The Cold Shoulder
*Hezzlie*
I go back to my room after I leave Rowan’s office. I suppose there are other places I could go. I have always wanted to explore the mansion. I haven’t seen much of it at all. There was just that quick tour that Dean gave me once and my birthday ball. But I have a lot on my mind, and I’m honestly a little leery of running around a house where I could get lost, like I always did in the castle.
In my room, I take out my phone and scroll through it, realizing I’m free to contact my friends back home now, if I want to. I look at their social media profiles and see pictures of them in college, the new friends they’ve made, their boyfriends, and decide not to. We have so very little in common now, it seems odd to try to fit them back into my life and vice versa now. I do miss them, and I may message them at some point and tell them I’m okay. I have no idea if they even know I’m out of the hospital.
Thinking of the hospital reminds me of my friends from there. I want to know how they are doing as well. I don’t even know their last names. I wonder if James could help me with that. I’ll have to ask him at some point because he does have some sort of influence on Peripheral since he was my doctor there and got me out. They will probably do anything for enough money.
My mind wanders back to the issue with Abby and Dean. Will she eventually figure out that Dean is her mate? He knows it, after all. Maybe it will take the full moon.
The sun is beginning to go down when there’s a knock on my door. I’ve managed to while away the hours for sure. I call, “Come on,” used to it being a servant bringing me dinner–and used to the door being locked. But when it’s opened, Abby is standing there. I’m still getting used to seeing her wearing jeans and a sweater instead of the fancy dresses we had to wear in the castle most of the time. She probably feels the same about me.
“Hey,” she calls from the doorway. “Are you going to dinner?”
I look at her for a moment, trying to figure out what she means. She had to direct me to the dining room at the castle at first, but we aren’t there anymore. “Oh, they usually bring my dinner to me,” I tell her.
She laughs. “Well, Wilma told me it’s at six in the main dining room, and since you’re the soon-to-be Luna Queen, I’m guessing you are allowed to eat with everyone else now. It’s great that it’s not so formal.” She looks down at her outfit. “Those stupid gowns got stuffy really quick.”
I realize she’s right, and I can go downstairs. I can go wherever the hell I want. Now, I’m wondering why Rowan didn’t stop by to get me. “Right.” I mutter. I stand and shove my phone in my pocket, making a secret plea to my magic not to drain it. I’m getting way better at not accidentally doing stuff like that now.
I walk over to the door, and Abby and I step out into the hallway. I see Rowan heading in our direction, and I can’t help but smile. “I guess we should eat dinner like civilized people?” he says to me.
“Do you not usually eat dinner with everyone else?” I ask, looping my arm through the one he offers me.
“Not usually. But I think that needs to change.” He smiles at me and then greets Abby, and the three of us chat about nothing important as we make it down the stairs to the dining room.
When we arrive, Aiden and Mara are already there. Rowan stutters a step or two when he sees his sister sitting there looking like a normal person. He lets out a deep breath. “Hello,” he says, nodding to each of them. “Nice to see you.”
“You as well.” Aiden stands, but Rowan gestures for him to sit back down. He guides me to a chair but then goes around the table to kiss his sister’s cheek. I’m glad to see it; I can’t imagine the turmoil she’s going through, knowing what she did to her mother. I smile at Aiden, and then we all take our seats.
A moment later, my mother comes in on Dean’s arm, chatting to him about redecorating her room. He walks in, sees Abby, and his smile instantly brightens, but she doesn’t seem to notice.
Again, greetings are exchanged, and they sit down with Dean on Rowan’s left while I’m on his right. He’s at the head of the table, and I suddenly realize the empty seat at the end of the table is probably reserved for his mother–who won’t be coming.
A few other people filter in, people I don’t know. Rowan introduces them to me, and I gather they are his mother’s advisors. They seem nice, though they’re all older than me, and I can see that they are a bit grief stricken still.
“Who are we waiting on?” Rowan asks. “Oh, where are James and Elise?”
“On their way,” Dean says just as the door opens and James walks in.
“So sorry,” he mutters. “I had an issue in the infirmary.”
“It’s no problem,” Rowan assures him. “Did you happen to see Elise?”
An older woman ducks in the room as he’s speaking, and James says, “She was helping me.”
“One of his nurse’s,” Rowan whispers, but I feel Abby tighten up next to me. It seems clear to me this woman is older than James by at least ten years, but Abby still seems jealous.
“Thank you all for joining us,” Rowan says. “Or rather, thank you for letting me join you. I apologize that I don’t usually attend dinner, but I will try to be better about it.”
“As long as we don’t have to get all dressed up in fancy clothes,” Dean jokes, and the room erupts in chuckles.
Rowan gives a signal, and the wait staff brings out our dinner. We start with a salad and then steak with baked potatoes and mixed vegetables. Everything tastes wonderful. The conversation is negligible at first because everyone is busy eating.
But then Dean asks, “So, Abigail, what do you think of the mansion?”
“It’s not that big,” Abby says before taking a sip of her wine. “I’m used to living in a massive castle.”
“Sorry to disappoint you,” Rowan says, but I can tell he’s not offended.
“Oh, no, it’s fine,” she says. “I mean, it’s better than fine. It’s just different.” She takes a deep breath, and I can tell she’s flustered.
“It’s warmer,” I offer, looking at Abby, who still doesn’t get it. She stares at me blankly. “It feels much more like a home than the castle.’
“I can agree with that,” Aiden says. “And the water pressure in the showers is much better.”
His remark is greeted with a chuckle, and then the table goes quiet for a few moments before Dean tries again. “What do you like to do in your free time, Abigail?”
“It’s Abby,” she says. “And… I don’t know.” She seems very uninterested in Dean and not at all able to pick up on the fact that he is interested in her. “How are all the wounded warriors, James?”
The healer, who hasn’t said much of anything since he entered the room, seems a bit surprised that Abby has spoken to him. “Uh, most of them are doing all right now,” James says. He looks at Elise, and I feel Abby tense up again.
“We have a few who needed minor procedures today,” the woman says. “That’s why we were late.” She looks at James and then smiles before she says, “Of course, it helps to have such a talented healer.”
I see the red in James’s cheeks and wonder if Rowan is way off in his assessment that James might be gay. Perhaps he’s just interested in older women? Or maybe he’s just shy? I do know that he isn’t one to accept compliments well.
“There’s a lovely garden out back.” Dean is trying for the third time. “Perhaps you’d like to see it, Abigail–Abby.”
She doesn’t even look at Dean for a moment, her eyes are too busy cutting through Elise. I nudge her, and she blinks a few times. “Huh? Oh, uh, I’m sorry. Maybe I’ll look around tomorrow.” She takes another drink of her wine, and I have to wonder how many glasses she’s had–I haven’t been paying that much attention–and how many a wolf shifter can tolerate as compared to a regular girl of her size and age.
“I could show you around if you’d like,” Dean offers more succinctly this time.
Finally, Abby seems to catch on that he’s trying to get to know her better. “Oh.” Her eyes flicker to James, and it’s quite evident to everyone except for the healer, who is picking at his steak, that she’s doing a mental comparison. “I don’t know.”
Dean doesn’t say anything else. Instead, he finishes his dinner, and then, just as the waiters begin to bring out the dessert trays, the Beta excuses himself.
I look at Rowan, and he slowly nods his head as if to say he knows what I’m thinking, but there’s nothing I can do about it now.
He’s not wrong. I take a deep breath and accept the piece of chocolate cake a kind waitress brings me. It’s delicious, but part of me left the room with Dean, and I can’t help but wonder if he’s okay.
We have a lot going on–a war with my father, my powers and the moonstones, oh, and now this.
Great.
After dinner, Rowan takes my hand to lead me out of the dining room. We bid everyone good night, and as he slips his arm around my waist, I am no longer concerned with my friends.
Something tells me that in a few minutes I won’t even remember they exist.