After a stop by her apartment, Delilah was dressed and presentable. Christian held her hand as they walked up the front steps to the door.
Slater stood next to her and squeezed her shoulder. “Don’t worry. Simons told me once he wished you two were together instead of those assholes you usually date.”
Her eyes rounded as she looked back at her Alpha. That was going to take some getting used to. All of it really. She was a werewolf, had to answer to Slater, and all these new senses and strength. She took a deep breath and pressed the doorbell. She figured it was better than barging in with her new mate and Slater.
The sound of feet thundering down the stairs amplified her heart rate. Then her dad opened the door. There was a look of confusion on his face.
She looked up at him with a lame smile. “Hey, Dad.”
Simons sniffed the air, and his brow creased as his eyes lasered in on her. “What happened? Was it that piece of shit Lance?”
That wasn’t quite the reaction she expected. “Um…” she uttered.
“Come in, come in,” he insisted, stepping back and gesturing to the living room. “No need to do this outside.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “First, I’m mated to Christian. Everything sort of happened all at once.”
Simons barked a laugh. “Yeah, well, you don’t choose who you mate, and Christian is a good kid. Maybe someday I’ll tell you about how your mother and I mated.”
Delilah shuddered, not really looking forward to that story.
Christian squeezed her hand and nodded inside. She walked in and took a seat on the couch. Christian sat beside her but she snuggled into him, needing to be close in a way she hadn’t experienced before.
Her father had told her enough for her to know that reaction had to do with being a werewolf. She now had need for physical contact, especially when stressed. And this was stressful, even if it seemed to be going way better than she ever imagined.
“What happened last night, Del?” Her dad asked before taking a seat.
“Well, Lance had been following me because I blew him off. I knew better than to stay on a date with a werewolf when he got too pushy, so I ditched him. He’s been following me ever since. Or I guess… he was.”
“Wish you had told me. I could have…”
“Don’t. I didn’t. It’s too late now. I avoided him the best I could.”
“He still attacked you,” Simons pointed out.
She drew in a breath and shrugged. “Yeah. I noticed.”
Simons leaned forward, his hands cranked into fists. “What happened, Delilah?”
“Last night was the full moon, and he had followed me again. When I heard him behind me, I shot him. He was too fast though, and drove me to the ground, doing enough damage that he infected me.”
Simons’ eyes narrowed as he nodded his head. “And Christian? How did you wind up with him and not in a containment cell?”
She grinned then. “Christian showed up before I shifted. He talked me through it. Then he took me home.” Delilah looked over at Christian. “You should have seen him. He wasn’t going to let Erik take me.”
Christian shrugged. “Erik saw that you were fine, so there was no reason to take you.”
Delilah blurted out, “The mating was my fault…”
“I think I can fill in the rest.” Simons shook his head, his eyes closing. “I really don’t want the details.”
Delilah blushed, but asked anyway, “So, you’re not upset with me? Or Christian?”
Slater cleared his throat. “I’ll go check on breakfast. Come on, Christian.”
Christian looked deep into her eyes. “Up to you. Want me to stay? Or do you want a few minutes with your father?”
She was torn. She wanted him next to her, but she did need to talk to Dad. “Go with Slater. We’ll be right in. I can smell breakfast, and Mom made my favorite.”
Christian smiled back at her before standing, and following Slater out of the room.
“Look,” Simons started. “You did what I taught you. You protected yourself. You did everything right.”
Delilah let out a breath. “You don’t think Christian happened too fast?”
Dad chuckled. “Mating happens, and Christian has always treated you well, even before you realized it. I can’t imagine a better man for you. So no, I’m not upset.”
“Good. I didn’t want to disappoint you.”
“You haven’t. You are doing great for your first day as a wolf, and finding yourself mated. You’ll figure out the rest later, but it’s pretty rare to mate someone who isn’t perfect for them.”
“Really?”
“Honestly.” He stood up and took her hand, pulling her to her feet for a hug. “It’s probably a good thing you killed that loser. I have a feeling Hayden would have had to lock me up if I got my hands on him for any of it.”
She laughed then. “That was half the reason I didn’t tell you in the first place.”
“Well, next time you tell me if someone is hassling you.”
“If I don’t rip into him first,” she answered.
* * * *
Stacey smiled as Christian stepped into the kitchen. “I heard. Congratulations, young man. You better take good care of my daughter.”
Christian swallowed hard as he nodded in agreement.
Stacey’s warm brown eyes studied him closely, but she wore a pleased expression. “I know you will. Don’t worry.”
“I can’t imagine treating Delilah anything but well. She has always been everything I want, but was too afraid to ask for.” He blushed as he felt Slater’s gaze catch on him. Christian knew that sounded cheesy, but it was the truth.
Slater asked, “You knew it was coming though. Right? You’re better at seeing than Jess.”
“Doesn’t mean I believed it. It seems too good to be true. ” Christian looked away, a slight smile on his face. “In case you haven’t noticed. I don’t have any experience with women. I’m not exactly a ladies man.”
“You just don’t try. I know you’ve turned Rebecca down several times. I’ve been there. Other young women have shown interest in you, and you ignore it.”
“None of those women were Delilah. She’s always been the only one I wanted,” Christian replied.
He felt Delilah walk up behind him. Her arms slid around his waist as she whispered in his ear, “Well, you have me. I’m not going anywhere.”
He hugged her arms to him and turned his head to brush a gentle but brief kiss over her lips.
Stacey closed the distance and hugged her daughter and Christian both. “Aww. You’ll be good together.”
Simons cleared his throat. “Yeah, well I don’t need to see it,” he grumbled as he moved past them to the table.
Slater shook his head. “Now that the air is cleared, I vote we eat.”