If I Were Allowed To Love You

Eleven

"Glasses, huh?" Ryan teased. "You're getting old."

"I'm still young," he stated. "I have a good forty years left in me. It's the one good thing about the werewolf gene. We live long, and we heal fast."

"Speaking of, we heard your mate is human," Louise stated as she clasped her hands in front of her mouth. Her eyes narrowed in worriment. "Does she know?"

"Not yet. I plan to tell her after she falls in love with me. That way she won't feel like she has to be with me just because of the mate bond. I want her to establish it herself."

"When do we get to meet her?"

"Tonight," he smiled. "She's coming over for dinner. I'm excited for you all to meet her. She's incredible."

"She's also my best friend," Theo smirked as he walked into the front foyer. He ran into his mother's open arms, and his father clung on as he hugged the two at the same time.

"Ryan, get your ass over here and show your family some love," he teased.

Rolling his eyes with a smile, Ryan joined the group hug before quickly pulling away.

"Don't take it personally," Theo said. "He's nervous about Melissa coming over."

"What a beautiful name. Does it match her beauty?"

"I don't care about looks. I prefer the heart."

"Translation, she's drop. Dead. Gorgeous," Theo dramatically whispered while showing off his jazz hands.

"I can't wait to meet her," Louise gushed. "It'll be so nice to have a girl around. I need more young women in my life to help keep me young."

"You can have all the mother bonding you want with her after I nail down this relationship."

"Oh, honey," Louise cooed as she cupped his cheeks. "When you meet your mate, everything falls into place. You two will want to be together and it will be easy between you two. There won't be a battle. It will all fall into place. You just need to do what's right for you both and allow destiny to take its place."

"Thanks, mom," he smiled. "You always know what to say."

Staring up at the building in front of her, Melissa gulped as she took in the extravagant exterior. A large, two story house with pillars holding up a roof above the front doors. There was no furniture on the front porch, just a handful of marble steps to walk up. The house was cream with golden accents along the windows and doors. A large flowerbed sat in front of the house, but upon closer examination, she wondered if the plants were fake.

She regretted her apparel the moment she saw the house. A navy t-shirt dress with a gray flannel tied around her waist, black tights, and her dirty canvas shoes. Add in the dark makeup, and she knew she was going to make a fool of herself in front of everyone. But she was there for Theo's sake. He wanted her to meet his parents, and if he didn't think she would be good enough to meet them, he never would have invited her. Or at least asked Ryan to ask her for him.

Dashing up the stairs, she rang the doorbell quickly before she could flake and run away. She squared her shoulders and held her head tall as the door opened. Ryan greeted her, smiling fondly. "Wow," he whispered as he took in her appearance. "You're beautiful."

Blushing, she giggled as she held out a square tray to him. "I didn't know if I should bring something, so I made stuffed peppers for you all. We might need to reheat it, though. They might be cold from the bus ride."

"No problem. We just pulled the ham out of the over."

"Like...actual ham?"

"It's one of my mother's favorite dishes."