Chapter 39: Going shopping

**Natsuke**

The rest of the day was fun. Loren took me to a big mall and made me choose three evening dresses so I would have options in case I wanted to change on the day. I took a green that matched my eyes. A bolder red and a white for the full moon ceremony.

Then we went to lunch at a fancy restaurant. The food was delicious, but there were really a lot of plates, cutlery and glasses. She taught me. But I knew the glasses by their sizes and shapes, water and wine. The plates were served and placed according to the dishes served and the cutlery should be used from the outside in.

Rules and etiquette, which with practice I would learn by heart. It was strange, such a formal life, but anyway, it wasn't a problem for me.

**Mateo**

I went to pick up Nat for lunch and found out that she had gone to the capital, Denver, with my mother. What were the two of them up to? I ended up calling my father for lunch.

“I really needed some company,” my father said when he saw me.

“Do you know where they went? Not even to let you know…”

“Shopping because your mother asked me for my credit card. Relax, son, they went to do girly things. It’s good that the two of them go out together.”;

“Well, if that’s all, that’s fine,” I laughed, “but next lunch, we can go with them, right?”

“Good idea.”

After lunch, I took the opportunity to get ahead with my online classes. It was almost five in the afternoon when they arrived. My mother honked and asked me to get out through the mental link. Nat looked nice, but tired, I could tell. The car was full of packages.

“What’s all this?”

“I couldn’t let my daughter-in-law and my son go to the dance that your uncle is throwing anyway, could I?”, my mother exclaimed.

“Don’t tell me it’s something formal? This is the 21st century.”

“Didn’t you read the invitation, you idiot? It said formal attire.” I bought you a tuxedo, don’t worry.”

“Oh my!”

“Come on, I’ll drop you off at home.”

I smiled at Nat and gave her a little kiss, going to sit behind her among dozens of packages. After we unloaded everything, I picked Nat up and carried her upstairs. I let the bathtub fill up, kissed my love and took off our clothes. We stayed there bathing and kissing until we relaxed.

I dried her and took her to bed. We made love and she snuggled up to me and said she had learned to dance the waltz. My God, how boring this birthday will be, with a waltz dance and all that formality. But my mother did well this time. If we arrived unprepared it would be embarrassing.

I remembered to tell John, I sent a message: Kate's birthday, a waltz dance and you need to go dressed as a penguin.

Nat

I woke up early, made coffee and Mat came down scared.

"Why so early, love?"

“I want to have breakfast with you, but I have to meet your mother at 9 a.m.”

“Hmm, will that interfere with our morning sex?”

“Not if we wake up half an hour earlier,” I laughed.

“Then let’s have breakfast and go back to bed.”

I didn’t say anything about the training, but I didn’t like to hide something from Mat. I would talk to John and tell him today.

I arrived three minutes late, but my mother-in-law didn’t say anything. Soon after, John arrived and started teaching me defense positions. We spent the whole morning doing this. I had to go back home and take a shower because I was sweaty. I was startled when I saw Mat standing in the doorway with the black eyes of his wolf.

He growled loudly. And stared at me furiously. I had never seen him like this with me. I was terrified. My wolf, Irene, spoke to me: “he can smell John on you.

Mat closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His body was shaking and it took him a while to calm down.

How could I know he would be jealous of his best friend? He had known John since childhood. How could he think that of him or even of me? He was shaking and it scared me. But mostly, it hurt. I had never done anything to deserve any distrust. I had never seen this jealous side of him.

Although I knew that wolves were possessive, especially an alpha. Strangely, I was wondering if my mother-in-law knew this could happen when I asked for secrecy? What did she do? A test? Or was it a disagreement?

The worst part is that my wolf, seeing him like this, also came to the surface and, believe it or not, she was happy and excited that our partner was jealous of us. I had to control her so she wouldn't jump on him.

We both stayed there, trying to calm down. He had his eyes closed, I was trying to move my body towards the house and not towards him. I groaned at my wolf: Irene, stop! She broke my trance and I took a deep breath. I didn't want this to become a habit between us. We were going to travel, to a party. It would be horrible, Mat jumping on every wolf that bumped into me.

I looked at him and waited for him to say something. He seemed calmer. I started talking to understand what he was thinking. I thought that a frank conversation was the best way to kill evil because I hadn't done anything wrong. And we were both mature and adults. I loved him, he knew that. Why was he being so rude without even asking what had happened? If I had learned anything in life, it was not to let things grow without resolving them. And I was mad at him for doing that and I made that clear.