Chapter 10 meet the parents
A few days had passed since the encounter with the vampire, and Selena and Rowan had spent most of their time staying within the safety of the apartment, enjoying each other's company. "Come on, get up, Rowan." Selena's voice rang out in the early morning, stirring Rowan from his slumber. "Hunh, what time is it?" He asked groggily, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "It's time to get up," she responded snarkily, pulling the covers off of him and flipping him off the couch in a pile of blankets and crooked limbs. "Argh, why?" He asked, pulling himself out of the bedding. "My dad is free; he is going to fix the car door you broke," she said, looking down at him and shaking her head with amusement. "Wasn't me It was the vampire," Rowan muttered, but he stood up anyway, stretching and popping his back.
"What does your dad do for work?" Rowan asked as they ate breakfast. "He is a mechanic," she said, digging into her eggs. "Oh, that makes sense," Rowan said, nodding as he chewed his bacon. "So is he a shapeshifter?" he inquired. "Yep," Selena replied simply, enjoying her meal. "What does he change into?" Rowan persisted, curious about her family. Selena rolled her eyes. "You can ask him yourself when we go to his shop." "Great meet the parents time," Rowan teased Selena, as she ignored his joke and focused on her food.
"Here?" Rowan wonders, looking at a run-down garage by a gas station. "Yup, don't say anything," Selena instructed as she parked in front of the run-down shop. A tanned man came out with a jump suit covered in black oil spots, his face weathered by the sun with a small mustache on his lips and salt and pepper hair. "Hello dad," Selena greeted him. "My baby," the man said, walking towards them. His voice was rough with age. Selena goes to hug him, but he just walks right past her to the car. "What did you do to my baby?" he said, staring at the bent car door. "I, um..." Selena started as he bent down, rubbing the door. "So much for me being your baby," Selena muttered at him. "So what exactly happened?" Selena's father asked, still rubbing the car door. "Oh, it was a vam... ouch." Rowan started but was stopped by Selena elbowing him in the side. "A van." Selena adds quickly, "We got side swiped by a van." She continues to lie as her father stares at the dent for a few more seconds, staring sharply at Rowan to get the message across.
"I see," her dad says before getting up. "Well, pull her in. I will see what I can do," he says while heading to the back of the building. "Damnt Selena, that hurt, Rowan said, rubbing his ribs. He complained while she shrugged her shoulders. "Why did you lie to him?" he questioned with a whisper. "They don't know I'm a hunter," she admits quietly with a sigh. "Selena," Rowan says, looking at her. "I can't tell them; I don't want to worry them," she states, getting in the car and driving it into the open garage door where her dad was waiting with a tall woman that had long black hair and green eyes like Selenas
.
Selena parks the car and gets out to greet her mom. "Hello, sweety," her mom said, giving her a hug and kiss on the cheek. "Mom," Selena mumbled. "Did you get taller?" Her mother asked, looking her over. "See, this is how you greet your daughter," Selena shot at her farther. "Mmmhm, whatever you say," her dad waved her off as he got tools out. "So who is the boy in your car?" her mother asked with a big grin as Rowan stepped out of the car and closed the door. "Hello, I'm Rowan," he said, going to shake her hand. "Oh my, oh my, Selena, you never told us you had a mate and a human at that." Her mother said she pulled Rowan in for a hug, squashing his face against her breasts. "Such a little cutie," she added, stroking his hair. Selena blushed beet red. "No, we are not friends!" she shouted, her face red with embarrassment. "Oh, hush it, you. No need to lie to you, mom," she said before letting go of Rowan. "I'm Roselyn, but you can call me Rosy, honey," she said, her long black hair cascading down her back when she let go of Rowan.
"Mom, no, I'm not lying; he is just a friend," Selena said, trying to get her mom off the subject of mates. "Right, just friends," her mother said, giving her a wink as she pulled Rowan inside. "Can I get you some tea or water?" she asks before muttering at Selena. "Is that what human kids drink now and then?" Selena groans at her mother as they all make their way into the kitchen. "Yes, thank you; that would be great, Rosy," Rowan answers. Selena's father laughs as he works on the car. "See Selena; be polite. like your mate," he teases his daughter while fixing the car door. Selena groans again at her father and gives him a glare.
Rowan sat at the table as Selena's mother made them some drinks. Selena joined him, sitting beside him at the table as her mother walked over, setting a cup of tea in front of Rowan before grabbing Selena and pulling her aside. "We will be right back, honey," Rosy called back to Rowan as she dragged her daughter to another room. "Selena, I don't want to judge you modern kids, but isn't he a bit young?" Rosy whispered as if Rowan could hear them through the walls. "Yes, he is, but," Selena whispered back. "No, but have you mated with him?" Her mother interjected. "No! Of course not." Selena quickly responded, her face turning red. "Really, I can smell you all of him." Rosy stated, sniffing her daughter. "urgh don't smell me like that." Selena mumbled, annoyed by her mother's intrusion on her privacy.
"No, he is just staying at my apartment," she continues to explain. "Why?" her mother questions. "It's a long story I can't talk about," Selena said with a groan. "Ok, okay," her mother relents, seeing her frustration. "Just remember, if you really like him, take him before someone else, like your little succubus friend, whatever her name is," she finishes saying as the two head back into the kitchen. "Sorry, dear, I just had to have a mother-daughter talk." Rosy said only to see an empty table where Rowan once sat.
"Where is he?" Rosy asks. "Dad!" Selena calls out. "Yeah, honey?" Her father calls back. "Where is Rowan?" Selena asked her farther. "He's right here," her farther answered, peeking his head out from under the car with his face covered in oil and grease. "Did you need something?" Rowan asked as he helped out Selena's farther by holding tools. "Nothing, nothing, just checking on you," Selena said as she and her mother walked back to the living room. "It looks like your dad likes him," Rosy states with a smile. "I guess," Selena replies as they enter the living room.
Selena sits down on the couch and sighs, her head falling back, looking at the ceiling as her mother takes a seat by her. "Just so you know, I'm ok with you having a human mate," she said while reaching over and patting Selena's shoulder. "not again." Selena grumbled, hiding her face in her hands as her mother chuckled at her embarrassment. "I'm just joking, honey. But do you really not feel anything for him?" her mother asked with concern. Selena paused, thinking it over, and sighed. "I don't know," she said honestly, unable to come up with an answer. "Whenever I'm around him, I go crazy," she continued, running her hand through her hair in frustration. "It's like my instincts go into overdrive," Selena explained, her face turning red as she spoke. "You know, you really might have found your mate." Her mother said it with a wistful smile. "You got it just as bad as me for your father," she teased. "I don't want to have a mate, though," Selena said, leaning forward to hide her face from her mother. "I know it can be a scary thing, but it's so worth it." Her mother explained.
"So what can you turn in to?" Rowan asked curiously as he worked on the car with Selena's farther. "Eh, just a rat." The older man replied casually while digging through the tool box for a wrench. "I don't know how much you know about our kind, but we don't get to choose what we become; it just happens." He explained with a shrug of his shoulders. "I don't know much; I only learned about this world a couple days ago," Rowan said, looking at the underside of the car. "Ah, well, that's fair. You learn something new every day. So has Selena told you about what mates mean for shapeshifters?" He asked, looking over at Rowan. "No, uh, we don't talk about that kind of thing; as Selena said, we are just friends." Rowan replied, slightly confused. "Friends, huh? Well, that sounds boring. Come on, you can be honest with me; we are both men," he said with a smirk. "Just be warned: if you do anything, you will be with her for the rest of your life." He said this, chuckling to himself as he returned to working on the car. "rest of my life?" Rowan asked, shocked.
"That's right. That's what being a mate is about for shapeshifters; once you fall in love, well, shapeshifters will forever be bound to each other." He said continuing to work on the car. "Wow, that's a lot to take in," Rowan said, shaking his head in shock. "Since you're a human, it won't affect you like it would, Selena," the man said, looking at Rowan.
"Eugen, stop scaring the poor boy," Rosy said, coming out to the garage. "Clean up, you two grease monkeys. Selena and I have made lunch," she said, smiling at the boys before heading back inside. "Don't think too hard about it; I was just giving you a heads up," Eugen said, getting out from under the car. "Come one, we don't want to make the ladies mad," he said, heading to a sink to scrub off his hands and face. Rowan followed, doing the same before joining them at the dinner table. "Thanks, hun," Eugen said, kissing his wife on the cheek and sitting down. "Thank you, Rosy Selena," Rowan added, taking his seat next to Selena. "Well, eat up," Rosy said, gesturing to the spread before them. "The boy and I will have the car fixed up soon," Eugen said after they finished the meal. "He's a quick learner," he said, patting Rowan on the back before heading back out to the garage.