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Chapter 5

“Hurry up, Nina! I am ready to go!” Holly said impatiently. I was already feeling sluggish, so I wasn’t in a hurry.

“Girl, you better move, my tail needs to stretch!” Raven said. Rolling my eyes, I shoved three bites off my plate and handed it to Mom to clean.

“Thanks, Mom!”

We ran out the door before she could even respond.

“Where should we shift at?” Holly asked, deep in thought. “It needs to be deep enough that no one sees us naked but close enough to home.” I saw her rolling her eyes and knew she was talking to her wolf.

“I’ll show you where I went last night.” We found the clearing, removed our clothes, and sat facing each other.

“Will it hurt?” Holly whispered.

“Yes, but only for a while. Once you shift, it will all go away, and it will be the best feeling in the world!”

Two hours later, and with a screaming Holly, I finally saw a small gray wolf standing in front of me. I also shifted, but this time it only took me a few seconds. It was still painful but not nearly as bad. Once Raven and Indy got to know each other, they took off, jumping over logs and even catching a rabbit to eat. After about three hours, we found our way back to our clothes and slipped them on.

“That was the best feeling I ever had. It is so freeing. You see and smell everything differently now!” Holly said in awe.

“I know, I feel like nothing can touch us when we are in our wolf form. Let’s go take a nap. I am so tired though,” I said, struggling to make it to my house.

“Yeah, definitely not doing anything today!”

As soon as we got inside, I took the couch and curled up with a thick, fuzzy red blanket with tribe patterns on it, and Holly took the recliner with a gray blanket with a wolf on it. Grabbing the remote, I flipped the channels until I found a horror movie.

“Look at the blankets we chose. Interesting colors, isn’t it?” I laughed but it fell on deaf ears as Holly was already asleep. The girl could sleep through a bombing. Sighing, I wiggled my way into my pillow and closed my eyes.

“Girls! Are you going to wake up?” Someone was yelling at me, and I couldn’t figure out why. Just let a girl sleep. I needed five more minutes!

“GIRLS!” Shit, I opened one eye and looked at my dad standing before me with a smile on his face. Groaning, I just rolled over and was about to settle back in, but I suddenly felt cold air!

“AAAARRRR— Why did you do that?” Holly screamed. Dad pulled off both of our blankets and successfully dumped Holly on the floor.

“Well, girls, it is almost supper time and you slept the day away! We have cake and presents, plus Holly’s family is coming to dinner, so get upstairs and shower, and be ready in two hours!” Dad said, taking his place on the recliner and turning the television on.

Holly rubbed her hip as she sprinted to the bedroom to get in the shower before me. I let her win because I wanted another five minutes of sleep before our little family party.

Soon, we were showering, and Holly fussed over my hair and makeup. I honestly hated doing my makeup, and wearing dresses was not my thing.

“I have to wear a dress tomorrow. Don’t put me in one tonight as well! Plus, it is my birthday too, so I can choose to be comfortable!” I stated firmly.

“Fine, but no sweats!” Holly stared back with a determined look on her face. Rolling my eyes, I picked out a pair of black holey skinny jeans and a cream sweater. Holly wore a long-sleeved dress that had a high neckline and stopped just above her knees. It was white with yellow flowers on it.

Walking into the kitchen, we smelled the wonderful smells of pot roast, potatoes, and carrots. One of my favorite meals. I ended up eating three bowls, as getting my wolf made me hungry! Dinner went nicely and small talk was made. I suddenly didn’t feel good. I knew it was about tomorrow. I managed to forget about the feeling all day since shifting and sleeping the day away. Holly and I both got matching necklaces that had a wolf emblem on them. Mine was white gold and Holly’s was gold. Finally, Holly’s parents said goodnight and we headed up to bed. This had been a great birthday, but I KNEW everything was changing tomorrow.

“Happy Birthday, beautiful,” Damian whispered in my head.

“OMG, he sounds yummy,” Raven said. “Raven!” I said, laughing but agreeing.

“Thank you! When will I get to see you tomorrow?”

“Not till the party, unfortunately. I have a few things to finish up.”

“Okay. Well, I will be the one in red.”

“Ugh, I am going to have to kill someone if they look at you or even touch you,” Damian said, growling.

“Hmm, well we will see, lover boy,” I teased. I needed to stop this before Holly smelled my arousal. She was already looking at me, smiling. She knew I was mind-linking someone and by the smile on my face, she knew who it was.

“Goodnight, my princess”

“Goodnight, my prince.”

“Soo, how is Damian?” Holly asked as I turned to her.

“He is so perfect. If I am not his mate, I will be so heartbroken.” I had been in love with him since we were kids. What if I was not his mate and he found someone else?

“Oh girl, that won’t happen. You guys are made for each other. Everyone can tell he loves you, too. Even if he had another mate, I bet he would reject her for you. I would put money on it,” Holly stated firmly.

“I don’t know. I just have this bad feeling. I hope you’re right, but I will not let him reject his mate if it isn’t me. That isn’t right. The mate bond is made from the mood Goddess herself. I can’t come between those.” We were taught our whole lives that nothing was beyond the mate bond. You were supposed to cherish and love them. It was something every girl dreamed of finding. We were no exception there.

“Well, I think tomorrow will be perfect and we will each find our mates and live happily ever after!” Holly stated, but even she had a worried tone to her voice.

“You are probably right,” I said, rolling over and ending the conversation.

“Raven, what do I do? What if he isn’t our mate and my fairytale ends here? What if he is my mate and my bad feelings are something much worse?”

“I don’t know what will happen tomorrow, but I know regardless, we are strong, and we will make it through whatever happens. Nothing can break us,” Raven stated flatly. “Good night, birthday girl. We have a long day tomorrow, too,” Raven said, softer.

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