Chapter 11: Secrets don't make Friends

**Raegan**

"Put me down!" I said to Cris as I slapped at his hands around my waist. I was incredibly uncomfortable with this abrupt display, and keenly aware of the eyes that were on us as he had me in the air.

He chuckled and spun me around two more times before finally setting me on my feet and wrapping his arm around my shoulder to guide me to the table they'd picked.

"What's with the guards, George?" He laughed, looking over his shoulder briefly with an eyebrow raised and a smirk on his lips.

I looked over my shoulder to see the guards glaring daggers at him, "safety," I repeated The King's sentiment from last night.

I hated to admit it, but I did feel safer with them around me. I knew Kai was in the dungeon but I felt like at any moment he could break free and come steal me away to forcibly mark me.

Granted, he couldn't mark me yet without killing me, he would still do his hardest to make me shift and then mark me. Especially now that he knew the New King was my mate.

I shook my head to free myself of the thoughts about Kai.

Cris pulled out a chair for me, and I sat down as he tucked the chair in so that I was closer to the table, then he sat down next to me, his arm draped over the back of my chair as he started to eat.

I looked at his arm questioningly. Was this what the King was talking about? Shawn cleared her throat, and pointed to the food in the center of the table with her fork. I grinned and started to pile food onto the plate in front of me.

A hand quickly stopped me, and I looked up, ready to tear whoever dared to prevent me from demolishing this food apart. My eyes met Annalise though, and I jumped out of my seat to hug her tightly.

She grinned as she hugged me back, her frail arms tightening around me.

"Oh how I've missed you, sweet girl," she said to me with a chuckle.

"Me and my stomach have missed you too, Anna," I said, and pulled back to look at her. She looked healthier than she had before. Her cheeks were fuller and she had a radiant glow about her, "god," I smiled, "the change in managment has done wonders for you, old bat."

She playfully smacked my arm, and then gestured to a servant beside her. The servant took the plate that was before me earlier and replaced it with a silver platter with a lid.

I looked at Annalise questioningly.

She shrugged, and winked, "I couldn't let my favorite person go around eating the same thing these commonfolk were," she placed a kiss on the back of my hand and departed. As I sat down, the servant she'd left removed the lid off of the platter, and I moaned in delight at the sight before me.

"Thank you," I looked up at the servant. They bowed respectfully.

"Of course, Princess," they smiled, and then left.

A bearclaw sat on the left side of the plate, beside an omlet with an absurd amount of cheese on top of it, and beside the plate was a small dish of assorted berries.

"What kind of mismatched breakfast *is* that?" Cris laughed.

I glared at him, "the breakfast of *champions*, Cris. The Breakfast of *champions.*" I picked up the bearclaw and sunk my teeth into it.

I felt eyes on me, multiple sets of them, and the first ones I located were Shawn's and Morgan's.

They both had their eyebrows raised and small smirks on their lips.

"What?" I asked, not bothering to covering my mouth as I chewed. God, that bearclaw was *so good.*

Shawn's eyes flicked down to my chest, then back to my face.

I looked down at myself and realized I was still wearing the King's clothes. My eyes widened, and I shook my head, "I didn't have pajamas and he wouldn't let me go get mine," I said quickly.

"Mhm," she grinned, "sure."

"You do realize you just walked in wearing the New King's clothes, smelling like him, and looking like you had a rough night?" Morgan chuckled. I heard Cris growl beside me, and I tensed before glaring at my brother.

I huffed at him, "utter another word and I'm going to castrate you."

He squeaked, and shifted in his seat, turning his attention back to his food.

"Why *are* you wearing his clothes? You could have sent a guard to get them," Cris asked, pulling on one of my curls and twirling it around his finger.

I looked at the movement, and my wolf growled internally, trying desperately to make it an audible growl.

"He wanted me to smell like him," I said, narrowing my eyes at his fingers on my hair.

He scoffed, "what a douchebag." He didn't seem to notice me glaring at his movement as he continued to play with the lock that he had in his hand.

"I kind of like my hair," I said trying to get him to catch the hint.

"I kind of like your hair too," he smiled at me.

"I would like my hair to stay attached to my head, without your nasty 'I don't wash my hands after I piss' hands all over it," I raised my eyebrows.

"I wash my hands after I piss," he huffed, but didn't let go of my hair.

"My man, we both know you don't," I said and jerked my head back a little, pulling the strand from his hands with a tug.

"Rude," he narrowed his eyes at me.

I rolled my eyes and took another bite of my bearclaw.

"Seriously though, he sounds like a douchebag," Cris chuckled, then bumped me with his shoulder, "want me to kick his ass for you?"

I stopped chewing for a second, and looked at Morgan. He was seething, and when I looked at Shawn, she looked just as uncomfortable as I felt.

I looked briefly up at the King. His eyes were glue to me, and his fork was being bent out of shape by how hard he was gripping it. I raised my eyebrows, and looked pointedly at his fork to try and get him to turn his attention to it. He glanced at it briefly, and dropped it, letting it clank softly onto the plate.

I pursed my lips to stop myself from smiling, and he narrowed his eyes at me, then looked at Cris beside me with his eyebrows raised and arms over his chest. He mouthed, "I told you so," and then pursed his own lips.

I grimaced, and shook my head, turning back to my food.

"You guys are so cute," Shawn's mate, Donnovan, said softly, his elbow on the table and his chin resting on his fist.

"What?" I snorted, looking at him like he was crazy.

He grinned at me, and winked, "I know chemistry when I see it, babe, and you two have so much I'm surprised this whole palace hasn't gone up in smoke yet."

"Babe?" I raised my eyebrows, amused by the confident and exubrant man at my Alpha's side.

She beamed at him lovingly.

"Would you prefer another pet name?" He asked, tilting his head to the side, "I can do 'honey', 'love', 'sweetheart'--"

"No, no," I shook my head, smiling, "'babe' is fine, I'm just not used to it."

"I only use pet names for people I like," he winked at me again, and I chuckled, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Careful buddy, you might catch a marriage proposal with talk like that," I winked at him, and Shawn growled.

I laughed, tilting my head back with the sound.

"God," I looked at her, trying not to wheeze as I continued laughing, "you're totally whipped, homegirlie pop."

She growled again, narrowing her eyes at me. I forced myself to stop laughing by contorting my face as I held in each laugh and pursing my lips.

Each laugh started to come out more and more strange and choked out until eventually I got myself to stop entirely.

"Okay, okay," I took in a deep breath and slapped my palms on the table, "I'm cool. I just--" I pursed my lips and took another deep breath, "I just need to get some fresh air," I pushed back and rose to my feet.

"I'll come with--" Cris started to stand but I quickly pushed him back down into his seat with my eyes wide.

"No! No, no, I'm okay, I can go alone, I just need to leave this table before I lose it and get my throat clawed out by Shawn," I chuckled, and grabbed my bearclaw off my plate. I held it up to them in a gesture of departure then headed to the doors of the dining hall. The guards the King had assigned me trailed behind me quietly as I made my way out to the garden.

I stepped out onto the patio and sat on a bench. The guards surrounded me in a protective sort of bubble and I sighed.

"Can you move?" I asked one of them, "just a little to the right," I explained, "you're blocking the Sun and I'd like to soak up as much of it as I can while I'm up this high," I smiled at her, and she smiled back.

"Of course," she said and then stepped to the right just enough to let the Sun shine down on me.

I sighed, and nodded, "yep, that's the ticket," I muttered as I took another bite of my bearclaw.