Chapter 12: Leo's Birthday

"Remind me why I am awake at this time again?"

"Because today is Leo's birthday," Dylan answered patiently, trying repeatedly to tame her wealth of unruly, raven-colored hair.

"Why does that concern me?"

"Because you're one of us now. You have to conform to the standards of pack life."

I sighed in defeat.

Five minutes later, Lexi barged in.

"Cindy!" said she, sharply. "It is twenty minutes till the start of the celebration and you're dressed in your pj's!?"

I turned to face her. My protests died on my lips.

If Lexi was gorgeous before, right now she was ravishing.

Her hair was curled and pulled into a high ponytail at a peach-colored ribbon, leaving her face on full display. Her ice blue eyes were accentuated by light eyeshadow, and her lips were colored baby pink. The dress she wore was of fluttering orange, had an uneven hem, and stopped just shy of her knees, showing off her perfect legs and high spiked heels. Orange pearls dangled from each ear.

I was speechless.

Before I could recover, Lexi rolled her eyes and tossed aside her purse. She reached for me and tossed me onto the bed to make way for her rampage in my wardrobe. She emerged in less time that was legal for choosing an outfit, with a (surprisingly well-chosen) white halter dress with little dots all over it.

My outfit

It was beautiful. I loved it, though I was clueless as to how it got into my wardrobe. I decided to be petulant, just for the sake of it.

"I hate flouncy dresses!" I whined.

"Well either you wear this or nothing but the skin in which you were born," Lexi threatened. That shut me up. She forced me down into my chair and started on my makeup. By the time she was done, I had to agree that I looked better than a normal day, but not something too pretentious.

Lexi told me to stay near her, be polite, and all would be fine.

I gulped at the prospect of things not going fine. We hurried down the stairs. At the bottom, we were met by her best friend Trisha, who was one of my best friends too, and hustled quickly away from the stairs.

The place was crowded. Everyone in this pack must be assembled here. Especially the girls. Children and elder girls, everyone was present.

Alpha and Luna stood with another adult couple. We made our way to them, much against my will.

"You're finally down," Luna gasped in relief. "I was beginning to fear you wouldn't make it."

"You look beautiful, girls," the other lady said, neutralizing Luna's worrisome lecture.

"Thank you," we chorused.

Within the minute, the lady began to hustle us all to the bottom of the stairs, with the girls first, the boys behind us, and the grown-ups at the back. Everyone was super nervous, and I silently wondered why.

The tension was taut as a sail in high winds. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath.

Then, one of the adults began singing "Happy Birthday."

Everyone joined in, trying their best to sing heartily with tension choking the room.

Leo came slowly down the stairs, looking down as he descended, step by painful step. The song was practically strangled away as every single girl here gazed at him in an odd mixture of hope and fear.

Finally he looked up, and the room was death silent.

His eyes swiped over most of us, obviously searching for someone. When his eyes zeroed in on a certain nice girl I had seen a few times, he broke into an enormous, goofy smile.

"Mate!" he cried.

What the..!?

The girl sighed in enormous relief and all the tension broke and disappeared. She grinned back at him, and they seemed to forget about the rest of us in the same room because she ran over to his arms, where she was gladly welcomed and kissed deeply.

I cringed, while everybody else... clapped.

"Congratulations!" Alpha applauded heartily with a big smile on his face.

Huh?

I turned to ask Lexi, but she wasn't beside me as I thought. Oh no. She had gone over to the girl, who I now remember was called Hayley, to congratulate her.

All the guests were now very happy, like the party had just begun. Which I was kind of expecting, since the birthday boy was down, but why were they all nervous, and what was that confusing little ceremony about, and why is everyone giving applause?

I stood rooted to the spot until I felt a tug on my arm. It was Trisha.

"Hey girl. Are you alright?"

I blinked. "Yeah, sure. Trisha, can you tell me something? Why are the grown-ups fine with having them kiss right in front of us?"

She giggled. "Does it make you uncomfortable?" At my vigorous nod, she shrugged. "Practically inevitable, I guess. They are mates, after all."

I nodded, not really understanding, but whatever.

"So what do we get to do for the rest of the day?"

"We're going to give you a tour of the pack lands, had you forgotten?"

"No, I was checking to see if you were still up for it. Hey, is Lexi coming too?" I asked. Lexi has been with me this whole time. It's like she doesn't want to ever lose sight of me.

"I don't think so. I heard Sean ask her out on a little trip this afternoon. Didn't catch the answer, but I can guess," she said with a wink.

I sighed. Sean was Lexi's boyfriend. Seems everyone here has a boyfriend. Maybe that's what's normal. But I was glad Lexi would be having fun today, not being glued to me. I don't want to be a burden to that great girl.

Trisha and I walked out into the sun arm in arm.

"Do you want to run?" she asked me. I declined quickly, remembering the last time I was asked that question.

Then I noticed something. "Hey, today is Thursday. How comes we can have a party on the morning? What about school?"

She laughed. "School is closed today."

"What? Why?"

"It's a boy's seventeenth birthday. Not even the principal would miss it. Like, what if Leo was mated to his daughter or something? That's why everyone in the pack attends a boy's seventeenth birthday."

"So you're telling me that a boy's seventeenth birthday is when he finds his mate?"

She nodded.

"Oh." I walked with her as I organized the facts in my head. "What of the girls?"

"A girl can't tell. She only knows when he does, and that's not happening till he's seventeen. She also has to have shifted."

"So what if he doesn't find his mate on his seventeenth birthday?"

"Nothing. He keeps searching until he finds her, or not."

"That's sad."

"I know. But it rarely happens. That's real bad luck."

"So the girls just sit and wait?"

"Usually don't have a choice. Either the goddess brings you together or you never meet, which is terrible too."

"What happens if a wolf doesn't like her mate?"

"She can reject the mate, which will usually crush his heart beyond repair. He usually dies of it, so most wolves just put up with it."

"Harsh," I muttered.