Chapter 46: Mom's in Charge

Chapter 46

Mom’s in Charge

The front door open, and I pressed into Titus’s side. My father’s eyes narrowed in on us.

“What is he doing here?” he muttered.

“Popcorn is ready!” sang my mother as she slipped past my father. “Oh Quint, you’re home.” She handed the bowl to us and went to give my father a kiss on the check. “Did you figure everything out at the office?”

“The rest can wait until Monday.” His eyes remained on Titus.

“Well they better be paying overtime,” she laughed.

My boyfriend was clearly ignoring my dad and kept watching the movie. He grabbed a handful of popcorn and tossed it into his mouth. I just sat there, waiting to see how this was going to end.

“Karen, what is he doing here?”

My mother grabbed his arm. “Well after I picked up Aden from tutoring, I thought why not have him invite Titus’s over. Aden’s worked hard all week, spending some time with his boyfriend would be fun. They texted each other all day anyways.”

“Boyfriend?” said my father wide eyed. “I told Aden no boys until he graduates.”

“You’re being silly, dear.” She led him toward the kitchen. “I had a chat with Titus’s father. Such a nice man, and he thought it was fine. Oh, I also invited them to Thanksgiving, so we can get to know Titus’s whole family.”

My father groaned. My mother continued to talk about her recent book she found, to the sound of pans and plates being moved around.

I laid my head against Titus’s shoulder. “What did she say to your dad to get him to agree to this?”

Titus shook his head. “I don’t know. He just stood there the whole time trying to talk, but could never get it a word in. Then he said okay a couple times, and hung up. After that, he gave me back my cell phone and told me I could come visit.” He sunk into his seat. “I really like your mom. Makes up for your dad’s constant death glare.”

I punched his arm.

“Aw,” he glanced over me. “I might be a werewolf, but I still bruise.”

I raised an eyebrow as he gave me the look of an angry puppy. “Your dad is protective of you, and my dad’s protective of me.”

“Yeah, mine kept rogues from eating me as a pup; yours attacks boys who get to close. It’s so much alike.”

Smiling, I nodded. “Glad you think so too.” I leaned back against him.

Titus slid his arm free and put it around my shoulder.

I gave him an unimpressed look. “I did not hit you that hard.”

“It’s tender.” He grabbed another handful of popcorn. “We need this back home.” He glanced around the room. “We need a lot of his back home. Human sure do have a lot of cool stuff.”

“Says the man driving all the fancy cars.”

“Those are pack cars. I have to get permission from my dad to use them.”

“I bet you always do.”

He shrugged. “Perk to being the son of the alpha.”

“Still, you have a lot of nice things. I cleaned up the disaster you had exploding out of your room.”

“That’s just normal stuff. My dad keeps the computer and any cell phone, except mine, locked up. Most of the pack hasn’t even used a computer or phone before.”

“It’s not like you have anyone to call, Titus. You all live in one big cave.”

He nodded. “True.”

We watched the movie quietly for awhile. Titus munched down the majority of the popcorn during that time.

“A microwaved would be still be nice, though,” he laid his head on top of mine.

Shaking my head, I smiled. “I tell my mom to get you one for Christmas.”

“Christmas?”

“I guess it’s a human holiday. Thanksgiving is probably one too.”

Titus nodded. “We don’t have holidays. When I was younger, my dad would do something for my birthday, but that was it.”

“J-July, right?” I guessed with a smile.

“Yep, and yours is in January.” He kissed my cheek. “You’ll be eighteen and legal.”

“Hmmm…” I flicked the popcorn kernels around the bottom of the bowl. “Not like it matters. I already lost it.”

“It matters to me,” he whispered in my ear. “For werewolves, 18 is the proper age for mating.”

My face blared red as I looked over to see my father standing there.

Titus gave him a forced smile. “Hi, Mr. Perri.”

“Let’s keep it down boys. And in my house,” he pointed at Titus. “There be no more talking about that. He may be 18 in January, but you won’t be touching him until after graduation.” He started down the hall to his room and stopped. “And only if Aden agrees to this,” he waved his hand around, “to this world of yours.”

“Yes, Mr. Perri.”

My dad left, and Titus slid down in his seat. He looked like a scolded puppy, frowning at the floor.

The sight was too much. I started laughing. A boy that tall should not look so hopeless.

“What?” he muttered.

“Nothing. You just can be really cute sometimes.” I leaned over and kissed his cheek.

A sigh came from the entryway. My mother was standing there with a smirk.

“Mom,” I breathed, flopping back against the couch. “You’re ruining it.”

“Dinner is ready boys,” she called as she went back to the kitchen.

Grabbing the remote, I turned off the movie. “Come on. Let get another awkward dinner with my parents over with.”

“So we can do other things,” he whispered in my ear, before snatching my hand and dragging me off toward the kitchen.

We sat down at the table with steaming plates of fried chicken and mash potatoes in front of us. Titus appeared to be close to going into werewolf mode with the scent of meat in the air.

“Wow, Mrs. Perri, it smells great.”

She sat down. “Karen is fine, Titus. We don’t need to be so formal.” She nodded to us. “Go on. Quint will be out soon enough.”

Titus quickly grabbed one of the chicken legs and did his best to restrain himself from just gnawing on it until the bone was picked clean. I dished myself some potatoes. I was pretty sure I saw my mother get a casserole out of the freezer this morning to defrost for dinner. Guess she had a change of mind.

We were nearly finished eating by the time my father arrived.

“What took so long?” asked my mother, handing him the platter with the chicken.

“Phone call,” he flashed her a smile. “Sorry about that, dinner smell wonderful.”

I glanced at Titus as he finished off his third piece. Good thing my mother tended to over cook.

Finishing my food, I pushed back my chair. “We’re done. We’ll be up in my room.”

I stood and tapped Titus’s shoulder.

He finished licking off his finger and gave my parents a cheesy grin. “Thanks, it was amazing.”

“Anytime, Titus,” said my mom. “We won’t have to deal with leftovers for once.”

“Door stays open, boys,” called my father as we reached the stairs.

“Yes, sir,” I breathed, leading the way to my room.

“That boy sure does have an appetite,” said my mother. “Little lax on table manners, though.”

Titus ushered me forward. He grabbed me from behind and lifted me into the air, before dropping me on my bed. Our lips met. He tasted clearly of chicken.

“What?” He gave me a quick peck.

“You taste like chicken,” I chuckled.

He raised an eyebrow, appearing confused by the reference.

I sighed. “Forget it. I guess it’s not a joke a werewolf would understand.”

“Nope.” He kissed me again.

I wrapped my arms around the back of his neck and deepened it. God, I really wish we could be alone, so we could mess around more than this. Titus pulled away and sat up. He moved, so he was leaning against the wall. I shifted around and rest my head on his leg.

“It’s snowing.” He pointed to the window.

I lifted my head up. “Yeah it is. It’s early this year.”

“It won’t stick down here, but up in the high mountains will get a few inches.”

Rolling to my side, I chewed on my fingernail. “Titus, I’ve been meaning to ask you a about this mating thing.”

“Hmmm…. like what?” He twirled a piece of my hair around his finger.

“I talk to my dad a few weeks ago.”

Titus groaned. “Aden, everything he says is going to be negative. He doesn’t want you with me.”

“I know that.” I looked at him. “But everything you say is just the good stuff, you’re not going to tell me the bad.”

He laid his head back against the wall. Massaging the back of my neck, he stared forward. I guess that was my cue to start asking my questions.

“I’m going to be an omega, aren’t I?”

He let out a deep breath. “We won’t know until after we’re mated.”

“You know, though. My dad says you can sense it.”

Gentle turning my chin, he guided me onto my back. He traced his finger along my features. “You’re eyes are beautiful, Aden. I love the color.”

I clasped his hand. “My eyes are like an omega’s?”

He nodded. “You’ll be my mate, and the mate of a dominant can’t be an omega. They’re just subs.” Titus leaned down and kissed me. “And they are by far the most beautiful werewolves.”

I smiled. “I don’t know. I’ve seen some pretty good looking werewolves.”

“There’s nothing like running your fingers a sub’s soft fur.” He slid his hand down to my shoulder. “Pure white fur just as this shine to it that the rest of us don’t even come close to.”

“Well thanks,” I laughed. “Now there’s no pressure for me to have white fur, or you’ll be disappointed.”

He smiled down at me. “I’d get over it.”

“I hope so.”

We kissed again. My lips parting, letting his tongue slip in.

Pulling back, I laid my head back down on his leg. “You’ll keep me safe, right? If I turn out to be an omega, you not going to let them do stuff to me?”

“Oh, Aden,” he sighed. “I nearly strangled Chris for touching you, and we’re only engaged. When we’re mated, I’ll be far more overprotective.”

I scrunched my eyebrows together. “Hmmm… Good to hear, but also kind of scary.”

“It’s a werewolf thing. You’ll understand it soon enough.”