Fie Wright's P. O. V
The atmosphere was cloying for a lack of a better word. I'm sure my parents mean well and didn't think their daughter would rather jump off the six story pack house instead of spending a momentous dinner with her mate and two parents. It's like I have an imaginary clock ticking away with every passing second, each tick and tock reverberating inside my head that merely signals the minutes edging closer to when it'll happen.
I would have hoped by now that we'd all be well into our meals, maybe even onto dessert with the sound of knives and forks hitting ceramic plates and ricocheting all around us. The only conversation being comfortable silence except for a few one worded answers about how great the food is. Oh no. Instead, Malleus and I sit staring at the sight in front of us which simply consists of my father looking down at his empty plate, too embarrassed to meet my mates stare whereas my mother has no shame in openly gawking at the man in front of her, darting her eyes between me and him.
"Um mom," I break hesitantly through her wondering gaze, "I was assuming there'd be food involved when we were brought to the table." I cringe a bit at how presumptions I sound but thankfully that all flies over my mothers head, the woman probably not entirely listening to me in the first place as she nods her head and waves a hand in the air.
"You just stay there the both of you. Fred come help me with the food." My mother calls out, her gaze still fixated on Malleus who doesn't seem as if he feels out of place, contrary to his words. However when my mom takes the lead of bringing in the food, my eyes widen as I send my father a quick glance.
'Did mom cook?' The cry of worry even apparent through the mind link while my father gets up and pats me on the head calmly as he passes me by.
'I've already been embarrassed once in front of your mate and our King. I'm not about to let him be poisoned to death Fie. That counts as treason.' He assures which causes my frayed nerves to settle somewhat. At least my mate will make it past dinner.
My grip tightens around Malleus' hand, our fingers intertwined underneath the table much like they always are whenever we find ourselves seated quite like this. The seconds pass and I'm about to open my mouth to ask Malleus if he feels too weirded out but stop in place as my parents enter, jaw slightly unhinging at the sight before me. Plates of various foods piled high in my parents arms as they set them down onto the table, a whole smattering of various dishes taking up the entirety of the table as different scents smack me right in the face.
What on Earth is going on?
"Your mother went a bit overboard with the menu." Dad politely let's me know while I merely find myself nodding my head, unsure how to exactly go about this.
"Dig in! I want you to try a bit of everything. All clean plates." My mom announces cheerily with a clap of her hands while I slowly start to nod my head, only after realising her words were directed towards my mate and not me.
This is followed by that awkward pause as everyone waits for the other to place food for themselves first but no one makes a move because they're waiting for the other's to make that first move. With a concealed sigh, I decide to be the escape goat and start to put a various assortment of food on my plate till it's got a sizeable portion that'll either fill me up or have me going in for seconds.
"So Malleus, can we call you Malleus? Great!" My mother begins once she gets her confirmation, "How did you meet my baby girl? I hope she didn't make too much of a fool out of herself. She does have an air about her sometimes."
My face reddens at the insinuation but I simply continue to chow on the prawn that was in mouth, holding back the scoff at her words.
Like she's one to talk. No one else spanks their daughter in front of company except her.
"I was in court when Marcus and her came seeking an audience, I realised right away she was my mate but it took her some time to figure it out." Malleus comments to which I give him the side eye.
"Yeah well next time maybe don't go wearing a hood that covers your eyes." I comment back sassily, already knowing that my raging wolf at the time should have been a high clue.
"You didn't feel your wolf jumping out at you?" My father questions to which I redden a tad bit further, noting the hint of a smirk that tugs at Malleus' lips.
"I mean I did but I thought it could have been due to us being in a foreign place," I defend myself somewhat before continuing, "It's not like I was expecting the bloody King to be my mate." My last part comes out in a grumble but the widening smirk on my mate's face has me squeezing his hand once more.
"Oh mothers intuition is always right. I told her Malleus, you never know when you might find your mate and low and behold she found her mate!" She exclaims excitedly while my father nods on assertively.
"Yes because not all wolves have soulmates." My sarcastic comment has my mom rolling her eyes at me.
"You better not be showing the King that snarky side of your's missy." My mother says pointedly while I shake my head vehemently.
"This man has encountered nothing but an angel." The unabashed tone in my voice has Malleus letting out an uncharacteristic grunt of denial causing my jaw to drop.
"Well you did argue with me the first conversation we had." He just has to point that out doesn't he? I don't miss the gasp of surprise coming from my mothers lips, her face pale like she's just seen great aunt Martha wandering around in her underwear in the front lawn again.
"T-that was because you were being an ass." I say indignantly, biting my tongue as soon as the words leave my mouth for fear of my parents having a stroke then and there, "In my defence, you did practically say you were going to put me to the test." I blurt out further while Malleus stops chewing for a second, an uneasy glint entering his dark eyes as he glances at my parents.
"That wasn't me," the man says with an awkward forced laugh, "The food is splendid by the way." He smoothly shifts the topic, the tactic flying over my parents head as they beam up at him with bright smiles.
"Oh it was all Fredrick. I'm not a great cook you see but I do try sometimes. I helped with the menu and whatnot." My mother pipes up as my father nods his head along, still a bit too embarrassed to talk properly to my mate after their first intriguing meeting.
The once low in conversation dinner slowly starts to buildup and before I know it, even my father has taking a keen interest in the topics being thrown around as they all start chatting vividly from Kingly duties to advisory roles that I have taken on. That topic starts to dwindle down soon enough and the next consists of food much to my dismay. Why one may ask? Well because my mother takes it upon herself to get up from where she's sitting across me and over to sit besides Malleus, grabbing the assortment of foods and puckering them with his fork. Oh if only it ended there. Much to my mortification, the fork goes through the air and into Malleus' mouth as she coaxes him to try every little bit of food made.
"M-mom!" I gasp out as she prods at his lips once more, the metallic object laden with food and the only thing missing being the sound of an airplane or a 'choo choo' train leaving the station and onto the next as she feeds my mate forkful after forkful.
My heart lurches in my chest at the slight blush that coats Malleus' tanned cheeks, his grip on my hand tightening but not saying a word in fear of upsetting my mother who seems pleased with her actions. Her babbling of always wanting a son not escaping anyone's sharp hearing.
"You always said having a son would be a handful." I throw into the air as my father finally grabs onto my mother with a stern sounding, 'Amelia', which has her latching off of my mate and back into her seat with a sheepish smile.
"Of course we'd say that love, we don't want you feeling left out." Mom coo's while I let out my tenth sigh of the night. "Would you look at that? All the food is gone." She exclaims in delight while I bite my tongue at the remark that so badly wants to leave my lips. Instead, I lean into my mate's warmth, a soft smile gracing it's way onto my face since the meal hadn't been as bad as I thought it would be.
I should have bitten my subconscious tongue once more since I managed to speak just a second too soon.
"Are you sure you do not need any help? I do insist. It looks ill mannered from my end." Malleus continues as my mom and dad pick up the dishes, the former waving the both of us off even though I offered to help clear up as well.
"You both must be exhausted after everything. I'm surprised you didn't fall asleep at the dinner table." She muses before bending over the table to grab a hold of my plate along with Malleus'.
"We'll wash up. It's the least I could do after you made all the food." I say, not wanting to seem like a moocher in the slightest. My mom goes to wave me off once more, completely missing sight of the jug full of water as she knocks it over with the plate in her hand. The container falls to the table with a thud as the contents spill out and flood the table right where my mate sits. Luckily he catches sight of it and makes a move to stand up but the flow of the liquid moves faster as it sloshes down onto the front of his pants creating an unsightly mess.
A startled gasp escapes me and my mother as I whirl my hands around, looking around for my napkin or any other stray one lying about. From the corner of my eye, I note how my mom grabs a hold of one and goes to help sab the spot before she stops in alarm, her softened gaze darting to me.
"Um, I think it'd be better if you help." With that, she throws the napkin in my direction and then scurries off to the kitchen with a quick sorry in Malleus' direction. I mentally smack my palm to my forehead as my gaze settles on the wet patch right on top of Malleus' crotch, the damp dripping area nearly being harassed by my mother.
"I am so sorry." I admit, embarrassment lacing my tone while the person who I direct my words to merely stares at his lap in shock, that same blush now coating his cheek but brighter. If not giving the circumstance, I would have cooed at how adorable he looked but instead, I grab the napkin and try my best to dab the area dry, my mind losing all coherent thoughts at how that's probably not the best tactic to pull off.
"Um, Fie. You might want to stop." Malleus' husky tone penetrates through my mind as I stop my motions, eyes drifting to meet his own that stare down at me with a burning intensity with just a touch of self consciousness.
"Oh shit," I apologise and cease my ministrations, a blush of my own making its way onto my face as I drop the napkin back onto the table, "I'll just take you to my room and you can change into another set of trousers." I offer lamely, unable to keep my mood off of certain things.
I'll just blame my heat even though it's been long gone.
Grabbing ahold of my mate once more, a sound of content leaves me at how he hasn't complained about me latching onto whatever exposed part of his body that I can latch to. The man probably enjoys it as much as I do, the action settling my nerves otherwise I'm sure I would have ended up a nervous wreck at the whole 'meeting the family' scenario.
Dispelling my less than exciting thoughts, I make my way upstairs and to where my bedroom is, or rather was considering the circumstances. The same layout greets me, everything in place and not touched or moved about which surprises me. Even though I had merely been gone for a little over a week, I thought every thing would have been turned upside down and my parents would have refurbished it, fit for their use as a gym since that's been their plan all along.
Maybe that's just them messing about with me?
"Wow." Malleus exhales behind me while I throw him a funny look, taking in the same view he, himself, is. Light crème coloured walls with the feature wall covered with minimalistic wallpaper decorated with cherry blossoms. My queen sized bed is pushed up against it with my abnormally large teddy bear smack dab in the middle of the pale pink sheets along with a bunch of fluffy and frilly pillows piled high. On the far right side of my room is my desk with my trusty old laptop placed atop it and opposite to that, on the left side is where my dresser sits along with large cupboards. Nothing out of the ordinary as previously stated.
"What do you mean?" I question curiously, eyeing the two bags laying on my bed that my parents must have placed since those were the ones we were travelling with. Heading to the larger of the two, I undo the zip of the brown bag and delve into its contents, pushing everything aside until I catch ahold of what looks to be a pair of comfortable grey sweatpants. Yup. I've seen Malleus wearing those before, much to my delight of course.
"This is where my soulmate grew up." His words are laced with something akin to awe causing my heart to throb in my chest, the warmth sensation running through me only able to be described as delight.
"Take it all in while you can because I'll be cozying up to you in that big ass castle you have." I joke partially as I pass him the trousers. Malleus grins at my words, taking the sweatpants in one hand and undoing his pants with the next. My eyes widen to the size of saucers at how nonchalant he is with his actions, not even getting a chance to look away as the cloth drops to the floor with a heavy thud.
Just don't look below his waist. That's easy enough to do.
Yeah when the one thing you don't want to look at is staring at you right in the eye.
"Yeah sure. Go ahead." I speak up, my mouth turning dry as I forcefully lift my gaze from the one eyed monster and over to a smirking Malleus which results in me rolling my eyes, acting unaffected. I'm anything but unaffected.
Once the man safely and swiftly dons his sweatpants, I throw his sopping trousers into the nearby hamper perched in the corner of my room before making my way downstairs with Malleus in tow.
"Hey, I'll do the washing up." I announce to my parents who are sitting in the living room, a random program playing on the television which I'm sure is for background noise.
"Oh don't worry. I've put the dishes in to soak and then I'll pop them in the dishwasher." Mom replies with a wave of her hand. I nod reluctantly at her words, timidly taking a seat across from my parents on the two seater while Malleus follows my lead.
Why does this feel even more awkward then dinner? Is it because I'm not doing anything with my hands. The conscious attention to my appendages has me awkwardly folding them in my lap while I force a smile at my mother who turns her attention to Malleus.
"Would you like a drink Malleus? Fredrick usually has one around this time." My mother is already standing up by the time she's finished her sentence and is making her way to the antique cabinet in the room which used to have a lock on it for as far as I remember whilst growing up. The lock then thrown somewhere else once I grew passed the age of eighteen and they trusted me enough not to end up a drunken mess whenever they went away.
"That would be great. Thanks Amelia." Malleus says besides me to which my mom nods, grabbing two glasses and pouring in a brown liquor.
"You don't want anything, do you love?" My mother directs to me which I shake my head at, turning my nose up at the sharp scent that wafts up from the alcohol.
I'm more of a strawberry daiquiri kind of girl, if I do say so myself.
Glasses in hand, the tension starts to ease up around the room with each strong sip as a slow conversation builds up between my parents and my mate. The soft murmur of conversation added in with the background noise of the lowered program emitting from the television has me feeling at ease more so then I was at the start of the day. The fatigue starting to seep into my bones and the dim lighting from the corner lamps edge me on even more so till I find myself curling up next to Malleus, a hum leaving my lips as he throws an arm around my shoulders. My eyes start to drift close but even I don't miss the excited glint in my mother's eyes while my father simply smiles endearingly at us.
"Hey," A soft murmur wakes me up, the voice belonging to the person stirring me out of my dreams in a trance like state and not in a way that would have me snarling at the person for disturbing my sleep.
"Malleus?" I groggily question, sitting up and taking in my surroundings only to realise I'm in my room and on my bed. The sight of Malleus leaned over me coming into view as I take notice of his damp hair and the towel around his neck, the man otherwise shirtless and only sporting the sweatpants I gave him previously.
"I wanted you to take a warm bath before you went to bed. It'll help soothe your muscles and won't cause them to cramp up because of the journey we took." He adds as he lifts me up into his arms, "I've already drawn you a bath." He furthers while I wrap my arms and legs around him like an infant monkey wrapped around its mother.
My eyes nearly close on their own from the comforting warmth that exudes out of him but once I'm placed on the cold marble counter of the sink, my eyes open in alarm, my mate smiling down at me tenderly.
"Arms up." He commands and which I follow resolutely, letting the man baby me as he strips me of my clothes and undergarments, his dangerous blue eyes not staring downwards and fixated on my face the entire time. I barely register when I'm in his arms again and when I'm deposited in the warm bubbly bath that has me exhaling in pure delight.
"What did I do to deserve you?" I practically groan out to which he shakes his head with that same soft smile, kissing me gently on the forehead before leaving the bathroom and giving me my own privacy.
Did I steal the jackpot or what?
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AN: Hi everyone! First of all I would like to apologise for the incredibly late chapter but oh my God I haven't had WiFi for the passed week and I'm only managing to push out updates with the little mobile data I'm getting. I'll be without WiFi for like 2 more weeks :/ Second of all, thank you all so so so much for getting me to 100k reads! I mean I wasn't expecting this since this is my first werewolf book and all but OMG! And in the span of a few months at that too. I'm on cloud nine.
Also I sort of have a question in regards to when to use past and passed. I'm learning as I go of course and I don't think I'm using the words all too correctly. Could anyone help me out with that?
Question: Would you rather be covered in fur or scales?
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