‘Til We Meet Again

Chapter 7: It’s a Party

Trinity

The birthday party was all set up. I was very nervous about how it would go. Most of the pack had settled into this niceness that seemed fake, but at least I wasn’t teased and picked on. The only people to really apologize were Alpha Chris, Christian, and a few kids I attended school with. Everyone else just stopped being mean. 

I was still getting used to the extra space in my new room. Christian insisted on buying me a furniture set. I picked out a set at a thrift store, which he was unsure about. But I liked it and he didn’t argue. I also got a lot of new clothes. 

“Are you decent?” The voice on the other side of the door sounded like Beta Sam. 

“Yes!” I called back, hoping this would be a quick encounter. Beta Sam wasn’t always mean to me, but she wasn’t very pleasant. 

Once, he tripped me, making me fall down the stairs. I was 10-years old and had celebrated my birthday alone in my room. Luna Marjorie had given me the day off. Apparently, I had missed his laundry the evening before. He hadn’t set it out, so I didn’t think he needed anything washed. I was headed to the kitchen to get some frozen yogurt one of the omegas set aside for me when I went tumbling. I rolled over and tried to stand, but was in pain. When I looked up, Giorgio was standing at the top of the stairs glaring down at me. I had to miss a week of chores because my ankle was sprained. Werewolf healing really helped though. He denied it ever happened and Beta Sam took his side. Alpha Chris still made him sit out of training camp for football and Beta Sam was not happy about that. Giorgio mostly avoided me after that incident aside from the mean nicknames and taunting, but Beta Sam made my job around here difficult at times by messing up my cleaning schedule. I guess as payback. 

She entered the room with a tiara that was sparkly and pretty. 

“Christian wanted you to have this.” She smiled warmly, placing the tiara atop my head. 

“There. The young Luna is ready for the young Alpha.” She lightly combed my hair with her fingers and tossed it back behind my shoulders. 

“We don’t want to keep everyone waiting.” She looped her arm through mine and escorted me from my room. The packhouse dining room was decorated in the most fancy way. I had never seen it look so grand. 

Christian was standing in a corner of the room with his phone to his ear. We approached slowly.

He ended the call, seemingly frustrated. 

Beta Sam cleared her throat. He turned quickly and his eyes found mine. Carmen was gushing over how handsome he looked. 

“Trinity.” He was looking me up and down. “You look beautiful.” 

I smiled. 

“Give him a compliment back!”

I shook my head to clear it. 

“You look handsome.” 

“Aww, shucks.” He waved his hand in a dismissive way. 

“I’ll leave you two alone. I have to go find your parents.”

Beta Sam walked off. 

“Are you excited? This must be a lot. I mean, in just a few years, you’ll be the Alpha.”

“Are you excited? You get to be the Luna.” 

I laughed. 

“Christian!” Paige. 

“Mom said it’s time to address the pack. Let’s go!” Paige grabbed his hand and he grabbed mine. We stopped in front of the large crowd. 

Christian seemed to know exactly what to do. He stood tall and with confidence. 

“I want to thank everyone for coming here to celebrate my birthday with me. I consider everyone in this pack family.” He squeezed my hand and glanced at me. I could hear Paige scoff. 

“At midnight, I will shift for the first time. I also will make an important announcement. We still have a couple of hours before then, so eat, drink, be merry!” The room erupted in applause and shouts. People made their way to the buffet-style tables. 

The next couple of hours went by painfully slow. People ate and drank more than I could keep up with. Christian sipped on sparkling water all night, while I followed him around. A lot of the party-goers gave me curious looks. 

“Having fun?” Kenzie lightly nudged me. I gave her a small smile. 

“If you want, I can sneak you a glass of wine.” She winked. I giggled, shaking my head. 

“Well, if you change your mind, just come to the kitchen.” She nudged me once more and went to check on other guests. 

I missed working with the packhouse omegas already. Christian had been whisked off by his friends, so I walked outside and glanced up. The moon was full and bright. I actually couldn’t wait until midnight now. Carmen and I agreed to wait until Christian’s birthday to shift so we could experience it together. He thought it was a great idea. 

I sat on the rocking chair and stared up, rocking back and forth. My eyes were getting heavy. 

“Where is she?!” I shook my head at the sound of Christian’s panicked voice. I could barely process what was happening. The front door flew open and I stood. Alpha Chris sighed in relief. 

“Christian, she’s on the front porch.”

Christian appeared and exhaled a long breath. 

“Is everything ok?” I was a little shaken by their reactions. Christian nodded. 

“I checked your room and you weren’t there. I just …” 

“It’s almost midnight. We were looking for you, is all. Come on.”

Alpha Chris waved me over. I hesitantly walked back into the packhouse. People were gathered just past the foyer staring wide-eyed at me. 

“Why are they staring?” I got as close to Christian as possible. 

“I had a … small tantrum when no one could find you. They’re probably staring at me.”

But they weren’t. Their eyes were on me. I could feel them. I tried to shrink behind Christian, hoping they would turn their attention elsewhere. We made it to the backyard. 

“It’s almost time!” Paige was squealing as she gripped Christian’s arm. He pulled away and motioned for me to come stand across from him in the open space. Everyone stared in excitement. I gave Carmen control. The countdown began. The party-goers got to number one and we both inhaled deeply. 

The sounds of cracking bones filled the air around us. It felt uncomfortable, but not as people always described. I figured my Alpha blood may have made it easier to shift. I sometimes forgot I was the daughter of an Alpha. 

After a few minutes, I was on all fours and staring into the eyes of a beautiful black wolf with blue eyes. 

“Maceo?”

“Carmen …”

The familiar voice sent a shiver through my body. Our wolves were finally in their form. We had let them speak a couple of times, but they were relishing this moment. The way they began to nuzzle and clean each other, I thought we would be in wolf form for hours. I was getting nervous because Maceo wanted to mark us. 

After about 30 minutes though, Christian made Maceo give him control so he could make his announcement.