“A little to the left.” “Here?” “No, that’s too far to the left... hmm... you know what... I don’t like it there.” Jess sighed. “Seriously?” Greg growled from the top of the ladder, trying to tie up the finishing touches on the surprise party we are throwing Liza. Poor Tim, he came by yesterday... a day early. Liza was born on leap day, February 29th but her parents always celebrated on the 28th. Too bad the Moon Goddess doesn’t accept early birthdays so here we are on March 1st... Penny is keeping her super busy today along with Nick, she was among the guards taking them to the nearby museum. Tim keeps pacing back and forth, from one side of the room to the other. He ended up packing a bag this time, in case something else went wrong. Damn you would think the kid was getting married today. Samantha was sitting at a table just watching everything while Liza’s parents were sorting through some old childhood pictures to display. She was nearly at her normal strength again, finally, but her stamina was still slightly lacking. After helping to carry in all the tables and chairs she finally sat down like I asked/told her to, sipping on some chocolate milk. Kendall had just brought out the giant butter pecan cake with some purple fondant. It was decorated with chocolate flowers and butterflies. He really outdid himself this time, and I wondered if he was doing better with his circumstances. He rarely goes outside of the pack house and other than the mandatory training he never shifts. His self-esteem was better than it was before, especially after he learned what Samantha did to the bullies that got him fired. As I sat down beside my mate, I smiled at her. She smiled and sighed dreamily. A flicker of sadness appeared in her eyes before it was gone. I asked, rubbing her leg. She giggled. I started to growl slightly. She blinked at me slightly confused before she started to laugh. I admitted. I smirked and swiped the rest of her chocolate milk, downing it in one gulp. She rolled her eyes at me and stood up, heading towards the kitchen. I replied, following her. She giggled again. I said, getting the milk out of the refrigerator. She froze slightly. “Yeah. Your brothers told you I was a demon... you started a fight with them and when I stepped in, they called me that again... that was back when I got emotional, and I started to cry. But it was an angry cry, and I gave them a black eye before Daren and Greg jumped them. It was back when we stayed in the bunker for a week.” “Oh, but why did you keep the name? If it hurt your feelings?” “... I don’t want to talk about it...” She whispered before sipping her milk again. We looked to the party room, it was sounding like the guests were starting to arrive now. “Come on, we gotta look ‘official’ now.” I smirked and kissed her quickly. “Can’t be official with a milk mustache, Love.” ~~~ “She’s coming!” “Shhh!!!!” “Turn off the light!!! Hide!” We hear the pups run in first, followed by Liza laughing at them and telling them it was almost their bath-time when they passed the dining room. “Why is it dark in here?” We heard Liza mutter before she flipped on the light. “SUPRISE!!!” We all thunder at her and jump out. The look on her face was hilarious, the expression of shock then amazement and joy. “Wow! Thanks, everyo-” Her eyes suddenly widened, and her pupils dilated. “Ma-ma-” Samantha counted as Liza zeroed in on Tim and charged at him. Poor kid tried to brace, he really did... but he was on the floor on his back looking up as Liza laid on top of him blushing slightly. “Um... hi.” She muttered out. “Hi...” He answered. I chuckled and hugged my mate closer to my side, remembering when we met in her office last fall. We’ve come so far since then... back then she even struggled to return a hug of mine. And even though she still doesn’t let many people put their hands on her she has improved immensely. “Hey.” I whispered in her ear. “Let’s get out of here, they don’t need us...” “No, we promised Nick he could stay up late tonight for the party.” “I know... Lily is going to watch him tonight...” Her eyes lit up in understanding and she smiled. “You mean???” “Yep!” “We can go to bed early!!!” She laughed at my expression. “What um... did you have in mind?” “You wanted to go for a run, remember?” She beamed and jumped up, “Okay, we just can’t go too far... let’s go to our spot, okay?” I laughed, hearing her say that was music to my ears. We were almost out of the door when I stopped and groaned. “Alpha!!” She groaned before she smiled and turned. Liza was coming towards us dragging Tim by the hand. “Yes, Happy Birthday Liza! And congratulations you two!” “Yes!!! Um, Alpha! We were wondering... since Tim isn’t taking over as Gamma yet, if he could stay here and train with us for a while???” “Did you ask my dad yet?” I asked, not that I cared if he trained here or not but permission to stay for an extended period of time should also be cleared with him. “Yeah, he and Chris were okay with it.” Tim shrugged. “It’s my parents who were giving me pushback... until I told them she could kick all our asses and I asked them how I was supposed to protect someone who was stronger than me.” I chuckled. “Well, when you figure that one out, let me know, please. I’ve been wondering that since last year.” “Well, yes I don’t mind... but I don’t want to hear any complaining, Tim. We don’t go easy on anyone.” I teased as Samantha gave me a side-eye. “Well, you two have a lot to talk about and I’m sure we aren’t going to be expecting you at training tomorrow... so take a couple days off, figure out what you are going to do... Liza you probably need to go to Black Hill and at least meet his parents.” “Oh, yes ma’am.” Liza blushed. “When are you planning on taking the title, Tim?” I asked, curiously. “Sometime this summer probably. Whenever Chris takes over it’ll be the next month... but I don’t know...” He looked at Liza curiously. “Like I said you have a lot to discuss between you but save that for another day. This is a party! Celebrate!” Samantha urged. “Don’t make me say it again.” She chuckled. “You don’t want to disobey the Alpha.” I agreed, grabbing her hand. “So go and enjoy your party, there’s something we need to go and check on....” ~~~ “I can’t believe you remembered our spot!” Samantha giggled, running up the stairs and into our room. “Well, I didn’t at first. Greg reminded me, remember?” I laughed as she started to change into the normal outfit. “Hey, get my katana out for me please, Sweetie?” She asked as she pulled on her moccasins and got out my uniform. Nodding I plugged in the code and opened the hatch. Looking inside it dawned on me that I never told her what Doc found... how would she react? Would she be shocked, happy, afraid? “What’s wrong?” She asked, she must have sensed my anxiety. Sighing I took her katana out and handed it to her. “Well, you were in a coma for a long time, and we really haven’t had much time to talk... about what happened while you were out. You know I have been reading some things your grandfather left for me, but something else we found out.” She sat beside me on the floor, nodding. “Okay. What?” “Well, Doc had to draw a lot of blood and... he found something.” “Like what?” I could feel her anxiety coming through and her thoughts were racing... oh no she thinks I’m sick! “I’m not sick.” I assured her. “Well, it turns out that there is a trait in my family that we didn’t know about.” “Okay???” “Doc thinks we’re all immune to Wolfsbane.” Samantha’s eyes widened. “And not only that, but since we mated... you are too.”

Chapter 135