5. Lecture Time
1281 Words
“Sir,” Shane began hesitantly, “would you mind it very much if I took your beautiful daughter here on a date?” His last words were nothing but a mere whisper, but even I, the vampire who had yet to awaken, heard him.
I beamed at him, enjoying his bravery, and then looked expectantly at my dad, waiting for his approval.
Shane was the future alpha of the Black Shadow pack, and he had yet to find his mate from the looks of it.
You, on the other hand, have found yours, the reasonable voice in my head made itself heard yet again.
I inwardly rolled my eyes at the reminder. Need I be reminded of Ace at each and every turn?
“Sir?” Shane called out sheepishly.
“Dad, please?” I pleaded, using my puppy-dog eyes on him.
Ace who had just finished persuading a girl into thinking nothing had happened during PA, shifted his eyes to my face, looking for something –Heavens only knows what– and then simply left the gym.
Weird! Usually, he’s like my own shadow.
“Don’t think for one second I’ll allow my daughter to fall into the arms of a werewolf who’s not her mate,” my mom began angrily only to be interrupted by dad who put his hand up, silencing her immediately.
“If you touch even one hair on her head, you’re a dead wolf,” my dad promised him darkly in a murmur, making Shane gulp in fear. Then recovering his usual good humor, he added, “But yes, you can take her out on a date.”
“Which is it gonna be?” Shane asked, looking adorably dumbfounded.
“Both,” my dad said in a sweet tone that was fooling absolutely no one.
He was allowing me to go on a date with Shane, but he wasn’t allowing us to even hold hands…
My life is complicated, I know.
“Give me your phone, kiddo,” my dad then instructed and Shane obliged immediately. He dialed a number and my phone started to vibrate in my bra…
“Anastasia, seriously?” My mom bit out angrily.
I was used to putting the phone in the valley of my breasts, and she hated that with passion, saying it was very improper of a lady. How did I think I could get away with it, just because I was away from home?
“Sorry,” I apologized, immediately retrieving my phone from there, looking at the ID, thinking it might be Ace –calling me to tell me not to worry or something– only to find an unknown number.
“That’s Ana’s phone number,” My dad then declared flatly, and I realized the unknown number belonged to Shane. “The date is for this Saturday, 11am sharp. No tardiness allowed. No excuses. Peter and Jeff will go with you, and that is not up for debate. Are we good?”
I saw that Shane had grimaced a little bit upon hearing the part about my bodyguards coming with us, and I felt for him. Dating me was definitely no easy matter. It was good enough my dad had given us his approval, by heavens only knew what miracle.
“We’re good, sir,” came Shane’s serious reply.
And that’s when dad put his arm around me and mom and teleported us back home.
****************************
It was time for dinner, and I went downstairs, humming a new song.
Yes, you’ve guessed right. My parents insisted that we all had meals together as frequently as possible, like a family ought to… How unnerving!
As I sat at my usual spot, I noticed that Ace’s seat was vacant. He had yet to show up, and I started to wonder what could have happened to him.
I voiced out my concerns differently, however: “What’s taking Ace so long?”
“It’s probably nothing,” my dad told me in a placating tone. “Why? Are you worried?”
“I could care less about him,” I replied proudly, feeling awful the moment I said the words even if Ace wasn’t here to hear them. “I just wanna eat.”
My dad’s smile faded immediately and he told me in a serious tone that was not like him. “Ana, please be kind to your mate.”
“What do you mean, dad?” I pouted both at the reprimand and the reminder. “I’m always kind.”
“He means don’t let him get jealous for the fun of it,” mom explained, looking stern, her usually soft chocolate brown eyes hard on me.
Hello? It’s not like I wanted to go on a date with Shane just for the sake of making him jealous. What kind of sick person would I be then? I wanted to go on a date with Shane because I simply liked him. Why was that so hard to grasp?
I opened my mouth to argue. “No buts, no ifs,” my parents told me simultaneously.
“You’re supposed to be mates, not twins,” I whined half-jokingly, rolling my eyes.
“And you’re supposed to behave like a princess ought to,” my mom admonished, “not like a spoiled brat.”
“But Ace is the one who spoils me the most,” I muttered, puffing my cheeks.
“All the more reason not to provoke him by going on a date with a guy you don’t even like all that much,” dad told me while patting my head affectionately, as he had teleported to my side, giving me the fright of my life. “Ace is sulking. And Ace never sulks.”
“If you were to lose him, you’d come to realize just how important he is,” mom said on a sigh from where she sat across me.
“As if!” I countered proudly. “He’s too old for me.”
“No, you’re the one who’s too young, immature and absurdly puerile,” mom interjected harshly.
At that, tears welled up in my eyes. I looked at dad but he didn’t say a single word to defend me or comfort me.
“When I was your age,” mom carried on, uncaring, “I was already fully committed to your father.”
“What if I don’t want to commit to him?” I cried out angrily, tears streaming down my face, just as Ace made an appearance into the dining room.
The pained face he made was my undoing, for my tears turned into sobs, and I left the dining room in a hurry.
“Anastasia!” Dad called out, far from amused.
“I’m not hungry,” I shouted back as I kept on running up the stairs, heading straight to my room.
I heard them talking among themselves but couldn’t distinguish what was said.
At this point, I could care less.
All I could do was curse the fates that had blessed me with such a gentle and caring mate when all I wanted was a handsome and cocky bad boy.
I only ended up crying myself to sleep for the first time in my life… Pathetic, I know.
- Writer
