Isaac quickly pulls me through the crowd, gently nudging aside people to reach the ones he wants me to meet. It's a couple, about double our age judging by looks although they are most likely much older due to werewolves' long live spans. They turn to us, and seeing Isaac, smile and beckon for us to come over.

The man is a spitting image of an older Isaac, while the woman is very different to Isaac, being a plump, cheerful lady, her cheeks rosy, yet they share the same facial structure and, oddly enough, eyebrows. The one thing that unites the man beside me and the couple is the kindly twinkle in all of their eyes.

"Iz, these are my parents." I give them a shy wave, unsure of what to do. I don't know how to greet my mate's parents; I've never had a boyfriend as my father wouldn't allow it (and I never wanted one) so this is a whole new experience for me.

"Hello, sir, ma'am," I say, nervous of their potential reaction; I want to appear respectful without sounding fake. Honorifics feel like the right way to go.

"Stop with the formality. Just call me Aidan." Isaac's father says, laughing at my awkwardness.

"And call me Susan."

The woman returns my smile and offers her hand which I gladly shake perhaps longer than necessary, clinging to it for support. Isaac still refuses to release my other hand however, meaning when she pulls me into a hug I am left with one arm still attached to him.

"Isaac, you need to let go of the poor girl. She can walk without you," his father comments. I shake his hand too and he laughs at Isaac's reaction when several wolves look over at us due to the noise levels coming from our small group.

"Ignore him. He's always been overprotective. You're experiencing what his sisters feel whenever they talk to a guy. The result is always entertaining for us."

I can't help laughing at Aidan's easy humour and Isaac gives me a fake non-threatening growl, only making me laugh more. We talk for a while, chatting about various different things in out lives. Throughout, neither me nor Isaac say how we met or how I'm a rogue or that I killed pack members. I don't introduce them to Jack either; I don't trust her not to slip up by accident in a sudden outburst.

I start up a good conversation with his mother and we get to know each other, her sharing memories of Isaac's childhood and embarrassing moments she refuses not to say, regardless of how much he protests. However, I can see a question is bugging her that she's refusing to mention in front of the other two.

"Isobel, can we speak alone?" Susan asks.

"Of course."

Susan takes my hand and leads me away from the other two. Isaac is about to follow but she gestures for him to stay back and she wants to talk to me alone and he nods, giving me a comforting smile. She takes two seats in the corner for us and I sit beside her.

"So Isobel, sorry to be so blunt, but has he marked you? I imagine you don't want to talk about this in front of the males."

I'm not surprised she's asked me this; there were numerous times in the cave when I thought Nate would mark me but he managed to restrain himself. I'm relieved she thought not to speak of this in front of Isaac; I'm aware of how I'm an incompetent mate. I don't want him to know that too.

"No, I wasn't ready."

"I see. I assume you've been through your first heat cycle?"

"Yes."

"That's not good. I hate to scare you but you need to get marked by next cycle or you will both regret it."

"What? Why?" I ask, confused. I know the second cycle is more painful but that's it. She sighs at my lack of knowledge.

"The heat will be worse, as will the urge to mark you. If you want the marking to be your choice rather than something that is forced you probably want it to be done in the next week. No matter how much my son respects you, he will not be able to fight the impulse to mark you next cycle and neither will you. The best way to make sure that you nor Isaac regret it afterwards is to do it before the heat forces you to. I'm sorry, but that's just how it is."

"No, no, it's alright. Thank you for the information. You have no idea how much I needed that." My father taught me very little about mates so for me that sort of information is like liquid gold. We smile at each other and I'm about to get up but she gestures for me to stay seated.

"Isobel, the urge for him to mate you will also be much much stronger. Remember the heats are supposed to draw mates together and get you to mate. They will only stop if you get pregnant and you can't do that by yourself."

We really do have a lot to learn.

I agree. We need all the help we can get.

"Susan? Why are you telling me all this?"

"Isaac mentioned to me that you didn't know much."

"I understand."

How dare he tell her that?! It was none of her business.

Jack, he's just doing what he thinks is best for us. He's just trying to look after us.

It feels like what is best for us and what he thinks is best for us are not the same thing.

True, he isn't perfect, but we can trust him to care for us.

Care for us?! Like when he locked us up?

Jack, I've said it before; he had no choice.

Yes and I've said it before too: he had a choice. He's our mate, he of all people had a choice. He's the Alpha!

And, he still has to obey the rules. He came for us when we were on our heat and he didn't mark me because I didn't want him to. How's that for caring for us?

I'm never forgiving him for locking us up.

If we don't forgive him this is never going to work. We can't love him and be a good mate if we refuse to forgive and forget. Jack, please.

Fine. I may forgive him but he has to make up for it. And it's going to take a lot.

Thank you.

I return to reality to see Isaac looking down at me concerned. He touches my face gently and we flinch away, the memories of my father discouraging trust that the contact won't turn violent. I realise we're in his room, sitting on his bed. How did we get here? He kneels down beside me and wipes tears I didn't know were falling into oblivion.

"Iz, it's okay." I shake away the tears and offer him a watery smile.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Don't worry."

"No you're not."

"No, seriously I'm fine. I have no idea why I'm crying. I guess I'm just happy to have a pack, a person who looks after me."

"Iz ..." Isaac isn't convinced. He sits beside me and laces his fingers through mine. The tears fall harder. "Tell me what's wrong sweetheart." He cradles my cheek. I chuckle slightly.

"Seriously? Sweetheart?" He gives me a sheepish grin. Sparks rush through my skin at his touch and Susan's warning echo through my mind. "I want to be marked."

"Are you sure?" His expression is worried and uncertain.

"Yes, I need to be marked." His eyes shift to Nate's as he releases control.

"Sure? You know what could happen afterwards. And why the sudden change of heart?"

"Your mother warned me about how much worse the next heat will be."

"Iz, it's our choice. If you don't want to mark each other, that's alright - We can wait."

"I know. Isaac, I just don't want to regret anything after the heat passes or even during it. Please Isaac, you have to mark me."

Isobel, Isaac might not want to mark us or us to mark him.

You're right.

"Isaac?"

"Yes?" He answers, his expression worried.

"D-Do you want to mark me?" Why am I scared of his response? Why is my voice full of fear?

"Yes Iz, I really want to mark you. So badly. It took all I had to resist my instincts last heat. I'm sorry Isobel, but I'm not convinced I could restrain myself next time. However, if you don't want to do it now then neither me nor Nate will do it to you."

"Thank you Isaac. It's alright though; I want you to mark me."

"Sure? I don't want you to regret this."

"Mark me."

"As you wish." Isaac strips off his shirt and, with my permission, undoes the top few buttons of mine, revealing the bare skin underneath.

Jack takes full control and we inch towards each other. Nate kisses my neck and I mentally wriggle in discomfort at having to watch this. I decide to close my eyes, yet I can still feel the sparks racing through my body at his kisses. My heart pounds, an unfamiliar sensation overwhelming my body as he trails feather light kisses down my neck, my body trembling from anticipation.

He finds the spot on my collarbone where he will place his mark, and I can feel his canines come out. They scrape against my skin and he plants a gentle kiss there then bites. We yelp in pain as he retracts them, then Jack does the same to him, piercing through the skin. Nate and Jack give me and Isaac back control at the same time.

The pain from the bite turns into pleasure but I hastily push it away; I don't want to mate yet. Isaac's hand reaches out to a bedside table and he plucks a couple of tissues from a box and then gently brings them to my bite, wiping away the small beads of blood present. Taking one, I do the same to him, careful to avoid pressing too hard on the open wound. Even as I watch, his bite heals, fading to a silver scar consisting of two large dots about an inch apart. 

"Are you okay Iz?" Isaac asks quietly. I nod silently, re-buttoning my shirt, hiding away the mark. It leaves a scar as Jack heals it, two striking white dots that stand out against my skin, and I can't resist feeling a sense of pride of seeing my mark on Isaac which is also hidden as he puts on his own shirt.

Iz?

Isaac?

Who else?

Why would I know?

Are you okay after that?

Yeah. But I want to talk aloud. I want to hear your voice outside of my own head.

"If you want Iz."

"Thanks." He draws me into a tight hug and I reciprocate it. Isaac pulls away slightly.

"Why were you crying?"

"I said I don't know. I just don't know." I'm weeping again and I try to restrain the tears but they continue to flow unabated. He plants a small kiss on my head.

"Look at me, okay?" I meet his eyes, only to realise that once again our bodies are so agonisingly close. If we both moved forward just a bit we would -

Someone knocks at the door, jolting us out of our reverie. We back away from each other reluctantly.

"Come in."

Xander opens the door and steps in, his sharp eyes flicking between me and Isaac's postures,  our ruffled hair, the red flush on my cheeks, no doubt able to ascertain as to why.

"The pack is wondering where you are Alpha. You two vanished upstairs after Luna Isobel blacked out and your parents are wondering what you're doing."

"Tell everyone everything's fine. Isobel is just not feeling great right now. The farewell celebration can continue without us."

"As you wish Alpha." He steps out the door and closes it carefully behind him. Isaac turns back to me.

"Iz, tell me what's wrong. If not, get Jack to help you."

"She refuses to forgive you for it despite what she said before. She's never going to forget it. I want this Isaac - want us - but I'm not sure how, if Jack can't find it in her heart to forgive you." He sighs and laces his fingers through mine.

"What will it take for her to forgive me?"

"She says a lot. And it's not going to be easy."

And it has to be performed because you want more than for me to forgive you for locking us up. For example, doing it because you care for us and want us to be happy.

She doesn't even bother talking aloud, instead communicating through the newly formed telepathic link between us all.

"For the last time, I'm sorry!"

Sorry doesn't cut it for me. Words are meaningless until put into action. Prove to me you are sorry and I will forgive you.

He growls at her stubbornness and I can sense, through the mark, Nate starting to take control. I try to keep calm, hoping to send my emotions to him, and get him to relax.

I succeed. His body stops being so tense, leaning into me, and I wrap my arms around him, the mark fuelling my attraction to him. He plants a kiss on my neck and begins to work his way down to my mark. I push him away laughing.

"Stop it. I'm not going to comfort you if your first instinct is to attempt to seduce me."

"I wasn't!" He fake whines.

"Don't act so innocent. I know you; you were trying to seduce me. Not that you were very good at it."

"No Iz, this is me seducing you." Isaac moves incredibly close to me until our bodies are nearly entirely pressed together, our eyes locked. My breathing cuts off, coming in ragged gasps, my heart thumping at a volume that I surely can't be the only one in the room who can hear it; judging by Isaac's grin, I'm not wrong. His hands cup my face and we lean in as if we're going to kiss.

Just when our lips are about to touch he backs away.

"Now that is me seducing you, Iz."

"Shut up."

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They nearly kissed again (twice in one chapter). I guess you'll just have to wait a little longer. 😆😆😆 . Got your hopes up.

Did you guess that they were his parents? It was pretty obvious, I wasn't exactly subtle. Good chapter? Excited for next one? (You probably aren't, why would you? 😏😏😏. They totally don't have a first kiss still to happen.)

Goodbye before a furious reader murders me,
WORxxx

30

Editing note: This chapter is dedicated to poetenne from the StrawberryStudio book club for making the good point that in the original version I made Isaac and Nate not really care that Jack killed their packwolves. I've changed this a bit in this version. I hope this works better. :)