The game of catch was cut short suddenly when the skies opened and poured down the rain. We all ran for the cars, Jackson following me when I shouted that I could give him a ride back to his house.

Aiden gave me a slightly worried look and I smiled at him to reassure him that I would be fine. He let it go, turning back towards his car. I could only guess that it was because he hadn't seen anything to worrisome about Jackson while we were playing catch and that he knew I could defend myself if he was wrong and Jackson did try something. He needn't be worried, but I couldn't exactly tell him that Jackson would never hurt me because he was my werewolf mate.

"So, where should I take you?" I asked Jackson as we sat in my idling car.

"Your house," he replied, looking at me like the answer to my question was so obvious that he couldn't believe I was asking it.

"Did you forget that my dog 'ran away'?" I asked of him, turning slightly to face him a little more. "My parents aren't just going to let a random guy stay the night."

He sighed in aggravation, running his hands down his face. "Why can't you just be eighteen already?"

I raised an eyebrow at his statement. "And you think that even if I was eighteen, I would let you stay the night?" I asked of him.

He frowned at me. "We are mates you know."

I snorted. "That may mean something to you, buddy, but I'm human. One hundred percent completely and totally human! You're going to have to date me like a normal person, mister!"

His jaw dropped in shock. "I thought you understood all this!"

I laughed without humor, my hands slamming down on the steering wheel. "I'm not even close to understanding everything!" I yelled at him. I softened my voice slightly when his eyes widened from my tone. "I get that you think we are mates because you're a werewolf and all, but that's as far as my understanding goes. This is all extremely overwhelming."

"We will explain everything to you tomorrow," he told me gently.

"About that," I began, nervousness arising as I remembered his parting statement from earlier. "You really want to take me to meet your entire pack tomorrow? When I've just learned what you are?"

He nodded, reaching out to take my hand. "I know that this is all overwhelming for you, Cecilia," he told me, "I just feel like this might be easier for you to accept when you see that we're not totally different from humans. We can turn into wolves, sure, and we live in a pack, yeah, but other than that, we're pretty normal."

I snorted and he patted my knee. "You'll understand more tomorrow," he assured me.

I sighed, deciding to just go through with it. If it was all too overwhelming, I could always back out and tell him that I couldn't be with him. "So, where am I taking you?"

"Your house."

I glared at him again. "Did you pay any attention what so ever to the conversation we just had two seconds ago?"

He laughed at my anger. "I heard everything you said, and I understood it completely. However, if you take me to the pack house, everyone is going to want to meet you. Just take me to your house and I'll run back."

I felt kind of bad, making him run all the way back to his pack, but there was no way I was going to meet his whole pack today. He's a wolf. He'll be fine. "My house," I agreed, making him laugh again. I chose to ignore his amusement.

I had every right to be nervous. Me, a little human, surrounded by a bunch of werewolves. Anyone would be nervous if they were in my position. I didn't know anything about werewolves except for the fact that Jackson was one and that my dog was actually a werewolf.

"You don't have to be nervous," he told me as I started driving. "No one is going to hurt you there."

No, I knew that. I knew that he wouldn't let anyone hurt me, even if they tried. "No...but they might not like me." I didn't realize until now that it was something I was actually worried about. I wasn't good with people not liking me. I realize that everyone can't like me, but I don't like confrontation or even snide, behind-your-back comments.

Jackson raised an eyebrow at me, his disbelief plain. "And why wouldn't they like you?"

I looked at him in disbelief. "Uh...because I'm human! I read books you know, Jackson. You can't expect me to believe everyone in your pack is going to accept me!"

His eyes widened. "I really don't think it's going to be as much of a problem as you think it is, Cecilia. Books can be dramatic and most of the time, they're wrong as well."

I snorted, disagreeing with his statement. Yes, books are often dramatic, but they tell stories of life, love and adventure that allow you to escape to a more fantastical place.

We arrived at my house before I could give him this opinion and I focused instead on parking my car between my parents' vehicles. Jackson and I climbed easily out of the car and he walked around the front to give me a tight hug. I slowly hugged him back and he smiled down at me.

"Stay safe and text me if you see Bane or anything suspicious," he ordered.

I rolled my eyes. "Two hours ago, you were my dog. I don't have your phone number."

He smirked at me. "I put it in your phone at the beach."

I glared at him. I'd done that a lot today. He could be much more annoying as a human than a dog. Jackson just smiled and started walking towards the woods. "Should've stayed a dog," I heard him mutter.

I laughed and headed inside. I didn't think I would ever see Bane again. Jackson had beaten him good and I couldn't see him coming back for a rematch.

I skipped up the steps of my front porch and through the front door, unreasonably happy. "Mom! Dad! I'm home!" I yelled as I opened the door. I found them in the living room watching Everybody Loves Raymond, my mom's yarn pooled around her as she crocheted what looked like a scarf.

"Hi, honey," my mom said, giving me a warm smile over top of the deep red yarn. "How was the beach?"

"It was good," I replied easily, flopping down on the couch beside her. "But I did run into Rafe's previous owners and they took him back."

"They did what?!" my dad exclaimed, jerking forward in his chair, giving me his full attention and a disbelieving look.

"He was their dog first, dad," I told him, trying to reason out something that hadn't actually happened. It was hard because I probably wouldn't have given Jackson back to his previous owners had they been real. "I wasn't just going to say 'well, he's mine now and you can't have him'!" I lied. In all actuality, that's probably exactly what I would have said.

"I would have," my dad retorted, proving whose child I was.

My mom on the other hand gave me a side hug and praised, "You did the right thing, sweetheart. They've probably been going crazy looking for him this past month."

My dad snorted from his chair and muttered, "Can't have cared that much if he was in the pound in the first place."

My mom shook her head and scolded him. "Now, John. You know that sometimes accidents happen."

"He was Ceci's dog!" my dad yelled, pointing a finger at my mom. "Don't you scold me, woman! I'm not a child!"

I smiled and quickly slapped my hands over my face, hoping they wouldn't notice the enjoyment I was getting from his reply.

My mom glared at him angrily. "Excuse me? Do you want to sleep on the couch tonight?" she practically growled.

His eyes widened and his face paled. You could clearly see him mentally back-pedaling. "No, of course not! I'm sorry, honey, I was just upset that they took our baby's dog."

My mom smiled and reached over to pat his arm. You could tell she was satisfied with the way she had my father wrapped around her little finger. I was always entertained, watching their playful arguments. I'm sure they were as well after they were over. I was doing my best not to laugh, my hands moving to clench only over my mouth.

I dropped them with haste when my mom turned her attention to me and put on my best sad face. She winked at me, knowing that I was trying not to laugh. The twitching in my lips must have given me away.

"Are you okay?" she asked me.

I nodded. "I'm fine. I loved him, but I only had him a month. They'd had him longer and I knew they were missing him," I lied. It was much easier to be noble when I hadn't really lost him. He just happened to walk on two legs, talk and look gorgeous now.

My mom turned sideways, dropping her yarn and needle into her lap to hug me properly. "I'm so proud of you, baby! You're so grown up!"

I laughed and patted her back gently as she rocked us side to side. "Thanks, mom," I replied, feeling slightly weird from her praise since I hadn't actually done anything.

"Did anything else happen at the beach today?" my mom asked me as my dad went back to watching his television show.

"Well..." I began, giving her a sneaky smile. She leaned forward in anticipation. "I met a boy."

"What?!" she squealed.

"What?" my dad growled at the same time, standing up angrily.

"John, sit down!" she ordered him fiercely. He looked like he might ignore her, but then he gave her a glare and sullenly returned to his chair. He turned his hard gaze to me, waiting for details.

"So," my mom said, turning back to me, excitement plain in her features. I didn't talk to her about boys very often and she absolutely loved it when I did. "What's his name? What's he like? How'd you meet?"

I laughed at her enthusiasm and replied. "His name is Jackson-"

My mom gasped. "What a strong, handsome name!" she squealed.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, okay, mom," I told her. "Anyway, his name is Jackson. I was playing catch with Aiden, Kayla, Taylor and Lisa when Aiden threw the ball right at my face. I tripped and he caught me."

She gasped against and I swear to god, she swooned a little. "How romantic," she sighed.

"And you're never seeing him again, right?" my dad grumbled, causing my mom to glare at him again. He ignored it, his bad mood lingering because of a potential dating prospect for his only daughter.

"Well, actually," I began, "we're hanging out tomorrow."

My mom clapped happily and my dad slouched in his chair, scowling at the wall. It seemed as if he thought the world had ended and I was intensely amused. "I would tell you no," he muttered, my mom glaring at him all the while, "but I rather like my bed. The couch isn't very comfortable."

I smiled at him. "Thanks for the almost approval, daddy," I told him, getting up and kissing his cheek. He grumbled a bit more, but hugged me tightly and gave me a smile when I pulled back.

"He has to come in and meet us tomorrow before he takes you anywhere."

"I'll make sure of it," I assured him.

"Good. Come here, baby girl," he told me, his arms outstretched for another hug.