Chapter 8 Eighteen

• *Cali POV*
• Wolf or no wolf, it’s obvious to me that Leroy is my mate. He gets on my nerves like no other yet when our eyes meet, I completely melt. His kisses take me to places I never knew existed and I don’t want it to ever end.
• I will be eighteen soon and we can be together freely.
• I stand on my waiting spot, my eyes heavy and my heart sinking. It’s past midnight and he is not here. I have never slept alone at night, but I am no longer scared. I have fallen asleep in this room during the day and I was fine. What is scary is him not being here. He is mad at me. I pushed him too far. My heart is aching.
• I completely freeze when I notice my curtains move. I want to run into his arms but my feet seem to be stuck on the ground. He looks at me and sighs.
• “Let’s just sleep,” he says with a neutral tone and walks towards the bed.
• “I am sorry,” I blurt out.
• He stops and turns to look at me, surprised and it hurts. He did not expect me to apologise yet he came.
• “For what exactly?”
• “For making you mad and thank you for still coming,” my voice is now shaking.
• “I thought you could just find yourself another sleeping mate,” he repeats my hurtful words. Words uttered in a heated moment. Words I can never take back.
• I swallow my saliva and blink back my tears.
• “I did not mean it. All of it,” I manage to whisper before the stupid tears flow down.
• He pulls me in his arms and I completely break down. “You are not a coward. I…I …” I choke on my tears and feel his arms tighten around me.
• “Shhh. Come to bed,” he says tenderly and gently before leading me to the bed. Fully clothed, he lays on the bed and pulls me to his arms. With my head on his chest I can hear his heart beating. That sound hushes all my fears and completely dries up my tears.
• “What do you want to do on your birthday?” he asks, playing with my hair locks.
• I shrug my shoulders. Marcus wanted to throw a big party for me but I don’t really have friends. He is very popular. I am certain that the whole school would attend, but I don’t want to spend my birthday around people who will be gossiping about me. I managed to convince him to downscale everything to include just us, the servants and guards instead.
• “Marcus says you turned down the party,” he continues when I don’t respond.
• “I don’t want anything. Being here and turning eighteen is a big enough blessing for me.”
• “There must be something, anything,” he insists.
• “Well..”
• “What?”he asks curiously.
• “I plan on going for a skinny-dip at the lake.”
• I use to sneak out to swim at the lake when I was still Diana’s slave. It was the only thing I looked forward to after doing all my chores. I love swimming and being in the wild with no people around. Just nature and me.
• “Hah!” he exclaims. “Does daddy Marcus know about this?”
• I shake my head. Marcus will never let me do that. He worries too much about me. I am certain that he will even forbid it.
• “You can’t tell him,” I warn.
• “I won’t if I am invited,” he says mischievously and plants a kiss on my forehead.
• Two days later, I wake up before Leroy. I am so excited I can’t help it. It’s my birthday. I am finally eighteen. I want to shout, and dance and laugh. I am eighteen, officially an adult. Leroy can’t push me away anymore. The next full moon I will have my wolf. I don’t have to wonder too long. Soon I will know my hierarchy and maybe even my roots.
• Leroy’s eyes flip open and I find myself pinned under his irresistible body.
• “Happy birthday, beautiful.”
• That husky voice makes my heart flutter. I wrap my arms around his neck. Our lips meet into a passionate kiss taking my breath away. He pulls up my pyjama top and throws it on the floor before our lips meet again. He slept with only his boxers last night. The feeling of his skin directly against mine is amazing.
• I gasp when he breaks off the kiss and buries his head on my neck. He is not restraining himself anymore. This is the best day ever!
• I curse under my breath when I hear a knock on the door.
• “Knock knock knock! Wakey-wakey birthday girl!” Marcus shouts with a melodic voice. I can hear the excitement in his voice. His timing could not be off but we can’t ignore him. Leroy jumps to his feet, quickly gets dressed and gives me a long kiss before leaving through the window.
• “See you later, Gorgeous.”
• “Can’t wait,” I say softly before putting my top back on and rushing to open the door.
• “Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Cali! Happy birthday to you!”
• The baritone voice is so in-tune, I can’t help but run into his arms. No one besides Betty has ever cared to sing me a happy birthday.
• He squeezes me tight before looking around. “Is he still here?” he asks.
• I lift my head up and look at him with a blank expression.
• “Who is still where?”
• He shakes his head, not buying my innocent look.
• “My friend, your sleeping partner?”
• “He is gone.” I don’t try to lie. I now know that his wolf senses can pick up his friend’s scent on me.
• “Cali,” he calls me with a serious tone and I can hear a lesson coming.
• “Leroy is a good man and my best friend.”
• “But?”
• “I know that you plan on losing your virginity now that you are eighteen. I need you to promise me that you will wait for your mate. If it is Leroy, you have my blessing but…”
• “He is my mate,” I interject. I can’t really explain it to him but I just know it.
• “Probably, but you don’t have your wolf yet. You don’t know that for certain,” he responds with so much care. All can do is listen until he finishes talking.
• “Leroy will only mark his mate regardless of what he feels for you. Regardless of what Rose writes about on the tabloids. Only his mate will be his Luna.”
• I don’t plan on waiting for my wolf to tell me the obvious but I don’t oppose him. I nod my head and hug him instead.
• “Thank you for looking out for me. I love you.”
• I mean every word. This man has become everything to me and I will be forever grateful to him for that.
• “It’s a pleasure. Get ready for your birthday breakfast. We don’t want to be late for school today,” he says with a grin and leaves my suite.
• Today is a big day at school. It’s science fair. We will be showcasing our projects and hosting seniors from other packs who will also be showcasing their projects. It’s a particularly more exciting for those who already have their wolfs because they might meet their mates from other packs.
• I decide to put on my favourite colour dress. Red contrasts my tanned skin perfectly. This pure silk dress hugs me in all the right places. I look perfect. One more look at the mirror before rushing out. Marcus, the servants and guards are all downstairs. They start singing happy birthday to me the moment I walk down the stairs.
• I take deep breaths, taking the scene before. I feel like the most loved princess in the world.
• The three tier cake with eighteen candles looks amazing. I make a predictable wish before blowing them off and having a slice.
• “This is divine!” I exclaim, having more cake.
• “No. No, no. No more cake. We are late already,” Marcus objects leading me outside.
• “We will keep some for you to have later!” Nora calls behind me.
• “Please and thank you,” I shout back.
• It is already past eight o’clock when the driver pulls off. I did take longer to get ready today but hey, I turn eighteen once in a lifetime.
• Marcus hands me a black and gold envelope the moment we settle down on the backseat.
• “Happy birthday Cali.”
• “What is it?”
• The envelope alone looks so exquisite, I don’t want to mess it up by tearing it.
• He laughs. “You will have to open and find out.”
• I reluctantly open it and find a limited edition bank card and frantically shake my head. I know exactly what it is because Diana has one and would not give it to her daughter no matter how much she begged.
• “I can’t take this. You have already done too much for me.”
• “Nonsense. You are a Taylor now and besides, I can’t always buy you stuff,” he dismisses me.
• “This is unlimited funds card, I can’t…”
• “You can and you will. Just don’t go crazy and buy the whole world,” he teases while I am an emotional mess. I already have everything. He has made sure of that. I really did not need a bank card. I have never even had a bank account. Nor have I ever walked into a bank, now I get to carry a prestigious limited edition card. This day is turning out to be the greatest day of my life.