1.1

A TINY GUST of wind tickles my nose and I scratch at it sleepily with my fist.

“Mmm.”

Did I leave open the windows last night?

There’s a shifting, then another breath and my eyes are shooting open.

“Morning, baby. You look so beautiful when you sleep.”

I fly up, scowling at the girl lying next to me with a wide grin on her stupid face.

“Why the hell are you in my room, Becca?” I ask, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. “Better question, how did you get in here? I locked all the doors last night.”

Becca laid back in my bed closing her eyes and getting comfortable. “You live in a flat, dummy. Take a wild guess.”

I knew I forgot to close the windows.

I brush the loose strands out of my eyes to peer at the clock on my nightstand. ‘7:42’ it reads and my eyes widened when it hits me. “Shit. School.”

I hop up and catapult myself towards my closet only to hear Becca murmur, “Oh, yeah. We’re late.”

Cursing her to the depths of Tartarus, I grab my shower things and prep myself.

After my shower, I throw on a hoodie, some jeans, and my old ratty ballet flats after my shower. I tie my hair into a loose ponytail as I look around for my backpack. Finding it beside my nightstand I throw it over my shoulder and pick up the oranger container with my meds. Popping two into my mouth, I close the rest and stick it in my bag for later.

Now I’m ready.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Becca asks. My eyebrows draw downwards as I assessed my outfit.

I’m wearing clean underwear.

I think this shirt’s clean.

What? Did I forget to wear pants again?

I look down.

No, I’m wearing pants.

“What am I forgetting?” I ask her.

My best friend comes around the bed, her hand clutching something behind her back suspiciously. “Happy Birthday, Massie!” She yells, shoving a small gift-wrapped box in my face.

I stifle a groan. “Becca, we don’t have time for this. We’re late for school.”

Becca waves a hand dismissively, her grin not falling for a second. “Oh, don’t worry about that. Last night I turned your alarm clock one hour ahead so we can celebrate you turning eighteen with breakfast,” she tells me. “Oh, and encase you’re wondering, your douchbag of a boyfriend will be here too. Can’t guarantee he’ll make it through breakfast without me trying to poison him but I’ll do my best.”

I frown. “Becca...”

“Don’t say it,” she warns with a hard look. “I know you’d have bitched and whined if I’d told you what we were planning. You hate your birthdays and I get it but that doesn’t mean I accept it.” She shoves the box in my hand and pushes me towards the door. “Now slap a smile on that pretty face of yours and at least pretend to enjoy today.”

I sigh and reluctantly follow her downstairs to the kitchen, where I find my mother at the stove and my father reading today’s newspapers at the weathered breakfast table. The room smells of raspberry pancakes and orange juice with just a hint of soil coming from outside the farmhouse, where the goats and chickens roam restlessly under the light morning sky.

My mother senses us first and rushes at me before I hit the landing.

She wraps her arms around me. “Happy birthday, baby girl.” I barely have time to hug her back before she releases me to pinch my cheeks. “Look at you. My little girl is already eighteen. Just yesterday you were butt-ass naked running around screaming ‘Free Wily’. Now you’re all grown up...”

“Mom, you say this every year.”

“That’s because you keep growing every year,” was her witty retort and I roll my eyes for what feels like the umpteenth time this morning and headed over for the table.

I plant a kiss on my Dad’s cheek and plop right down beside him.

“Happy birthday, baby girl,” He whispers.

Becca takes the seat across from me not before grabbing her own plate. “So... are you excited?” Becca asks between chewing her weight in pancakes.

“Excited that I’m a year closer to death? No, not really.”

She rolls her eyes. “I admire your optimism but that’s not what I meant. I mean you’re eighteen now. That means you’ll be able to sense your mate. Aren’t you curious?” Dad grunts at the head of the table and Beca grins over at him. “At least one of you is excited.”

Dad peers at her over his reading glasses. “My shotgun’s practically brimming with excitement too.” Becca chortles and that only prompts Dad on. “Whoever he is, he’s going to get well acquainted with Shelly before he even thinks of laying a finger on either of you.”

Mom smacks him upside his head in passing and he curses. She points a wooden spoon at him threateningly. “You will not harm one hair on those boys, ya hear? And if I hear one more thing about that gun, I’ll throw it out.”

Dad raises his hands in surrender, going back to his breakfast before muttering, “Shelly would never hit me.”

That earned him a wooden spoon thrown at his head. He ducked and it crashed against the wall as Mom glared.

Becca and I share a look and burst out laughing.

Just then the back door opens up and Leo saunters in. And just as easily as the smile appeared on Becca’s face, it is gone the next second. I give her a look. “Be nice,” I mouthed.

Becca says nothing.

This is going to be a long breakfast.

“Leo! How nice of you to drop by!” Mom says in greeting while Dad grunts.

“Of course, I would never miss my girlfriend’s birthday,” he said sweetly leaning down to kiss my cheek. When Dad gives him a look, Leo quickly stops touching me and sits beside me around the table.

It’s not that Dad doesn’t like Leo, simply put, Dad doesn’t believe I should be dating anyone other than my mate. And Leo, unfortunately, is not my mate.

Leo had turned eighteen in April and I remember quite vividly how my stomach twisted in disappointment when we both realized I wasn’t his mate.

We have been dating since Junior year. He’s the brother of our future Gamma, Wren who’s best friends with Becca’s brother, the future Alpha, and the boy I’ve been crushing on since Kindergarten... but that’s another story. The fact is, Leo and I practically grew up together, and ever since Damon and Wren went away, he started hanging out with us more often. Then one thing leads to another and now, we’re dating, to Becca’s displeasure.

His lips thinned when he acknowledged the person on the other side of the table. “Becca.”

“Asshole— I mean, Leo.” She smiled innocently. “Sorry I get those two mixed up sometimes.”

He scowls at her.

“Becca, no cursing at my table!” Mother chastised, waving another spoon in the air like a sword.

Becca mumbles an apology and goes back to eating her pool of pancakes and syrup.

Leo turns to me. “I got you something.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that—”

“Of course I did.” He bends over, unzipping his backpack and pulling out a poorly wrapped box. His cheeks reddened. “I’m sorry. I tried to wrap it myself but it didn’t work out all that well.”

“It’s not that bad,” I said.

Becca snorts and I give her a look. She pretends not to notice.

He hands it over to me. “Open it.”

By now, Mom is sitting at the other end of the table looking at the gift with interest. Even Becca was leaning over in intrigue.

I open it up slowly, my eyebrows drawing in as I unwrap it. It was a book and when I opened it to the first page, I nearly jumped out of my seat in shock. “No way!”

“What?” Becca said. “Let me see.” She grabbed the book and read, “To Massie, with best wishes. Frank Sorta."

Mom gasps.

I threw my arms around him practically trembling with gee. “Thank you, thank you!” I give him one big kiss and he chuckled. “How did you get it?”

“He was at our resort in the islands. I had to tackle some kids to get to him but it was worth it,” he beams.

“That was almost two months ago... you kept the fact that you met Frank Sorta, the best writer of his time from me for two months!” I smack him on his arm and he pulled away in mock hurt.

“I had to. God knows what you and Crazy Stacy over here would’ve done. You would’ve flown back to the islands and tried to catch him yourself.” When no one argued he smirked smugly. “See. And you’re the type of people to frame your restraining orders.”

“He’s not wrong,” Becca unhelpfully adds.

“That’s very nice of you, Leo,” Mom said.

“It’s a pleasure, Mrs. Griffin,” he said gentlemanly until he turned to Becca who had a sour look on her face. “And what did you get her Becky?” He mocked. He knew she hated that nickname. “Hopefully a new best friend, god knows the old one is a raving bitch.”

“How about I give you my foot up your ass instead.”

“Okay...” Mother said getting up from the table. Intervening before Leo and Becca can start an all-out brawl in the middle of breakfast. Although, I have been wondering who’d win in a fight between the Gamma’s son and the Alpha’s daughter. They’re both well-trained but I might have to put my money on Becca. She’s crazier.

“This is from your father and me.” Mom places a box in front of me and though, I wasn’t a big fan of birthdays, Leo’s present brought with it an optimism I’d been lacking since I got up this morning. So I ripped into this one.

“Mom—” I got out, I drag my eyes from her gift to her watery gaze. “This must have been super expensive—How did you— I can’t accept this, Mom. The farm needs the money more than I do.”

I try to give her back the brand-new Macbook but she pushes it toward me, shaking her head. “It’s for college, sweetheart. I know you value your studies and getting out of here. Your Dad and I support you one hundred per cent, that’s why we got you this. And don’t worry about the funds. Your Dad and I are doing just fine. You just focus on you.” She leans down and kisses me on my forehead and tears well up in my eyes. “And if you try to give it back to me again, I will fight you.”

The table snickers.

This is what I wanted. The four people I care about the most in one room. This might actually be the best birthday I could’ve hoped for.

Becca, Leo, and I wash up, and after saying goodbye to my parents, we head outside to where Leo’s Hummer is idling in the driveway. But something has us drawing to a stop before we even get over the threshold. Something that has my stomach curling with dread.

Leo’s jaw clenches. “Those fuckers!”