143

143

Ian’s POV

We had barely been back in Sophia and Jenny’s for a few hours when the knock on the door came. Sophia was resting, her head on my shoulder, and Jenny was talking to Jacob in the kitchen. The knock was loud enough to make us all pause.

“Who could that be?” Sophia whispered, sitting up slightly, a crease forming between her brows.

I had a bad feeling immediately. Call it vampire instinct, but something told me this knock wasn’t just a neighbor or delivery. The way it echoed through the apartment felt ominous. Jenny glanced at me and Jacob, her face betraying her unease, and I noticed Jacob tense as well.

Sophia got up and moved toward the door, but I could already sense who it was.

“Wait,” I said softly, reaching for her hand, “let me—”

Too late. She swung the door open, and there, standing awkwardly in the front of the house, were her parents.

“Sophia!” her mother, Mrs. Anderson, exclaimed, wrapping her arms around her daughter before she could even react. Her father stood behind her, arms crossed, his eyes full of concern.

“Mom, Dad?” Sophia sounded completely thrown off, which wasn’t surprising. We hadn’t exactly planned for this. In fact, we had been hoping for some more time—time to figure out how to ease her family into everything that had happened.

“You haven’t called in weeks!” her mother’s voice was a mix of worry and relief. “We were so worried something had happened. Are you okay?”

Sophia quickly glanced over her shoulder at me, panic briefly flashing across her face. “I’m fine. I’m—everything’s fine. Sorry for not calling.” She stepped aside to let them in.

This was going to be… interesting.

Her parents shuffled into the living room, looking around at the apartment, their eyes landing on me and Jacob. I saw the brief flash of recognition in Mrs. Anderson’s eyes as she spotted Jenny.

“Jenny!” she smiled warmly, crossing over to give her a hug. “It’s been so long! We are practically, like, your second parents and now we’ve not heard from you in a while.”

Jenny smiled nervously, hugging her back. “Yeah, it’s been a while. I’m so sorry. Good to see you, Mrs. Anderson.”

I stood there awkwardly, knowing the moment of introduction was coming, and mentally bracing myself for it. Sophia gave me an apologetic look before she turned back to her parents.

“Mom, Dad, this is Ian,” she said, her voice wavering only slightly. “He’s… my boyfriend.”

Her father’s brows shot up, his gaze immediately locking onto mine. It wasn’t hostile, but it was definitely suspicious. He was protective, that much was clear.

“It’s nice to meet you, Ian,” her mother said, though her eyes were scanning me up and down like she was trying to figure out who I was and whether I was good enough for her daughter.

I forced a polite smile, extending my hand to shake theirs. “Nice to meet you both,” I said. I could feel Jacob watching from behind me, ready to jump in if things got weird. “Sophia’s told me a lot about you.”

Her father grunted in response, his handshake firm. He wasn’t the talkative type, I could tell, and the silence that followed was loaded.

“And you are?” Mrs. Anderson asked, turning toward Jacob.

“Jacob,” he said, stepping forward with an easy grin, the kind he always used when trying to appear friendly and non-threatening. “I’m Ian’s brother and Jenny’s… boyfriend.”

Her parents both turned to Jenny at that, their eyebrows raised in unison. Jenny blushed slightly, shifting awkwardly under their gaze.

“You and Jenny are together?” Mrs. Anderson asked, clearly caught off guard by the news. “Well, I didn’t see that coming.”

“Yeah, it’s kind of new,” Jenny mumbled, glancing at Jacob with a small smile.

I could sense the tension building. Here we were, four people with secrets bigger than anything Sophia’s parents could imagine, trying to act like normal humans in a normal situation. It was almost laughable, if it wasn’t so stressful.

“So, Ian…” Mr. Anderson said, his voice gruff as he turned his full attention back to me. “What do you do?”

Ah, here it was—the million-dollar question. How exactly do you explain to someone that you’re both a college professor and a vampire king without sounding insane? The answer: you don’t.

“I teach history,” I said smoothly, going with the simpler of my two titles.

“At the university?” Mrs. Anderson asked, glancing at Sophia with surprise.

“Yes,” I replied, trying to maintain a calm and composed demeanor. “That’s actually how we met.”

Her father’s brow furrowed slightly, but he didn’t press the issue. Thank God. The last thing we needed was for him to find out that his daughter’s boyfriend was also her professor.

The tension in the room was almost unbearable. Everyone was trying too hard to act normal, and it was painfully obvious. Jenny was picking at her nails, Jacob kept glancing at the door like he was ready to bolt, and Sophia… well, Sophia was doing her best to keep calm, but I could see the stress in her eyes.

Her mother finally broke the silence. “Well, I’m glad you’re okay, Sophia. You had us worried sick. You could’ve at least sent a text to let us know you were alive.”

Sophia sighed, guilt flashing across her face. “I know. I’m sorry. Things have just been… crazy lately.”

I could see Mrs. Anderson’s curiosity piqued at that. “Crazy how?”

Sophia opened her mouth to answer, but I could tell she didn’t know what to say. How could she explain everything without giving away the truth? There were too many lies to juggle, too many things to hide.

“It’s just been busy,” she said finally, offering a weak smile. “School, work… you know how it is.”

Her parents didn’t seem entirely convinced, but they let it go for now.

As the conversation continued, I found myself becoming more and more aware of the sheer absurdity of the situation. Here we were, pretending to be normal, everyday people, when just days ago, we were fighting off werewolves and dodging assassination attempts. It felt surreal.

At one point, Mrs. Anderson asked if Sophia had any plans for the future, and I saw the flicker of fear in her eyes. Of course, she couldn’t tell them the truth—that she was pregnant, that she was worried about the safety of her unborn child in a world filled with danger.

Sophia managed to dodge the question gracefully, but I could see the strain it was putting on her. She didn’t want to lie to her parents, but she had no choice. The truth was too dangerous, too complicated for them to handle.

After what felt like an eternity, Mr. Anderson glanced at his watch and stood up. “We should probably get going. Let you kids enjoy your evening.”

Sophia looked relieved, though she hid it well. “Yeah, thanks for stopping by. I’ll make sure to keep in touch more often.”

Her mother hugged her tightly once more, whispering something I couldn’t hear, and her father gave me one last, scrutinizing look before they finally left.

The door clicked shut, and the silence that followed was thick and heavy. I let out a long breath, feeling the weight of the past hour settle on my shoulders.

“Well,” Jenny said, breaking the tension with a nervous laugh. “That wasn’t awkward at all.”

Jacob chuckled, shaking his head. “I thought we pulled it off pretty well, considering.”

Sophia slumped onto the couch, rubbing her temples. “That was exhausting. I hate lying to them.”

I moved to sit next to her, placing a hand on her back. “You did great,” I said softly. “It’s not easy, but you handled it well.”

She leaned into me, sighing. “I just hope I can keep this up. The lies… they’re going to catch up to us eventually.”

“We’ll deal with it when the time comes,” I promised her. “For now, let’s just focus on keeping everyone safe.”

She nodded, though I could tell the worry was still eating away at her. We had dodged a bullet today, but how many more times could we keep up this façade before it all came crashing down? Only time would tell.