Thirty- four

"Your lip is going to bleed if you don't stop chewing on it," Samantha said, concern evident in her voice. 

We were sitting in the cafeteria, during lunch period. Our group of three had long extended into a group of five, with the addition of Harper and Aiden. They hadn't joined us yet and Nat and Sam were watching me with a worried expression.

I had been worried about the dinner tonight with my family, where Harper and Emily were going to sit at the same table. It would be such a weird situation that I cringed every time I thought about it.

"Yeah, what are you so worried about?" Aiden asked me while sitting down at the table, beside Samantha.

A minute later, I felt another person slide into the empty spot beside me, and by the way my body reacted to it, I knew it was Harper.

Harper settled down comfortably and put his hand on my shoulders, bringing me closer to him. I didn't protest and let my body be closer to his. 

"Everything alright? You seem tense, babe." Harper turned his head to look at me, his eyebrows creasing in worry.

I sighed. Am I worrying about nothing? Is the dinner even a big deal or am I just making it one?

"Mom invited Harper over for dinner," I said while looking at everyone's faces, trying to gauge their reactions.

"So, what's the problem?" Natalie asked.

"Mom messaged me to tell me that Emily is going to come over too."

Samantha and Natalie cringed while Aiden just looked confused.

"Who's Emily?" Harper asked.

"Emily is Zara's elder sister," Sam said while giving me an understanding look.

"So, Harper will be meeting the whole family at once. What's the problem with that?"

If only everything was that simple in my life. 

"Emily and Harper slept together," Nat said.

Harper tensed beside me and Aiden expression changed from confusion to amusement.

"Well, that's unfortunate." Aiden chuckled.

Harper threw him a glare and he started laughing.

"And that's not all. It was a one-night stand and it was her first time." Samantha said while elbowing Aiden and signaling him to control himself.

"She told me Harper didn't even have the decency to stay till the morning," I said and felt Harper tense more. I shifted a little away from him, irritation budding in me. He lets me and I sigh in relief when I feel there's appropriate distance between us.

"Well, you have got a terrible situation," Aiden smirked.

I nodded. "I don't know what to do. Emily is coming after so long, that I can't cancel on the dinner."

"I guess you will just have to get through it," Aiden said, biting his lip to stop himself from laughing. 

Harper growled and abruptly stood up from his seat. We all stopped talking and watched him storm out of the cafeteria, without looking back.

I groaned. "What am I going to do?!"

***

I was sitting alone in the living room, nervously twiddling my fingers while being worried about the upcoming dinner.

Mom had been in the kitchen all day, preparing Emily's favorite dishes, since the moment Emily called her to let her know that she would join us for dinner. My father had been in his study, catching up with work since he chose to help Mom in the kitchen and took a day off. Cody was in his room, probably sleeping or playing video games.

And here I was, dressed in an orange sundress, sitting in an empty room to be the first person to get to the front door.

I was worried about the awkward tension that would ensue when Emily and Harper would sit at a table together more than that I was annoyed at the fact that my sister had slept with my boyfriend, she had lost her damn virginity to him. She had seen him naked and the image of their naked bodies, writhing in pleasure seemed to be imprinted in my brain. So, in addition to being nervous, I was jealous. Really, jealous.

I glanced at my wristwatch for the hundredth time in the past hour, willing it to strike 6 as soon as possible. Emily had called to inform us that she won't be able to make it before 7. That's why I had invited Harper to come at 6, so we could somewhat, prepare for whatever would be coming our way.

The sound of the doorbell brings me back to Earth and I stood up from the couch hastily and walked fast toward the front door.

I took a deep breath and opened the door to come face-to-face with Harper. He was dressed casually in a blue polo shirt and blue denim jeans with black sneakers. He had a bouquet of red roses in his hands and I smiled inwardly at his thoughtfulness.

His eyes lit up when he saw that it was me and I smiled in return. Before any one of us could say anything, my mom peeked out of the kitchen.

"Who's there, Zara?"

I gestured for him to come inside and closed the door after him. "It's Harper, mom."

"Really?" She walked out of the kitchen while simultaneously cleaning her hands on her apron. "You bought roses, I see." Her eyes twinkled as she eyed the bouquet of roses Harper held in his hands.

Harper blushed at the comment. "It's good to see you, Miss Hemming."

"I already told you to call me Ana." Mom said in a Stern voice. Harper just nodded.

Harper handed over the bouquet to Mom. "Are you sure this is for me?" My mom raised her eyebrows at me, her eyes full of mirth.

I blushed at her insinuation while Harper just laughed. "Well, I did buy it for the prettiest Hemming lady."

"Well, that's me, then." My mother laughed. "I am going to put these flowers in a vase."

"So, um, we will be in my room." I tentatively said.

She raised one eyebrow at me and then slowly nodded. "But no funny business."

I rolled my eyes at her. "Yes, mom."

Before anyone could say another word, or before Dad chose to walk out of his study, I grabbed Harper's hand and led him to the staircase and up to my room.

He entered before me. I closed the door and leaned back on the door. 

I had always considered my room as a sanctuary of some sort. Not many people had been inside my room because I thought it gave an insightful look into my life and my thoughts, so I was nervous about showing it to Harper. But right now, I was more nervous about the dinner and Emily seeing Harper, than I was of Harper seeing my room.

"You're so tense," Harper said, bringing me back from my thoughts. I nodded and sighed.

He walked towards me, held my hands in his own, and pulled me. He snaked his arms around my waist and looked down at me nervously. I put my arms around his waist, gazing up at his tormented expression, while I smiled inwardly at his effort to ease me off my worries.

I felt my tense muscles relax in his embrace and a sigh of pleasure released my lips. He pulled back to gaze into his green orbs and felt my lips transform into a smile.

Harper leaned forward and captured my lips with his. I had become accustomed to the dynamics between us by now, but I still couldn't cope with the immense pleasure that shot through my whole body when our lips locked with each other.

My hand flew up to his neck. I tugged at his soft brown hair, earning a moan from him which egged me to move my lips against his more fiercely.

My other hand touched his bulging bicep and I couldn't help but scrape my nails at the uncovered skin, which earned me a throaty growl and I sighed against his lips in pleasure.

One of his arms snaked around my waist, pressing my body flush against his. He cupped my face with his other hand and drew slow circles on my jaw, his lips never leaving mine.

His hand on my waist went south and I felt his big and hard palm on my butt. I gasped at the way his hand felt against this unexplored area and he growled in return, latching his lips with mine again. He squeezed my butt and a whimper escaped my mouth. 

The door burst open at that moment and both of us sprang apart from each other, our lips swollen and our cheeks flushed. My cheeks tinged red as I noticed my father standing at the door of my room, glaring daggers at Harper who was nervously fidgeting.

I gulp nervously and look at the murderous expression of my dad. He narrowed his eyes on the both of us. "Emily is here." He said in a clipped tone and before any one of us could say another word, he turned around and walked out of the room.

Oh God! Did he hear us moaning too? 

I felt Harper grab my shoulder to bring me back to reality and I turned to look at him. He gave me a weak smile. I felt how nervous he looked and I cringed inwardly. There was no way Dad was going to like him now. 

"Okay, here goes nothing." I took a deep breath and started walking downstairs when I knew my family was having a little reunion. I could hear Harper following me, I couldn't look back at him.

I was still a little flushed after the kisses we shared. I could still feel his lips against mine and the strong masculine ridges of his body against my feminine curves. My lips tingled and I was sure that they were a bit red and swollen after how they had battled with Harper's lips.

When I reached the last step of the stairs, I was immediately engulfed in a bone-crushing hug and the smell of Emily's rose-scented perfume hit me full force. I hug her back instantly.

Emily and I had always been very close with each other, despite the two-year age difference between us. She was a best friend to me sometimes, who shared guy problems with me, and sometimes she would act like a mother, would coo over my scraped knees. I couldn't have asked for a better elder sister.

Emily's eyes shot behind me and her eyes immediately narrowed at the boy standing behind me. This was not going to be good!

Emily then looked at me, then, her eyes widened in disbelief and confusion.

"Are you Zara's boyfriend, the one everyone has been talking about?" Emily asked, not waiting for the introductions. I was glad, I doubt I would have been able to speak at the moment.

Emily's posture was tense and her spine was rigid and I could only imagine how she was feeling right now. This was such an uncomfortable situation.

Harper just nodded and held his hand out for Emily to shake. She put her hand in his gingerly and they awkwardly shook hands.

"Dinners ready." Dad peeked from the dining room and shot a murderous glare at Harper.

Emily laughed at Dad's expression and just like that, the awkwardness dissolved.

"We are coming, Dad," Emily replied cheerfully.

Harper walked around us, probably to give us time to talk alone and catch up as much as we could manage. Or probably, he just wanted to get away from Emily.

As soon as Harper was out of my sight, Emily glared at me. "What the hell are you thinking, Zara? Him?"

There was no way I could explain what happened between me and Harper, without telling her about the existence of werewolves and that was obviously out of the question.

"Heard about soul mates?" I chuckled nervously.

She shook her head, silently reprimanding me.

That was when my gaze flew to her neck. At the base of her neck. Carefully hidden by a scarf.

It would have been inconspicuous to anyone who didn't know what it was, or what it signified.

The redness around the two punctured holes in her neck proved that the mark was recent. I remembered Harper telling me about it.

She was marked. By a werewolf. She was mated to a Werewolf.

My eyes stayed on the mark. She must have sensed my gaze at it because her hand flew up to cover the mark on her neck.

But it was too late. She knew it too.

Her eyes widened in disbelief.

"You know about Harper," Emily exclaimed. Being a werewolf.

It wasn't a question; it was a statement.