"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" I hear a chorus of voices waking me up from my peaceful sleep. Mum, dad, Brent, Ollie, Uncle David, and Auntie Sarah were all around my bed with huge goofy smiles and arms stretched wide, each holding a present. I sit up and rub my eyes, taking in the view from my bed. I smile warmly. "Aww, thank you all so much!" I say as I get out of bed and walk over to mum and dad, giving them a hug first. "Well, today you officially become an adult, so we wanted to let you enjoy this moment before heading off to school," mum said. They put the presents on the bed and they each give me a quick hug. "I know we don't have much time before school but quickly get ready and come down to breakfast. Alex is off on patrol this morning and Meghan is just downstairs getting set up," dad said. "Sure Dad. I won't be too long. I’ll just have a quick shower and get ready," I reply as they wave and leave the room. 'Happy birthday Kia,' I whisper to her, hoping she would hear me. I feel he

The storage closet?? Does he honestly think this conversation should be in the storage closet? Kia is still fuming and still so pissed off since this morning. ‘What do you want to do?’ I asked her. ‘I want to be close to our mate, but he is making it hard to be around him right now,’ she mumbles. Every time we sensed him today, she would have a new-found anger raging through us after this morning's images flashed through our minds. So, I tried my best to just avoid him all day. I didn't want Kia's anger to make us do something we would regret. I knew he wanted to talk but I wasn't ready. My mind was still trying to grasp that we were mates, I wasn't ready for a conversation that would have to end badly and ruin my birthday, a conversation that would ruin the rest of my life. I panicked when he showed up in the cafeteria. The thought of him rejecting me right there in front of everyone, in front of Ollie, my brother and best friends, it was just too much. But all he did was smile at

The final bell rang through the school ending the week, I was so excited to be out. Don't get me wrong, I usually love school. It just means I get to see Zander soon. I smile at the thought of seeing him tonight. I am excited about seeing him again. It’s a little strange that in the short amount of time I have been around him I've already become so attached. I guess the talk we had this afternoon really helped me relax and find out what he wanted. He wanted me. He wanted to be mates. Yes, we have a lot of different challenges ahead. I would like to build my relationship with him before anything else. I'm glad he just didn't claim me in front of everyone. I'm glad he understands. I try to get my thoughts off Zander. Surely it isn't healthy to be thinking about him this much. Kia isn't being helpful, flashing all kinds of images through my mind of him naked and dirty and just looking so damn sexy standing there in the dark closet and so close. I try with all my might to get him off my

I roll over to my side as sunlight shines through my windows disturbing my peaceful sleep. My head throbs slightly from the number of drinks I consumed last night. We have shifter healing, yes, but it doesn't help that Chloe drinks like a fish and I'm a lightweight. She had about 3 rounds of tequila shots and too many cocktails to count. I don't want to know what was in the coke she kept on giving me, but it was not just coke. I'm sorely paying for it today. I groan and stretch across my bed and I slowly sit up trying to get my bearings and see where my headspace was for today's workload. Looking around my room I’m glad to see I wasn't a messy drunk. Everything is still neatly in its rightful place, my dress is draped on the light pink cushioned armchair in the corner, and my shoes are placed next to the door. I look down and see I am wearing an old bed tee and the same pair of panties from last night. I feel Kia string around inside me waking up as well. ‘What happened last night?’

Around 5 pm I pull up to the address Zander gave me. His sports car is already parked in the driveway on the left side, so I park my pristine white Suzuki Swift next to him. It's a cute little cottage, a classic English white, and grey old-style cottage, with a white picket fence all around the garden, you can see some of the fence beams have been damaged over the years. There is an archway leading to the front door with a little gate that opens as you walk through. The cottage has overgrown shrubs and vines running all through and around the front of the house. The flower bushes have gone crazy running along the fence line, and it seems that someone hasn't looked after the place in years. Almost as if it is deserted. There are a few houses around but you couldn't see them for a few miles. I passed them on my way here. It is a beautiful place to grow up if you had a wolf to run around in the back woodlands. The sun is starting to set, splashing the sky in pinks and orange. I was s