Page 33 of Falling for her Guardian

Seren was going to pack a bag so she could stay with him at the barracks for a while, but before they returned to Northernmost after meeting with her family, he was going to take her out on a date. He just had no idea where since he didn’t know Columbus that well.

Willow got out of the truck when they reached the Entrance. “Give me a couple minutes to get it started, and then you can join me so Seren won’t freeze while it powers up.”

“Thanks,” Storm said.

“When you’re ready to come back,” Griffin said, “just use your satellite phone to call the security office and we’ll send someone to come to the location to pick you up.”

“We’ll be a while,” Storm said. “We’re going to meet her parents, pack some things, and then go out on a date.”

Griffin nodded. “Sounds like fun. If you happen to see any of those candy Buckeyes, the chocolate and peanut butter ones? Grab some for me. I’d be eternally grateful.”

“We can totally do that,” Seren said. “There’s a shop near my apartment that sells them.”

“Cool,” Griffin said.

Willow opened the door where Storm was sitting. “I’m ready. Let’s get you two to Ohio.”

They said goodbye to Griffin and hurried to the Entrance, now glowing and pulsing with power.

Storm held Seren’s hand and followed the elf. She stood just outside the portal alongside a stretch of road and said, “Call when you’re ready to come home. If I’m not busy, I’ll pick you up, but if I am, someone else will. Have fun and good luck meeting the parents!”

“Thank you,” Seren said.

Willow waved and stepped back through the portal opening, which disappeared with a whiff of ozone and a whooshing sound.

“It’s a heck of a lot warmer here than it was in Northernmost,” Seren said.

“Definitely. I always appreciate the nicer winter weather in Pennsylvania when I head home.” An SUV was idling at the side of the road. “There’s our ride,” he said.

They got into the passenger seat and he thanked the human male for waiting. “No worries,” he said. “I’ve got the address as 135 Wicker Street. It’s about twenty minutes away.”

“That’s right,” she said. She settled into the seat and pulled off her hat and gloves. “Are you nervous?”

“About what?” he asked.

“Meeting my parents.”

He frowned. “I hadn’t actually thought about it,” he said. “Should I be?”

“They don’t like shifters.”

“What?” He knew his mouth was open because he was genuinely shocked.

“Well, okay, hold on,” she said with a light laugh. “They don’t like shifters because of how that asshole treated me. When I talked to Noelle this morning, I told her that I met you and we were mates, and she was a little skeptical because she didn’t want me to get hurt again. My parents would feel the same way. They never liked the other guy, and when he treated me badly, it made them feel how I did about shifters…that none of them could be trusted.”

“Shit,” he said. “How can I get them to like me? I certainly can’t do to them what I did to you last night.” His voice dropped into a low growl, and she blushed and swatted his arm.

“No, you can’t. But you won’t have to do anything but be yourself. I thought you might be nervous to meet them because we’re mates, but also because they will probably give you the third degree. I didn’t want you to be caught off guard.”

He scrubbed a hand through his hair and then laughed. “I’ll just be my most charming self. Hopefully they’ll come to like me in time. When they see I’m not an asshole.”

“They will, I know it,” she said.

When they reached her parents’ home, the front door opened as they were getting out of the SUV. He used the satellite phone to tip the driver well with the car service app and then shut the door.

“Come in, come in, you’ll catch your death,” a woman said from the house.

“We’re coming, Mom,” Seren said. “And it’s much warmer here than the North Pole, trust me.”

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