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***

I slipped into the back of my dad’s car. He started the engine as soon as I closed the door.

“Took you long enough, Chloe,” my mother chimed from the front. I pulled my dark blue dress down slightly as I sat.

“I thought this was a casual dinner,” Chad piped up, eyeing the tight strapless dress I wore.

“It is,” Dad added as he signaled to enter the highway. “Chloe has a date afterwards.”

Chad’s lips curved slightly. “A date, eh?” He wiggled his eyebrows at me.

Rolling my eyes, I said, “It’s nothing serious.”

“Tell us about him again, Chloe.” My mom said, like an eager child who wanted to hear her favorite bedtime story again.

“His name is Cole. He’s a college student and he’s 20.” I cut out a lot of the details, not really wanting to share every detail about a boy I just met.

“He’s human, then?” Chad frowned. “I don’t remember a Cole in the pack.”

“Yes, he is human,” I confirmed, letting my eyes drift out the window as we drove down the highway.

“So where are you going?” my dad spoke up.

“Dinner.”

Chad grunted, “You’re already going to dinner.”

Rolling my eyes and shooting him a dry expression, I said, “Well, I couldn’t cancel on him. He was so eager when I ran into him at the mall today.”

I was at the mall shopping for a dress to blow Xavier’s libido into overdrive. I knew this was wrong, considering I didn’t want to get any emotion out of him, but he inflamed my anger. It really got to me, the way he had so much control over our relationship.

I really had run into Cole. I wasn’t paying attention. I frowned slightly as I remembered running into him. He was sweet, and as far as humans went, good looking.

“Why didn’t you say you had plans already?” Chad asked.

“Because this works out well. It gets me out of Xavier’s early without looking rude.”

The car fell silent at the mention of Xavier’s name. Because the reality was, what we were doing tonight was torture to me. But my father was the alpha and Chad would soon be. It was important that Dad treat Xavier like any other pack member. But really Dad wanted to check up on Xavier’s boys, see if they showed any signs of changing, which is why Xavier asked him over in the first place.

“Won’t it be weird? Chloe’s one of Xavier’s students. Why does Emily think we are coming around?” Chad asked Dad. I too was interested in the answer.

“Xavier told Emily that I am one his colleagues from the high school,” my dad answered while changing lanes.

“So Chloe goes to the same school her father works at?” Chad asked slowly.

“Chad, you are making this sound more difficult than it is. I teach the younger kids, if she asks questions,” Dad answered firmly. “And, Chloe, don’t give up any more information than that. I don’t like lying.”

I nodded my head while drumming my fingers on my lap. “How long do I have to stay for?” I asked. “Because I told Cole he could pick me up at eight.”

I lit my phone up. It was 5:25pm. Sighing slowly, I wished I could skip this dinner altogether.

“You can go at eight, Chloe. It’s important for you to begin to make other connections,” my mother cut in before my father could answer.

My mom was rather excited about this whole thing. I knew why too. She wanted me to find a nice human to settle down with. She made humans sound like pets.

The car slowly pulled up in front of a house. I sneered when I took in the white fence. Well, Xavier was living the dream with his big fancy house, white fence and lovely family.

I opened the car door, eyeing the house. We were in the suburbs and I saw Xavier’s flashy BMW parked in the driveway next to a fancy-looking mini-van.