Alecia walked into her composition class wearing a smirk on her face. She looked around the room and spotted Helen sitting by herself, chewing on her eraser. This shouldn’t take long and then she could return to Ryder's apartment and wait for him to get done with his study session. She strolled to Helen's seat in the back, and sat next to her. Helen must be ignoring her, but Alecia focused on the back of her head. “What, Alecia?” Helen said, finally turning to her. “I just wanted to show you something.” She waited for Helen to respond, but the girl just glared at her. “I guess he’s not playing with me.” Alecia raised her hand and showed Helen the diamonds. “He gave you that?” Helen shouted, and everyone in the room turned to look at them. Alecia turned the ring to her face. “Yeah. He said he couldn’t imagine his life without me.” Alecia looked at her. “I can’t wait to becone his official mate, to be Mrs. Hendrix.” Helen took several quick breaths before she grabbed her books and ran out of the room. Alecia stood and wrapped her arms around her waist, chewing on her bottom lip. Turning, she left amongst the whispers of her classmates. She should feel better – at least satisfied instead of feeling drained. Was revenge always this unsatisfying? * * * Later, Alecia slipped on a pair of black shorts that just covered her bottom and a white t-shirt that stretched tight over her skin, accenting her curves. This was Ryder's favorite outfit. Hopefully, it would distract him. School would be ending in two weeks for the winter break and she just wanted him to come home with her to meet her parents. She tapped her fingers on the dresser in front of her. In the mirror, she could see the unsettledness in her eyes. She should have told her family about him, but how could she explain that he was 24, a werewolf? Ryder would be mad if he knew, but maybe she could make him understand. She took a deep breath, letting the air out in a slow stream. Somehow everything would work out. Maybe her parents would find out about his godfather and then they wouldn’t care or notice his age and the fact that he was a werewolf. She walked out of the bedroom, tip- toeing up to the black leather couch until she was right behind him. He sat on the couch with his arms outstretched on the back. In front of him, a basketball game played on the HD TV that took up forty percent of the wall. She practiced a pout before she walked to the side of the couch and plopped herself onto his lap. “What are you up to, pretty thing?” He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close. A smile crossed his face, highlighting his stormy gray eyes. “I want something.” She stuck out her bottom lip. “What’s that?” He chuckled, pushing down on her bottom lip with one finger. “I want you to meet my parents.” “Kind of need to if I’m going to marry you.” Alecia placed her hands on his chest. “You think you can come home for a couple days over break, maybe before Christmas?” “I don’t know. Let me ask my father since I usually work for him during break.” “Oh.” She looked down. “You think he’ll let you?” “I don’t know, probably. Let me go ask him.” He motioned for Alecia to get up, and she slipped off his lap. Alecia knit her brows as he grabbed his cell phone and headed to the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Why didn’t he like calling his family in front of her? He always ran off to his room. A couple minutes later, the door opened and he reappeared. “Everything’s cool,” he said. Alecia ran to him, flinging herself into his arms. She looked at his gray eyes, and lost herself in the brightness of them. On the way to North Carolina, she’d tell him that her parents knew nothing about him, but not right now; he seemed too happy. She squeezed him close, letting the musk of his cologne enter her nose. Tomorrow, she would call her parents, and let them know she’d be bringing a friend home for a couple days. It would all work out. It just would. Alecia looked out the window of the plane, watching the ground disappear beneath the clouds. Would North Carolina feel too hot? She had grown so used to such a frigid winter in California, but her mother had said that at home the temperature hadn’t fallen below 60 yet. She glanced at Ryder, sitting next to her in a pair of blue jeans and a Yankee sweatshirt. He chewed on a stick of peppermint gum; the scent filled the small space in-between them. She rubbed her palms together, feeling the perspiration. Please don’t get mad. “I need to tell you something.” Ryder placed the newspaper he was reading on his knees and leaned his head against the seat, focusing on her. “I’d be careful about touching me,” she said. He smiled. “Yeah, I already figured on keeping my hands to myself.” Her nerves calmed a little. That was silly. Of course, he would. “They don’t know you’re the president’s godson. I figured you don’t want them to know.” “I’d rather they get to know me first.” She paused and took a deep breath. “They don’t know you’re rich and that you're a werewolf.” The Alpha's knitted his brows. “What do they know about me?” Alecia looked away. A baby gnawed on his mother’s shoulder a couple seats up. His dark hair shot up in different directions. “They don’t know I exist?” He asked softly. “No.” Every part of her tensed. She squeezed her hands together, but the tension wouldn’t release. “Alecia, why haven’t you told them about me?” His voice sounded tight. Tears swelled in her eyes. “I don’t know. It’s not that I’m ashamed of you. It’s just, I didn’t want to be asked a million questions.” His eyes softened and he pinched her chin. “It’s fine. Don’t be upset. But you better take off that ring, or you’ll get a lot of questions.” “All right.” She slipped the ring onto a chain she had brought just for that purpose and put it around her neck, tucking it under her shirt. It would all work out.