WILD

forty four

Lorena walked back to the house with Orion, her hand in his. She pulled him into the kitchen where dinner had just finished cooking. Her father was at the table reading a book while her mother had just gotten up to check the food again.

"Just on time," her mother chimed. Her father looked up and put his book down, greeting the two young werewolves with a nod.

Orion gave a slight nod back and Lorena led him to the sink so they could wash their hands.

"Where'd you kids go?" Her father asked.

Lorena dried her hands and turned back to her father. "We went to visit Nana and then we went for a walk through the fields. Just talking."

Orion nodded behind her. He had to admit he felt really out of place with Lorena's parents. He didn't know where he stood and he didn't like it. He didn't know whether or not they liked him after all that he had put their family through, and he couldn't really blame them if he didn't.

He may have been forced by the council to participate in the mating arena as well, but he didn't see the point in bringing it up. He didn't let Lorena go when he should have, and there was truly no excuse for that.

Lorena pulled him along to where they were going to sit and he pulled the chair out for her, pushing it in after she sat. He sat next to her and she grabbed his hand underneath the table, most likely sensing how tense he was around her parents.

He cleared his throat. "So where did Vera head off to?"

Lorena's mother spoke up. "She said she had some business to deal with and she just left. Oh, and did you see her little boy? How precious is he, Rich?"

The beta male perked up at his name and chuckled. "He is very cute, sweetheart."

"Reminds me of when Lorena was about that age. Except she was such a hyper baby."

Lorena blushed and hid her face in her hands. "Mother, please not now!"

Her father chuckled. "It's our job to embarrass you sometimes. Besides, I'm sure Orion doesn't mind. Do you, son?"

Lorena tapped him under the table with her foot and rapidly shook her head at him.

The alpha shrugged. "I really don't."

Lorena's mother and father laughed while she groaned. "Here we go."

"We have to show you some of her baby pictures after dinner! She was such a cute child, but she was a handful!"

Orion noticed Lorena shrinking into her chair in embarrassment and he chuckled, placing a hand on her knee. "It's okay, Lorena. I won't make fun of your pictures or anything."

"It's still embarrassing," she mumbled, a blush spreading across her face.

The commotion stopped as her mother came and started to serve the food. She served Lorena and Orion first and he nodded to her. "Thank you, ma'am."

"Aww, you don't have to call me that. Call me Lorraine."

"Okay. Thank you, Lorraine."

Lorena didn't react to the small interaction between Orion and her mom, but she hoped that he was feeling a bit more welcome. The last thing she wanted him to feel like was an outsider in her home.

Dinner went surprisingly well, and Lorena was happy that her parents got along with Orion. She had to admit she thought that him meeting her parents again after three years was going to be like oil and water mixing, but they did exceptionally well.

Orion kept her and her parents laughing and he was an amazing storyteller. Lorena couldn't help but wonder if this was a new thing or if Orion was like this all along and she just never got to see that side of him.

When everyone was finished eating, her father broke out the family albums and brought them to the table. Lorena groaned, but stayed and joined in nonetheless. She just wished she had siblings so that she wasn't the focal point of every humiliating picture.

"Oh! This is when she got into my makeup. She had to have been about three years old here. I'm surprised she didn't get sick from eating the lipstick!"

Orion gave her a little pout. "How adorable is that," he taunted. Lorena rolled her eyes playfully and laughed, bumping her shoulder against his.

Her father turned the page again to a photo of the two of them fishing. "She was also quite the outdoorsman."

Lorena smiled. "I remember that. I was around eight years old, I think. It was my favorite activity to do as a family."

Her mother sighed fondly. "There was nothing she feared. Usually girls at that age wouldn't go near worms or any type of bug, but Lorena loved to dig in the dirt and pull out whatever she could find. She also loved collecting acorns, rocks, ladybugs, you name it."

"And another thing was she would always put whatever she could get her hands on in her mouth. Let's not forget the time you ate a handful of sand, honey."

Lorena blushed out of embarrassment. "I remember having sand stuck in my mouth for days. I thought maybe it would have a salty or sugary type of flavor, I don't know."

Orion chuckled and she poked him in the shoulder. "Don't laugh. As a kid you've eaten something you shouldn't as well, so spill."

He sucked his cheeks in, trying to think. "It's embarrassing, but when I was younger I had this habit of drinking out of whatever cup that was within my reach. Well, my mother had poured a tiny bit of rubbing alcohol into a cup to clean my father's injuries after he had gotten into a fight. Well, me thinking it was a glass of water, I might've...y'know."

Lorena tried to hold in the loud laugh she wanted to let out, but her parents didn't even bother. Her father slapped his hand against the table and hollered. Orion felt his face flush and he looked at his mate, who was still choking on laughter.

"How did it taste?"

"No idea, but it was dry and spicy almost. I cried for like ten minutes. Also I had this phase where I used to eat dirt, so that was weird."

Lorena chuckled and raised her voice over the sound of her parent's laughter, grabbing Orion's hand. "See? We aren't so different, you and I."

Orion rolled his eyes playfully but closed his hand around hers, giving it a quick kiss before turning back to her parents. "I can help clean up everything if we're all done eating."

Lorraine gasped. "Nonsense! You're our guest. We can take care of it."

"But-"

"Lorraine, let the boy help. He offered. In fact, Lorena, you should help as well. Your mother and I will be in the living area."

"Yes, papa."

Lorena's father gave Orion a quick wink as he took his wife to the living room. Orion gave him a nod, thankful that he got the hint that he wanted to be alone with Lorena again.

Lorena cleared the table while Orion ran hot water and soap into the sink so that he could wash the dishes. Lorena carried the dishes over and stood next to him, placing them in the sink.

Orion looked down at her and smiled fondly. He missed her dearly, and the fact that she seemed way happier than he could have imagined for her made him glad.

"So," she started, "I hope my parents aren't being too weird for you."

"Not at all! They're nicer to me than what I really deserve." He wanted to add more to it-- a string of apologies for nearly tearing her family apart for his own selfish reasons, some kind of explanation about his motives and a story about how he had changed over the course of three years. For the better or for the worst, he didn't know.

He did know that all of that would be no good if he didn't put some actions behind the change.

"Good, I'm glad."

He turned the water off and wiped his hands on the back of his jeans. He turned to her and awkwardly tapped her on the shoulder.

Lorena looked up at him in confusion and wondered what his problem was.

"Lorena, what do you think of marriage?"