Chapter 4 Mate, Meet Family

Valentino's POV

His stupid face won't leave my stupid mind. Those stupid gray eyes, and those stupid big muscles. And those stupid sparks I felt when he touched me. And that stupid thought of what it would have been like to wrap my arms around him.

STUPID. STUPID. STUPID.

"Tino, are you okay? You've been out of it since the first period." Dalia's voice was now like nails on a chalkboard. I needed her away from me. ASAP.

"I'm fine, just let me breathe okay?" I pulled my hand away from her and scoot further down the table we were sitting at during lunch.

She looked taken aback and hurt. She got up quickly and stomped off leaving me there, feeling extremely bad. I hadn't told Quinton what had happened yet, I didn't even know how to. But Vin wasn't even worried about me. His eyes were darting around the cafeteria, keeping an eye out for his mate I assume.

Jonah, Vin's best friend was sitting with us as well and he looked just as confused.

"Okay, what the hell is going on? You both are acting crazy." Jonah spoke up getting both my and Vin's attention.

"Is this some twin bullshit? Yall can feel each other's emotions?" Quinton asked, looking between all of us.

"Yeah we can feel each other's emotions, but that's not the case right now," Vin answered finally turning his attention to us.

"Then what?" Jonah questioned.

'Should we tell them?' Vin asked through our mind link.

'Yeah, go ahead and tell them.'

"We met our mates. Both lycans."

I was eternally grateful that Vin left off the fact that mine also happened to be a male. But not just any male. THE male. THE alpha.

"Oh shit. Must suck having a mate that's stronger than you." Quinton teased and chuckled slightly. Vin recoiled at the thought.

"That's not funny." He groaned out and put his head down on the table.

"Well, tell me what does she look like?" Quinton asked me.

"Tall. Black hair."

He looked confused as to why I wasn't divulging more information but I didn't want him to try and catch on.

"Sounds...like a person," Quinton said hesitantly and we all fell into silence. I needed this day to be over.

Today was Thursday, and in my personal opinion it was stupid to have the first day of school be today but whatever. That just meant tonight I would be with family. Family dinner. I was excited to see my nonna, she and I were very close and she always had the right thing to say when it came to mates. Plus tonight we were cooking dinner, and that made me incredibly happy. Cooking was one of my few escapes. Mixing flavors, tasting as you go. Pure bliss. And it was also the only time Mom and Dad let us drink wine with the rest of the family, which was always a plus.

"Sorry, Q. I'm just out of it. I'm ready to go home, and start cooking." I told him honestly.

"No, I get it. We don't gotta talk about it."

"Thanks, man."

*****

I practically ran into the house, Vin following me. We were both ready and excited to have an evening with just our family...or so I thought.

"Boys. Come here." My Dad's voice boomed, immediately causing us to both stop. We headed to the kitchen and there my dad was lounging on the couch, but Mama was already in the kitchen prepping for dinner tonight.

"Yes, sir." I rolled my eyes at Vin's response. Respectful Vinny. How annoying.

"We will be having guests join us tonight, and I expect you all to be on your best behavior."

"Who?" I questioned, not liking that I was going to have to put on a show for people tonight. When being around family was the only time I could be myself.

"The Mickaya's."

That made Zay pop up in excitement, but it filled me and my brother with dread. I don't know why him, it wasn't like his mate was coming to dinner tonight.

"Why?"

"It's called being hospitable, young man. I expect both of you to behave accordingly. Now, go change into something nice." His gaze hardened on me as he said that. "And come help me and your mama in the kitchen."

Neither of us said anything as we walked to our rooms. Victoria was standing at the top of the stairs with a smirk on her face. Like she knows something.

"What?" I growled at her. But all she did was giggle and run away. She was so weird.

Once in my room, I went through my closet trying to find something nice. But now feeling extra pressure since HE was going to be here. What do I even wear? I groaned in frustration not finding anything good enough. And this is why I only wear casual clothes. I hate putting together outfits.

I decided on dark wash jeans and an orange and black sweater, I put on some thick fuzzy socks and walked to the bathroom. I needed to do something with my hair. Some days I just wanted to shave it off. It would be much easier to manage. I grabbed the hair mousse and put it all over my curls to get them more defined. I washed my face quickly and headed downstairs. Vin was already there next to Mama and Victoria rolling out the dough to make the homemade noodles. Dad was cutting the vegetables to start his signature red sauce.

Vin was wearing black slacks and a button-up shirt. Show off.

"Look at you, so handsome," Mama said as she saw me walk in. I walked and gave her a hug and she gave me a quick kiss on my forehead.

"Thanks, mama," I pulled away and walked to where my dad was and started cutting the remaining veggies he hasn't touched yet.

"Thank you, kid."

"No problem, Pa."

I let all my worries of the night fade away as soon as I started cutting. I was in my zone, my happy place. All I could hope is that tonight isn't a shit show.

*****

Before I knew it, it was six o'clock. The doorbell kept ringing and I walked into my giant Italian family. My two aunts and my uncle walked in with their mates and their millions of children. I had about twelve cousins all fifteen and under. Then my nonna and my papa walked in and I immediately ran to them. Nonna had her arms wide open, waiting for me.

"How is my boy?"

"Hi, Nonna." Her voice was claiming like no other. He hair was now a bright gray but her green eyes still as vibrant as ever.

We all walked back into the house, the music started playing and voices were bouncing off the walls. But it was just the calm before the storm. There was another knock on the door and we all fell silent. They were here. He was here.

Dad got up and walked to the front door and his scent immediately found my nose. Over the cooked food, and the scents of my family. His was poignant. I looked over at Vin and he looked nervous, he was anxiously fixing his outfit and his hair. I'm missing something.

I stood up and walked to stand by Vin on the opposite side of the living room. Both of our eyes glued onto the entryway waiting for Him to walk through. Zay was basically panting in anticipation, and so was I.

Seconds later my dad rounded the corner and all eyes were on them.

"Family, please welcome the Mickayas."

Our eyes immediately connected and my heart stopped. His gaze was still as icy and emotionless as I remembered from this morning. There was a part of me that wanted to know why he was so serious all the time. How he was able to hide his feelings so easily. Or did he just not like me? That made Zay whine at the thought.

He looked amazing. His hair was down and it flowed perfectly and matched his vibe. He was wearing navy blue slacks and a white polo, with short sleeves. His arms were out and they were covered in tattoos. My Goddess. He looked...

"Boys, I don't know if you have met. But this is Koa, he is actually a teacher at your school." My dad said which caused me to break eye contact with Koa.

"Yes, I have. I'm in his class." My voice was calm and steady. The complete opposite of how I felt on the inside.

"Wonderful! Well, these are his daughters, Kendall, Kona, and Khelani."

They each looked exactly like the other which was so weird to me. Like triplets almost. Those genes are strong. That's when I noticed Koa's mother, she looked just like the girls so it made sense. Vin's eyes were glued on one of the sisters and hers were on his. This must be his mate then...how wonderful for us.

"This is Alpha Channing and his wife Cynthia."

Koa was a carbon copy of his father, but his father was incredibly intimidating. He had power and dominance rolling off of him in waves. It almost made me expose my neck and submit. Almost.

Everyone started to talk again but Vin and I stayed put, both of us staring at our mates, and them staring back. I wish I could get an idea of what was going through his mind, but nothing. I wasn't getting anything. And that hurt. Badly.

I could feel my temper start to flare up. I was getting annoyed with him just staring and not speaking.

"What?" I asked and crossed my arms. And for a second I thought I saw the corner of his mouth twitch...no I did. He almost smiled. One point, Tino.

"I like your sweater."

I don't know why, but that caused a blush to rise on my cheeks. It's just a stupid compliment. Doesn't mean anything.

'Idiot.' Zay chimed in.

"Oh, thanks. It's one of my favorites." Why did I say that? I inwardly groaned at my awkwardness.

"Like orange?"

DAMNIT! There does all my resolve. He literally remembered just one little thing about me and here I am about to melt onto the ground because of it. I'm weak. I'm a weak man.

"Is white your favorite color?"

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? DUMBASS! IDIOT! White??! No one's favorite color is white. I can't believe I just said that. I'm sure my cheeks matched the embarrassment I was feeling on the inside. But then Koa let out a low chuff, face not moving but I heard it. Was that a laugh? Did he just laugh at me? Did I just make this stone-cold man feel anything other than nothing? I think so...

"No, it's not. It's green." His gaze was intense yet again as he stares into my eyes. My eyes were green...coincidence? Yeah probably, cause that would be so cheesy if he changed his favorite color because of the color of my eyes.

'You would love it.' Zay teased.

I hated that he wasn't wrong. I would have loved it. But Koa didn't seem like that kind of guy.

"Okay, cool. Cool. That's cool."

I stood there with my arms still crossed but I was fiddling with my sweater. His gaze was still at the same intensity yet completely void of emotions. How the hell did he do that? It made no sense. I looked around the room and saw my Nonna and we locked eyes. She raised an eyebrow at me and I took that as a way to get out of this very awkward situation I am in.

"My Nonna is needing me...so--" I cleared my throat keeping my eyes everywhere else other than his and walked away as fast as I could.

Once I was by my Nonna I let out a deep breath and leaned my head on her shoulder.

"What's wrong dolcezza?" She softly patted my face as I lifted my head off of her and looked at her.

"So much." That was all I could huff out.

"That young lycan is very handsome yes? He hasn't taken his eyes off of you since you walked over here."

"Oh, really?" I tried my best to conceal my surprise and excitement.

"Tell me Dolcezza, why are you with an old lady and not with your mate?" I sat up so fast that I got light-headed as I looked at her in shock. Was it that obvious?

"I've been around a long time, I know a lot more than you think."

"Nonna, please. Don't say anything. Only Vin knows." I sighed, knowing it was useless to try and lie.

"Yes, and Vin is occupied with his pinning of his mate too."

I turned to see what she was talking about. Vin had a glass of wine in his hands leaning against the wall. His eyes are glued to the sister, I think her name is Kona. Anytime she looked at him he would pretend like he wasn't looking, and she would go back to talking with her sisters and he went back to staring.

"Why are you both ignoring your mates?"

"I don't know why he is, but I am because look at him, Nonna. It's a HE, and he is the alpha of lycans. Lycanthrope, Nonna." All she did was laugh at my little outburst. I was confused because nothing I said was funny at all.

"The moon goddess blessed you. You will see it very soon. Now, go get a drink. I'm going to find your father. I am ready to eat."

She moved away and left me standing there alone and vulnerable to his cold gaze yet again. I went to the wine table and poured myself a glass, but before I could finish I felt his presence behind me.

"Would you like a glass?" I asked as I finished pouring.

"Yes, thank you."

I ended up handing him the glass I was going to use for myself and just poured myself another one. When I turned around our eyes met immediately. And he moved the glass to his lips and took a sip. His lips looked so soft, and I found myself feeling jealous of a wine glass. How pitiful.

"The girl that was by you in class, was that your girlfriend?" I was taken aback by the question, I slightly choked on the wine I had just swallowed.

"Umm, yeah I guess. Kind of. I don't know." Unable to look him in his eyes. I didn't know what the right thing to say here was.

'You should have said no.' Zay growled in annoyance at my response.

'Then that's lying. I don't want to lie to him.'

"I see, how long have you been together?" Goddess I hated this. I truly hated this. I just wanted to wrap myself in a blanket and hide.

"About two years..." I said quietly, but I know he still heard me.

"Interesting." What kind of response was that? I hated it. He didn't even seem jealous more curious.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" I questioned him, I tried to have my voice sound as nonchalant as his, but it came out the complete opposite.

"No, I don't." His voice was calm and steady. His face was still void.

"Boyfriend?" I couldn't stop myself, my invasive thoughts won this round. But I would win the next.

"Not yet."

Oh...

"Dinner is ready!"