingly they weren't arguing, but I didn't think that it would last long. Whatever was taking up their attention must be pretty important for them to be this quiet.

I looked to Dad for confirmation and he nodded slightly, spurring me to walk over to the desk and peer over my mom's shoulder. I gasped when I saw what was sitting there.

Dad's desk was covered in what had to be hundreds of little notes, all covered in spidery writing. I leaned forward so that I could read some of them.

Are you ready to die?

Your pack will miss you when you're gone...not.

Just hand yourself in.

We'll kill you, don't worry.

Each one was different, but they all had a sentence of threatening - if not stupid - words. "How did they get here?" I asked, looking around the group.

"I don't know", said Dad. "I came up here this morning to work on the treaty with the Alpha of the Blue Dawn pack because apparently they've been receiving rogue attacks that aren't Aiden here and his group. Anyway, these notes were just sitting here. I haven't moved them since."

"Oh", I said doubtfully. I mean, this was serious. Someone had been able to sneak into pack territory without anyone noticing. Either they were really good at hiding their scents or we needed new guards. I suspected it was the former, because before I'd met Aiden we were always notified immediately when an intruder's presence was sensed.

"We'll need to double patrols, increase training and make sure no one goes out alone. Dan, get someone working on these notes to search for fingerprints. Right now we need to host a pack meeting, both to make sure everyone knows about Perri and her friends and to tell everyone about the new rules", Dad ordered, and I soon heard his voice in my head telling everyone to go to the meeting hall right away.

Mom gave me a small smile but didn't say anything. I gathered that she was okay with Aiden being my mate for now, but one step out of line and she'd make his life very difficult. Dan merely nodded at me once and sent a nasty glare in Aiden's direction.

We all headed outside together. I didn't see Rian, Lisa or Mark on the way, but since they weren't in the pack they wouldn't have got the message through the mind link. Aiden only knew because he was with us at the time. It was probably better this way anyway.

A steady stream of people made their way out to the meeting hall. We were some of the first people in, and Dad took his place on the stage with Mom by his side. Dan stood at the very front and Aiden and I were beside him. Aiden had his arm around my waist as if to stake his claim on me, which made me smile in an odd sort of way.

"Is everyone here?" Dad said, and everyone quietened down. "Good. There are a few important matters we must discuss during this meeting.

"During the past few days, Red Rock pack has been receiving threats from an unknown group of rogues. We are telling you this so that we can put in place the security cautions needed. Patrols will be doubled, training will increase from an hour every day to two and a half, and no one is to go anywhere alone in case of attack. Remember that these are merely precautions and we will most likely be able to avoid violent actions but we will be prepared for anything unexpected. Also, because of these threats, my daughter and her mate were forced to retire to pack territory to ensure their safety as they would be a good target for outsiders. Yes, Perri has found her mate. He is a rogue", Dad held up a hand to silence a few protests that had arisen, "but you will not treat him as any less than as if he were one of your fellow pack members. Because he is her mate, we are certain that he will be of no harm to any of you. A few other trusted rogues who have proved helpful will also be staying here and if I find out that a pack member has discriminated against them they will be punished accordingly. Any questions?"

I turned and saw a heavy man raise his hand. Dad pointed at him and he spoke with a gruff voice, "Why are you letting this - this filth stay here?"

Aiden let out a low growl, but I placed a hand on his arm and he stilled. I knew he was angry, but that was expected. After all, wouldn't you be angry if someone spoke of you as if you were a piece of shit on their shoe?

"I believe I already answered that", Dad said patiently. "And if you don't want to end up in the same situation rankswise I'd suggest you refrain from such comments. Any other questions?"

I looked around, but no one raised their hand again. A few pairs of eyes were on me, including Annie's beady ones, but I didn't let it bother me and instead I turned back to face the front.

The meeting was soon over and Aiden and I retired to my room quite quickly. We didn't want to be intercepted by anyone like that man, because I knew for a fact that a lot of people shared his views on rogues but just didn't speak them aloud.

"I swear, I was about to punch that guy", Aiden growled, pacing as I sat on the bed.

"Calm down", I said, "There was bound to be someone like him anyway. He's just afraid."

"Afraid?" He snorted. "I'll show him afraid."

I stifled a laugh and stood up, pulling him in for a kiss, because that would calm him down for sure. His muscles soon relaxed and he wrapped his arms around me. I broke our lips apart so that I could lean my head on his chest. He rested his own on top. "I love you", he breathed, making me smile.

"I love you too."

We pulled apart soon afterwards. "Hey, we can eat with everyone else now", I said with a smile.

"Are you sure you want to?" He asked worriedly. I knew he wasn't worried for himself, but rather my reaction if anyone decided to slag him off at the table. It angered me that some people didn't see that he was, in fact, a person just like them. Maybe that's why I wanted to go down there, to show everyone that Aiden - and me, for that matter - was just an ordinary guy who happened to be a rogue.

"Yeah, I'm sure", I said, already leading him towards the door.

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hii here's the new update woo

ik the notes were dumb af but this is my story so whatevurr

hope you like it, vote and stuff xox