Calli

After the ceremonies things quickly got back to normal. I went back to school and Finn went back to his Beta duties, but the sense of unease I felt around the pack continued to linger. I discussed it with Finn on numerous occasions, but he promised me it was just my imagination. I pushed it a few times, but he always disregarded my concerns. Like right now.

“Finn, I’m serious. Something is going on. I can feel it.”

“Baby, I’ve run around the pack every morning for the last two weeks. I haven’t seen or smelled anything weird and neither has our border patrol. Maybe you’re just getting used to all of the attention you’re getting as Beta Female.” He says.

He’s carrying me over to the Alpha house which I’m grateful for because it snowed last night. The pack looks beautiful with a blanket of sparkly white, but it is cold, and I hate being cold.

“So. What’d you get me for my birthday?” Finn asks with a cocky smile. I smile back and shrug.

“You’ll just have to wait until we get there, and you and Ian can open your presents together. But I guarantee you’ll love it.” I say.

“So you bought lingerie for yourself?” He asks and I giggle.

“Yes, but I left that at home. You don’t need to open that in front of Ian and Layla.” I laugh as he carries me up the steps and Layla opens the door.

“Finally! Ian is acting like a child trying to peek at his presents!” Layla exclaims with exasperation.

I giggle and hug her when Finn sets me down. The cake I baked is placed on the kitchen table and Finn carries the two bags of gifts into the living room where Ian is pacing. His eyes shoot up to us and twinkle with mischief as a grin crosses his face.

“It’s about time. Layla has been watching over the presents all day to make sure I don’t sneak peek! I’m dying to know what’s in them.”

“Well, I think we should have dinner first.” I say and Layla nods.

“Definitely. We don’t want you boys opening gifts on an empty stomach.” Both men groan causing Layla and I to laugh together.

“Where are Penny and Cam?” Layla asks as Finn tries to shake his gift from Layla and Ian. I snatch it out of his hand and put it on the table.

“They went to visit Penny’s family and got snowed in. Poor Cam.” I say and Finn chuckles.

“More like poor Penny’s family. How many pranks you think he’s pulled with nothing better to do than come up with new ideas?” We all break into laughter and sit the boys down.

“Alright here, open your presents.” I say handing them each a bag.

They open matching sweaters that I knitted for them. Finn’s blue and Ian’s red.

“Is this…?” Finn starts, his eyes going wide.

“No way!” Ian says excitedly, taking off his shirt and slipping on his new sweater.

“It fits perfectly, Calli! How did you do that? It’s almost kind of creepy.” I giggle and look over at Layla.

“What’s really creepy is that I have a bunch of pictures of you topless and sleeping with measuring tape on varying parts of your body. Layla sent them to me so I could get the measurements right.”

“Yeah. That’s actually really creepy.” Finn agrees slipping on his own sweater. “But this is amazing. It’s so soft! I’m never taking it off.” He says as he comes to give me a warm hug.

Ian joins in and I become a werewolf sandwich. The boys open the rest of their gifts before we eat dinner.

“I wanted chicken fajitas.” Ian says when we put the steaks on the table.

“And I wanted lasagna.” Finn says also frowning at the food.

“And since you both wanted something different, we didn’t pick either of them.” I say as Layla nods and we finish loading the table with food.

They both huff a little and start loading food on their plates. Layla and I make an excellent team. She cooks amazing food and I bake amazing deserts. We finish eating and all of the food is gone despite repeated complaints from the birthday boys.

Whiny bitches.

I pull out the cake, double chocolate with chocolate frosting and a black cherry ganache and go to cut into it.

“Hey!” Finn yells and I stop cutting.

“What?” I ask confused.

“Where’s the candles?” He asks.

“Yeah, and you have to sing to us. Actually you should sing the song twice. Once for each of us.” Ian points out and Layla and I roll our eyes at each other.

“We don’t have any candles.” She says and Ian laughs.

“I thought you might forget them.” He says and pulls a package out of a drawer in the kitchen. Finn chuckles and Layla scoffs as I put the candles in the cake.

We sing for Ian first, he blows out all of his candles and then we have to relight them for Finn, who also blows them out all in one blow. They both puff out their chests in pride and Layla and I can’t help but giggle at them.

They’re so cute.

“Oh my God, baby. This is the best cake I’ve ever tasted.” Finn groans as he shoves more cake into his mouth.

“Seriously, Calli. I want to eat this every day for my whole life.” Layla says as she tries to sneak some off of Ian’s plate. He nearly stabs her with a fork, and she gasps at him.

“Hey, I’m your mate. You’re supposed to share food with me.” She cries indignantly.

“This isn’t food, Layla. This is a precious gift from the gods. A slice of Heaven right here on Earth and it deserves to be treated as such.” Ian says before he licks the frosting from his plate.

Once the cake is gone, Layla and I start to clean up the kitchen. The boys stand and stretch before coming to give us each a kiss on the cheek.

“Thanks for the wonderful birthday, sweetheart.” Finn says in my ear and I lean up to give him a kiss.

“It’s not over yet, handsome.” I say with a sly grin. Finn blushes a little.

Actually blushes.

And kisses my cheek again.

“We’re gonna go on a run. We ate too much cake and need to run it off.” Ian says as he and Finn head towards the door.

“You had better both take off those sweaters before you shift or so help me neither one of you will live to see another birthday!” I shout at them and they stop in their tracks.

They turn around and take their sweaters off, folding them gently and laying them on the clean kitchen table.

“Your mate is scary.” Ian says quietly to Finn who nods in agreement.

“You think that’s scary? You should see her during sex. She scratched my back so bad once it looked like I got fucked up by a raccoon.” Finn says and Ian bursts out laughing.

“I’m never calling her Racoon Girl again. It’s just not right now.” Ian says while Finn shakes his head.

“It was so bad the other guys at training thought I got in a fight with a rogue.”

“What’d you tell them?” Ian asks.

“Nothing. I let them think a rogue did it. How was I supposed to say it was my mate?” Finn exclaims.

“Don’t act like you don’t like it rough!” I shout after him earning me a chuckle from Layla as the boys close the door behind them.

“Those two are so cute together.” Layla says wistfully looking at the door our men just exited.

“Yeah they’re adorable. Maybe they should be mates.” We both snort and finish cleaning up the kitchen.

“You want to watch a movie and drink some wine until they get back?” She asks and I agree.

“I’ll get the wine; you go find a movie.” She suggests and I head into the living room.

I take a seat on the sofa and tuck my feet up under me while pulling a blanket over my lap. Since Ian and Layla are both werewolves, they tend to keep their house a little colder than I let Finn keep ours. I’m searching through movie options when I hear a small thud from the kitchen.

“Layla?” I call out. “You need some help in there?” I get no response and go to stand up.

“Layla?” I call again and still hear nothing. I walk slowly back towards the kitchen straining my ears for any sign of a struggle.

I round the corner and find Layla, laying on the ground unconscious and a man standing over her. His long legs lead up to a broad back and long, unkempt brown hair. I gasp at the sight and the man turns to face me.

I’m met with black eyes and a familiar face.

“Paul!?” A sick grin spreads across his face.

“Hey, Dewdrop.”