Chapter 3

“Happy birthday, sweetheart!”

I opened my eyes to find my parents standing at the foot of my bed with my birthday cake.

“Oh, you guys!” I cried, stretching out my arms. “I love you.”

My mom set down the cake on my vanity table and hugged me. “I love you, too, baby.” My dad embraced us both. “I love you guys.”

I am my parents’ only child, and they raised me with love and affection.

My mom kissed my forehead. “Nana Gloria sends her love, sweetie.”

I smiled at the mention of my sweet, but feisty grandmother.

Mom picked up my cake again, lit up the candles, and brought it back to my bed. “Here you go, Adassah! Make a wish.”

I closed my eyes and asked the moon goddess for the same thing I’ve asked for every year: a sibling. A brother would be perfect. As a little girl, I’d always wanted a sibling to play with and talk to. Sometimes I would hint to my folks that I would love a brother or sister, but they were too busy with their work as the top enforcers of our pack, so they didn’t really have time for each other, much less time to play with me.

Mom said, “Come down when you’re ready, snug-bug, because you still need to go to school.”

I groaned and collapsed back on my bed while they each gave me a kiss on the forehead and left the room.

I forced myself to crawl out from under the blankets and into the bathroom where I took a quick shower and changed into my uniform, which was a navy-blue skirt an inch below the knees with a white long-sleeved blouse. I grabbed my jacket and fetched my phone from its charger.

I glanced idly at my phone screen and my eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets when a photo of two wolves intimately connected flashed on my text screen with the caption, “Happy birthday and make sure to make sweet love to your mate when you find him.” My cheeks heated up in embarrassment and I looked around to see if there was anyone around me.

“That Gia is one horny friend,” said my wolf Alera inside my head.

I froze. It was the first time she had ever spoken to me while I was conscious and I could hear her like she was standing next to me. This means she had developed a sense of self apart from me and mastered her senses enough that she can share them with me.

“Oh, I can’t wait to sniff him,” Alera said gleefully, filling me with her gladness and excitement. “I bet he’d smell woodsy and musky and like the ocean… mmm… Mate.”

After a father-daughter talk over breakfast, my dad dropped me off at school. Unfortunately, I was almost late, so I didn’t have time to meet with Gia and Cora before classes. At lunch, I had to go to the office of the headmistress for my scheduled interview with one of Daluna’s Pack, a prestigious college founded by Luna Elle.

Gia didn’t need to attend as her parents had strictly forbidden her to move to the territory of other packs, even for university, while Cora intended to go to her own pack’s college so she could stay close to Jem.

Gia didn’t need to go as her parents strictly reprimanded her from moving to other packs while Cora wants to attend their own pack’s college to get closer to Jem.

“Happy Birthday!”

My two best friends scream in excitement, crushing me into a hug after school.

I tighten my hold on Gia, whispering, “You big pervert!”

Then, laughing out loud, she pulls away, giving me an innocent look.

I turn to Cora to receive her hug.

“I really wanted to wish you a happy birthday with your parents, but this one made me wait,” she says while rolling her eyes at Gia. “But the best part is, we’re all going to a party tonight after dinner!”

“Hate to be a killjoy, but I can’t, kids. Not tonight.

They both narrow their eyes and glare at me.

I shrug helplessly. “Hey, man, I’ve got a French and history test tomorrow.”

Gia groans. “Oh, you dork, you can skip it.”

“And then what? Do inky pinky ponky in the multiple choices section?” I put my hands on my hips.

My two idiot friends laugh at me.

Gia rolls her eyes. “Nerd alert. Okay, fine, Captain Square.”

I stick my tongue out at her. “I am not!”

She flips her hair, purposely hitting my face. “Whatever, loser, it’s your loss.”

Seven hours later, I’m lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling because my parents just called to cancel our big dinner since the Alpha needed them both urgently for a meeting. I replay the scene from Frozen of Anna bugging Elsa to come out of her bedroom and build a snowman with her. Alera groans inside my head.

I peek at my wristwatch. It’s eleven pm and I have done zero studying. Good luck getting that solid F tomorrow, Alera snickered.

I grab fistfuls of my hair and pull. “Damn it, I should have gone to that damn party.”

My phone rings, making me jump, and I see Cora’s name. I pick it up and answer it like I’m dying of boredom. But the voice on the other line was not Cora. It was deep and hoarse, ordering me to get to an address and pick up my stupid friends.

“This can’t be good,” I tell Alera. I jolt out of my bed and rush outside to get into the car. I know my dad is going to ground me for driving with no license, but my friends need me. All that matters to me right now is getting to them on time and ensuring their safety.

“Forgive me, mom and dad.” I kiss their tiny pictures in the locket hanging from my neck before driving off.

When I get to the address, I see no signs of Cora or Gia in front of the residence. I drive up to the corner and find them sitting on the curb next to an alley giggling together while a couple of guys I don’t know watch over them.

Not too far from them is a chick from school leaning possessively into a guy whom I hope is her boyfriend because they are way too cozy to be just friends.

I park the car across the street and jump out. “Shit. It’s cold as hell out here.” I shiver even underneath my fashionable ski jacket. Because of my werewolf genetics, my body tends to run a little hot, so when the temperature drops even a little bit, I really feel it. In wolf form, I’m a lot more tolerant of cold weather.

My fear of Cora and Gia getting raped and murdered in some dark alley made me forget to put on a more sensible parka and a scarf.

I hasten to get to them and drag them to my car when a potent, enticing fragrance hits me, almost knocking me off my feet. The scent is making my head swim even as Alera yips in excitement. As I approached my friends and the smell only got stronger, I experience this floating sensation in my head like I’ve been sucking on nitrous oxide.

I’m now standing right in front of Cora and Gia and trying to find the source of that intoxicating smell by sniffing surreptitiously around my immediate surroundings. Sure, I’m hanging out with werewolves, but sniffing in certain circumstances could be considered rude when you’re in human form.

“Yummy.” I can hear Alera salivating in my head. “Holy shit, what is going on?” I scream at her in return.