27. Dinner with his parents

HAPPINESS IS FLEETING, WATCH YOUR BACK.

The note makes me tense. Every bone inside me locking in panic and anxiety. I had thought that moving here would have stopped whoever was stalking me. But I was so fucking wrong.

The fact that whoever it is was able to enter Darren’s house. An Alpha’s home was shocking and a little bit scary.

I didn’t need the added worry tonight. Darren’s parents were supposed to come for dinner. I was already on edge, I did not need anymore anxiety and that’s what this note was causing.

Just like always, there isn’t any scent. There is nothing that can alert me to who it is or what they want.

“Mayra? Come down. My parents will be here any minute now” Darren’s rich voice whispers in my mind.

My heartbeat spikes up. I’ve never really been good at meeting new people. It takes time for me to be comfortable around people I don’t know.

I drop the note on the bed and turn to face the mirror. Giving myself one more glance to make sure that I looked presentable, I leave the room and head downstairs.

I follow Darren’s scent and find him seated on the couch with Iris in his arms. She took to him immediately. Part of me thinks it’s because she has always longed for a dad.

They were chatting and Iris recounting how her day was and every exciting thing she was able to do.

The doorbell rang just as I was about to drop a kiss on their cheeks.

“Would you mind opening the door for them?” Darren asks me with a smile.

I nod and give him a small smile. Slowly I walk toward it. My palms sweaty and my heart racing. I open the door to find a beautiful older woman and a handsome older version of Darren. They both seem to be in their mid to late sixties.

“Hey, I’m Mayra and you must be Kate and Edward, come on in” I say with a smile lighting my face.

I was trying to portray an image of confidence but deep down I was shaking like a leaf. These two were his parents and their opinion mattered.

“Nice to meet you” Edward says with a smile and shakes my hand.

Kate on the other hand doesn’t say anything. Her gaze pierces my skin and holds me hostage. She is scrutinizing me. Almost like she was trying to look inside me. To what I was hiding deep down.

Things become a little awkward. Edward places a hand on her waist and she turns to look at him. They seem to be communicating through the bond. After a minute, she sighs and turns to give a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes.

Edward clears his throat and I step aside to let them in. I let them go ahead of me just so I can have a minute or two to calm my nerves down. Once I’m a bit stable, I follow the sound of their voices. I find Darren introducing Iris to them.

“You’re a very pretty girl Iris and I have a present for you” Kate crouches down to eye level with Iris.

She was hiding a bit behind Darren’s leg. When she hears Kate mentioning the word present she comes out a bit. Kate smiles at her. A much livelier and lovelier smile than she gave me.

Darren gently pushes Iris towards his mother.

“Don’t you want to find out what she bought you?” Darren asks her.

Iris looks up at him before turning her green gaze to his mother and then steps towards her. When she does, Kate reaches into her bag and pulls out a beautiful doll. Iris gasps and reaches out to gently take it as if it was the most precious thing she’s ever received.

At that moment I feel like hitting my head on the wall. It had completely escaped my mind that she’s still a kid. That she would want toys to play with. We bought her everything else except toys. I make a mental note to buy her whichever toys her heart desires.

“Thank you…” she says after studying the toy. She had a huge smile on her face.

“You can call me grandma my sweet darling” Kate then proceeds to give her a small hug.

“And you can call me grandpa” Edward adds.

Iris nods. “Grandma and grandpa” she says, testing the words.

I feel my eyes tear up. These people knew nothing of my daughter yet they were so kind to her. Some would have ignored her simply because she isn’t their son’s daughter.

“Should we proceed to the dining room?” I ask and everyone nods their heads.

One thing I will always be grateful to my mother for is her lessons. She insisted on teaching me how to be the perfect host. When everyone is settled down, Edward says a small prayer to the goddess and then we dig in.

“So Mayra, where are you from and who are your parents?” Edward asks.

I swallow before answering. “I’m from the north pack but left years ago when I came here to study. That was before everything happened. I was born to Luna and Jack Miles”

Edward nods but I see disgust cross Kate’s face. I sigh inwardly. My parents were pieces of work and weren’t liked by many. Their reputation precedes them and not in a good way.

“So you’re an Alpha’s daughter?” he continues.

“Yes sir”

Edward frowns a bit. “Please just call me Edward or even dad if you’re comfortable with that”

I smile and nod. I will probably never be comfortable enough to call him that but it was still a kind gesture from him. It showed that he accepted me, unlike his mate.

“Have you never met your fated?” this comes from Kate.

I look at her when I answer. “I did, but we agreed on rejecting each other. He was in love with someone else and I wasn’t in the right frame of mind then”

Darren looks at me a bit in surprise. He didn’t know this about me. I don’t even think he knows that Bash was my fated.

“Isn’t that a bit risky? One day you may decide you want him back, what happens then?” she pushes on.

I let out a breath and calmly answered.

“Nothing like that will happen. He loves his mate so much and he is happy with his life and so am I.

Maybe we would have worked out, maybe we wouldn’t but I believe that the people we chose are our true mates” I replied looking at Darren.

I was being truthful. I felt more for him than I did for Bash when we first met and I wouldn’t trade my connection to Darren for anything. I was where I was meant to be and so was Sebastian.

From there conversation is light. Edward and Kate recount some stories of Darren when he was young.

We laugh at the antics he got into. He was a happy child and he was loved. It was clear in how his parents talked about him.

When we were done eating I started clearing the table while Darren, Edward and Iris went to the living room. Kate offered to help but I knew it was more of a demand than an offer.

“You know, I’m still not sure about you” she began just as I was loading the dishwasher. “Don’t get me wrong, you seem to be a lovely woman despite who your parents are. The fact that you’re friends with Ren is also another positive thing. I’ve known that girl for more than a decade and she would never be friends with just anyone”

I stay quiet as I wait for her to get to the point. The fact that she mentioned Ren reminds me that she was once her daughter in law and by the fondness she speaks of her, she loved Ren and still does.

“I’m just worried that you may not be stable enough to be what my son needs right now.” She finishes.

I don’t have to be told what she was getting at. It was clear. She thought that because of what I’ve been through, I’m mentally unstable. Despite it rubbing me the wrong way, I understand her.

“I won’t lie to you and tell you that I’m completely okay. I have my struggles. I have my bright and my dark days. What I can assure you is that I’m getting the help I need and I now have more bright than dark days. It’s a long process but I’m slowly getting there one step at a time” I replied.

I watch as she ponders my words. Trying to see if they’re enough to give me a chance.

“What about your mate? Are you sure you will never go back to him”

“My mate is Darren, and about my fated, he loves his mate so much he can barely see right. There is no way he would ever leave the woman he loves and even if he did, I still wouldn’t have him. We were just never meant to be”

She’s skeptical but accepts my answer.

“Okay then. I’ll just have to wait and see if you’re being honest, but mark my words, if you hurt my son, there is no place you’ll be able to hide from me, am I understood?” she threatens Damn, the woman can be scary and I’m not saying that lightly.

“Yes”

We watch each other and as if we reached an agreement, we give each other a small smile. From there things flow a bit easily. Edward and Kate stay for about an hour and a half before leaving.

*******

“That went better than I expected” Darren says after while we were in our bedroom.

Iris was already asleep. The doll Kate brought for her, clutched tightly in her arms. She had a small smile on her lips as she slept.

“It did…Did you know your mum is scary?” I ask as I get out of my dress.

I dig into the closet to find something to wear. I was so freaking tired and I just wanted to sleep. Getting my pajamas, I start putting them on.

“Darren?” I call him realizing that he hadn’t answered and had been quiet for a while.

“What the fuck is this, Mayra?” he growls.

I turn around at the tone in his voice and freeze. My inside twist when I see what was in his hands.

Shit. I forgot to hide the note and now it was in his hands.