Rachel's P.O.V.
It's been a week since I agreed to begin dating Finn again. I know it's not real but I hate the way it feels. It almost...feels like I'm cheating on Santana and my wolf is not a fan. I've been having more contact with her, thanks to Solomon, and since I haven't gotten her budge on the pup situation, I redirected her to start seeing our lives as one instead of two separate things, which has been just as hard to get her to understand. It doesn't help that she's not happy about the Finn situation. Every time he's around we fight for control so when he leaves I take her running and hunting to get out her aggression. Rose sees him as a threat that needs to be eliminated but my weak human nature won't let me do it, which is why she's trying to. Rose wants her mate and I can't blame her for that.
Santana isn't a fan of this situation either and has been upset that I haven't seen much of her this week. Since we're supposed to be broken up, I asked her to give me space when we're at school. I can say she's given me some space but she's always around whenever Finn is, just lurking in the shadows. I'm conflicted about how I feel about it...I know she doesn't mean any harm but I kind of feel like she doesn't trust me or thinks I can't handle myself. Santana says it's because she doesn't trust Finn but...it's hard not to take it personally. I wish there were a better solution to this but none of them end without the council being involved.
Tonight, I'm supposed to be going on a date with Finn, which I only remembered after he mentioned something about the steakhouse he chose having salads for me to choose from. I had every intention on having dinner with Santana and her family tonight. Santana's mother has really been badgering her about meeting me so she practically begged me to come, just to get her mother to stop bothering her. I guess I'll have to cancel on Finn.
"Should I bring something to dinner tonight?" I ask Santana as I finish my homework. Santana is at cheerleading practice but that's the beauty of being able to speak to her telepathically, I don't have to wait for a response.
"No. My mom's got it covered. Just be prepared to talk a lot." Santana responds.
"That shouldn't be a problem." I know I can't hear Santana laughing at that but I'm sure she did.
"Want me to pick you up?" She asks me.
"No, I'll see you soon."
"Okay, love you." I begin to smile to myself before responding.
"I love you too. Have a nice practice." Santana says thank you and I text Finn to let him know I won't be joining him for dinner. After finishing my homework, I get ready to leave to see Santana but before I leave, my father Hiram stops me.
"Where are you headed honey?" He asks me as I grab my jacket from the closet.
"I'm going to Santana's for dinner tonight." I tell him and he nods his head slowly.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" He asks.
"Well, I know we haven't been together that long but her mother wants to meet me."
"I understand that sweetie but have you thought about what I told you...about Santana's pack? I support the both of you no matter what, but are her parents aware of what's going on?" He asks and it stops me in my tracks. If he knew Santana was on the East side, her parents may figure out I'm not from their side which would be bad since Santana's father also sits on the council.
"I just want you to be careful...both of you. This could go very badly if anyone on the council finds out." He tells me.
"I hadn't thought about that. I'll ask Santana about it." He nods then makes his way into the kitchen. I quickly call Santana to ask her some questions.
"My dad isn't going to be here. He doesn't come home from his shift until tomorrow." Santana says from the other side of the receiver. Santana's father is a fire fighter so he isn't around very often.
"What about your mother?" I ask her.
"My mom...I don't know. She's not really into all the council shit, she just lets my dad deal with it." She says.
"That worries me." I tell her.
"I'm kinda anxious now too..." She says with a sigh.
"I just don't want to add another issue to the list we already have." I tell her.
"Yeah, how about this? If she starts asking anything about packs or wolves, you fake sick. If I do it she'll know I'm lying." Santana suggests. I mull over this before speaking again.
"That could work. Let's just try to stay away from the topic all together." I tell her.
"Deal. I'll see you soon. Drive safe." She says and we say our goodbyes as I head outside.
Soon, I'm standing outside of Santana's door, anxiously waiting.
Santana's P.O.V.
I really hope tonight doesn't go to shit. I keep tricking myself into thinking I'm actually a normal person who just invited her girlfriend to a normal dinner.. I'm sure no one else has to try to hide that they're literally dating the enemy. I'm not very worried about my mother because she's never really cared about the feud, she just follows the rules...but I don't know how she'd respond to finding out about us. God I hope this doesn't blow up in my face, I have enough going on with the man child. I take a deep breath and open the door. Rachel is standing there with a bright smile and I feel most of my anxiousness melt away.
"Hi." She says softly and I wrap my arms around her before kissing her cheek.
"Hi." I say right before we break apart. Rachel walks inside and I shut the door behind her. She takes her jacket off and I take it from her and put it away.
"Marco is grounded for skipping class and the only time he can get out of his room is for dinner so he might try to prolong this for as long as possible." I tell her as I grab her hand and guide her into the dinning room where my mother has just entered to sit down a stack of plates. Once she sees Rachel she smiles widely and walks towards us.
"You must be Rachel!" She says excitedly as she pulls Rachel into a hug. Rachel is caught by surprise but returns the hug.
"I-uh- yes. It's nice to meet you Mrs. Lopez." She says as the pull apart.
"Maribel. We're family now!" My mother says and I roll my eyes.
"Way to be normal mami." I mumble and my mother rolls her eyes at me.
"Set the table. I'll be back with dinner." She says then walks off into the kitchen. Rachel looks at me with a giggle and I only shake my head.
"It only gets worse from here." I tell her as I grab the plates and put them on place mats. Marco walks in with cups in his hands and glances at Rachel.
"Sup' I'm Marco." He says after he sits the cups down then holds his hand out towards Rachel. Rachel takes it with a smile and shakes it.
"Rachel Berry." She says politely. Marco is 14 and is really just starting puberty. He's gotten a little taller and has the shadow of a mustache but swears it's a full beard. Marco is almost my height now but he's taller than Rachel and he's very slim. He always has been.
"So you don't eat meat?" He asks as he places the cups near the plates.
"No, I don't." Rachel tells him. I gesture for her to have a seat and as she pulls out a chair, Marco speaks again.
"Isn't that kind of...weird? Like, you're one of us right?" He asks and Rachel gets what he means when he says us.
"I am but that side of me is, literally an animal. It's apart of her survival, but I don't have to do that to survive and I prefer it that way." She tells him and he nods thoughtfully.
"Never thought about it like that. If this plant shit is good, I might give it a shot." He shrugs lightly then leaves the room.
"Not here for 10 minutes and we're talking about wolf stuff already. This is going to go to shit." I tell Rachel as my mother comes back into dinning room followed by Marco with dishes of food.
Once everything made it to the table, everyone sat and passed food around until everyone had gotten a turn. As I eat, I realize my mother is being weird and is watching Rachel.
"Mami." She notices my glare and looks sheepish before looking away.
"Ah-I...How's the food Rachel?" She asks politely, looking at Rachel.
"It's delicious." Rachel smiles at my mother and my mother returns it.
"Yeah, mami it's not as bad I thought it would be." Marco chimes in.
"Well, I'm glad you're enjoying it. I haven't cooked a vegan meal before so I wasn't sure how it would turn out." She says.
"You didn't have to go through the trouble but thank you, I appreciate it." Rachel says.
"Like I said, you're family. I'd do it for any one of my kids. Now, Santana tells me you sing?" My mom asks Rachel and they continue to talk from that point. Marco and I jump in every now and then but they seem to really be hitting it off.
I expected dinner to go that way though. My mom is one of those very loving, warm, bubbly people which is why I really think I might've been adopted. I knew she and Rachel would get along but I didn't think that they'd...never stop fucking talking. Guess I should be happy about it? My ear isn't being talked off by either of them so...I'll take the win. Rachel finally has to leave and I help my mother do the dishes.
"I absolutely adore her!" My mother tells me and I roll my eyes as I put a plate away.
"Now you'll stop bothering me about her, right? That was the deal." I say and she chuckles.
"I guess I have no choice." My mother responds playfully.
"So, can I ask a question?" She says and I shrug as I dry another plate.
"Rachel mentioned going to New York to be on Broadway and you've gotten into a few schools there..." I turn to her, narrowing my eyes in suspicion. Where's she going with this?
"Don't look at me like that. We're okay with you wanting to leave Lima, which is why we agreed to letting you lead the pack from there...I just...your father has been having second thoughts. He's not sure you should leave..." She gives me an apologetic look as she trails off.
"He's not going to be happy about it but it's not going to stop me. I'm leaving. I can't stay in this loser town." I tell her and she rolls her eyes.
"I know your father is...rough around the edges. Your both very similar whether you'd like to admit it or not but he does want the best for you. I honestly believe he'd be happy for you...he just may never show it because you're supposed to take his place and he wants you to do everything you're supposed to do in his eyes."
"We made a deal already so there's no going back." I say sternly and my mother nods her head.
"I know. I'm not trying to convince you to renegotiate, I just wanted you to know...it might not be as easy as you thought...to leave."
"No. Your husband no longer makes decisions for me. When I graduate, I'm going to New York no matter what so don't try to talk me out of it." I tell her and she looks at me with confusion.
"Convince you to stay here? No. I want you and Rachel far away from here. You girls deserve more than this. Rachel has big dreams and I know you do too. You deserve the chance to achieve them. Screw being the alpha of this pack, go start your own pack." My mom tells me and I'm sure my look of shock is why she's giggling right now.
"I'm not as traditional as your father. I want you to live your life with no regrets. Same with Marco." My mother smiles at me and I smile back at her as she takes my hand and squeezes it.
"No matter what, I will always support you. I love you Santana." She says and I feel my eyes water. Why is this making me so emotional?
"I love you too, mami." I say as I pull her into a hug. She holds me tight and chuckles lightly. As she pulls away she wipes the tears from her eyes and continues smiling.
"Now, which one of you is the older one?" She asks and I furrow my eyebrows.
"Uh...me...why?"
"Well, I'm sure Solomon has gone over this with you but once a month -
"OKAY! We are NOT doing this!" I say as I walk out of the kitchen.
"Santana!" She calls out but I continue to make my way to my room.