Thirty- three

"So, when are you going to introduce us to that lovely boyfriend of yours?" My father said abruptly, while we all were eating breakfast.

I stopped cutting the delicious pancake on my plate and looked up to see three pairs of eyes looking at me.

"W-what?" I stammered.

"Oh, come on. You thought we wouldn't know about the guy who waits on the next block to pick you up." My mother smirked at me. No, Mom, I didn't think you would find out about the guy who waits on the next block to pick me up.

"We noticed you weren't using your car even though it's in perfect condition." My dad said.

"Yeah, then I told them about your boyfriend," Cory said the word boyfriend with so much smugness, I wanted to murder him.

"I, um...." I didn't know what to say. What could I say? What do you say to your parents when they ask about your parents when you have only been dating for three days?!

"How can you have a boyfriend? You're too young to date." My father said exasperated.

I saw my mother elbow my father and then a mock glare. Cody snorted and if my love life wasn't being discussed, I would have laughed at their cute interaction.

My father cleared his throat. "We trust you and know that you will always make good decisions. It's alright for you to have a boyfriend." He said the last sentence as if it pained him to say that.

"But we want to meet him so we know who he is." My mother added in a gentle tone.

"And threaten him." My father added.

My mother glared at my father who smiled innocently at her. "And let him know who we are."

"So, he doesn't take any advantage of you." My father grumbled.

Mom rolled her eyes. "So, he knows we are protective of you. And if ever things got out of hand, we...."

"Have the shotgun ready," Dad said.

I rolled my eyes. I doubt a shotgun would be able to stop Harper who was an adult wolf. But they didn't need to know that.

I smiled nervously at them.

"So, message your boyfriend and tell him to pick you up from this door." Said Dad.

"Like a man." Added Cory. Dad nodded and I glared at him.

"Now, eat your pancakes," Mom said sternly.

I took my phone out of my jeans and opened the chat box with Harper.

My family wants to meet you.

His reply was instant.

Now?

I typed as fast as I could.

Is the big bad wolf afraid of my parents?

I knew he was offended by my comment. He was the white wolf, the alpha of this pack, and his mate was teasing him and telling him to be afraid.

When do they want to meet me? 

I smiled at his immediate response.

Pick me up at my door?

Be there in 10.

"Chatting with that boyfriend of yours?" Dad asked and raised a questioning eyebrow at me. If he was trying to look intimidating, he failed.

"I just asked him to pick me up from my home." I smiled innocently at him.

Dad nodded and went back to eating his pancakes. I sighed and went back to eating my breakfast.

After exactly ten minutes, the doorbell rang.

Before I could get up, Cory got up and ran towards the door. "I will get it." 

We were all sitting in the living room and apparently, my parents decided to go to work a little late so they could get acquainted with my boyfriend. 

Cory entered the living room, looking smug, Harper walking behind. 

I gulped as Harper's eyes met mine. Words couldn't describe what those green eyes did to my nerves. They calmed me and made me a hot frustrated mess at the same time. Images of our last kiss flashed through my mind, the one in which we shared the remaining chocolate piece. I could feel my cheeks flaming as my thoughts went haywire.

Harper smirked at me as if he knew what I was thinking. I playfully rolled my eyes and got up from my seat.

Dad straightened his posture in a desperate attempt to look intimidating. I doubted changing posture would make a white alpha cower in your presence.

"Harper, this is my dad. Dad, this is my boyfriend, Harper." I introduced them.

"Good morning, sir." Harper smiled at him nervously.

My father maintained a stony face and nodded. "Harper, what are your intentions with my daughter?" 

I groaned. "Dad."

"You don't need to do that, honey. You're going to scare the poor boy." My mom said while entering the room.

"Yeah, that's the plan." My dad said sarcastically.

My mom chuckled and walked towards us and smiled at Harper. I mentally sighed in relief at her easy demeanor. 

"Hi, I'm Zara's mom, but you can call me Ana." She said cheerfully.

"Hello, Mrs. Hemming, it's nice to meet you. I'm Harper."

My mother grinned at my boyfriend and gestured for Dad to join her. He grumbled under his breath, something about 'killing his vibe'.

"Introduce yourself, honey." My mother said sternly. I smiled at the threatening glare he gave Harper. I wouldn't be surprised if he wanted to kill Harper at the moment.

"Hi, I'm Gordon and you can call me Sir." My father grunted.

"Good morning, sir." Harper gulped and sneaked a nervous glance at me. I bit back a giggle at his constipated expression.

My mother clapped her hands. "So, Harper, are you allergic to anything?"

Harper shook his head. "No, Mrs. Hemming. But why?"

Dad must have caught on to where Mom was going with this line of questioning because he narrowed his eyes at Mom. "Yeah, Ana. Why do you need to know this?"

Mom playfully rolled her eyes. "We have just met the boy. To know him, we have to invite him over to dinner, right?!"

Dad gaped at her. "Hell no!" 

Harper shifted nervously from foot to foot, unsure about what to do.

"Nonsense." Mom rolled her eyes and looked pointedly at Dad as if reminding him to behave.

"So, it's set. Harper is coming over tonight for dinner." Mom said cheerfully.

"Thanks for the invite, Ana," Harper said while giving her a small smile.

"Now, off you go, otherwise you will be late for school." Mom waved at us.

We said our goodbyes and walked out the door. As soon as we stepped out of my house, my bag on my shoulder, Harper took my hand in his.

This hand-holding thing was slowly becoming our thing. We would never let go of any opportunity to hold hands. It felt so good, to touch any part of his skin that I had given into temptation and it was now second nature to me.

"Your parents act like mates." Harper chuckled while walking to the passenger side and opening the door for me. There was this thing, About Harper, he stressed being the proper gentleman and any protests by me were too futile.

"Don't tell me my parents are secretly werewolves." I gaped at him.

Harper chuckled. "No. They smell like humans. You don't need to worry about that."

I sighed in relief and Harper rolled his eyes at my expression. Harper walked around the car and got in the driver's seat.

"I'm sorry about my dad." 

"You don't need to be sorry. If I had a daughter such as you, I would have been so much protective over her."

I beamed at him. Something was endearing about Harper talking about his daughter, especially when his daughter could, very well be our daughter.

We reached school and Harper parked the car in the parking lot. We both got out at the same time and walked towards each other to hold hands once again.

Over the last three days, people had somewhat gotten used to the idea of us being in a relationship but that didn't stop them from blatantly staring at us. All it took was a murderous glare, and everyone pretended to mind their own business again.

"Harper, does anyone else know about us being mates?" I whispered in his ear, keeping in mind the fact that werewolves had super hearing.

"No, they do not. They will know soon, though. I haven't accepted you as my mate, yet."

My eyes widened at his words. What did he mean by that?

"I rejected you, remember? But the bond between us didn't break because you weren't eighteen till then."

"What do you mean?"

"Werewolves can recognize their mates at the age of eighteen, even if their mate is not eighteen yet."

I nodded to show him I understood.

"If an adult werewolf, who is above the age of eighteen, rejects his/ her mate, who is also above the age of eighteen, the bond breaks. Nothing can receive it again."

"We werewolves go through immense pain when we get rejected or reject our mates. After rejection, the two mates can get together, but it won't ever be as same as it could have been before."

"Wolves get one mate in their life, so it is highly frowned upon to reject your mate and it's humiliating if you get rejected."

I nodded. There was something new I learned about werewolves and it never failed to amaze me how big and complicated Harper's world was, and to think I was a part of it now, a very big part.

"What happens when one of the mates is not of age, then?" I asked hopefully. 

"The mates can work on their bond again and they will feel it getting stronger, the more they work on it. Their feelings will hit them with full force and they won't be able to fall for each other."

I took a deep breath and took it all in. It was true. I felt everything Harper said, I could feel everything that Harper had said was true. My feelings for Harper were getting stronger day by day and I was too shy to admit it at first, but holding hands with him seemed more like a necessity. It somehow, made me feel closer to him, and now that I knew that the bond between us was getting stronger. I smiled at the thought.

"I feel it too, you know. The bond between us. I can feel it more." 

I nodded weakly.

"To solidify the bond between us, I will have to accept you as my mate. On your eighteenth birthday, I will have to formally speak the words out loud, and only then you will officially be my mate. Your scent will change a little after that and only then, I will be able to claim you as mine. Only then will I be able to mark you."

"Oh!" 

Harper looked at me.

"You mean, I'm a free woman before my birthday?" I asked Harper with a teasing smile on my face.

Harper growled in return. "No, you were not a free woman since I decided to take you as my mate."

I tutted and playfully shook my index finger in his face. "I will have you know that I'm nobody's property."

Harper leaned dangerously close to me. His breath fanned my face, making me very aware of the hard planes of his body that were now coming in contact with my soft ones. I gasped at our proximity and gulped at the increasing tension between us.

"We will see about that." I shivered and Harper smirked at me.

My phone buzzed and I hastily took a step back, quite aware of the curious eyes in the hallway.

I took out my phone out of my jeans pocket and resisted the urge to fan my face to get rid of my hot cheeks.

It was a text from Mom.

Emily called. She will be joining us over dinner.

I smiled at the text. Me and Emily had always been close to each other. She was two years older than me but we never realized the age gap between us till she went to college early in the year. We were as close as sisters could be.

My smile instantly faded as a thought popped up into my head.

Images of Emily and Harper having sex together flashed in my head!

Harper had slept with Emily!

And he was going to have dinner with my family tonight. With Emily!

Fuck My Life!