Page 55 of Wolf Bitten

A faint knock came from the door, and it cracked open enough for me to see a sliver of Raffe’s face. He whispered, “You should invite them to the game this Saturday.”

Game? For a second, I furrowed my eyebrows until understanding slammed into me. He meant the football game a week from Saturday. Between the capture, the drama, and all the fighting, I’d forgotten he was one of the best quarterbacks in the division.

“Mom, hold on a second.” I hit mute on my phone and continued petting Cat-Keith. She pressed her entire body against me and purred.

Apparently, that was enough for Raffe to feel comfortable opening the door wider. He kept a wary eye on the cat.

“Do you think it’s a wise idea to invite them here?” I couldn’t deny that seeing them would be nice. Though I’d never felt super close to them, they did love me. They just didn’t understand me. But seeing how often Mom had texted to talk revealed a facet of our relationship I hadn’t seen until now. “I mean, with witches, vampires, threats, and me all at the game?”

He smiled sadly. “Weren’t you the one who said you didn’t want what’s happening to make you live your life any differently?”

Touché. And some women said men didn’t listen. Clearly, they weren’t lucky enough to have a man like Raffein their life. Still, I couldn’t give in too easily. Where was the fun in that? “Those weren’t my exact words.” I shrugged andtsked as if I were disappointed in myself while trying to fight a smile.

“Oh, excuse me.” He touched his chest. “I was listening for understanding. I didn’t realize there’d be a pop quiz later.”

I snorted, feeling happy … and almost normal. “I would hate for something to happen to them. And what if your dad comes?”

“I’ll make sure eyes I trust are on you at all times, and my dad won’t show up, not after how we left things. He won’t risk having a confrontation in front of everyone on campus. That’s not how he works. Besides …” Raffe averted his gaze, looking vulnerable. “I kind of want to meet my mate’s parents. We could go out to dinner afterward.”

“Okay.” There was no way I’d say no after that. I’d never had a chance to introduce a boyfriend to my parents, and the fact that my first was Raffe felt right. “Let’s do it.”

His head jerked up, and a weight lifted off my chest as if he hadn’t expected me to say yes. “Great. It’s a noon game, so dinner after works.”

Unmuting the phone, I placed it back to my ear. “Mom?”

The front door to the apartment opened. Raffe must have informed Lucy that Supreme Priestess Olwyn and Slade had left.

“Yeah, honey?” Mom replied, her voice sounding tight.

“You know what? Why don’t you and Dad come down for our next football game, and we’ll go out to dinner with Raffe after?”

Lucy appeared at Raffe’s side and blinked at me standing in her room.

“We’dloveto,” Mom said enthusiastically. “And who is Raffe? Will he be watching the game with us?”

Jaw dropping, Raffe dramatically placed a hand in front of his mouth as if surprised I hadn’t told them about him.

I snickered, unable to hide the sound. “Raffe is my …” I trailed off, searching for the right word.Boyfrienddidn’t hint at the depth of our relationship, but I was afraid to say anything too strong because then they’d be worried. So, I settled on the safest bet. “… boyfriend.”

“Well, that’s a first.” Mom giggled. “I know you were hesitant to attend EEU, but my gut screamed this would be good for you. Though I will say, I expected you to say Slade since he’s the only guy you’ve mentioned.”

Cold, sharp tingles of hurt and the icky, slimy sensation of jealousy flowed deep within my chest where Raffe’s emotions sat. This was one of those times I wished his hearing wasn’t so amazing. I’d hurt him again in less than twenty-four hours. I was doinggreat.

“Slade’s just a friend. Raffe and I were kind of dancing around each other.” That was the nicest way I could think to phrase what our relationship had been like before. Trying to explain our secret moments together, his assholey indifference in public, and the way he had taken over my thoughts and heart would put my parents on edge. We had to be careful about how we presented our relationship to them. “But we finally got things right.” At least, I hoped we had.

“Seriously?” Lucy scoffed at him.

“I’m very excited to meet him. We’ll get down there around eleven, so we aren’t in a rush to get to the stadium,” Mom replied, almost with a squeal.

“Sounds great.” I could only hope we hadn’t made a huge mistake, but Raffe had been right in reminding me what I’d said. I couldn’t allow these people to control my life and make me afraid of doing normal things. If I did that, they’d essentially win.

Mom said, “I’ll call you later. I need to tell your father about our plans. He’ll be thrilled. I love you, baby.”

She hadn’t called me by that nickname in years. “Love you too.”

When I clicked the end button, Raffe was still pouting.

I wished I could go back in time and tell Mom all about him. “Raffe, I’m sorry. With everything going on, I didn’t want to tell them about you, and then—”

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