Mated To My Boyfriend's Dad

Chapter 169: _Going To See Rhett

"Ugh, ’spicy’ my ass..." I grumbled, shoving Cullen away. I flipped my hair, unintentionally looking dramatic. "We’re taking things slow. The mate bond is very complicated and I want to be sure I’m making the right decision being together with...him."

Cullen nodded his head with understanding, as he took a seat on a couch, one leg crossed on top of the other. "Looks like you’ve got yourself in some serious pickle. But hey, you’re not getting any younger Isleen, and neither is this mysterious mate of yours. You two can’t continue stalling forever."

I sighed. Cullen made a very good point. He was always so nonchalant and carefree, but in rare moments like this, he could really sound more logical.

"What should I do then?" I shrugged my shoulders. "We both agreed to meet at the precinct tonight, after which he’ll take me to somewhere we could talk."

Cullen giggled like a bratty girl all of a sudden, causing me to frown.

"Somewhere to ’talk’? Please, you’re not a kid anymore. I can see he’s already marked you." He pointed at my neck after saying that.

I gasped, realizing that the scarf I’d be using to hide it was loose, revealing the mate mark slightly. It was already completely healed now, nothing more than a faint pinkish scar in the shape of a crescent moon, but anyone who looked hard enough would be able to spot it.

I subconsciously tied it up with the scarf again, my cheeks flushing with heat. "So? What are you insinuating? We haven’t done anything else!"

Gosh, why was I getting so self-conscious? Cullen and I were merely having a conversation. But then again, Cullen did have a special skill for annoying me.

"Not yet, you haven’t." Cullen grinned, seemingly reveling in my annoyance. "How did it feel to be marked though? Did you bite him too? Did you guys get all freaky with it?"

Argh! The nerve!

I picked up a pillow from the couch Cullen sat on, whacking him on the head with it.

"Hey, I’m only curious!" Cullen snarled, glaring at me. I smiled with satisfaction seeing that before I continued.

"We haven’t had sex. And I don’t know, I don’t think I’m ready to do that with him. At least, not yet." I spoke sincerely.

Did I find Gamma Rhett attractive? Hell yes, he was one of the hottest men in the pack. Was I still stuck with feelings for Kylo, preventing me from taking my... ’relationship’ with Rhett further? Nope, it wasn’t that either.

"But why?" Cullen seemed confused. "Doesn’t mating with your mate increase the potency of your bond with him over time? I mean, you and Kylo are no longer together. So, what the heck are you waiting for?"

And there lay the problem.

"Exactly, Cullen. Having sex with him will only strengthen our bond. I can barely think properly about the bond as it is now. Imagine it becoming even stronger. I’ll be obsessed with him, and then Kylo will find out, and then probably also the entire pack. I’ll be tagged a betrayer for seeing my mate behind my boyfriend’s back."

Cullen coughed, his signature annoying grin on his face. "You mean, ’ex-boyfriend’."

Really? Did he have to sound so smug about it?

I rolled my eyes, making my way to the kitchen to get something to drink and help out Lupe. I could already inhale the aroma of the meal she was preparing.

"Hey, wait up!" Cullen’s voice rang from behind, as I felt him trailing behind me. "But you two broke up, didn’t you?"

I paused abruptly, turning my head to look at Cullen. "Yes. And then you went ahead to sleep with him behind my back. Not cool dude, don’t think I’ve forgotten about that."

I wasn’t exactly pissed or disgusted by the idea of Cullen hooking up with Kylo. It was the fact that he did it without even giving me a heads-up, forcing me to find out myself. And now he seemed to be bragging about me and Kylo not being together anymore.

I spotted Lupe dicing up some meat, looking lost in thought.

"Hey, Lupe." I came to her side but was surprised when she jerked in shock.

"Oh." She sighed with relief when her eyes landed on me. "It’s just you Isleen. What’s up?"

What’s up? I had a lot of things going on in my life all at once, but I seemed even more composed than Lupe.

I placed a palm on her shoulder, causing her to pause and look into my eyes. "Hey, are you okay? You don’t have to stay moody when you can talk to me. I’m here for you, Lupe."

I had a feeling she was still grieving her mom, and now that I knew ’Liam’ was most likely the one who killed her, I felt drawn to be at her side now more than ever.

Lupe smiled wryly and was about to say something when Cullen walked in. He sat on the kitchen counter, throwing a slice of meat into his mouth.

"So, what’re you ladies making for us tonight?" He licked his fingers, a satisfied smile on his face.

"Dude, that meat was raw and still bloody." I retched, looking at Cullen like he’d gone mad.

Werewolves could eat raw meat just fine, even in our human form, but it was still kinda unorthodox to do so. I was pretty surprised that the girly overly hygienic Cullen did such a thing just now.

He was acting weirder than usual, but I could only conclude that it was all because of the tension present in the pack right now.

"But I’m starving." He grumbled. "My oh my, no wonder vampires find blood so delicious."

I frowned. What the fuck? Now he was talking like a madman too. Well... he’d always been like that anyway.

I turned to Lupe, trying to see her reaction to all this. But surprisingly, she seemed unfazed, looking away as she went back to dicing up the meat and washing away the blood.

"Hey." Cullen came down from the counter, placing a palm on my shoulder. "Tell you what? Why don’t you leave the cooking to me and Lupe? With everything going on in your life, and Liam being missing, you must be really stressed out. You deserve a little break."

I squinted my eyes. Since when did Cullen become so reasonable?

I shook my head, brushing Cullen’s palm off my shoulder. "No thank you. I don’t want to get poisoned by your cooking."

Cullen laughed out with a high-pitched voice all of a sudden, managing to startle both me and Lupe who ended up cutting herself with the knife in her hands.

"Damn it." She sucked on the finger she’d nipped, sounding agitated.

I tried getting to her to check on her, but Cullen blocked me.

"If I wanted you dead, poisoning you would be a waste." He had a weird smile on his face that made me shiver for some reason. I’d seen that look somewhere before. But where?

Before I could think too deeply about it, Cullen pushed me out of the kitchen. "Come on, I Insist. Don’t underestimate my cooking skills, Isleen."

I pouted as Cullen pushed me to the living room.

"Just go get ready to see your mysterious mate tonight." He gave me a wink before strutting back into the kitchen.

The annoying little –. What made him think I was still interested in seeing Rhett tonight?

I was pacing around the living room, thinking of what to do when my phone rang. Curious, I got it out of my pocket, only to see that the call was coming from an unknown ID.

I shrugged, accepting the call. "Hello?" I muttered softly, expecting a reply from the other end. However, nothing would’ve been able to prepare me for the voice I heard at the other end.

"Hello, Isleen." A gruff voice that I recognized all too well spoke at the other end.

Gamma Rhett!

"Gamma– Gamma Rhett." I stuttered, feeling my wolf doing backflips inside me. Even from a mere phone call, my wolf could still react to the mate bond. But the betrayer couldn’t show up when my life was literally in danger.

Awkwardly, I tried talking again. "What– how–?"

"I’m just calling to remind you of our meeting at the precinct tonight. Except, if you want us to meet at my place instead." He sounded so calm as if I was a client or something.

I couldn’t let this go on. I needed to address Rhett’s overbearing attitude if we were going to keep seeing each other. So, I ended up replying with...

"Sure." I looked at my phone, seeing that it was currently a few minutes past six. "I’ll see you by eight."

A short silence came from the other end at first. But then finally, Gamma Rhett spoke again. "Very well then. See you by eight."

Not wasting another second, he hung up, leaving me with my thoughts. Forget everything I said about not wanting to see him again today. I was going to see the Gamma.