Seventeen

"Turn the truck around, "I unbuckled my seatbelt, grabbing the back of Ford's seat. "Turn the hell around or I swear I'll kiss you again."

Jesse shoved his furry self between me and Rocco, growling at Rocco.

I found it extremely humorous that he chose to growl at Rocco for my threat, but the moment was far too serious to laugh.

"You don't get to decide when I meet Human Jesse’s parents." My voice raised as I spoke. "I don't even know him, and they're going to assume I'm his freakin’ mail-order bride."

"No one thinks you're a mail-order bride, Tea," Rocco said, over the sound of Jesse still growling.

"They won't assume anything," Dax added. "They're realistic people. No one expects a girl to be in love with her mate during the hunt."

"If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the last month, it’s that there's no such thing as a realistic werewolf." I glared at both of them. Jesse had me trapped back down on the seat, and my damn hands were scratching his fur for absolutely no apparent reason.

"If you think that, you should meet the main alpha. He's about as unrealistic as they come," Rocco muttered.

"Don't change the subject. You're trying to force me to meet the parents of a man I've never met—and probably won't like."

"Why do you assume you won't like him?" Dax asked.

"Quit changing the subject," I snapped.

Mostly because I didn't have an answer.

I had made it a point not to move any of his stuff or go through any of his things, mostly staying downstairs for everything other than bathroom trips, but I’d still picked up on a few things. And to be honest, from what little exploration I'd done in Jesse's house, I'd already realized there was a good chance I would like him. Maybe not as much as he wanted me to, but at least as a friend.

"Jesse's a lovable guy. Even if you don't like him at first, you'll learn to. He'll worm his way into your heart," Rocco said.

"Like the wolf did," I muttered.

Wolf Jesse gave me a toothy grin and licked my face.

Rocco parked in the driveway of a little house, surrounded by other little houses in a structured neighborhood.

"Shouldn't you leave the driveway free?" I asked, trying to put off the inevitable.

"Papa Yates works until 5, so there's no need." Rocco shot me an amused grin. "Come on, Tea. I thought you were braver than this."

"It's not a matter of bravery." I unbuckled my seatbelt and slid out of the truck, leaving the door open long enough for Jesse to hop out too. He brushed up against my side, as he liked to do when I was upset.

I used to hate that it calmed me, but I'd come to accept it.

We headed up a pretty stone path leading to the Yates' front door, and my eyes skimmed over the front lawn. The grass was still green, but the leaves on the tree were on the dead side of orange. Fall had hit with a vengeance, and had it been any later in the day, I would've needed a sweater.

I stayed behind Rocco and Dax as they knocked on the door.

A middle-aged brunette with smile lines answered almost immediately. "It's been ages," she chastised the men, surging toward them and engulfing them in a hug. "You're supposed to be bringing me updates," she scolded.

"Sorry. Tea doesn't call very often," Rocco said.

Throw the blame at me, why don't you?

"Oh please. You know as well as I do that if you wanted to know how she was, all you'd need to do is show up with cookies. No one turns down free cookies."

She had a point. Even I wouldn't turn away someone who wanted to give me cookies.

She pushed past the guys, her eyes lighting up when they landed on me.

I braced myself for a massive hug from a stranger.

It didn't come.

"It's so good to meet you, Teagan." Her voice was warm, her smile bright and genuine. "I hope my son isn't giving you too much trouble."

Rocco snorted. "She's the one giving him trouble."

I fought the urge to flip him off.

"Then she's doing it right." She flashed me another of her big smiles.

Maybe I liked Jesse's mom after all.

"Come on in. Unlike the boys, I have cookies." She winked at me.

Okay, I liked Jesse's mom.

Following them in, I nudged Jesse. "Go lick your mom," I whispered. "She probably misses you."

He gave me the stink-eye.

"A wolf would never lick someone other than their mate. It's a method of kissing for them," Jesse's mom told me as we approached her small but clean kitchen. She pulled a plate of chocolate chip cookies from the microwave, and my mouth watered just at the smell of them.

It had been way too long since I had chocolate anything.

The woes of being broke.

"I didn't know that," I told her.

"These boys haven't been fulfilling their role in explaining our world to you." She shot them an annoyed look that rivaled my own.

They both reddened, embarrassed.

Okay, maybe Jesse's mom was my hero.

"Wolves also don't like to be touched by anyone other than their mate's human." She gestured to my hand, which had somehow found itself in Jesse's fur once again. "When they brush up against you the way he's doing, they're marking you with their scent so others know that you belong to them."

I glanced down at Jesse.

No wonder he brushed up against me so often.

Jesse had let a few other women touch him on campus, but usually, he managed to avoid it. Maybe when he let them, it was because he didn’t see an alternative other than leaving the area he knew I was.

"But it's also a way to show affection," Rocco added.

"Right. You'll notice him sticking closer to you when you're upset," she agreed.

"I have noticed that. Is it weird that he licks my legs a lot?" I checked.

Jesse's mom chuckled. "That just means he likes you. I imagine he's getting excited about what your wolf may look like now that you're warming up to him."

My cheeks heated. "I'm not warming up to him. We just have an agreement." I withdrew my hands from his fur, crossing them over my chest.

"Of course. Here, have a cookie." She lifted the plate toward me. "Boys, you know where Jesse's old room is. Go ahead and take the mattress." She looked at me as they headed toward his old room. "Did you need a dresser and desk?"

I nodded, my face burning hotter. I hated asking for help.

"The rest of the furniture, too," she called after the guys.

"Make sure those boys carry that furniture up those stairs for you. I don't want you hurting yourself to be independent," she warned. "I've been there, and it's not fun."

I nodded again, feeling a bit targeted. Sure, I liked to be independent, but I'd never hurt myself in an attempt to do so.

Well, not on purpose anyway.

"Do you have Jesse's phone?" she asked me.

"Yeah, it's in the kitchen in his house."

"The house will be yours too, as soon as you're ready to put your name on it. Mates share everything. It makes things simpler that way, even if they choose not to be romantic in their human forms," she explained.

My eyebrows lifted. "Are there many who do that?"

"Not many, but some." She gave me a gentle smile. "As I'm sure you're realizing, there's a certain peace that comes with having a built-in companion, regardless of any romantic feelings that follow or don't follow the mate climax."

I nearly cringed at her mention of the upcoming sexathon with a man I'd never really met. According to everyone, I'd be damn ready for it when it arrived, but still... that was weird to think about.

"Don't worry about my son pressuring you into anything." She set a gentle hand on my shoulder. "I taught Jesse clearly and repeatedly that his mate would be her person. He knows that his job will be to make the transition as easy for you as he possibly can. When the hunt is over and he's back in his human form, things will be simpler."

"Except I'll be stuck in some wolf's brain while she decides if Jesse will make a good mate," I countered.

She scoffed. "Those boys... I'm going to have their hides. Your wolf won't take control while she hunts, Tea. She'll watch through your eyes, and take over when she desires. All common sense will fly out the window as she tests him. When my wolf was hunting, she ran into a mountain lion's den just to see if her male would follow her."

"Shit. Really?"

"Really. Female werewolves are much more vicious than males, largely because the wolves within us didn't grow up seeing through the eyes of their humans the way the male wolves did. It's a bit of a disadvantage."

"Is it worth it?" I wondered.

"Does it matter if it's worth it? There's no way out after a wolf has his sights set on you.”

"Still..." I grimaced.

"I would give up my human life a hundred times over for the love I have with Mark, so to me, it’s very much worth it. But some don't feel the same, so whether it is to you depends on what you make of it. Being a werewolf's mate comes with a price, but it also comes with a wolf and man who will love you for the rest of your life, regardless of what you want and who you become. To me, that's worth just about anything."

The guys came back in, grabbing cookies off the plate and swiftly ending our conversation.

Jesse's mom winked. "I'll put the rest of these in a bag for you."