Chapter 114

Jackson’s eyes go wide for a second with worry as my dad focuses singularly on him and takes one single, dangerous step in his direction.

“Dominic!” my mother snaps, and then she’s moving quickly between my dad and my mate, turning and holding a hand up in front of my father’s face. “Think about what you’re doing right now, let alone the impression you’re making!”

The growl dies in my father’s throat as he blinks, hard and refocuses on my mom. “The…the impression? Ella, this man’s scent is all over our child, he’s claiming her as his mate, and you want me to worry about first impressions!?”

“Dominic,” mom murmurs, stepping closer and shocking me by laughing a little bit. Slowly she stands on her tiptoes and takes his face in her hands. “Don’t you get it? He didn’t claim her as his mate – the Goddess fated them. And if I know my daughter as well as I think I do, then I’d be willing to bet a lot of money that Ariel had more to do with this than poor Jackson did.”

Dad stares at mom for a long moment before turning to look at me.

I just shrug, feeling awkward and…well, old. Because my entire life I’ve been dad’s little girl, and now here I am…introducing him to my mate.

Suddenly overwhelmed, my eyes fill with tears. “Yeah,” I say, shrugging again, not knowing what to do. “I’ve…I’ve known since the first day as a candidate, dad. I told Jackson… yesterday.”

My lip trembles as my dad stares at me, shocked, and I can’t help the tears that start to slip down my cheeks. I also don’t miss the three steps forward that Jackson takes towards me before Rafe grabs his arm, hauling him back.

“Be nice to him, dad,” I squeak out. “He’s…he’s really nice, okay?”

Dad stares at me for a long, long moment before he lets out a long, long groan, covering his face with his hands and tilting his head back towards the ceiling. Aunt Cora scooches closer to me, giving me a quick hug and then wiping the tears from my cheeks, whispering that it’s all right.

I nod to her, understanding, but still feeling overwhelmed. I keep my eyes on the four people standing in the room.

Jackson and Rafe stand still, waiting for my dad to decide what he’s going to do next. Mom

steps close to dad, wrapping an arm around his waist and waiting patiently until he drops his hands from his face, folding his arms around her and sighing deeply before looking

down at her.

“I wasn’t ready for this today, Ella,” he murmurs, glancing back at me. “I wasn’t ready for our little girl to grow up.” noveldrama

“Well, we’ve still got the meatball,” she murmurs, pointing at Rafe. I laugh, unable to help it, as Rafe scowls. He hates his nickname. “He hasn’t left us yet. And Markie and Juniper. Or Ariel – not really.” She smiles at him. “Kids grow. It’s what they do.” She stands on her toes. “It’s a good day, Dominic.”

Dad presses a kiss to her mouth and then nods once, sighing again. “A good day.” Then he turns to me and holds a hand out. Cora helps me stand and then I wheel my little IV over to my dad’s side, slipping my hand in his as the three of us turn to face Jackson, who suddenly looks completely freaked out.

I smirk, a little tickled by the idea that he was ready to take on my dad when dad was about to slash him to pieces. But meeting my father in a calm, pleasant way? He looks ready to bolt.

“All right, Ariel,” dad murmurs, his voice grumbling as he squeezes my hand in his. ” Introduce me to your young man.”

And so I do.

Introductions are quick, largely formal, and a little awkward, with dad shaking Jackson’s hand and asking him some questions about who he is, what he’s studying, how we met. Jackson’s face gets redder and redder as he stumbles through the interrogation, and I’m basically melting with second– hand embarrassment, but Rafe saves me.

One look at Rafe’s wide grin, at the way he watches Jackson with a little bit of good- humored delight at how horribly awkward he’s being, and I burst into laughter.

Mom and Rafe start laughing too, and dad looks down at me with surprise as I shake my head at him and move to Jackson’s side, slipping my hand into my mate’s and giving it a squeeze. “Dad, please, you’re killing him, all right?”