Zeke

Roger fled the room. Stephanie gave us a small smile before following her mate out the back door. Valerie dropped my hand and looked to the floor. Sighing, I lifted her chin back up and wiped away her tears. "He'll come around eventually. It won't happen in an instant. But I'll do whatever it takes to get on his good side. I promise. Okay?" Valerie sniffled and nodded her head. I gave her a small smile before pressing my lips to her forehead.

She sat down on the counter and pulled me closer so I was standing in front of her. She traced random patterns on my forearm as she rested her head on my shoulder. There were sparks everywhere she touched. I resisted the urge to shiver. "I don't want him to hate you. I want you guys to get along" she muttered.

I nodded in understanding. "We will. I'll make sure we do. It'll just take some time" I assured her. Valerie sighed. Hearing the door open, we both looked up. I had to turn around to see Stephanie coming back in with Roger trailing behind.

He took one look at us and narrowed his eyes. I guess we were in a susceptible position. Stephanie glared at him and pinched his arm. His gaze softened as he sighed. "Your father wants to talk to Zeke alone" Stephanie announced, looking at Valerie.

Valerie was hesitant. I pressed a kiss to her temple. "I'll be fine. Go with your mom" I mumbled. She nodded in agreement before hopping off the counter. I followed Roger outside and he began to walk towards the forest.

I wasn't worried about why he wanted to talk to me. I wasn't worried about him getting physical either. If he wanted to punch me in the face, then he could. I wasn't going to hit my mate's father. "I don't like you" he stated bluntly.

"I know"

He had his jaw clenched as we walked. "But Valerie is your mate. My wife approves of you for some reason. I have no reason to approve" he informed me.

I slowly nodded my head. "How would I get your approval?" I asked. He looked at me shocked for a second. "It means a lot to your daughter that we get along. I promised her that I would do anything in my power to get on your good side. So whatever you want, I'll do it" I said surely.

Roger stopped walking and stared at me. "That's a big promise for a new mate pair" he mused.

He just won't give up. I looked into his eyes to show him I was actually serious about this. "I care about Valerie. I cared about her before we even found out we were mates. It's not a big promise to me" I explained. That sounded a bit harsh. Valerie wants us to get along. I can't be rude. "Sir" I added.

After a few moments of a stare-down, Roger patted my shoulder. "I think our talk is over"

We walked back into the house and Valerie instantly shot up from her seat at the dining table. "We should celebrate" Roger stated, wrapping his arm around Stephanie's shoulders. "Call Ashlyn and Leia back home for tonight. We'll have a nice dinner" he suggested. Stephanie and Valerie slowly nodded in agreement.

Roger excused himself along with his wife before leaving Valerie and I alone in the kitchen. "So, it went well?" she guessed. I nodded in confirmation. I think I actually got on his good side. He might not like me, but I'm not hated. Valerie rushed forward and wrapped her arms around my neck. I bent down as she went on her tippytoes. "Thank you" she muttered before pulling away. I smiled at her, pushing her hair behind her ear. "Are you gonna tell me what you guys talked about?"

I shook my head and smirked at her. "It's guy stuff" I lied. She rolled her eyes at me. "He's cool with us" Valerie looked skeptical. "Trust me. Why else would he want to celebrate?"

Slowly, Valerie nodded her head. "Okay, I guess" she muttered. "Come on. It's only fair if you see my room. Since I've been living in yours" she changed the subject. I followed her up the stairs towards her bedroom. "Welcome to my bedroom" she said dramatically, throwing open her door.

Her room was smaller than mine. There was one door- probably a closet. She had a white dresser and a queen-sized bed covered in deep purple colored sheets. Her walls were a darkish teal color that went nicely with her light wooden floor.

I walked deeper into her room and eased onto her bed. "My bed is more comfortable" I boasted.

"I know" she admitted, lying down on the other side. Valerie tugged me down so I was lying next to her. "Can you just tell me what you said to him? There had to be something that changed his mind" She started drawing patterns on my arm again.

This time, I couldn't hold back the shiver that coursed through my body. "I didn't say anything specific" I stated. Valerie hummed in response as she curled into my side. After a few more moments of running her fingers on my arm, she looked up at me. I raised an eyebrow at her. "What?" I questioned.

Smiling, she shook her head at me. I shrugged her behavior off and rested my eyes. "Why won't you tell me what you guys talked about?" she wondered. I shrugged. There was no certain reason. Besides the fact that it would be a little hit to my ego. I'm not really into that whole romantic stuff. Anything romantic that has happened was something that I've seen before. "I wanna know though" she whined.

I chuckled and pulled her closer. "I told him that I promised you I would get us on good terms. He said something about that being a big promise. I told him it wasn't big because I care about you. Then he said the talk was over" I explained. The whole time I spoke, she was staring up at me. "Happy?"

Instead of answering, she pressed her lips to mine. "Very. Thank you" she said in the softest voice that I've ever heard from her mouth.

"Valerie Jillian Peters!"

Valerie jumped at her sister's shouting. "Your middle name is Jillian?" I blurted. She shot me a dirty look. "Hey. You made fun of Bubba" I defended. A smile tugged at her lips. "We're in her bedroom!"

Ashlyn burst into the room moments later. "Why didn't you tell me?!" she screeched, jumping onto the bed. I grunted as she hit my gut before narrowing my eyes at her. "Get out. Sister time"

I looked at Valerie who had an indecisive expression on her face. It was like she wanted me to go, but she didn't want me to go. "You can't kick me out. This is my mate's bedroom" I pointed out.

She sighed. "Val. Kick out your mate" she demanded.

Valerie smirked. "I actually want him here" my mate stated as she pushed her sister off of us. Valerie climbed onto my lap making me give her a questioning look. "You kinda interrupted something"

Ashlyn made a disgusted noise before running out the room, slamming the door shut behind her. "She interrupted something?" I asked with a chuckle.

She shrugged and shifted on my lap so she was straddling me. "I'm not in the mood for an interrogation. Plus, I was thinking" she started slowly. I hummed in response, holding in my smart remark. "Maybe you deserve a little thank you gift"

I knew what she was implying. And I almost gave in. Almost. "Very tempting" I admitted. "But we're not doing anything" She pulled away from me, looking like I just told her I flushed her goldfish down the toilet. "It's not that I don't want to. It's-"

"Is it because I'm not-" she paused for a moment. "Pure" she said slowly.

I quickly shook my head. "No. It's not that. We're at your parents' house. They're downstairs along with your sister. We can't right now" I explained.

She didn't believe me. "That just sounds like a shitty excuse" she muttered, climbing off of me and making a move for the door.

I hopped off the bed and put my hand on the door before she could open it. "It's not an excuse" I said sternly. She elbowed me, trying to get me to move. Sighing, I turned her around so her back was pressed against the door. "I literally just got on your dad's good side. I really don't want to mess it up" I told her.

She stared into my eyes for a few moments, looking for any signs that I was lying. She nodded her head and mustered up a smile. I took a step back, letting her move a couple inches away from the door. "We should talk about that though- the stuff with other guys. I just don't want you to get mad about it or something" she suggested.

I shook my head. First of all, that would be a crappy discussion to have. Secondly, there would be no way for us to talk about it that wouldn't end in one of those guys getting beat up. Thirdly, it oddly doesn't bother me much. Unless someone brings it up, I'm fine with acknowledging that it happened. But I'd rather not dwell on it. "It's fine. We don't need to talk about it" I stated. She looked skeptical. I pecked her lips. "It's old news" I assured her.

The door swung open, hitting Valerie on the back of her head. She yelped, stumbling forward into me. I wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her. Slowly, Ashlyn popped her head in. "What was that?!" Stephanie shouted from downstairs.

Ashlyn looked like a deer in headlights. She ran out the room but returned quickly. After handing me an emergency kit, she responded to Stephanie. "It wasn't my fault, Mom!" she lied, fleeing from the scene.

"Zeke" Valerie mumbled. I looked back at her, spotting her bloody hand. "Are you bleeding?" she asked in a confused voice.

Frowning, I led her to the bed and made her sit down. "You're the one bleeding" I informed her. I turned her head, apologizing every time she winced. "Your head isn't bleeding. But it looks like the door hit your neck" After unclipping her necklace, I started wiping the blood with a wipe.

She wince again, flinching away from my hand. "Stop. That hurts" she swatted me away. I ignored her and tried again. "Stop!" Valerie demanded, attempting to stand. Sighing, I held her legs down with one arm. "Zeke. It hurts" Her shouting turned to a quiet whimper as she struggled to get out of my hold.

I pressed our lips together. It was the first thing that came to my mind that would distract her. But it worked. Valerie dug her hands into my hair as we kissed. But I continued wiping the cut on her neck. When I was done, I pulled away. She winced like she just realized the pain was there. I pecked her lips before putting some gauze over her cut. "It'll heal before dinner is over" I informed her. She nodded her head mutely, since she was trying to catch her breath. "You're really, really bad at holding your breath"

She rolled her eyes at me. "My hands are bloody. Your shirt is bloody too" she pointed out. My mate is a freaking genius. Laughing, I pulled her to her feet and steered her to the bathroom. "I think I have one of your shirts. It got mixed up when we went to the mall" she informed me after washing her hands.

I followed her back into her bedroom. She disappeared into the closet and I began cleaning up the emergency kit. Moments later, I was hit in the face with a pink shirt. A smile broke out on my face at the sight of the billions of cats. "I didn't think you'd actually buy that" Valerie admitted. I shrugged in response before taking off my shirt. Her eyes immediately darted down to my chest then my abs. "I'm really glad you're my mate" she blurted.

Chuckling, I slid on the pink cat shirt. "Zeke! Valerie! Dinner!"

"Oh, God!" Valerie exclaimed. I looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "You have to wear that in front of my parents!" her head rolled back with her laughter, but she winced at the movement. "It hurts" she muttered, rubbing the areas around the gauze. I pressed my lips against her neck and she sighed in content. Mate bond works like magic. "Hey, Zeke. This kinda looks like you failed at marking me" she pointed at the gauze on her neck.

I cringed. Is it even possible to mess up a mark? She began laughing at me. "Valerie Jillian Peters" I warned.

She shot me a glare. "Hey, Ashlyn!" Valerie shouted before she darted out of the room. I slowly followed after her.

I shouldn't have gotten this damn shirt. It was embarrassing enough having to try it on at the mall- although it was funny. But now I have to wear it in front of her parents. Sighing, I decided to just suck it up. It is just a shirt afterall. I got to the dining room and it went dead silent. Then Valerie started laughing, causing everyone else to break out into giggles and chuckles.

Ashlyn waved me over. "Come sit down, Bubba" she said with a smirk. She shared a look with Valerie before they snickered to themselves. I eased onto a chair and narrowed my eyes at my mate. Valerie turned to me and smiled innocently. "Sorry about your neck by the way. I really didn't know you were standing by the door" Ashlyn apologized.

Valerie waved her off and rubbed her neck, but winced. "Don't touch it if it hurts" I chastised her.

She glared at me. "Thank you, doctor. What would I do without you?" she said sarcastically.

I shrugged as Stephanie and Roger came into the dining room. "Valerie. What happened to your neck?" Stephanie rushed to her daughter, but hesitated touching the gauze.

Roger shot me a look. I put my hands up in surrender. "She did it!" I exclaimed, childishly pointing at Ashlyn.

Her eyes widened. "Leia did it!" she lied. Leia gave her mate a look. "Okay. I did it" Ashlyn admitted. "But she was like pressed up against the door! Who does that?!"

Leia smirked and laughed. Stephanie smiled knowingly. Roger sighed and just sat down. "Get your heads out the gutter!" Valerie demanded. "Nothing happened. We were talking and about to come downstairs. Then the door hit me" she explained.

I nodded in confirmation. "By the way. I do want grandkids. But if you impregnate my sixteen year old daughter, I will make sure that's the only baby you'll ever have" Stephanie said sternly, giving me a challenging look. I nodded my head and she smiled as if she didn't just threaten me. "Now let's eat" she chirped. Valerie smirked at me and mouthed 'good luck'.

This is going to be an interesting dinner. 

_______________

"Respect is what we owe. Love is what we give"

-Philip James Bailey

Well, I have nothing to say. But I love you guys!!!

Kayyyzzz Byeeezzz

~A.J.