You Want Me to do What?

Jay stepped away from her before clearing his throat and asking, "Tomorrow evening my family is having dinner, we make sure we are all there for Sunday since we can't always eat together throughout the week. Would you like to join us?"

Nova's head tilted slightly and asked, "Wouldn't I be intruding? I mean it is a family dinner, and I am not family."

He shrugged and told her, "Well Logan and his family are also gonna be there, so it isn't just blood family. Plus, you are my mate which means you are practically family."

With wide eyes, Nova put up her hands and said, "Wow, slow down there, we aren't even dating. For me, this whole mate thing is new, which means I don't quite see it that way."

"Please come. My mom has been dying to meet you and I think you'll like my family," Jay pleaded with slight puppy dog eyes.

"Wait, your mom knows about me? We have only known each other for like, 2 days!" Nova exclaimed with wide eyes.

Jay's cheeks turned slightly pink as he tried to come up with an explanation. His mouth just opened and closed without any sound for a bit, before he finally cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck, and told her, "Ummm, yeah. Do you remember last Saturday? You howled and I heard you. Well, I was in the middle of family game night and the second I heard you, I ran and shifted everyone was really confused so when I got back I kind of had to tell them."

It was now Nova's turn to become red as she remembered that night. "So that was you..." She breathed out while looking at the ground. A sudden wave of guilt struck her when she remembered the heartbreaking howl and her eyes lifted to meet his and then the words slipped her lips, "I'm sorry."

Jay's head tilted as his eyes furrowed and he questioned, "Why?"

"I felt the pull of your howl that night, I wanted to go. But... I was scared. It was confusing me, I knew you weren't going to be like the other wolves and then I crossed your scent and remembering smelling it in the cafeteria which confused me even more so I ran." Nova admitted before ducking her head back down.

A light touch of his finger under her chin brought her head back up to see his soft smile, "It's ok, besides we got to meet in a much cooler way."

That caused Nova to give a short laugh and smile as she said, "Your right. Me saving you is totally a cooler way to meet." That caused him to pout. Nova laughed but didn't let him respond before she told him, "I hope I don't regret this, but sure, I'll go tomorrow."

Jay's eyes instantly lit up as a massive grin filled his face, destroying any trace of the pout, as he exclaimed, "You won't, I promise. I'll pick you up at 3:30 tomorrow, in my car." Nova gave him a weird look before Jay continued, "Dinner is at 5, but the alpha kind of wants to chat with you beforehand. Nothing bad or super formal, just introductions, but I figured I could also show you around a bit."

"What!? The alpha!?" Nova shouted at Jay with wide eyes.

"Don't worry, he is really cool and you have already run into him," Jay tried to reassure Nova, but only caused her more cofusion.

"What do you mean I have already met him?" Nova hesitantly questioned.

Jay sheepishly looked at her and rubbed his neck before saying, "Well, remember when you rushed out of the packhouse?"

"He was the alpha!?" Nova exclaimed while Jay still watched her sheepishly. He nodded before Nova took a breath and asked, "and he still wants to meet me?"

"Well, you left an impression, plus you technically need to join the pack. Especially since you live in our territory and you are my mate," Jay informed Nova.

With a huff, Nova commented, "Yeah I bet I made an impression all right."She could feel some heat in her cheeks as she shook her head in disbelief. She could feel Dawn's nerves grow as well as they thought of the impression they had made.

Jay sighed and used his hands to lift her chin so her eyes met his before saying, "Hey, I promise that he liked you, especially after you apologized. It will all be good, trust me."

Nova raised an eyebrow and inquired, "How can you be so sure?"

He chuckled and told her, "You should ask him how he met his mate, that is a funny story. Trust me, it will be fine."

"Ok, well. Where will I be meeting him?" Nova asked after taking a deep breath to try to settle the butterflies in her stomach.

"He said he will be home all day, so probably just at my house," Jay informed her nonchalantly.

With narrowed eyes, Nova questioned, "Why at your house, wouldn't we go to his place?"

That caused Jay's eyes to widen as he once more rubbed the back of his neck before saying, "Well, my house is actually his house... so..."

"Why do you live with the Alpha?" The question slipped out of her mouth before she could think, but his only response was a raised eyebrow. Nova watched him for a minute before once more opening her mouth and asking, "Is the alpha your dad?"

Jay nodded but still didn't say anything and only watched her intently. Nova tried to process what he was telling her, she had run into his father, who was also Alpha, and then played like a puppy in front of him with his son. She had literally made a big fool of herself without thinking about it. Then her eyes grew wider as she asked, "Wait a minute. Does this mean I am actually having dinner with the Alpha and the Luna!"

"Yup. And the Beta and his family," Jay told her with cautious eyes. His words just caused Nova's mouth to drop open which caused him to try to reassure her by saying, "Don't worry, it is just Logan's family."

Nova was silent for a while before her mouth finally closed only to open once more as she commented, "Yeah no worries. I am just having dinner with the Alpha, Luna, Beta, Beta female, and all of their kids. Oh, and all of them happen to be werewolves and I have no clue about any werewolf culture stuff. So yeah, no problem at all."

Her words caused him to chuckle as he said, "Seriously, they are super chill. I am sure you are going to love them and I know they will love you. As far as werewolf culture goes, it is pretty much what you are used to with human culture, except mates are very important and few special holidays we celebrate throughout the year." Nova took a deep breath before nodding and with that, he stepped to the side and back next to her.

The conversation was silent for a few steps before Jay asked her, "So what about pineapples on pizza?" The random question caused her to burst out laughing, but it did the job as they talked and laughed the rest of the walk back and effectively pushed the thoughts of the dinner to the back of her mind.

He walked her up to her door and they continued to chat for a bit, before finally managing to part ways. Of course, the day wouldn't let her face rest from flushing red as the first thing she saw after closing the door was Carter staring at her with a raised eyebrow and a smirk, "So, that wasn't a date?"