Chapter 50: You're Grounded

Chapter 50

You’re Grounded

“This is going to be bad.”

“Probably,” replied my father.

I bit my lip, staring at the door to the house. “She not going to take it well.”

My father laughed. “Who ever does?”

With an excited sigh, my mother entered the garage. “Well, let’s be off.”

My shoulders dropped, and I stepped to the side as my father put the last of the luggage in the trunk.

“Are you sure we shouldn’t be taking the truck?” ask my mother as she opened the passenger side door.

“Xavier said the roads have been plowed, and we’ll be fine in the car.”

“Aden.”

“Yeah,” I replied, grabbing the back door handle.

“Did you remember everything? All your snow clothes?” She looked me over. “Hopefully you packed something a bit heavier than what you have on.”

“My coats in the car.” I climbed inside and grabbed it up.

“Just checking, sweetheart. Don’t want you getting sick the week before you go to school.”

We put on our seatbelts, and my dad back out the car. This was going to be horrible. I just knew it. My mom was going to have a mental breakdown, and me and Titus were over. It wasn’t like Xavier was going to stand up to my mother to help us.

“Aden?” asked my mother.

“Yeah,” I kept my head down, ringing my hands in my lap.

“Is something the matter?” She turned around in her seat. “You’re looking a little pale.” Reaching back, she pressed the back of her hand to my face.

“I’m fine,” I piped.

“Hmmm…. you don’t feel warm. Are your nerves getting to you?”

I nodded slowly.

She shook her head. “I’ve already met them, Aden. There’s nothing to worry about.” She flashed me a smile. “Besides, this week should be fun. It’s like going to a cabin in the woods. So festive.”

“Yeah,” I breathed, feeling any optimism I had drop into my stomach.

“Did you remember Titus’s Christmas present?”

“It’s in the back.”

“I think he’ll like them a lot.” She flipped down her vision to put on some chapstick.

“I hope.”

Taking a deep breath, I sunk into my seat. I was hoping for a lot of things during this trip.

***

My dad stopped outside a gate, guarded by two men.

“Where on earth do these people live,” muttered my mother as one of the guards went to my father’s window.

My dad rolled it down.

“Perri’s?” asked the man. He did a quick scan of the car.

“Yes,” said my father.

“ID.”

My father reached into his back pocket and took out his wallet. He showed the man his driver license.

The guard nodded. “Have a safe trip.” He waved to his companion, and the gate parted.

“Thank you.” My dad put his window back up and drove forward.

My mother’s head was spinning as we continued up the road. “They have their own security team. Who are earth are you dating?” She turned around and looked at me confused. “Does Titus’s father have a gold mine hidden up here?”

“Not a gold mine.” I gave her a weak smile. “But they are quite well off.”

“Cattle,” she huffed. “Unless their cows are made of diamonds, you don’t need a security guard checking people’s ID when they enter.”

“Never can be too careful, right?” My father patted her hand. “At least we’ll know Aden is safe if he comes to visit them.”

“Hmmm, I suppose.” She gazed off out the window.

I was going to have a heart attack. I was going to die before we even got there, and all these stressing out would be for nothing. “Oh my god,” I whispered. Leaning over my knees, I took deep breaths. This was so not going to end well.

We drove in silence with just my mother’s occasional questions breaking it, until a huge garage appeared through the trees.

“Good lord,” breathed my mother, shaking her head. “This is what you’re going to be marrying into.”

“Mom,” I hissed.

“I was worried when I found out Titus didn’t plan on going to college, but now I know why. This is a family business anyone would like to inherit.”

One of the doors opened, and my dad pulled inside, between a BMW and a black car. I could recall Titus driving that one around during the summer.

We climbed out, and Xavier stepped out of from looked to be an office.

He gave us a wave. “How was the drive?”

“A little ice, but nothing new for this time of the year,” replied my father, popping the trunk.

My mother had a finger pressed to her lips as she looked out over the array of vehicles. A large portion of them were for extreme terrain.

“We’ll be taking that one.” Xavier pointed to an enclosed Jeep with snow belts instead of tires.

My mom stood very still as my dad and the alpha started moving our luggage. She simply stared at it elevated vehicle.

I grabbed my own bags and walked over to her. “Ready?”

She nodded slowly and took my arm. I led her over and helped her into the backseat. I passed my stuff up to her and climbed in. Xavier took the driver’s seat with my dad in the passenger. The vehicle crawled out of the garage. The alpha pressed a couple buttons on his phone, and the door lowered behind us.

“I never thought your home was so deep in the mountains,” said my mother softly. “Grocery shopping must be quite an ordeal.” She rested her elbow on the armrest and stared out the window.

I kept quiet during the journey. It was a pretty drive, but I couldn’t enjoy it. I was practically sweating through my shirt. I just want to get there and know how she was going to take it.

The deeper we went into the forest the more concerned my mother looked. Xavier pulled the Jeep into a clearing covered by a metal awning. A couple ATV were parked under it.

“This is it?” asked my mother confused, looking around. “Where’s the house?”

“Just up ahead,” said Xavier, getting out. “Just leave your things here, and I’ll send someone to get them.”

I put on my coat and zipped it up.

My father hurried around to help my mother out of the vehicle. I jumped down into the snow.

“Quint, this is turning a bit more into an adventure than I had hoped.”

“It’s fine, Karen. They live a little differently than us, that’s all.” He took her hand and led her down the path, following Xavier.

I trudged along behind them. We walked up a slight incline, over a wooden bridge, and around some large boulders. My mother stopped the moment she saw the main entrance to the cave.

“Where is the house?” she said firmly.

Xavier continued on inside.

I walked passed my parents and stood in the middle of the clearing. I took a deep breath and threw my hands in the air. “Well, we made it,” I exclaimed, trying to sound casual.

My mother looked horrified. “Dear god, whatever prank you boys are playing on me, take me home. Aden gets his distaste for the woods from me.” She turned to leave.

“Mom no,” I jogged over and grabbed her arm. “This really is it.”

“Aden the time for jokes has passed. Come show me the actually house.” She patted my hand and tried to lead me back down the path.

I pulled her back. “Mom.”

She looked between the two of us. “This isn’t a joke, is it?”

“Aden has something he’d like to tell you,” said Quint.

I glared at my dad, biting my fingernails. “Well, Titus is a little different.” Licking my lips, I glanced around at the trees. “Well, he’s… His family, they’re sort of…”

“Aden Perri tell me right now what is going on,” she said sternly.

“He’s a werewolf,” I stated, closing my eyes and bracing myself for her reaction. I didn’t hear anything, so I peeked over at her.

She stood there with pursed lips and an eyebrow raised. Her eyes weren’t on me though, but the pair of werewolf pups that had wandered outside the cave. Titus appeared in human form soon after and picked one up. He walked over to us.

“Hi,” he said with a shrug. “Welcome to our home.”

The other little werewolf ran over and smiled up at my mother, with his tail wagging. He was cute. I glanced at my mother, but she was not having it. She just stared at the pup. More werewolves started appearing from the rocks. My mother’s expression remained the same.

She stood quiet for a while until she finally took a deep breath and look directly at me. “Aden.”

“Yes,” I said softly.

“You’re grounded.”

I bowed my head and let out a sigh. “I know.”

****

Chapter 50!

This is getting way to long, and I'm not even done yet....

Oh question for you guys/gals, do they no longer send out update emails? I haven't gotten one in like a week, so I'm just wondering.