Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Overprotective Alpha Wolf and Mama Bear

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Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Overprotective Alpha Wolf and Mama Bear

On a slow Saturday afternoon a week later, Liam came ready to ask my father permission. It would be an easy sell – or so I thought. Mom was easy to convince, as she always is. She never denies me anything – even something as carefree and spontaneous as a road trip. Dad on the other hand…

“Absolutely not,” he said, leaning forward in the armchair and resting his elbows on his knees. His penetrating gaze settled on mine across the room where I sat next to Liam on the loveseat. I gulped and looked away, finding a sudden interest in a hangnail on the corner of my forefinger. Liam slid forward, resting his arms on his lap and interlocking his hands together.

“Sir,” he said politely. I looked up and he glanced at me. His flashed me an easy smile that seemed to say Don’t worry. I got this. I shot a panicked look at Mom and she returned it with a reassuring smile. She knew Dad better than I did, but when it concerned me…well, I didn’t exactly know what he'd do or say. Dad turned into an overprotective alpha wolf, whose main objective was to take care of his cub.

“I’ll take good care of her, Mr. Vanchester. I won’t let any harm come to her. We researched which would be the safest route. I’ve got a car…” I raised my eyebrows in surprise. This was the first that I’ve heard he had a car picked out for the trip. Was it a rental? Was it his Dad’s beat up Sedan? Was he borrowing Collin’s blue pickup truck? We hadn’t discussed any of those details yet because we first needed to get passed the parental units.

“…should consider.” I didn’t catch what she was saying beforehand, but I quickly snapped back to attention. “They’re right. I can’t miss work for two weeks; you know how it gets busy during the spring. And you can’t deviate your lesson plans a week early with your AP students.”

I could have high-fived Mom at the moment. She caught my gaze and winked. I beamed and nudged Liam. “Mom’s got it in the bag,” I whispered as Mom and Dad were too enthralled with their argument to pay any mind to us.

“They're fighting,” he stated. “It’s not what I intended.”

I reached forward and squeezed his forearm. “They aren’t fighting,” I said. I glanced in their direction and saw Mom’s cool composure thwarting Dad’s tight set of his jaw. He was losing the argument and he knew it. Dad didn’t like to be wrong, and he knew better than to go up against the mighty force of Mama Bear.

“Just watch,” I said.

Liam directed his gaze across the room where Mom and Dad were by the fireplace, speaking in hushed tones. Dad’s shoulders were rigid as he spoke, his eyes flickering to us every few minutes. Liam squirmed in his seat and I found his behavior amusing. Liam was bigger than my dad, towering over him by 4 inches, and he was afraid of him. I didn’t know if I should find it reverent or hilarious.

Part of me liked that he respected my parents, especially Dad with all the hard times he gave him. It wasn’t always like this, reminding me of Thanksgiving dinner, and how everyone had welcomed him with open arms. I didn’t know when Dad changed his opinion about Liam. It seemed like a century ago when I listened to Dad having a coronary when he found out I’d been on Liam’s bike that first time.

I knew Dad liked Liam, but I was still his little girl and he wasn’t going to let me go gallivanting to New York with him – or any boy for that matter.

“So what car did you get,” I asked, leaning towards him.

Liam averted his eyes from my parents, his face a mask of complete and utter seriousness. “Hey,” I said, running my thumb over his drawn brows. His face relaxed, flashing me a tight smile. “This happens all the time,” I reassured him. “Mom always wins in the end.”

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