Chapter 111 - Meeting The Parents

Evan had no idea how he imagined Manvale, but what he saw outside the window was mesmerising. North Hallson was a small town surrounded by nature, but Manvale took it to the next level.

Spring was in full display in every inch of it, from the sun's rays peeking out from behind the blooming trees to the gentle breeze that Evan enjoyed thanks to the slightly open window. As he closed his eyes and let his wolf enjoy the same sensation, his ears picked up the buzzing of bees and the rustling of leaves. The closer they got to the inhabited area, the more these sounds changed and were joined by others - the laughter of children, the tinkling of garden tools, the cheerful chatter of people. Manvale was certainly not a gloomy town.

Evan chuckled at the thought.

"What's so funny?" Ryan asked with undisguised interest.

"I was just thinking what a cheerful town Manvale seems to be. I don't know why it surprises me, considering you're from there." He opened his eyes and turned to his mate sitting beside him.

At his words, the same smile appeared on Ryan's face and the dark-haired boy leaned in to plant a kiss on his cheek.

"Keep it PG, you two," Michael warned from the driver's seat, and Evan met his stern gaze through the rear-view mirror. Of course, he had no reaction other than to roll his eyes.

"You should have done your supply of naughty stuff at home. You don't want to make a first impression by getting caught in the act," Angie interjected. Unlike Michael, she sounded amused.

"It was an innocent kiss," Ryan protested, while Evan said at the same moment: "We did."

"You're lucky your hickeys didn't have a chance to last the whole trip." If it had been up to Evan, he would have worn Ryan's hickeys with pride. Whether Angie would laugh at him or not. But his healing didn't agree.

"My parents wouldn't mind," Ryan told her. "The last time I was home for Christmas, they put condoms in my bag." Surprisingly, he managed not to blush when he said it, and Evan was proud of him. With the skills he had in bed, he had nothing to be ashamed of.

"Are all the adults in your family this cool?" Angie looked genuinely curious. "Of course, Mama Olivia is still number one."

"Don't answer her or she'll be unbearable." Michael's eyes met his cousin's through the rear-view mirror.

The two passengers in the back seat laughed, and while one of them stopped when Angie turned to him with a not-so-nice look, her best friend wasn't worried and gave her a big smile.

"You'll stop laughing when we get there," she reminded him. She knew exactly how nervous he was about this visit and although she had assured him that everything would be fine and that Ryan's parents had no reason to dislike him, now, of course, like a good best friend, she was using his fears against him.

"You have nothing to worry about." Ryan regained his mate's attention and pulled their joined hands into his lap so that he could place his other hand on top of them in a comforting gesture. "They'll love you."

"They survived Ryan's dinosaur phase, they can handle anything now," Michael added reassuringly, but in his own way.

"My sweet Pachycephalosaurus." Evan chuckled, and this time it was he who planted a quick kiss on his lover, just on the lips.

"I knew I should have split you up." Michael shook his head with a sigh.

"I'm not giving up my place as Passenger Princess," Angie replied immediately, getting dramatically more comfortable in her seat.

"Princess Dumbass," Michael corrected her with a low murmur. Of course, the volume of his voice didn't matter as he was in a car full of wolves.

"I'd hit you, but I value my life too much," Angie declared, shifting her gaze back to the road ahead.

Evan did the same and was once again enchanted by the sight. It almost made him think about the future and the possible choice he could make for his mate. But it was too early to be thinking about that and worrying about another thing, so he quickly dismissed the thought.

"Do you have a place like Nowhere here?" he asked after a moment, tearing his eyes away from the town.

"Not exactly," Michael was the first to answer, surprisingly.

"We used to go to the old playground. It's mostly the teenagers from the pack who meet there. There used to be an old nursery for werewolf children, but they tore it down and moved it somewhere else," Ryan explained. His answer raised more questions in Evan's mind. Nowhere was a place just for him and his cousin. This sounded like a place everyone knew about. No one could blame Evan for wondering why Michael would voluntarily go to places where his peers gathered.

"Do we like the teenagers in this pack?" Angie asked. Her question was a fair one, as everyone in the car was well aware of how Angie and Evan got on with their peers in the pack.

Ryan laughed and replied: "We do." Evan turned in time to see the nostalgic smile on his face. He really was glad to be home, if only for a little while. "I guess if you want to spend some time with other she-wolves, I can introduce you to Lia and Emma. Maybe Cora, if she has time."

"Damn, did you hear that, Evan? Your mate's got contacts," Angie shifted her reaction to his words to Evan. "Popular with the ladies."

If she was hoping for a jealous reaction, her best friend had to disappoint her. "I made my peace with it when I saw how good-looking he is." Now those were words that could bring a blush to the ink-haired boy's face.

"What about the guys? Any potential good looking mates for me?" Angie asked another question that surprised Evan more than the others. The last time he'd talked to her about this, she was sure that her soulmate lived in North Hallson.

Their eyes met and she immediately read the doubt in his eyes. With a sigh, she explained before Ryan could answer her question, "I'm just keeping my options open. Your mate isn't from North Hallson either, but you saw him there in your vision. My mate could have just been visiting."

"I don't know about good-looking, but I can introduce you to my friend Tommy. The last time I checked he didn't have a mate either," Ryan replied.

"Sounds good," Angie agreed contentedly and turned to face the front, leaning back against the backrest. But then a frown crept into her voice. "Although it sounds like you've got a lot more friends than us. I don't want to look like a loser in front of them just because there isn't anyone cool to be friends with in our pack."

Evan cleared his throat. When Angie didn't answer right away, he did it again. "Except for Evan," she said in a tone that almost sounded like someone was holding a gun to her head and forcing her to say the words.

He smiled contentedly and Ryan laughed at their exchange.

"We're almost there," Michael announced, mostly to Angie and Evan.

Evan's smile faded, but after Ryan gently nudged his shoulder with his, he regained his confidence, which turned into a tender smile. Although he was still worried, he couldn't imagine the parents of someone as nice as Ryan being someone horrible. After all, he loved everything about him, and as their son, he was a combination of the two, wasn't he? At least he hoped so, because he certainly wasn't a combination of his parents himself, and if he was, he had inherited the best qualities from both of them. Or maybe the worst.

"I can't wait for you to meet them." Ryan's words snapped him out of his thoughts in an instant. His positive thinking had always worked like a charm and Evan still hadn't fully realised what a bleak life he'd had until he'd met him.

"Me too," he admitted, and he really meant it. Ryan's confidence was infectious.

A few moments later, Michael pulled into the driveway of the cosy looking house and the first thing Evan noticed were the animals running around the garden. Surprised, he turned to Ryan, who automatically smiled and gave him an explanation, as if expecting his question. "My mum always wanted to be a veterinarian, but she eventually gave up on that dream because chemistry and biology were her worst subjects. But that didn't stop her from becoming a pet foster carer. The house is always surrounded by animals, and of course they all sleep inside."

So far, Evan has seen two dogs and three cats, but according to Ryan, he wouldn't be surprised if there were more.

"Oh my God, I'm in heaven," said Angie, who was also looking through the window at the animals.

"I really want to pet the dogs," Evan echoed her enthusiasm.

"Hey!" Ryan interjected reprovingly, although an amused smile played on his face. "We don't discriminate against cats in this household."

"I guess I'll survive them," Evan muttered grumpily for effect. Ryan rolled his eyes but cracked a laugh and pulled Evan closer by his chin for a kiss.

"Welcome to my home," he whispered close to his lips before letting him go. If he was trying to make Evan look like a blushing mess when he met his parents, he was succeeding.

Michael got out first and Angie followed him enthusiastically as curious dogs ran up to the car and immediately began to wiggle around her feet, eager to make friends.

Hearing her laughter encouraged Evan to grab the door handle and get out as well. Ryan did the same and quickly walked around the car to join him. Before he got around the car, however, he managed to pick up a cat from the ground that was trying to climb up his pants and into his arms.

"I'm going to tell Mallow you're cheating on her," Evan warned him in a mock-serious tone. He couldn't hide a smile at the sight, though, because despite the fact that he still didn't like cats, they were almost too cute when Ryan had them in his arms. One of his boyfriend's many superpowers.

"Mallow gave me permission before we left," Ryan assured him, and Evan laughed at the way he said it, as he had no doubt that he had actually told Mallow about it.

"I hear laughter," came a female voice that Evan didn't recognise, but he automatically turned his head towards the front door.

"Mum!" Ryan quickly left his side and ran to his mum, pulling her into a hug, and she immediately wrapped her arms around him as well.

"Hey! Don't forget me." Evan had a few seconds to take in the man who appeared behind them as his face quickly ended up somewhere between Ryan's and his mum's as he threw his arms around them both and joined the hug.

Evan had had no idea how to picture Ryan's parents, having only seen them in pictures and knowing them only from stories, but seeing the way they greeted their son, it was easy to conclude that they were great.

He waited for jealousy to set in at the sight of them, but it didn't. Instead, he watched them with a smile, glad that his mate had a family that loved him.

"We missed you so much." That was his mum.

"I swear you've grown an inch since the last time you were here." And that was his dad.

Ryan laughed - Evan's favourite sound - and it was clear that he was as excited about the reunion as they were. With that realisation came Evan's silent promise that they must come here more often. He knew that Ryan stayed in North Hallson all the time because of him, so he should return the favour.

"Evan, come meet someone," was the first thing the black-haired boy said once he was out of his parents' grasp and the three of them were three people again instead of a pile.

The eyes of both adults were immediately on him, and although he was nervous, he tried to give them a warm smile as he took Ryan's outstretched hand and snuggled into his side. "Hi. Thanks for having me."

"No need to thank us." Ryan's mum waved her hand. "We couldn't wait to meet you. Ryan talks about you all the time, so we feel like we already know you."

He almost asked if he was only talking about him in a good way, but stopped himself when he realised what a ridiculous question that would be. Instead he said, "I should probably warn you that Ryan's opinion is biased." He tried to be relaxed and put some humour into his words, and thankfully he succeeded.

"Trust me, we know," Ryan's dad replied with a laugh. "No mate is going to speak ill of his other half. Fortunately, we know we have a great son, so the Moon Goddess wouldn't choose a bad mate for him. Besides, from how happy he always sounds, we have a clear idea of you."

"No pressure, Evan. We just want to get to know you officially. After all, you're the reason we had to buy Ryan a couple of bookshelves because he insisted on reading the same books as his mate," his mum chuckled.

"I guess I should return the gesture and try playing soccer sometime," Evan said, not quite sure, turning his face towards his boyfriend. Even though he was a werewolf, sports weren't his forte, especially team sports. He'd known for a long time, though, that he'd do whatever Ryan asked.

Someone else had answered him instead. "That doesn't sound like a good idea." Angie appeared around the corner where Evan hadn't noticed when she'd disappeared. She had a small dog in her arms and was petting it. Michael was at her side, as if to make sure she didn't get lost.

"Mum, Dad, this is Angie. I told you about her." Ryan did the introductions.

"Hi." Angie greeted them. "I love your dogs."

"Looks like Zitta loves you," Ryan's mum replied, her eyes falling on the dog in Angie's arms. "She's a very moody lady, so if she snuggled up to you right away, you're officially one of her favourites."

"Birds of a feather," Michael muttered, but being in the company of werewolves, everyone heard his words clearly.

Angie turned to him immediately, burning him with her gaze, not daring to react further as she was a guest and wanted to make a good impression.

The negative atmosphere didn't have time to settle, though, as Ryan's mum walked over to Michael and pulled him into a hug. "Michael. I can't remember the last time I saw you. You're so handsome."

"It's good to see you too, Aunt Natalie." He returned both her kind words and the hug.

"What about me?" Ryan's dad echoed.

"Good to see you too, Uncle Oscar," Michael assured him, pulling away from his aunt's embrace and moving over to his uncle so he could greet him as well.

"Oh, that reminds me..." As soon as everyone had their hands free, Ryan's parents turned their attention back to Evan and Ryan. "You're part of the family, so I don't want to hear any Mr Saunders, okay?"

Evan didn't understand where Ryan's dad was going with this. "Okay?"

"Just call us by our first names, honey. I'm Natalie." Evan was surprised, but as they both gave him a warm smile, he automatically started to smile too.

"I'm Oscar. Ryan's grandmother was crazy about names that start with O," Ryan's dad revealed.

"Same goes for you, Angie, of course!" Natalie turned to the only girl present.

"Really?" She was surprised. The confused look on her face however was quickly replaced by a beaming smile. "Thank you. You're so sweet. I should have seen it coming, knowing Mama Olivia."

"Liv's great," Natalie confirmed. "The second best thing to come out of our relationship. She's practically my best friend." She leaned sideways against her husband and placed her palm on his chest.

"What about your father, Michael? Adam should be coming home soon, shouldn't he?" Oscar turned to his nephew. Evan immediately snapped to attention as well. He didn't want to ask Michael directly, as he didn't talk about his dad very often, and even though he wasn't in such a dangerous position with the army, Evan still found it a sensitive subject.

"In a month." Michael nodded. "Mum and I can't wait." It was clear that everyone present was pleased with this information. Adam, Michael's father, had worked in the military as a cargo pilot. On the one hand, this meant that he had a less dangerous position, as he was mainly in charge of transporting supplies and/or medical material, but he was also responsible for evacuating wounded soldiers and so was sometimes in the centre of danger.

"That's good," Natalie was the first to respond. "You and your parents need to come and see us when you have time."

"After Liv has had a chance to enjoy having him home, of course." Oscar gave him a smile.

"I'll tell them." Michael nodded. "But there's a better chance you'll come and see us instead."

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea." Natalie picked up on that immediately. "At least we'll get to spend more time with Ryan and Evan."

Even though Evan had only known them for a few minutes, he liked being involved in future plans. Unlike his own parents, Ryan's seemed like someone he'd be happy to spend time with.

"Oh." Natalie jumped as if she suddenly realised something. "But first we have to move into the house. Poor Evan and Angie haven't seen the inside yet. We prepared a little snack for you after the long drive and instead we're standing out here talking." She shook her head as if she couldn't believe it. "Come on."

Ryan's parents walked in first, followed by the teenagers.

Evan looked around, trying to take in every detail of their home. It looked very cosy, with paintings on the walls that immediately caught Evan's artistic eye. Especially the one of the three black wolves.

"Bryan from our pack painted that. Luckily he took a picture of us first so we didn't have to pose," Ryan revealed, noticing what had caught Evan's attention. Then he leaned closer and added in a hushed tone, "He doesn't have the talent to paint me from memory like you do."

By the time he got to the kitchen, his cheeks were burning red. Thankfully, no one commented, although Ryan's parents gave him a knowing look.

"You have a lovely home," he complimented, taking the cup of hot tea from Natalie.

"Thank you. I went through a phase in college where I was obsessed with interior design. There's some things I still remember to this day," she revealed.

"I can see that," Angie nodded before Evan could. "I love all these plants." There were flowers and plants everywhere, whether green or brightly coloured, and it was obvious that they had been lovingly tended. It was very clear that the Saunders' loved all living things. "Evan, on the other hand, definitely likes your paintings."

"I do." He nodded immediately. "It's obvious you have a nose for art. Everything works together, even though they're different styles." They had abstract paintings, black and white paintings, and colour paintings like the wolf portrait. They were all placed in a way that worked together, plus the other decorations in the rooms helped.

"Ryan mentioned that you were an artist." Natalie's eyes lit up, clearly pleased with the change of subject. "Perhaps you could contribute to our collection. Without any particular request, of course."

"I'd love to." Even though he didn't have much free time and didn't like vague instructions that left him worrying about whether he would complete the task, Ryan's parents had put him in such a relaxed frame of mind that he just had to agree.

"The pleasure is ours," Oscar assured him immediately. "We'll be happy to boast that we have something in the house created by our son's mate."

"I'll think of something." He smiled and took a sip of his tea. Ryan was snuggled against his side, holding his waist, and even though it was a natural gesture, one that Evan was used to even in front of Mama Olivia, it still felt unreal to him. He wouldn't dare do something like that in front of his own parents, and knowing that Ryan's parents had no qualms with him was a great feeling.

This feeling didn't leave him even after their initial introduction was over and they moved into Ryan's room. As they didn't have a spare room and Michael was used to sleeping in the room with Ryan, either on the floor or in bed with him, they were given the choice of all staying in Ryan's room or having Michael and Angie sleep in the living room.

Surprisingly, Angie and Michael decided to give them some privacy and sleep in the living room, although they left their things in Ryan's room. It wasn't the first time they had slept together in the same place, so no one thought twice about it.

At the moment Angie and Michael were somewhere in the house, as Michael had offered to show Angie around and said he would help her find the other dogs, and Evan and Ryan were in his room. They were lying on the bed, holding hands and looking at the black ceiling. The rest of Ryan's room was white except for one wall covered with movie posters. There was Alien, of course, Ryan's love of dinosaurs was expressed in Jurassic Park posters, and Evan chuckled when he noticed a poster for Sleepwalker, which he admittedly didn't know, but the number of cats on it said it all.

"I really like your home." He turned his head to the other side and shifted his gaze to his mate, who did the same.

"I'm glad." Judging by his tone, he had indeed been waiting to hear his opinion, and was pleased with it. "I'll show you the rest later. Right now I just want to be alone with you for a bit."

"My favourite kind of plan." Evan gave him a smile and shifted closer. His gaze moved quickly to his lips. But before he could capture them, Ryan beat him to it.

Very quickly they forgot the world around them and lost themselves in each other. Ryan moved partially on top of his boyfriend and Evan immediately wrapped his arms around his neck, pulling him close. An innocent kiss turned into a make out session.

"Oh my God, I forgot your parents were home," Evan said breathlessly when his lips were free again, and while he wasn't far from panicking, his mate broke out in laughter.

"It's not funny," he pointed out, although a smile slowly found its way to his lips as well. "I'm trying to make a good impression, not have sex in their house the moment they disappear from sight."

"On second thought..." Ryan planted a quick kiss on the tip of his nose. "That means you're comfortable in my house. I think that would be a good argument if we got caught." He gave him an innocent smile.

His words and expression were just enough to make Evan laugh, too. "I suppose your second argument would be that it's your birthday."

"Of course." Ryan nodded immediately. "We can't break the birthday tradition." Evan's cheeks turned a darker colour as Ryan's words reminded him of how the two of them had celebrated his own birthday.

"If having sex with you counts as tradition, then I'm a pretty traditional guy," he stated amused.

"Uh-huh." Brown eyes narrowed and scanned his face, bringing more red to his burning cheeks. " You really are pretty."

Evan laughed again, pulling his boyfriend in for a kiss instead of more words. They hadn't even been at his place for an hour, but he was already more than enjoying this visit, and not just because of the compliments.

"I really fucking love you, Bane."

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My New Year's resolution is that I will update this story every week so get ready!