Tyler froze midway into sitting, his attention now focused in the direction of the voice. "We're in here" he called out, immediately straightening up. In contrast, Ryder slouched even further into the sofa with a resigned sigh. "Here we go," he muttered under his breath. I felt sick, my anxiety peaking. I was about to meet the Alpha and Luna of the River Gorge Pack. My mates' parents. I stood, squeezing as close to Tyler as I could without seeming weird. He obviously sensed my discomfort and wrapped an arm around my shoulder, giving me a light squeeze. The woman who casually strolled into the room was nothing like I had imagined. She was tall and graceful with a presence that filled the room. Her hair was a soft brown, probably similar to my own natural color, with streaks of silver that hinted at her wisdom and experience. Her eyes were a warm hazel color and they scanned the room, predictably landing on me with curiosity. "And this must be your mate?" she asked, her gaze shifti
I snatched it back as if it were on fire. "The fuck dude?" I murmured in shocked disbelief, but he only chuckled. "I just had to check the 'total slut' theory," he replied with a shrug. I glared at him. I was about to tell him how wildly inappropriate that had been, but then I figured that was probably the reaction he'd been hoping for. So I went in a different direction. "Wow... That was disappointing. But Tyler is your 'big' brother, right?" I asked hopefully, trying to sound as believable as possible. It was now his turn to gasp in shocked disbelief. "What?!" I shrugged. "I'm not sure what reaction you were hoping for, Ryder. I guess I kinda expected more," I went on casually as I pulled Tyler's jacket around myself tightly and gave Ryder a pitying look. I could see the wheels of his mind working, trying to figure out whether I was joking or not. Unfortunately, my acting abilities only went so far and the look of panic and discomfort on his face made me break character. I c
(Tyler's POV)I watched along with my mom and dad as Ryder escaped the room with Katelyn close in tow. My parents' faces were etched with irritation and disappointment that they hadn't been able to continue their inquisition, but the room was silent until Katelyn and Ryder's footsteps had faded away and we heard the front door close.I felt the weight of expectation pressing down on me. It was a familiar burden, but tonight it had taken on a new form."Tyler..." Mom began, a look of concern on her face that I had seen countless times before, but I cut her off."No," I stated, my tone firm yet respectful as my gaze shifted between them. I sat forward in my seat now, agitated. "I actually can't believe you would disrespect my mate like that," I shook my head in disbelief. "She's probably convinced she's unwelcome here now. She was so nervous to meet you and I tried to tell her it wouldn't be so bad, but you were exactly what she anticipated," I kept my tone calm and measured."Well at l
Ryder smiled, leaning over and capturing my lips in a kiss once again. I anticipated it this time, so I didn't pull away. Instead, I fell into it, allowing it to take over and lead me wherever it was going.He was eager and passionate, but surprisingly gentle at the same time. It wasn't what I had expected from him, but I wasn't disappointed. I felt his hand, so daring and bold only minutes ago, was now gentle and cautious, cradling the side of my face as his thumb softly caressed my cheek.The kiss deepened and I found myself leaning into him, my fingers raking through his hair and tugging him closer, wanting to get lost in him. The pull between us was relentless, drawing me deeper and deeper in until I couldn't remember where we were or why we were there. It was just me and him and this... this moment.Suddenly, a blinding light shone into the car, ending the moment abruptly.I squinted, looking in the direction of the light only to see Aunt Mara. She was bundled up in her purple ro
I settled down at the kitchen table as Aunt Mara handed me my cup of coffee in my favorite mug. A very large one with an opossum on it that said 'Every day is trash day'. She was still huddled up in her robe as she took a seat opposite me, tugging at the fabric to cover the exposed skin around her neck. The little wooden home wasn't particularly warm, but to make up for it, the sound of the rain on the roof was more soothing than any other sound in the world. It drummed on, setting a soothing backdrop while my mind wandered back to Ryder's lips. "So!?" Aunt Mara pressed, hunching over her coffee mug and looking at me with wide, expectant eyes. "So?" I replied evasively. "Oh my God, Katelyn! Do I need to drag it out of you?!" she asked, desperate for more information. She was perched on the edge of her seat, her eyes glittering with excitement while she wrapped her hands firmly around her pink coffee mug. "What if it went really badly and you're sitting here smiling like some kin
I looked up and saw aunt Mara busying herself in the kitchen now. I was fairly certain she was trying to distract herself from all the memories of Uncle Heath as I saw her rubbing tears from her eyes."You okay?" I asked, coming to stand beside her at the kitchen sink.She nodded as she wiped a tear from her eye. "It's just hard sometimes, you know? I really loved him" she whispered, her eyes welling up with shiny tears once more, but she wiped them away and took a deep, steadying breath."I'm okay. I'm okay," she repeated, as if trying to convince herself.I wrapped my arm around her, hoping it would offer her some semblance of comfort, but how do you comfort someone who's lost the only thing that truly mattered to them?Aunt Mara turned to me and we hugged. She held me tight as she stifled a sob."Sorry, honey..." she apologized, pulling away and wiping her eyes again, with the sleeve of her robe this time."You've got nothing to be sorry for," I assured her as I rubbed her back.Sh
(Tyler's POV) Lying on my bed in my dimly lit room, the rain pummeled furiously on my bedroom window. Finally, my phone buzzed indicating a message. I knew it was Katelyn. Katelyn:Don't think your parents liked me 😢 God, how was I going to fix this? She probably feels like she isn't good enough. What if she wanted to call this whole thing off? What if the lack of support from my family was just too much for her to deal with? I sent her another message asking if I could call her, hoping to try and work things out without anything being misunderstood or misconstrued over text messages. It took her ages to respond and I had begun to doom scroll on my phone while I waited until I eventually got a response. Katelyn:Give me 5 5 minutes... I could do that. At least I had a time frame to work with. I messaged her, asking her to let me know when she was ready, then I continued to doom scroll while I waited, desperately needing a distraction. It was more like 15 minutes, but she fi
"Is everything okay?" I answered the phone, concerned about how he had dropped the call earlier. The whole time I'd been waiting for him to call back I'd spent opening and closing my contacts list, my finger hovering over his name as I considered calling him to check. "Sorry about that," he apologized. "Ryder and my dad got into an argument," he explained sounding exasperated. "Shit... hope everything is okay now," I said, wondering whether the argument was about me, but I was hesitant to ask. "Yeah, it's okay. For now at least," he finished, sounding a little uncertain. I was quiet for a moment, tempted to ask what that meant, but he went on, "So, when do I get to see you again? I know you've got plans to see Ryder tomorrow, so I figured we should make plans too?" he suggested, sounding sure of himself. I felt an immediate rush of guilt as he mentioned my plans with Ryder. "Tyler, I'm sorry—" I apologized, but he interrupted me. "Don't be, it's no big deal," he confirmed befo