You&Me: Book 4

Chapter 1: Heading Home (Saigon)

I closed my suitcase and heard a sigh behind me.

My grandmother stood there, clutching her chest. "I remember your dad packing up and moving to the pack."

"I'm a werewolf, Grandma. It was nice to be apart of the human world for a while, but it's time I go back."

"I know, sweetheart." She hurried over and hugged me. "It doesn't make it easier to let you go. Why can't you go back to the little pup who ran around telling everyone he was going to be a doom-nit?"

"I wonder," I said under my breath.

"You were so adorable. I've really treasured these last few years. It was so hard to see you when you moved to Bloodhound."

"That was the alpha's doing," I said, trying not to smile.

"Well, aware." Shaking her head, she arched a brow. "I let Darius know I didn't appreciate it one bit. Sending my babies to live even further into the mountains. What if someone got hurt?" She marched from the room. "How would they get you out of there? They wouldn't. It's not safe." She kept muttering to herself as she went downstairs.

Sitting down on my bed, I peered around the room. I was going to miss this. A picture of my soccer team and other things I had collected throughout high school covered the walls. The trophies I felt slightly guilty about. My school did have a werewolf on their team which made some of those championships win seem a little unfair.

A knock sounded on the open door. My father entered. "Hey, Karen sent me up here to let you know we're going to be eating soon."

"I'll be down in a minute."

Leaning against the wall, my father folded his arms. "Are you excited to go home? Well, sort of home. Your dad and I will be at Bloodhound while you'll be in Northern Ridge."

"I'm not changing my mind," I said firmly. "I want to be in the main pack."

"I know." He sighed. "Your dad's upset, though. Your grandmother doesn't like it, either. How can she visit two places at once? It's not practical."

"They told you to come and talk to me, right?"

"Basically." He scratched his arm.

"I'm going to Northern Ridge. I also know you and dad aren't going straight to Bloodhound. We can spend some time together before you go."

"Still." My father glanced into the hall. "Three months and then you'll be off to college. It doesn't give us much time. You are our only child, you know."

I gave him an unimpressed look. "Is dad trying to listen in?"

My father nodded. "I think it would be best if we spent those three months together as a family."

"I'm a dominant of Northern Ridge, not Bloodhound," I said loud enough so they could hear me outside the room. "I want to be with the dominants that I'll be working with once I'm done with college. Darius said he's putting me in the main pack. Remember, Dad?"

Frantic footsteps hurried down the stairs.

My father tried not to laugh. "He's pretty cute sometimes, right?"

"Gross." I leaned back on my arms.

"Come on—" He motioned to the hallway. "That's adorable. If he was in werewolf form, I could imagine his little nose sticking through the banister with this tail flicking from side to side."

"Yeah, you can stop now." I stood. "The way you talk about him sometimes is borderline creepy." I walked past my father.

"He's my mate, and he's hot as hell. With the red markings to prove it."

"Too much." I threw up my hands as I started down the stairs.

My dad was waiting with my grandparents in the kitchen.

He wouldn't look at me when I moved by him. "Um... did Titus mention that you could spend a couple of weeks in Bloodhound with us?"

"Yeah, right before he went on some weird tangent about how cute you are." I went to help my grandma carry things to the table.

"Titus," said my dad under his breath. "How many times do I have to tell you to knock it off?"

"What?" My father shrugged. "He's our son. Saigon doesn't care. At least he knows his parents love each other."

My grandpa chuckled.

"For god sake, when will this family stop looking at me like I'm some giant puppy? I'm a grown-ass man." He rose from his seat and marched off.

"Aden, we're ready to eat," said my grandmother.

"I'm going to the bathroom. I don't need permission."

"Tone, sweetheart," she called after him.

A door slammed soon after. I set the plate of hamburgers on the table and took my seat by the wall. His red fur was showing.

"He is cute, though," said my father to his mother-in-law.

"I wish you were allowed to stay in werewolf form," she laughed. "I saw this big fluffy, stuffed wolf in the store the other day. It reminded me so much of Aden. I nearly bought it but I knew he'd throw a royal fit."

The two continued to discuss the issue as my grandpa and I started making our burgers. It was days like this that I was glad to be born with dark fur. Raven was constantly getting the 'cute comments' as well. It came with being a sub, but I could see how it would get annoying. My dad returned and slumped into the empty seat by his mate. He was still tense.

"I wasn't trying to hurt your feelings." My father put his arm around him. "I also said you were hot as hell."

"Well, maybe you can start and end with that." He stabbed his fork into a burger patty.

"Don't be mad at me." He nuzzled his mate's neck.

"Stop it!" My dad shooed him away. "We are too old for you to be so clingy."

"It's the werewolf," stated my grandmother. "I thought you two were bad until I saw Jagger and Raven. You've calmed down so much more than I thought since your newlywed days."

"Can we just eat and not talk about this or anything related?" said my dad. "Please."

I grabbed a handful of fries. "I'm thinking about majoring in economics or statistics."

"That's great, Saigon. Both sound like an excellent fit for you." My grandma glanced at her son. "I have no idea where you got your talent in math."

My dad shrugged. "A mutated gene probably. We both sucked at it." He motioned between himself and his mate.

"I was okay," said my father. "Not amazing, but okay."

"I nearly didn't graduate because of it." With a sigh, my dad squirted ketchup on his bun.

"Raven is doing something in economics as well, right?" asked my grandpa.

I nodded. "He showed me some of the things he was doing in his classes and it looked interesting. I thought I'd take the intro course and see if I liked it."

"That'll help the pack tremendously," said my grandmother with a smile. "I got a little emotional when you gave your speech during graduation. We are so proud of you and all of your accomplishments."

"Thanks." I glanced around the table.

"But now that you're graduated"—she eyed me with a smirk—"don't take too long finding that mate. I still have enough life in me to enjoy some little werewolves pup."

I laughed hesitantly. "Yeah, I'll work on that."

The others started to laugh as I shifted in my seat. I did have someone in mind, but it would never be that simple to convince Archer to say yes.