by Amanda Carol
“Hi, Benny. Grab a plate,” Aria says as she slides over one seat, dragging her plate with her.
I take the seat she was sitting in as Bennett comes over and takes the seat I was just in. He scoops a few spoonfuls of the casserole and dumps them on his plate.
Once breakfast is finished, Declan and Ciera insist that they want to clean up, so Aria, Bennett, and I pile into the living room. We chat for a while until they’re done, and then we move onto presents. Declan got Ciera all the witch history books he could find in Quarter. Most of it is the history of the New Orleans voodoo magic, which is much different than what the witches I’ve known study. I don’t even know if voodoo magic is real, but Ciera seems to love it all the same.
Ciera got Declan a new silver dagger with his initials engraved on one side of the hilt, and on the other, it says, “To my lifelong adventure.”
“I love it, babe. Thank you. You are my lifelong adventure,” Declan says, giving her a kiss.
Bennett hands Ciera a small box, and when she opens it, she pulls out a gift card to Target. “I know gift cards aren’t the best gift, but I wanted you to be able to get some supplies for the school.”
Ciera looks over at Bennett and grins. “I knew you cared about the kids.”
Bennett throws his hands up. “Whoa. Hey, now. I said it was for the school, not the spawns of Satan.”
Aria and I laugh.
“Well, thank you.” Ciera gets up and gives Bennett a hug.
“I got this for you, Dec,” Bennett says, handing Declan a box. When he opens it, he pulls out a black leather sheath that ties around the ankle.
Declan chuckles. “Thanks, man. This is great.”
He slides the dagger in; it fits perfectly, and I notice Bennett and Ciera exchange glances. Bennett is not a very good gift giver. I mean, he is, but he isn’t. Underneath all that humor is a very guarded soul. His family just left him here, and even though he chose to stay, he does still miss them. So he does have a hard time making serious connections with people. I think Aria and I are the only ones he is extremely close to, apart from Ciera, but that’s different.
“I got this for you, Blondie.” Bennett hands Aria a box.
She opens it, and to my surprise, he got her a sketch journal with charcoal pencils.
“I know it’s probably stupid—" he starts to say, but Aria cuts him off.
“No, it’s perfect. Thank you, Benny.” She smiles at him.
“Here ya go, man.” Bennett says, handing me a bottle of Old Forester whiskey with a bow. This is the kind my dad used to drink. “I figured this was the Alpha’s drink of choice.”
I chuckle. “Yeah, he always said you weren’t a real man unless you have a drink strong enough to put hair on your chest and take it off at the same time.”
A sadness creeps over me. I know he and I didn’t have the best relationship, but times weren’t all bad. There are still good memories. It just sucks that I’m remembering those now, when he’s gone. I just wish I had one more day, or even one more hour, with him. Aria loops her arm through mine and rests her head on my arm, and I lean my head down on hers. She always knows the right thing to say or do whenever I need a moment to gather myself when I think about my dad.
Declan clears his throat. “Hey, sis, Ciera and I got you something.”
He hands her a bag, and she pulls out brand new paints and brushes.
“I love it! Oh, and you got me watercolors too. This is amazing!” Aria smiles over at her brother, and I know she’s dying to go put her new art supplies to good use.
Aria and I both chipped in together to get Ciera a lesson planner, which she loved. I got Declan a few songbooks that he can write music in. Ciera mentioned that he’s been trying to write his own music lately and has been using notebooks to jot things down. I picked them up the same day I dropped Aria’s amulet off at the jewelry shop.
Aria painted Declan a picture, and when she hands it to him, his eyes fill up. “Man. I remember this spot on Assateague Beach. Mom and Dad would take us out and we’d make a campfire and you and I would play music for them. Thanks, sis. This means more to mean that you’ll ever know.”
Declan stands and comes over and squeezes her tight. I’m not sure that I can wait much longer to give Aria her gift. Bennett can wait a few more minutes.
I catch Declan’s eye, and he nods. “Hey, Benny, what do you say we go find some glasses and have a celebratory drink? Then we can get back into presents. As long as Hunter doesn’t mind?”
I wave my hand. “Nope, go ahead.”
Declan grins. “All right. Great.” He spins and holds out his hand to Ciera. “Come with me.”
Ciera glances at me, trying to hide her smile, and then looks up at Declan, placing her hand in his. “Let’s go have a drink then.”
“Sweet! Let’s break this bad boy open!” Bennett says, jumping up and walking into my kitchen.
Aria goes to follow them, but I reach out and grab her hand.
“Baby, wait,” I say, pulling her down onto my lap.
“What is it?” she asks, concern lacing her tone.
“I wanted to give you your present,” I tell her, and she smiles. “Alone.”
“Oh, so this was a setup.” Aria pauses and leans away from me. “You aren’t going to propose, are you?”
“What?” I counter, not sure where this is coming from.
“Wait, that came out wrong.” Aria’s face turns bright red.
I reach out and cup her cheek. “Baby, look at me. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. But, no, I am not proposing. Not right now, anyway. I want to stop Isabella first.”
Aria grabs my wrist and kisses my palm. “I love you too.”
I lean in and brush my lips against hers. “Now, let me give you your gift.”
“Okay,” she whispers.
I reach back into my pocket and pull out the small box that’s literally been poking me in the thigh all morning. I had to keep it hidden because the love of my life is a snooper.
“Are you sure you’re not proposing?” she asks playfully.
I laugh and hand her the box. All of a sudden, my palms start sweating, so I wipe them on my jeans. She carefully unwraps the box, and her breath hitches when she opens it.
“Oh, my God. It’s beautiful.” She pulls out her amulet and places it in the palm of her hand. “Hunter, I-I don’t even know what to say.”
I run my hand through my hair nervously. “Do you like it?”
Aria leans in and kisses me. “I love it. Thank you.”
I had her birthstone put in on the bottom of the moon, and I also got her a new chain, since the other one was broken. She grabs the chain and holds it up; the garnet stone shines in the sunlight.
“Want me to put it on?” I ask.
Aria hands it to me, then turns around and gathers her hair, moving it onto one shoulder as I reach around and clasp the ends together. I lean forward and press a gentle kiss to her neck. Then she spins back around, holding the pendant in her fingers.
“I was wondering where this went,” she remarks.
I laugh. “I had help.”
Aria glares in the direction of the kitchen. “I’m sure you did.”
She lets out a breath, then hops off the couch and goes to the tree. My remarkable girl refused to get a fake tree, so she and Kat worked together to make everyone a real pine tree. I have to admit, I love the smell of pine. Maybe one day, I can venture up north where Caleb lives and spend a few days out there. As much as I love the Big Easy, I also enjoy being in the mountains. Aria comes back over and hands me a long rectangular box wrapped in blue snowflake paper.
“Open it!” She beams. “Wait!” She leans forward and kisses me. “Okay, now you can open it.”
I laugh and rip the paper open, then carefully open the box. I can see the glow from my eyes illuminating the inside of the box as I pick up and examine each individually painted guitar pick. One is black, and written in white are the w
ords, “Fuck it.”
“That one represents our not-first kiss,” Aria explains. “I call it the ‘fuck it’ kiss. And this…” She trails off, picking up another one and handing it to me. It’s a black wolf coming out of the woods. “This one represents the night I was training with Grace. I saw you outside the window, and seeing you out there…it calmed me, knowing that you were close by. Even though we had just met, I just felt safe around you.”
“This is amazing, baby,” I breathe, looking at all the different guitar picks. I pick up one that has a tiny bed, with fairy lights and my heart beats faster.
“That’s—” she starts to explain, but I cut her off.
“I know.”
It’s the night she first told me she loved me, and the night I showed her how much I love her.
“Each one represents a memory of us,” she tells me. “It’s our story, and don’t worry, I plan on making more as we make more memories together.”
My heart swells as I pick up one with my Impala, remembering that one night…or, rather, several times we’ve had sex either in my car or on it. There’s one with a bonfire that represents our first kiss, and a guitar.
“I love this. Honestly, I don’t ever want to use them because I’m afraid I might ruin them.” I tell her, carefully setting the picks back into the box.
“Trust me, you won’t.” She smiles.
I lean in for a kiss.
“Can we come back in now?” Bennett says, peeking out from the kitchen then not waiting for an answer.
Aria and I exchange a glance.
I get up from the couch and head over to the tree to grab Bennett’s gift. “Here, Benny. This is from all of us.”
“Aww thanks, you shouldn’t have.” Bennett playfully blushes, taking the gift.
Aria starts to giggle as Bennett opens his gift, and when he opens the box, his face falls.
“Really? A collar?”
Aria laughs out loud and falls back into the couch.
“Blondie, this is not funny. It’s got a bell on it too!” Bennett shouts.
Ciera takes one look at it and starts to laugh just as hard as Aria.
“Would you like some help putting in on?” Declan asks in between bouts of laughter.
“You guys are real funny. I get you guys great gifts, and I get a collar.” Bennett holds up the red collar with a dog tag that has his name engraved on it. He shakes it, and it jingles, causing Aria and Ciera to laugh even harder.
“It’s a joke, Benny,” I tell him. “Here’s your gift from me.”
I hand him his real present. I got him and Knox each a necklace that matches the one I have. The moon-shaped pendant is still the same, but instead of the moonstone, I had a howlite stone put in. It’s to let the pack know that these men are my betas and they should be respected.
“This is so much better than the collar,” Bennett comments, putting the necklace on. “Thanks, man.”
“Of course,” I reply.
Bennett and I don’t really ever exchange extravagant gifts, but this year, I wanted to do something special. He’s always been there for me, no matter what, and since I became the Alpha, he’s stepped up more than I ever expected him to.
“And here’s mine,” Aria says, handing him a canvas painting.
“Oh, wow. I love this.” Bennett looks down at the painting.
I already know what it is. She painted his red wolf in the woods sitting by a fire. She told me that it represents their friendship, in a way.
Bennett is a good friend to her, and I know how much him being there meant to her the night we brought her home from that warehouse. They have an extremely strong bond, and I know that he will always be there for Aria when I can’t be.
“Thanks, Blondie.” Bennett smiles at her.
I notice that his eyes glow softly, but he blinks, and it’s gone. Bennett and Aria are slightly similar in that they both try to hide their emotions. I just hope that one day, Bennett will find someone he can open up to, like Aria has with me.
Aria gives him a hug. “You’re welcome.”
We hang out for a while until it’s time to go to the barn for the big party. Declan, Ciera, and Bennett head out the door, and just as Aria reaches the threshold she spins, and I almost walk into her.
“For the record, my answer will be yes,” she says, looking up at me, then spins back around and catches up to the others.
It takes me a second to realize what she’s talking about. And then I close the door behind me with a smile on my face.
When I thought Hunter was about to propose to me, it wasn’t that I was scared or didn’t want him to. Sure, it’s only been about six months, but we’ve been through so much together that time doesn’t really matter. I found my forever in Hunter, so I meant what I said to him. My answer will always be yes, but I want to make sure that when I do finally marry him, we won’t be interrupted by some psycho vampire or god, hell-bent on destroying the world. I want a lifetime, not a few months.
I push all those thoughts aside for now as Hunter and I step into the barn hand-in-hand and I see all of our friends mingling with all the other members of the Compound.
In the past three years, Declan and I never really celebrated the holidays. We would eat a nice dinner on Thanksgiving and Christmas, but it felt weird doing anything more than that without our parents. Now we have people in our lives that make us want to stop and appreciate things like holidays again. I’ve been trying not to dwell on the fact that our mother is still out there being tortured and God knows what else by that evil bitch vampire, especially today. Although I do wish she was here to celebrate Christmas with us.
Lydia comes over and gives us both a hug and tells us to have a good night and enjoy the festivities. She’s walking around and talking with all the residents, making sure people have enough to eat. I notice that Haku seems to be following her around, helping her with whatever she needs.
“Hunter,” I whisper, and he looks down at me. “Can wolves have more than one love?”
He lifts a brow. “What do you mean?”
“I just mean, you said when a wolf falls in love, that’s it. But what about if something happens to…their significant other? Like your dad dying. Can your mom ever find love again?” I ask.
I don’t want to bring down the mood, because tonight is supposed to be a happy night, but I can’t hide the fact that something could happen to one of us. Not saying that it will, but it could. I mean, look at Axton and Alexander. They were strong shifters, and Isabella still got the best of them.
“It’s possible, but rare. If she does, it won’t ever be as strong as her love for my dad was,” he explains.
I shove my hands in my back pockets and watch Haku and Lydia interact.
“Where is this coming from?” he asks.
I nod my head over in their direction. “Haku has been doting on your mom. I just wondered if maybe she could find love again.” I say, then glance down at the ground. “What if something happens to me?”
He puts two fingers under my chin and tilts my face up to look at him. “Baby, nothing is going to happen to you. I promise.”
“You can’t make that promise,” I whisper.
“I just did.” He leans his forehead against mine. “Wolves only have one epic love in their life. They can love another, but it will never be the same. Some shifters who lose their significant other live out the rest of their life in isolation, and some find solace in another wolf who has also lost someone.”
I sigh, but then Hunter leans down and kisses me. I feel the tug and open the link.
You are my one epic love, he tells me.
I’m just about to reply when the door bursts open and Blaine runs in. His face is all bruised and bloody.
“W-we have company,” he stammers, then collapses onto the floor.
Hunter and I exchange a look. Blaine and I tolerate each other now, and even though we will never be friends, no one deserves to be beaten the way he was. I notice Kora an
d Ciera spring into action to help Blaine while Hunter gathers the Alphas and they follow us outside. We stop just in front a slick red Audi. The headlights almost blind us, but a figure steps out in front of the car, blocking the light.
“Hello, Aria. Miss me?” Isabella smirks.
The Alphas shift into their wolves and stand guard around Hunter and I, protecting their leader. The other shifters come out of the building, taking a strong stance behind the Alphas, but some stay back, guarding the barn door and protecting the witches and children inside.
“Not even a little,” I grit out, balling my hands into fists by my sides.
Isabella puts a hand over her heart in mock offense. “Ouch.”
“What do you want?!” Hunter growls, taking a step forward and moving me behind him. Not that I need the protection; she already has what she needs from me.
Isabella moves quickly, grabbing Hunter’s neck. “What I want is for you to be a good boy and give me what I want.”
She throws him, and I watch as he shifts mid-air and lands on his paws.
“Killing someone is overrated. I take more pleasure in the torture. Killing just ends all the fun,” Isabella sneers, then she slowly turns around and looks at me. “As a matter of fact, I think I know how I can torture the both of you. Tell me something, Aria. Was it as fun for you as it was for me when I was carving into your skin like butter?”
My heart pounds hard against my ribcage as she slowly stalks toward me, and I start trying to figure out a way to stop her. We’ve planned for everything but this. Hunter growls, low and threatening, as he stalks around the car, never taking his glowing blue eyes off her as he walks back over to me. When he gets closer, he shifts back into his human form, and stands right next to me.
“Never going to happen, you psychotic bitch!” Declan shouts.
I turn quickly to see him standing on the top of the steps, holding the silver dagger he was just given as a gift from Ciera. His index finger rests on the tip of the blade as he glares at Isabella.
What is he doing?
My breathing starts to keep pace with my heart as I realize what my brother is about to do. I reach out and grab Hunter’s hand.
