The sun was kissing my bare skin nicely, almost lulling me to sleep. I couldn't sleep though, I still had to get ready for my party. It still sounds really foreign saying that. I'm so grateful that I have friends who care about me enough to throw a party for me. Not that Mila never wanted to, I just knew that no one besides us would be there.

"Have I ever told you how beautiful your skin is?" Roman's voice sounds from beside me. I shield my eyes with my hand, looking over to him. He's sitting next to me, his long legs stretched out. He was still wet since he decided to stay in the water longer than me.

Roman's eyes were gleaming, shining that beautiful blue. "No, as a matter of fact, you haven't," I say, "but thank you." He shakes his hair out, sending water droplets everywhere. I squeal turning away. "Ro!"

I squeal again when I feel his arms wrap around me. He lays halfway on top of me, securing me beneath him. "I don't want to let you go," he snuggles his head into my neck. I sigh, enjoying his comfort. "But I have to or else Mila will kill me."

I roll my eyes. "Ugh, why did the Goddess give me such an overbearing friend?" I ask myself. Roman chuckles.

"You know you wouldn't have her any other way. I wouldn't. I'm just going to learn how to share you." He says and I smile.

"You are so sweet."

"That's why I am such a good Alpha."

"Okay, Mr. Alpha. I need to get back home seriously." I sigh, sitting up. Roman groans but releases me. We both stand, going to grab out clothes. Roman finishes drying off with a blanket, promising to bring towels to store here.

We walk back to the car in silence, just enjoying the atmosphere. The car ride was silent as well. Roman pulls up to my house and I sigh.

"She's going to torture me." I say, looking out the window to the front door. Roman chuckles, placing a hand on my thigh.

"Well she only has an hour to do her worst, it could be longer." I groan, turning to face him.

"Can't you just keep me for a little longer? So what if she maims you?" Roman shakes his head.

"Hell no. Sorry babe, but you're going to have to take one for the team."

I scoff, pushing his hand off my thigh. "Good for nothing men." I open the door about to step out before Roman grabs me, pulling me back in. I turn to him and he surprises me with a kiss. A soft, sexy kiss. He pulls back, throwing me a wink.

"I'll see you in an hour." He says, releasing my arm. Biting my lip, I nod, exiting the car.

"Bye." I close the car door, making my way up to the house door. Before I can pull open the door, Mila does it for me. And she didn't look happy. Fuck.

"Adriana you have no idea how bad I want to strangle you." She says, grabbing a hold of my arm and pulling me inside. I'm only five minutes late, I want to point out, but refrain from doing so. I don't want to make her even more mad. I notice she's wrapped up in her robe, a towel still around her hair. "Oh my Goddess, what happened to your hair? And why do you smell like lake?" I resist from rolling my eyes as she pulls me into my room. "Hurry up and shower. And I mean hurry."

"Yes, mom." I wink back at her while walking into the bathroom. I hear her throw something at the door as I close it. I laugh, knowing that I'm just going to have to surrender to the beast.

With that thought I take off my dirty clothes, tossing them aside, and jump into the shower. I can't keep the Queen waiting.

***

"Adriana I'm almost done, quit your fucking squirming." Mila hisses, as I try to roll out my neck.

"You've had me in this chair for an hour, Mila. My ass is going numb." I say, keeping my eyes closed. She brushes more shit on my face, ignoring my pain.

"One more little thing," she says, and I hear her rustling in her make up bag. Without warning, she's spraying something on my face. I flinch back, coughing out whatever she just sprayed me with.

"Fuck, Mila! A damn warning would've been nice." She continues, spraying me, until I finally here the cap being put back on.

"There, you fucking cry baby. I'm done." She says, I open my eyes, blinking them a few times, to see her smiling at me.

"Goddess, Adri. You're so beautiful." She squeals, clapping her hands. "Now, stand up. Go look at yourself." I do as she says, stretching and fixing my dress. I walk to my long mirror, and look at my self. I don't gasp because I already knew Mila would make me look good.

"You are one fine artist." I compliment Mila, still looking at myself. She had my hair curled, falling beautifully down my back. My make up was simple yet bold, with a black winged liner with a navy blue glitter lined over it. My cheeks had just enough blush to make me look refreshed, and my lips were painted with a dark nude lip. Small golden hoops were placed in my ears as well.

And the dress. Dear Goddess, the dress. It looked even better on me now than it did in the store earlier. The soft silk curved to my body perfectly. The neckline dipping just low enough to be sexy but not show too much, and two thin straps held it over my shoulders. The deep navy blue color made my eyes pop, and my freshly tanned skin glow. I looked amazing. Roman is going to love this.

"I know, I know." Mila says. She touches up her lipstick in the mirror, before giving herself a once over. Somehow she still managed to get herself dressed in a beautiful dark green dress, and do her own make up too. She was talented, I'll give her that.

"What time is it?" I ask, slipping on my black pumps. Mila grabs her phone.

"It's eight-thirty." She says, slipping the device into her clutch.

I jump up. "What the fuck Mila, we're late!" I grab my phone and small black purse, tossing things in.

"Oh, relax. You can be late to your own party, it gives every one else a chance to get there too." She says with a shrug.

"Then why were you so upset at me for being five minutes late if we we're going to be late anyways?"

"It doesn't matter now. The time has come!" She walks out of my room, and I follow her. She slips on her heels at the door, and opens in. I can see Roman's car in the driveway, waiting.

"Mila, how long have you been making him wait?!" I ask, going to the door. She pulls me back quickly.

"Not very long. But let him come up to the door, I want to see his reaction." She says. Just then I hear Roman's footsteps climb the stairs. I turn to look at him, and my jaw drops to the floor. As if it was even possible, Roman was looking even more gorgeous than he usually does. His dark hair was swept the the side, looking as soft as ever. His body was concealed in a dark navy blue suit, with a black button up underneath. An expensive looking watch, adorned his wrist along with a simple gold necklace around his neck. He looked absolutely ravishing.

"Ari, you look so fucking good baby." He says, snapping me out of drooling over him. His eyes were raking my body up and down, as he bit his lip slightly. I smile at my effect on him.

"I told you, you would like it." I say, walking up to him. As usually he smells amazing, but somehow even more intense.

"I had no doubts baby." He says, before bending down and pecking my lips.

"Hey! No touching the merchandise until she has made an appearance." Mila says, pushing us apart. Roman rolls his eyes at her, and I laugh.

"Then let's get going because I don't think I'll be able to keep my hands off for much longer." He winks at me, offering out his hand. I take it with a natural blush on my cheeks.

"Gag," Mila whispers behind us as she closes the door. We pile in the car, and Roman starts driving us to his house.

Confused, I look at him. "I thought it was in the event hall." Roman shakes his head.

"Nope. According to Lily the space wasn't home-y enough. So I offered my house, well, the backyard." He says. I haven't really seen most of Roman's house. Due to my no sleep overs rule, I haven't seen the upstairs, where the rooms are located. I've seen his kitchen, living room and office, that's pretty much it. We haven't have a good reason to make use of the huge pool he had in the backyard, or his beautiful patio. I was more than excited to see how everything turned out.

"I just know Lily went all out for it. It's going to be amazing." Mila says, sounding giddy. I nod in agreement.

"I honestly can't wait. Even though I love work, this is a well needed break." I say as we pull into the driveway. Many cars were already parked in the circular driveway, and I spot near the door was saved for Roman. I could hear the music through the car windows already, and can faintly see the lights flashing.

We all get out the car, Roman coming around to escort me like a gentleman. We walk up the stairs and into the house. Surprisingly no one was in here. Probably at the request of Roman. He leads us into the living room, making his way to the back of the house. I could hear Mila gasping at the beauty and size of this house. It still amazed me too. Roman opens the curtained sliding doors for us, and I step outside first.

Before I can even register the environment, loud voices reach my ears. "Happy birthday Adriana!" I smile as I look around to see my friends and close pack members throwing confetti in the air. Cheers erupt as I wave at everybody.

I try to force my tears down, suddenly feeling overwhelmed from the love I could feel. "Thank you everyone, and thank you so much for coming. It means so much to me." I say, placing a hand over my heart. Lily comes up from nowhere, pulling me into a hug. The party resumes, the music blasting and conversations starting up.

"Do you like it? I tried no to go too overboard because I know how you are." She says, pulling back to look at me. Worry lines showed on her forehead. I smile at her, knowing that she was a perfectionist, and it would fuck with her if she didn't get confirmation of her good work.

"It's amazing, Lily. I appreciate everything."

A brilliant smile appears on her face. "Oh, thank the Goddess, I was so nervous." She pulls me in for another hug. "Happy birthday Adri!"

"Hey, save some hugging for us." A voice sounds behind her. I let her go, to see James smiling at me, and the rest of the gang following behind him. I open my arms and James's bigger ones envelope me. "Hapyy birthday, Adri." He says in my ear and releasing me.

Susan and Sam come up to me at the same time. "Happy birthday beautiful girl." Susan says, and both of the blondes embrace me.

"You're still the youngest." Sam winks at me, moving his hand to pat my hand. I roll my eyes at him.

"Thanks for the reminder." I say sarcastically. I see Ivan, wrap his arms around Lily, nodding to me respectfully.

"Happy birthday, Adriana." He say quietly and I smile at him. I've come to know that Ivan didn't really like hugs unless they were from his mate.

I feel Roman's presence behind me before I feel him. His arm comes around my shoulder, his scent wafting around me. "Thank you all so much for coming and helping." He says to our friends.

"You know it's no problem, Alpha." Susan says with a shrug. "But now that the guest of honor has arrived, it's time to really get this party started."

I laugh as Mila comes to stand beside me. "My thoughts exactly. Where's the booze?" She asks, going forward to link arms with Susan. I shake my head at the two, knowing this was going to be a recipe for disaster.

"Are you hungry?" Roman asks in my ear. I nod eagerly, remembering that Mila wouldn't let me snack while she got me ready.

"There's food over there, and I saved a couple of the tables for us." Lily says, pointing across the glittering pool. "We'll meet y'all over there." Roman nods, taking my hand in his, and leading me to the buffet table. I wave and thank pack members for coming on the way over. I notice that some of the enforcers I'm training have attended and I wave to them.

As soon as we reach the long table lined with foods, my mouth is already salivating. Roman serves himself and I food, and leads us to the outdoor furniture our group was sitting on. I waste no time sitting next to James, and starting to inhale my food. Roman chuckles at me, opting to sit in the one person chair next to me.

"You might want to slow down, Adri." James jokes, elbowing me after I take a huge bite of pasta. I snarl at him and continue eating.

"Did you just snarl?" Lily asks, her voice laced with surprise. I look up in confusion, noticing everyone acting the same way as her.

"I-I guess I did." I say sheepishly. Lily smiles at me.

"Adri, that means your wolf is drawing closer!" She says, as if trying to remind me. My mouth forms a small "o" as I realize. When a werewolf's first shift comes closer, a person will start to show more feral traits of their wolf. It's sort of like going through puberty, but instead of growing boobs, you change into a beast.

Usually your wolf is like your second half of your mind, whereas a mate is the second half of your soul. A wolf is like a your subconscious, a little friend in your ear that helps you make decisions. Hearing this news that my wolf is rising up within me, is making me feel excited. No one knows how long I've been waiting for this, how bad I've wanted this.

"Look at you, growing up." Sam quips. He wasn't look at me, instead checking out some of the female wolves across the way.

"Shut up." I mutter, as Roman places his hand on my thigh. I look to him to see him smiling.

"Ignore that idiot over there. This is wonderful news, baby." He says, rubbing his hand gently up my leg.

"Thank you, Ro." I say, leaning over to give him a kiss. I being eating again, as the conversation flows around our group. Just as I finish my last bite, Mila and Susan appear with bottles of liquor, and various cups.

"There you are party girl!" Mila exclaims was she sees me. She makes her way over to me. I can already tell that she's slightly tipsy. And so the fun begins.

She nudges James with her arm, before squeezing herself between him and I. I giggle at her, knowing she is going to be off her rocker tonight. She hands me a plastic blue cup, filled with liquid. My nose twitches as I pick up the scent of alcohol.

"That says for you Adri. And this is for you two," Mila hands James one of the cups in her hand, and another to Roman. "We're doing a toast!"

Susan hands out beers to Ivan and Sam, and another plastic cup to Lily. James sniffs the contents of his cup, before shaking his head. "I'm having flashbacks." He murmurs and Mila rolls her eyes.

"Okay everyone, let's toast." Susan says, sitting beside her brother. Mila stands up, holding her cup out slightly.

"This is to my best-est friend in the whole damned world. The only solid person in my life up until this place. Adriana," she sighs, looking at me and I can already feel the water works. "You are the definition of a strong woman. I admire your strength and endurance as you continue on growing and learning. I want to be just like you when I grow up." She laughs out and I smile at her. "You are my sister and I couldn't imagine a life without you. I'm more than happy that the Goddess brought you into my life. This is to you and all that you are and will become. Happy birthday Adri." She lifts her glass as some tears fall from her eyes. Everyone does the same.

"To Adri!" My friends cheer, before taking gulps of their drinks. I stand up to embrace Mila, tears falling from my eyes as well.

"I love you so much," I sob into her shoulder. She laughs a bit.

"I love you too, Adri. Don't mess up your make up baby girl." She says pulling back with a smile. I laugh a little, wiping my tears carefully.

We sit back down, and join in the conversation around us. I am so grateful for this amazing group of friends and the love that they've shared with me. I try to keep the tears down as I look around at all of them. My eyes rest on the handsome man next to me, and my smile grows bigger.

Roman turns to meet my eyes, and I can feel the warmth from them spreading through my body. "What's wrong baby?" He asks, worry lines wrinkling his forehead. I shake my head standing up, and going to sit in his lap. His arms embrace me, instantly warming me even more.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing."

***

As the night continued on, and the more alcohol I consumed, the more I started to let go of all my worries. Who knew that being surrounded by good company could make a girl so happy.

I giggle as Mila swings me around the dance floor, trying to be careful not to stumble on my own feet. I look over my shoulder to see James approaching us. His feet dragging slightly on the floor. Goddess, we were all fucked up. I laugh at the thought. James finally makes it over to us, and starts dancing as well.

"You're amazing!" Mila tells him over the music, encouraging his horrible dancing. He wiggles his eyebrows at us as he come to stand in front of me. I almost piss myself from laughing as he grinds his butt into my belly. Mila's laughing reaches my ears as she starts smacking James's thighs to the rhythm of the music. "Damn boy!"

I place my hand on his back and feign thrusting into him and Mila screams her laughter. A hand is placed on my shoulder and I turn to see Susan joining us.

"I want some of this action!" She yells in my ear. The smell of alcohol was thick on her breath and her cheeks were tinged a pink from her intoxication.

I nod at her with a big smile on my face. "Please do!" I holler back at her. She grins before pressing her front to my ass. We dance to the beat, laughing and giggling like idiots. Other pack members around us, are dancing freely as well.

I look up to the sky, and find the stars twinkling down at me. I couldn't tell if they were actually tinkling or if I was just drunk and imagining things. I lean back on Susan, hoping she could sustain my weight as I continue to drunkenly dance and stare at the sky.

"Strip! Strip!" I hear Mila start to chant and I look in front of me to find James starting to take off his shirt. I start laughing again, slightly impressed with how he was still moving his butt against me while removing his shirt.

I cheer with the crowd, seeing my friend making a fool of himself. I felt myself swaying slightly but catch myself. James pulls Mila to him, twirling her around carelessly. He bends down after, shaking his ass in the air. I suddenly get a brilliant idea.

"Give me a piggyback!" I yell to him, already gathering my dress up to my thighs. James nods, sweat dripping off his forehead.

"Anything for the birthday girl!" He winks before bending in front of me. I try to hop on his back, but lose my balance and fall on my ass. I'm going to see all kinds of marks tomorrow. Susan helps pull me back up, laughing at me, and I try again. This time I make it, and James hooks his hands behind my knees. I cheer and holler as he runs with me on his back. One of my hands was wrapped around his chest and the other was holding my dress.

The crowds cheered around us as we continued to drunkenly make our way around the dance floor. As we were nearing the pool, James trips beneath me, sending us both tumbling forward. I don't have time to brace myself for the fall, not that I could anyways due to my state, but it never happens. I hear laughter as the sound of splashing reaches my ears, and it takes me a moment to register