Happy Birthday

My roommate Lilith is still passed out. She got in pretty late last night, so it works out that she doesn't have class this morning. She swears she's a heavy sleeper, but I still tiptoe around getting ready anyway.

"First day of college, Nana. Wish me luck," I murmur, brushing my fingers over a framed photo of my Nana sitting on my study table. Her warm brown eyes stare back at me. I wonder sometimes if she's proud of me now. "I'll study hard...but not too hard. These human guys won't know what hit them," I promise her.

"Love you, Winston. Try not to miss me too much today." I give my teddy bear's head a little pat.

Lilith's got a huge mirror mounted near the door, so I take a second to check myself out before heading off. "Oh, hello there," I say to my reflection. "Hey, sexy beast." I make finger guns at myself and wink. Yeah, it's ridiculous, and I don't actually think I look sexy, but Nana always said if you tell yourself you look good enough times, eventually you believe it. I like feeling good about myself, so sometimes I hype myself up as a sexy beast. Mostly just in my own head.

A laugh erupts from the bed beside mine. "That's it, I can't keep quiet anymore. What on earth are you doing up this early, Freya Hayes?" Lilith asks, her head popping out from under her blanket.

Mortified that she caught my whole finger-gun routine, I plant my hands on my hips instead and shoot back, "Hey! I thought you said you were a heavy sleeper. Were you eavesdropping this whole time?"

She cracks up again. "How could I not? You're hilarious...and a little unhinged. Do you always narrate your life like that?"

Unhinged? This girl has no idea what she's talking about. I'm the picture of normal. Actually, scratch that, I'm beyond normal. I toss my hair dramatically. "Pfft, but you love me anyway. See you later, bitch," I tell her.

"Yeah, later, skank," she calls back, laughing.

Having a friend like Lilith feels amazing. We click easily and joke around like we've been friends forever. She's definitely going to help keep my swear jar in business.

Grabbing my bag, I step out of our shared room and nearly walk straight into Caleb, who's just standing there in front of the door like he's been waiting for me this whole time.

"Oh, hey, Caleb." I flash him a smile. "Morning!"

He just stares at me for a beat, like my cheerfulness caught him off guard. "Here," he mutters, shoving a rectangular object at me, wrapped messily in colorful paper.

"What is it?" My hand's already reaching for it before I even finish asking. "Is it food?" Please let it be food.

He looks like he wants to roll his eyes but manages not to. Sorry that my stomach runs the show most of the time. Okay, all of the time. "Corbin mentioned it's your birthday today. So...happy birthday," he says, looking painfully awkward about it.

Oh my god, I completely forgot my own birthday! Guess I've had way too much on my plate lately to even remember it. I'm eighteen now. Supposedly that's the magic age where a werewolf's instincts kick in and they start sensing their mate. Not that it applies to me. No mate here.

A thought hits me suddenly: if old Mr. Thorne, the former alpha, wanted to formally claim me, today would've been the day. I shiver at the idea. Thank god I got out when I did.

Staring down at the sloppily wrapped gift, I picture Caleb wrestling with tape trying to make it look presentable. It's honestly hilarious, but also incredibly sweet. I can't help the huge grin spreading across my face. I throw my arms around him and squeal, "Thank you! Thank you so much, Caleb! You're the sweetest!!!"

His whole body goes rigid and his voice comes out strangled. "You don't even know what it is yet."

I ease up on the hug and glance at him. He's back to scowling, though somehow it doesn't come across scary at all. "And I'm not sweet," he adds gruffly.

Honestly, it doesn't matter what's inside the wrapping. The only people who've ever bothered getting me anything or wishing me happy birthday have been my Nana and Corbin...and now Caleb too. I'm pretty lucky, all things considered.

This marks my very first birthday without Nana. Tears sting the back of my eyes without warning, my throat tightening painfully. My smile falters. I blink hard, shove the thought away, and force my smile back into place. "True, I don't know what it is, but I'm betting it's amazing!"

I rip into the wrapping paper eagerly, then freeze in surprise staring at the book in my hands. Skulduggery Pleasant, Midnight, the newest release in the series by Derek Landy.

I don't even need to ask how he figured out I wanted this. Corbin must've mentioned it to him.

I've been obsessed with Skulduggery Pleasant since middle school. Never could afford my own copies, so I always borrowed them from the school library instead. Corbin was never really into reading, but somehow I got him hooked on this series too. He knew I'd been dying for this particular book to finally release.

Carefully, I open it and run my fingers reverently across the printed pages. Then I lift it close to my face and inhale deeply. God, that smell, crisp paper, that unmistakable scent of a book cracked open for the very first time. Nobody's touched these pages before. Just me.

"Thank you, Caleb," I say, pulling him into another hug. I know he's not big on hugging, but I honestly don't care. He claims he's not sweet, but he totally is. This time he stays quiet, just clears his throat and pats my head somewhat awkwardly.

"Now put this on," he says brusquely, the second I release him. A weird, sickly-sweet, overpowering smell hits me as he yanks a thick black material out of a plastic bag