Hey guys! As I mentioned, this is the last chapter before the Epilogue. It's rather short and I'm honestly not very happy with it. I may or may not edit it in the future. All those aside, thank you to those who have stayed with me. I really really hope you enjoyed reading this story as much I enjoyed writing it. It has been a long journey but sadly, it must come to an end. The other thing I wanted to ask you guys is whether you guys would like a sequel? (It would probably be a short one, approximately 10 chapters.) I think I mentioned it in one of the previous chapters. Let me know in the comment and vote if you like this chapter! :)
Thank you once again for all the support! Enjoy!
3 years ago
"You guys look like a couple," Dar blurted out.
"No we don't," I insisted, shrugging Adri's arm away from my shoulders.
Adri chuckled, "so what if we do?" And within moments, his arm was back to its original position.
"Are you going to marry each other?" Came a small voice.
All heads shot to it, only to find Lily her head peeking through the door.
"Lily, what are you doing here?" I asked, opening my arms for her in which she instantly came running into.
Planting a small kiss on her head, she looked up at me and replied. "I was just walking by when I overheard you guys. So are you going to marry Adri?"
My face flushed red. Where did she get all these ideas from?
"Of cour-" Adri was about to answer but I quickly elbowed him, preventing him from finishing.
"Why do you ask?" I asked her curiously.
"Because that's what people in love do, don't they?" She pointed out innocently.
My face grew hotter.
Before I could come up with a coherent answer, Chase who had been playing games on his phone piped in. "You're right Tiger Lily!"
"Chase!" I protested.
"Lily, don't listen to Chase. Yes, Adri and I love each other. But there are different kinds of love. The love we have is that of friendship. What you are saying is a different kind of love. So no, Adri and I are not getting married." I explained to her to the best of my ability.
"Oh!" She looked like she just discovered something amazing.
"So you and Adri are not going to have children together?" She asked, deep in thought.
She probably just wanted playmates.
//
Present
Birthdays have always been an important affair in our pack. It was a tradition. And with so many people on our pack, just imagine how many birthdays we ought to celebrate. But that didn't affect the atmosphere and mood of each and every birthday. All of them were huge fanfares.
Especially when the birthday fell on Christmas day. Double the hype, double the excitement and you get a 24 hour celebration. I wasn't kidding one bit.
When I was younger, I never knew things were different in our family. After all, I never knew that people didn't make such a huge fuss for a birthday. It was only when I went to a birthday party of a human friend of mine from school did I find out. It was an eye-opening experience for me but it also made me cherish this tradition we had.
It was my seventeenth birthday that day and things were... well, overwhelming.
There were games booth sat up in the backyard for all the kids and of course a barbecue pit as well. My mum and Rose had been busy preparing tonight's feast since this morning.
Rose had even wanted to rent those amusement park rides to be set up in our backyard. How that was possible I had no idea but I promptly rejected it. She was amazing the way she was doing everything to make me happy but some of her ideas were way over the top. To me, as long as I was able to spend time with my family and best friends, that was enough.
We woke up early this morning for Christmas presents and tonight I would get birthday presents. I don't know any other greater day of the year.
Dar had dragged me away to prep for the evening party after Lunch and by six, I was dressed to the nines in the beautiful gown we picked up a week ago.
The theme for the party this year was ballroom dancing. Don't ask me why - it was all Rose's idea.
We had started learning two weeks ago just to prepare for tonight. With high heels on, I have no idea how I was going to make it through the night.
The knock on the door brought me out of my worry.
"You guys ready? Everyone's waiting for you," it was Adri.
"Yup, you can come it." Dar replied for me.
Tonight was special. And that's not because it's my birthday or Christmas. It's because of the decision I've made.
Stop being so nervous, you'd spoil the surprise. Dar said.
How can I not be? I asked her, my stomach full of butterflies.
Relax, he'll lead you. She continued.
"You girls look beautiful," Adri commented as he approached me.
I couldn't help the red flush on my face.
"Are you worried about the dancing? I'll catch you if you fall." He teased, smiling widely.
Hitting him playfully on the chest, a spark of electricity sizzled through my veins. These days, the attraction between us were getting harder to fight. That was why, we had to complete the mating. Soon.
Adri must have known what I was thinking, he smiled at me in reassurance. Whenever I brought up my worry about it, he always assured me that he would wait as long as I needed. I couldn't help but think he must still feel bad for what happened before and want to make it up to me whenever possible. I couldn't begin to imagine how hard it must have been for him these few weeks. His wolf had always been aggressive and I could tell he had been fighting with him regarding our mating. I had to stop this.
"Come on, it'll be fun. Just follow my lead." He continued, not following my real anxiety.
Nodding at him, we descended the stairs to the living room which was redecorated to make space for the dance floor.
"Let's welcome our birthday girl!" Rose announced.
Applause erupted and my face flushed even redder. Adri being Adri, laughed at my embarrassment.
"And now! Let's start the party!" My mum followed.
Music blasted out of the stereo system Adri invested on and he led me to the dance floor.
Everyone else were standing around us, watching us as we took the first dance. It was a beautiful experience where everything basically blurred past my vision as my eyes locked with those of my beautiful mate.
My body moved naturally along with the music and my feet followed Adri's as he led me along. Time flew past us and we danced and we danced more than I've ever danced in my whole life.
Finally, the music died down and everyone dispersed to chat among themselves.
"Belle, let's go open your presents." Dar said excitedly.
Over the past few weeks, my relationship with Dar had improved tremendously, better than before. After all that had happened, we learnt to trust each other even more so than we used to.
As we sat down at the sofa, Rose and my mum joined us.
"Here, open ours first!" My mum said, like an excited child.
"Happy birthday Belle!" Rose said as she handed me my present.
"It's from the both of us," my mum added with a mischievous grin on her face.
"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" I blurted as I carefully opened the wrapping.
When the wrapping was off, I passed the box to Adri.
"Can you open it?" I asked.
"Sure," he chuckled.
When he saw what it was, he let out a huge hearty laugh.
"What is it?" I asked with a grimace.
He held it up for us to see. Chase and Dar both burst into laughter.
"Mum! Rose!" I cried out in embarrassment.
"What? Isn't it cute?" My mum took it from Adri.
"We want a grandson!" Rose announced, causing everyone to burst into another round of laughter.
"You guys are horrible!" I exclaimed.
However, it was great to see everyone so happy. Especially Adrian.
He hadn't stopped smiling the entire day. Meeting my eyes, he gave me another heartwarming smile, causing my heart to skip a beat.
He placed a light kiss on my forehead while the rest was discussing if our first child would be a boy or a girl.
"Alright, now it's my turn!" Chase changed the topic, thankfully.
He passed me his present for me and gave me a big bear hug. "Happy birthday Belle!"
"Thank you Chase!" I accepted the present gratefully.
Hopefully, this one would be less embarrassing than the previous ones, and that included the one Dar gave me which I was currently wearing.
Oh boy was I wrong. It looked like I had to get used to this. Chase had given me a photo frame with a picture of the first kiss Adri and I shared.
Groaning, I used the frame to hit his head lightly in annoyance.
"I'm just doing Adri a favour," he said with his arms up in surrender.
"Thanks Chase, I owe you one." Adri grinned, slapping a high five onto his hand.
"I'm just going to pretend that I love this," I joked.
In actual fact, I did love it. It was a precious memory for me.
"Now it's lover boy's turn!" Dar encouraged.
"Ha-ha," Adri fake-laughed at her nickname for him.
"Here you go," he said, passing me a jewellery box.
"You didn't even wrap it!" I accused him playfully.
"You know I suck at those," His bashful explanation caused me to giggle.
"That you do," I agreed before opening the box to reveal a lovely necklace with a long black chain and a silver rose pendant.
My eyes immediately zoned in on the rose pendant and it took me a split second to understand its significance.
"Were you intending to give this to your mum?" Chase joked while Dar nudged him.
"It's beautiful. Thank you!" I met his eyes.
"Let me help you wear it." He said, taking the necklace from my hands.
I blushed, turning around for him to help me clasp it on.
"I don't get it, what does the rose signify?" Chase asked.
"It's the rose from the beauty and the beast." Dar explained, grinning from ear to ear. "Am I right?" She asked, looking at the both of us.
"Yes," we replied in unison.
*~*
"Finally, my legs are aching." I groaned as I fell onto Adri's bed.
He laughed, walking towards me. "Come here, let me give you a massage."
Shifting towards him, he gently helped me take off my heels before kneading my legs.
"You're the best, thanks!" I told him gratefully.
"So, what present did Dar give you this time?" He asked casually, causing my face to heat up immediately.
I almost forgot!
"Ah...clothes?" I managed out.
"Why did she give it to you earlier?" He asked curiously.
"Well...because I could use it now," I explained, not meeting his eyes.
"Hey," he pouted, not liking it every time I did that.
Just as he always did, he caught my chin and turned my eyes to his.
"What's the matter? Why do you look so flustered?" He asked in concern.
"Do I? I don't, I'm just feeling a little..." I trailed off, my heartbeat increasing every second.
"Are you unwell? Should I call for the pack doctor?" He immediately asked.
"No, no. I'm fine, Adri. I'm just nervous." I said truthfully.
"About what?" He asked, seemingly more relaxed, knowing that I wasn't unwell.
He continued to massage my legs, causing shivers to run up and down my spine.
What should I do? How should I do this? I thought nervously.
Don't hesitate any longer! Just go for it! My wolf encouraged.
With my guard down, part of my control slipped, letting my wolf come through.
"Adrian." I said, the name rolling off my tongue.
"Hmm?" He looked up at me.
Leaning forward, I pressed my lips onto his. It took him by surprise but it didn't take him long to respond. Fireworks erupted in my mind and everything became numb. My wolf was taking charge but I was still in control.
Before I realised it myself, my hands were undoing the buttons of his dress shirt. He immediately recoiled, probably shocked by my actions.
"Belle," he groaned when he saw that my eyes were gold.
I pulled him back closer to me. "I'm ready, Adri. I don't want to make you wait any longer."
"You sure?" He asked, his voice deep and husky.
The moment I nodded my head confidently, his lips crashed onto mine for another fiery kiss.
That was how we went on to complete our mating. It was my best birthday ever.