Birthday

Aisha

I had been sitting on the kitchen counter for the past two hours, and I could feel every second of it in my legs. Uncrossing them, I jumped down.

Sitting there wasn’t going to get me any answers. It wasn’t going to tell me who killed Mrs. Anderson or why. I didn’t want to overthink it or turn it into something it wasn’t.

If those people had actually found me, my grandparents would’ve told Mom and Dad.

Right?

I was just about to call them when the front door opened, and my parents walked inside. They both went upstairs first, and a few minutes later, Mom came back down and entered the kitchen.

“Hey, sweetie. How was school?” she asked, kissing my forehead.

“It was eventful. Did you guys hear about Mrs. Anderson?” I asked them.

“Of course we did. The whole town is buzzing about the news,” Dad said as he came into the kitchen and took a seat beside me.

“Oh, sweetie.” Mom studied my face. “I can see the wheels turning in your head. Talk to us. What are you thinking about?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. It might be something, or it might be nothing.”

I bit my lip, still thinking about the crazy possibility that had been bothering me since school. “Do you think those people found me?”

“Ah, that’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?” my dad said with a shake of his head.

My question left them both lost in thought.

“Wouldn’t the old man tell us?” Mom asked.

Dad slapped his hand against the counter. “I’m sure he will. Let’s give it some time.”

The three of us fell silent until Dad suddenly straightened. “Right! Your birthday is coming up. What’s the plan?”

“No big plans. I might hang out with Amber like usual.” I hesitated. “I’m thinking about telling her the truth about me.”

“Oh, honey. You’re going to be eighteen, and this is your last year of high school. You need to enjoy yourself.” Mom paused. “Do you think she’ll believe you?”

She and Dad shared a strange look.

I raised an eyebrow. What was that about?

“So? I don’t really care about doing anything big, Mom. It’s just a birthday and nothing more. I already have my wolf, and my powers have gotten stronger, so there’s really nothing huge to celebrate.” The only thing that mattered was whether Amber would believe me.

Whether she would trust me.

“I don’t know if she will,” I admitted. “All I can do is wait and see.”

I wanted Amber to know the truth.

When I first met her, she lived with her parents, and everything seemed perfectly normal. But during our sophomore year, she woke up one morning and found the house empty.

Her parents were gone; they had disappeared, leaving her behind. Even now, nobody knew what happened to them or where they went.

I didn’t want to do the same thing to her.

When it was time for me to leave, I wanted to bring Amber with me. I knew everything would become crazy once she learned the truth about who and what I really was.

I just hoped my best friend would understand.

Later, I decided to do some homework. When I pulled my phone out of my pocket, I saw Amber had texted me about a dozen times.

What the hell was this girl blowing up my phone for now? The first few messages asked what I wanted to do for my birthday.

The next wave informed me that Carter, the guy she had a massive crush on, was throwing a party that night and that we needed to go because I would officially be eighteen.

The final messages weren’t even questions. Amber had decided we were going to the party, and apparently, I wasn’t allowed to say no.

How the hell was I supposed to leave this bossy girl behind?

Groaning, I tossed my phone onto the bed and followed right behind it, pulling the covers over my head without answering my crazy best friend.

She was probably the only person who could convince me to go out. And maybe going out wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

My parents had already asked what I wanted to do for my birthday, and I didn’t want to spend the entire day sitting around overthinking things I couldn’t control.

Because, knowing me, that was exactly what I would do. Right before sleep took over, I made my decision: I might as well go out and have some fun.

The next morning, I woke up to Mom shaking me while Dad stood nearby singing “Happy Birthday” with a cake in his hands.

I groaned and buried my face deeper into my pillow. “Isn’t it a little too early for you guys to be this happy?” I swear I had just closed my eyes, and now sunlight was pouring through my bedroom window.

“Oh, no, it’s not early, birthday girl,” Mom said. “It’s already noon, and I bet Amber is on her way here.”

That was all she had to say. I flew out of bed and ran toward the bathroom.

After taking a quick shower and getting dressed, I went downstairs for my birthday breakfast.

Yes, it was noon, and yes, I was still eating pancakes. Pancakes could be eaten at any time of day as far as I was concerned.

I was on my third bite when the front door opened and Amber came through it like the tornado she was. “WHERE IS THE BIRTHDAY GIRL?!”

I stared at her. “I don’t know how or where you get all this energy from, but as my birthday gift, can we turn it down?”

Not that I believed she actually could.

I just loved messing with her.

Amber pouted as she sat beside me. “You’re so mean.”

Laughing, I shoved a piece of pancake into her mouth. “What’s on the agenda today?”

Her entire face lit up. “Oh my gosh! I’m so glad you asked because I have a lot planned for us today. First, we’re going shopping for tonight’s party. Then we’re getting mani-pedis, then your eyebrows, and then—”

“Girl!” I grabbed her hand. “Take a breath. Let’s start with shopping, all right?”

Before she could add anything else to her ridiculously long list, I dragged her out of the house and toward her car.

Whoever said spending your birthday with a hyper best friend was a good idea was a damn liar.

From the moment Amber got me into that mall, she dragged me through store after store, determined to find the perfect outfit for the party. By the time we finally found something, I didn’t even want to go anymore.

My bones felt broken. All I wanted to do was crawl into bed and never get back up.

Unfortunately, Amber had other plans. There was no time to rest once we got back to my house.

We went straight upstairs to shower and get ready while my parents stayed downstairs watching TV, waiting to see what Amber had talked me into wearing.

We were coming down the stairs when a scream ripped through the house.

I froze.

It was Mom.

Amber and I rushed downstairs.

We reached the bottom just in time to see my father fly through the air and slam against the wall.

My heart stopped.

“Girls, get out of here!” Dad yelled from the floor.

We didn’t even have time to react; two masked men rushed toward us.

One came for me; the other went after Amber. Everything happened at once.

I fought back on instinct.

Then my wolf’s voice sounded in my head. “They are not human.”

My blood ran cold; no, my worst nightmare had finally come true.

They found me, and if they had, then hiding was over. It was time for me to leave, time to go back and claim what was mine.

Two other men suddenly appeared, both dressed in red, and attacked the masked men who had come for us. I stared at the chaos unfolding in my own home.

Seriously? What a fucking birthday.