9 nine

"mom? dad?" he asked with a shocked look on his face. my eyes widened and i sucked in a breath.

i quickly mind linked asher, 'why didn't you tell me they were coming! i look horrible and i'm not ready!' i cleared my throat and put my parent meeting face on.

"nice to meet you, i'm madison." i said shyly parents dig that nice girl stuff. "it's so nice to finally meet you! when asher told us he found his mate i was ecstatic! i couldn't sleep the entire night!" she squealed.

i scratched the back of my head as asher talked to his parents about basic things. i knew he was trying to give me a bit of time to think about what to say and take this all in.

i took a deep breath and said, "you guys must be tired from your trip. come in." the couple came in and sat down on the living room couch, talking about their time exploring the world.

chris eventually got home and stalled while asher and i discussed things upstairs.

"what the hell were you thinking? i'm not ready asher!" i whined and pushed him away from me. he grabbed my hands and sighed. "why are you so worried? you look as beautiful as ever and my mom is so excited to meet you that she doesn't care about clothes."

although he was right, his mother didn't care to look at my outfit or judge me all the time she has been here, it still didn't change the fact that i wasn't ready to meet his parents just yet.

i rolled my eyes at him and sighed. "i'm going to take a shower." is all i said before grabbing a yellow dress, panties and a bra and heading my way back to the bathroom.

—

i took a deep breath and stared at myself in the mirror. "it'll be ok. she's just excited to meet her sons mate. after a few days they'll be gone and everything will go back to normal. calm down madison." i gave myself a pep talk and ran my fingers through my soft hair.

there were two knocks at the door and i groaned. "what do you want asher?" i yelled out, annoyed, and applied a little bit of lip gloss. when there was no reply i stomped over to the door and opened it. to my surprise, there was asher's mom. standing there with a raised eyebrow.

"oh.. mrs. woods. i'm so sorry.. i thought-"

she smiled at me and shook her head. "it's maria to you hun. and you don't have to explain yourself to me. i know that this whole mate thing is very new to you and it's probably quite annoying."

i felt as if a ton of bricks were lifted off my shoulder. she knew how i felt.

"come on, the boys left to go get some groceries for dinner. we can have a few glasses of wine and talk about it." she winked at my and smirked. i giggled and followed her down the steps.

—

after three glasses of rich wine maria and i were spilling stories back and forth. for once i actually got to tell someone how i felt about everything going on. she told me that with all this change it's good to have to talk to other than your mate.

she took a sip of her wine and cleared her throat, "so, tell me, why are you so angry at asher?"

i laughed and rubbed my eyes. "i could give you about three main reasons why. there is no specific reason."

"spill." the woman stared into my eyes with a grin on her face.

"well. first off he won't let me talk to literally anyone that isn't a girl. even his brother! he keeps me isolated away from the world and i hate that."

she nodded and urged me to go on.

"and second.. he marked me without my permission which really pissed me off. even though we made up and i marked him as well, it still hurts deep down, you know?"

maria nodded once again and frowned.

"and last.. he didn't wait for me. he lost his virginity to someone who wasn't his mate. that one really.. hurt."

maria sighed, set her glass down and grabbed my hands. "first off madison i just want to say you are the bravest girl i've ever met. when i met asher's father i was so afraid of change. i was scared to leave my family and friends but you.. you did the complete opposite."

i smiled at her as tears began to form in my eyes. what's going on with me? i'm never this emotional!

"and i want you to know that even though asher has made all of these mistakes.. i hope that you won't hold a grudge on him for these things. i'm more than sure that all the things he does are for your safety. he truly has taken a liking to you so that's why i want you to have faith in him. and also i really want grandkids."

i laughed at the woman and wiped tears off my face. maria is right. even if asher did make mistakes i should hold him accountable for it but i shouldn't hold grudges for it. we were made for each other and everything happens for a reason.

i took my finally sip of wine before there were three knocks on the door. i got up from my seat and opened the door. standing there were two men with exhausted looks on their faces.

chris ran past me and dropped ten grocery bags onto the floor. "move, move, move! i've gotta use the bathroom!" he yelled and ran up the stairs. we all broke into laughter and asher's dad walked passed me to go to his mate.

i was looking forward to growing old with asher and still having the same crazy love for each other since the beginning. i smiled at the couple and hummed in approval as i felt two territorial arms wrap around my waist.

"i've missed you.." he whispered in my ear after placing a small kiss on my mark. a electric shock went through my body and i let out a small moan only he could hear. my cheeks heated and looked down at my feet.

why did i do that? oh my god. is that going to happen every time his lips come near my mark?

all of a sudden i felt a light pressure on my head. he was reading my thoughts. i rolled my eyes and sighed. "get out of my head, asher."

"why? because you know that you won't be able to control your thoughts and fantasies about us when your around me?" he smugly said.

i scoffed and pushed his arms away from my waist only for them to return, holding onto me stronger than before. "you wish." i mumbled. i put up a mental barrier so that he couldn't get in anymore. him searching through my memories is beginning to give me a headache.

"madison, hunny, mind helping me cook dinner?" maria asked kindly with a smirk on her face from watching asher and i. i giggled and nodded. "i'd be happy to help."

—

"okay so, when i make spaghetti i dont ever tell the boys but i always add a little p-" the woman said before i groaned out in pain and clutched my stomach. a wave of pain scattered throughout my body and i whimpered at the feeling.

maria places a hand on my back. "madison? are you alright? you should sit down." she led me to the nearest chair and sat me down. i clutched my stomach harder and groaned as another wave of pain flew throughout my body, ten times worse this time.

i can't be that hungry, right? no way. werewolves can go weeks without food!

tears began to well up in my eyes and i heard footsteps coming down the stairs quickly. immediately i was lifted off the chair and pulled into my mate's chest.

my barrier went down immediately and he mind linked me 'madison are you o-"

my vision was beginning to go blurry and it was getting awfully hot. "shit! no i'm not okay! it hurts damnit!" i screamed out into his chest. the pain was harsh but his presence was helping me cope.

there was a long pause before i heard asher's dad say something along the lines of 'chris, hideout, hot and mate.'

"f-fuck.." i said and squeezed my eyes shut. my vision has completely given out on me so there was no point in trying to see anything. all i knew was that i was with my mate so i was okay.

one moment we were in the pack house and the next i was on his lap in the car. i curled up in his lap and squeezed his hands tightly.

"i know, baby, i know."

"what the hell is happening?!" i screamed and i sobbed uncontrollably.

asher took a deep sigh and held onto me tightly.

"you've gone into heat, madison."