Chapter 3

The rest of the year flew by so fast.  Before we knew it, it was the end of school and the begining of summer.  Brent and I never found our mates, which was kind of a relief.  Jill managed to pass her calculus course with a B+ and I was so proud of her and all her hard work.

I can’t believe our graduation ceremony is tonight!

Although Brent and I had a small rough patch when we initially discovered that we weren’t fated mates, it didn’t take long for us to fall back into a comfortable rhythm with each other.  We never did get around to marking each other, and it was a little awkward how it never came up as a conversation topic when it had so often been the focal point when we spoke about the future, but I tried not to stress myself out about it too much.  I’m sure we’ll mark each other after graduation.

Maybe Brent is just planning some sort of a surprise and he’s avoided talking about it, so he doesn’t slip and give anything away.  He was always so sweet with the surprises he would plan for me.

We’d already made plans to travel a bit and enjoy our summer before warrior training would start up at the end of August, so after today I expected a lot to change in my life.

From my bedroom, where I was getting ready for tonight’s graduation ceremony, I heard the front door open and close.  Dad must be home, but he’s never home on Friday nights.  He typically goes straight from his shift on border patrol to the bar to drink away his sorrows and find a woman to warm his bed.

He has a few regulars that I’ve seen him bring home more than once, but more often than not, he’s looking for someone new.  Sometimes he even visits bars in nearby territories to find someone he hasn’t had before.

He started doing this a few months after mom died.  It used to bother me, but I soon got used to it, and I understand that it’s his way of coping with his loss.  So many wolves die from heartache after losing their mate, but my dad knew he had to be strong for me.  Not that he has ever really been there for me aside from allowing me to continue living in my childhood home, but as I got older, I have come to understand that this is just the way he deals with his pain.

I hear his heavy footsteps moving up the stairs and then coming down the hall.  I lay the dress I was holding down on my bed.  I hear my dad’s voice just as I’m turning to face the door. “Giovanna, can I come in?”

My feet move swiftly to the door, and I swing it open.  I’m met by my dad’s expressionless face.  He looks sober and he doesn’t even smell of alcohol.  I’m sure my face doesn’t hide my surprise.  “Dad!  What are you doing home?  I didn’t expect to see you tonight.”

The corner of his mouth lifts into the hint of a smile as he reaches up to scratch the back of his neck.  It’s a movement he often made when my mom would ask him a question and he was hesitant or embarrassed to answer.  Suddenly, my mind was taken back in time to when I was 6 years old, and Mom was alive, and Dad was happy.

My parents were always affectionate, and mom loved to tease dad and try to embarrass him.  It was like a game for her.  He was this big, strong, tough warrior, but somehow, she always managed to make him blush.

“You really thought I’d miss your graduation?”  His surprised reply snapped me back to the present.  Who was this man in front of me?  I took a minute to look closer at my father.  He usually had at least a couple day’s scruff on his face, but today he was clean shaven.  His deep ocean blue eyes had the slightest hint of the sparkle that I remember from before, and he almost smiled.

“Oh, you’re coming tonight?” I ask with a raised brow.

“Is that alright?” he counters.  He almost looked nervous, as if he was worried that I’d tell him he wasn’t allowed to come.  We didn’t really have a relationship, but I didn’t have anything against him.  He could come if he wanted to, I just didn’t have any expectations for him to be there.

“Sure.” I shrug my shoulders and pretend like this isn’t the biggest shock of the decade.

Dad just stands there and doesn’t say anything else.  He won’t even look at me.  He’s staring down at the floor and tapping his fingers lightly against his athletic shorts.  For a man his age, he’s still in remarkably good shape, but being a were wolf, and a warrior will keep you in shape much longer than any human would be able to.  He might be my dad, but I can see why the ladies like him.  It’s no wonder he can easily bring a different woman home every night.

“Well, I need to finish getting ready.” I try to casually end the awkward silence. “Did you need anything else?  Do you know where to go and what time to be there?”

“Yeah,” he quickly confirms. “I know where to go.  I’ll get ready and then I’ll see you there.”

“Yeah, I’ll meet you at the school.” I smile as I step back and gently close my bedroom door.  I take two steps away and pause waiting to hear his footsteps moving away from my room.

There’s another minute of silence, but then I finally hear him moving.  That was by far the most unexpected thing to happen with him in years.  What was that all about?!?

I remove my bath robe and pick up the dress I was planning to wear.  It’s a white cap sleeve dress with a circle skirt and very pale pink flowers scattered all over.  The pink is so light, that from a distance it would probably look like the dress was just plain white.

Making an impromptu decision to switch it up, I hang the dress back up, and instead, pull out a red fitted off the shoulder pencil dress.  If I’m hoping for Brent to mark me after graduation, I better show off the spot where he’ll do it.

-----

The graduation ceremony was just as I expected, long and boring.  Alphabetical seating is so stupid, I didn’t get to sit anywhere close to Jill or Brent.  Trevor, however, sat just beside me.  He kept glancing at me out of the corner of his eye and it made me uncomfortable.  He was seated to my left which mean that when I stood to walk up on stage and receive my diploma, he was right behind me.  I could feel his eyes on me, and at one point I swear I could feel his breath on my neck.  Was he really standing that close to me?

Glancing around the room I saw Brent still seated next to Amanda and although they weren’t talking to each other they looked too comfortable for my liking.  Just then, he looked up and smiled at me.  I immediately felt stupid for even worrying in the first place.  I turned back and realized that the three person line in front of me had stopped moving, and I was barely able to stop my feet fast enough to avoid slamming into the back of the person in front of me.

Trevor was not so fast.  His chest collided with my back as his arms wrapped around my waist and a chill ran down my spine.

“If you wanted my arms around you, all you had to do was ask.”  Trevor whispered into my ear.  “I won’t tell Brent if you won’t.”  He chuckled.  His lips brushed against the shell of my ear and his warm breath caressed my neck.  I shuddered as I quickly pulled away from him.

“Absolutely not!”  I huffed.  “Please keep your hands to yourself.”  I didn’t want to make a scene, so I was relieved when the line started moving forward again and allowed me to put a little extra space between Trevor and myself.

As soon as the ceremony was over, I weaved through the crowd to find Jill and Brent, when I was suddenly standing face to face with my father.  I had almost forgotten that he said he was coming.  We stood there in another moment of awkward silence, neither of us sure what to say.  I have no idea what he’s doing.  Does he really think that everything between us is magically going to be fixed now that I’m out of high school?  Or is this a list ditch effort to salvage a father-daughter relationship before I move out of the house?

Jill popped up next to me, like the angel that she is, and broke the silence between us.  “Hello Mr. Akir.  I didn’t know you were going to be here.”  She smiled warmly at him, but he just gave her a blank look.

“Why wouldn’t I come to my daughter’s graduation?”  There was a hint of annoyance in his voice, but Jill just ignored him and gave me a hug.

“We did it!  We’re finished!  Are you ready for the most magical summer of your life?”  She squealed with excitement.

Before I could answer, Brent's muscular arms slide around my waist and I feel his chest rumbling against my back from his deep voice.  “Of course she is!  We have a lot of fun to pack in before warrior training begins.”

“Warrior training?”  My dad voiced from my left.

“Yes Dad.” I sighed, “I’m starting warrior training in August.”

“You can’t do that!  It’s a terrible—”

“Dad,” I interrupted him, “I’m 18 and I just graduated high school.  You don’t get to suddenly jump into my life and tell me what I can and can’t do.”

I was not about to let this celebration be ruined by a fight with my dad.  I quickly turned and walked away, Jill and Brent following behind me.  I didn’t look back to see my dad’s reaction.  Whatever is going on with him, I don’t care.  It’s too late.

-----

Brent, Jill, and I went to the local diner to grab dinner and celebrate.  I didn’t want to think about my dad and his strange behavior.  Today was supposed to be a happy day of celebration.

After we finished eating, Jill had to head home for a small family celebration her parents had planned.  She said they invited me to join them as well, but she told them that I already had plans with Brent.

Once we were alone, Brent and I strolled through town.  My heart was racing as we approached the gazebo in the park.  The sun was setting, and most people were leaving the park and heading home.  Was this the moment we were finally going to discuss marking each other?  Maybe we’d go back to his house and do it tonight.  Just the thought of it made my stomach flutter with excitement.

I couldn’t stop my enthusiasm from bubbling over at this point.  “I know we haven’t really talked about it lately, but I think I’m ready.” I smile at him batting my eyelashes.

Brent stopped walking; his face briefly flashed an emotion I couldn’t identify before he composed himself. “Gina, you know I love you more than anything.”  He takes my hands into his, and although his face is neutral, his eyes still shine with the warmth and affection I’m used to seeing.  “But there’s no reason to rush this.”

My heart stopped for a moment and I’m sure he saw my face drop.  “Let’s just enjoy our summer and our newfound freedom post-graduation” he continued, “and let the future worry about itself.”

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed, but I knew he had a good point.  We have so much time, there’s no reason to rush into this.  We have the rest of our lives to be mates.  I know he’s right, but it still hurt a little.  It’s starting to feel like there’s always another excuse to put it off.

We walked around for a while talking about our plans for the summer and then after a while Brent drove me home.  He dropped me off around 12:15 AM and my dad’s truck was nowhere in sight.

After kissing Brent goodnight, I went inside and headed straight for the shower.  I stood there for a while just allowing the water to run down my skin while my mind bounced around from thought to thought.  Between my dad’s odd behavior tonight, and Brent’s continued avoidance of marking me I was feeling a bit despondent.

Tonight, was supposed to be a celebration, but instead it left me thinking about all the ways that things were changing in my life, and not necessarily for the better.  I had no idea what my dad was trying to accomplish tonight with his sudden interest in my life, but I was able to easily ignore that peculiarity.

What really bothered me was Brent’s actions, or I should say lack thereof.  I knew he loved me.  We’ve been together long enough that I can read him pretty well.  I could still see the warmth and affection in his eyes when he spoke to me, but the rest of his face was devoid of emotions.  Almost like he was trying to avoid his own feelings, but that doesn’t’ make any sense.  We already discussed it, and he chose me.  No one forced him to.

After we found out we weren’t fated he could have just broken things off with me, but he was the one reassuring me that night.  He was the first one to vocally commit to us being chosen mates.

It must have been close to an hour that I stood there in the shower thinking.  When I decided that I wasn’t going to solve this mystery tonight, I turned off the water and grabbed a towel to dry myself off.  I dressed in my pajamas and cuddled up under my blankets.

Just before I drifted off to sleep, I heard dad’s truck pull up and I heard the familiar sound of his deep voice and the high pitch giggle of whichever woman he found to bring home tonight.  I guess not everything has changed, and I found a strange comfort in that as I drifted off to sleep.