Chapter 9

Serenity's POV

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I must've fallen asleep on the ride down the mountain because one minute we were headed back to town, but the next I was being woken up by Dagger gently shaking me. Wiping the sleep from my eyes, I sat more upright in my seat and realized we were in my dad's driveway.

Looking at him with wide eyes, I started to ask, "How did you—"

"Bonding ceremony," Dagger tapped his head.

Oh right. Duh.

"Well, thanks for the ride." I unbuckled my seatbelt and started to get out of the pickup. Before I could even open my door, though, Dagger gently grabbed my wrist.

"I have a request," he said, his eyes once again smoldering for me.

"Okay," I breathed, knocked off balance by his touch. God, it was like touching a power line.

"Stay with me...every weekend, for the next two months."

"I..." The idea actually sounded not half bad. It would give us a chance to get to know each other, like real dating. Not to mention, it was easily written off as camping so if Dad asked what I was doing with all my time, I had a readily available excuse. So with a smile, I nodded at Dagger, "Okay. Let's say that you pick me up on Fridays, and bring me home on Sundays."

"I'll bring you home on Monday morning, on my way to work," Dagger's hand slid into mine. His eyes flickered just passed me, probably looking out the window.

"You work?" I asked, glancing at our hands. Why'd they fit so perfectly together?

"Someone has to keep food in the fridge," Dagger chuckled.

"Do others work? Others of your kind, I mean."

"Yes. We still have to buy food, participate in the economy..." Dagger raised my hand to his lips, pressing them to my knuckles. "Your dad is on the porch."

"Oh!"

Jerking my hand out of his grasp, I scrambled to get out of the pickup. It all happened so fast. I was barely aware of Dagger's door closing before I was tumbling out my side after getting caught on something. Thankfully, Dagger had predictive abilities or something because he was at my side just in time to catch me. Clumsy, Serenity.

Setting me on my feet, Dagger helped me steady myself. Then he closed the door and put his hand on the small of my back, following me up to my dad. So much for not giving him a heart attack. The vein in his forehead bulged as he sized up Dagger.

"Hey, Dad," I greeted, trying to seem like nothing was weird about this. Nope, nothing weird here. Just a girl and her werewolf mate...boyfriend...thing.

"I got worried when Macie got home and you weren't with them...she dropped off your bag." Dad jerked his thumb over his shoulder, but his eyes never left Dagger's. Even though Dad had to look up at him in order to do so.

"This is Da—"

"Dag, sir," Dagger's had left my back, extending in front of us to greet my dad.

"Dag?" Dad narrowed his eyes at Dagger but took his hand anyway. A tense handshake was shared between the two, but neither of them let the other go.

"Yessir."

"Well, I'm Rob, but you can call me Mr. Hughes. Or sir." Finally, Dad released Dagger, who put his hand on the small of my back again. "So...you from around here, Dag?"

The tension remained though, and I chewed at my lower lip, glancing between the two. I really didn't like how they were sizing each other up.

"Here and there. Born near the Puget Sound, but moved out here when I was eighteen." Dagger seemed completely at ease like he had done this a thousand times. And maybe he had. Who knew how many of his ex-flings' fathers he'd met? Well, from what I knew, it was none of them. But maybe I missed something.

"So how'd you meet my little Serenity?" Dad eyed the space—or should I say the non-existent space—between Dagger and me.

"Camping," Dagger and I answered in unison. A blush spread over my cheeks as I realized Dagger sounded much calmer than I did.

"You seem close for having just met." Dad frowned, glaring at Dagger.

"I'm just giving her a ride home, sir. We went for a hike without the group, and got back a little late." Dagger's lie sounded too good to doubt. Heck, I would've believed him if I hadn't known otherwise. "I couldn't pass up the opportunity to meet her father."

"Me?" Dad rubbed his chin, glancing at me for a brief second before turning back to Dagger. He chuckled, awkwardly patting Dagger on the shoulder, "You're alright, kid. Want to come in for a bit? I think there's a little bit of the Mariners game if you want to catch it."

"I appreciate it, but I have to get home. Maybe next time," Dagger smiled.

"Next time it is then. I'll fire up the old grill for it," Dad clapped his hands, rubbing them together. Then as if remembering I was right there, he cleared his throat. "Well, I'll leave you guys to it then."

With that, Dad went back inside. That was surprisingly easy. No shotgun? No threats? Peeking up at Dagger, I found that he was already staring at me. A blush heated up my cheeks again.

"So...I'll see you next weekend?"

"I'll see you Friday." Dagger brushed another pesky strand of hair out of my face.

"Okay." It was becoming very difficult to keep my lungs full of oxygen with him touching me. Maybe that's what this lovey-dovey crap was...hypoxia.

"Here—" Dagger pulled a cell phone from his pocket, typing on the screen for a moment before handing it to me, "—put your number in it."

So, I did as I was told. It only seemed logical, since we'd have to coordinate transportation arrangements. Especially if he planned on picking me up every Friday. What if Macie or someone wanted to go somewhere? After putting my contact information into his phone, I handed the phone back to Dagger.

"I'll text you," he said, slipping the phone into his pocket. "Goodbye, Serenity."

Pressing a quick kiss to the top of my head, Dagger didn't wait for me to say goodbye back. Instead, he turned on his heel and headed to his pickup. Watching as he backed out of the driveway, I told myself that I was just taking a moment to collect myself. Which I was, considering my heart was beating so fast I thought it might fly out of my chest. And the butterflies in my stomach? Chaos.

As his pickup passed Macie's house, I caught Macie in the window of her room. She waved at me, then pointed to her hand. Benny had said she ended up with a wolf mate and went through the bonding ceremony too. But there was no red mark on her hand. Instead, just a big, purple bruise on her neck.

She'd gone through with the marking.