I smiled widely, knowing exactly who had told everyone it was my birthday. Laura..she said she wanted to celebrate so she must of told people to wish me a happy birthday.
Rowan grabbed my hand tightly, seeming to panic as he began to tug me along.
"Hurry, let's go to our room, I had Greta send up some food for us." He spoke hastily, continuing to drag me up the steps as we entered the house.
It was extraordinary, the floors made of grey marble and the walls a grayish blue with white crown molding and others a deep green. Beautiful art work hung on the walls with green potted plants in every corner. There were three couches in what looked like a sitting room that had dark wood with a deep green floral fabric. A large white and green rug sat beneath it. The house had a very cozy feeling but everything looked expensive and well kept, this really was a castle.
"Shit, we might have to take the stairs." Rowan spoke quietly, looking through the house.
I couldn't help but look around at every unique item. A statue of a woman with no arms, a painting of fruit. So many new colors and objects that filled my senses. The smell was warm and inviting, a hint of wood and citrus, as we crept through the house the interior continued to change. I think we were by the kitchen now when Rowan froze, placing his finger by his mouth. Telling me to be quiet as he listened intently.
"Fuck." He cursed, pulling me back from where we came and before he could go back to the hall a loud noise sounded causing me to jump.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!" Multiple people yelled as small colorful pieces of paper floated down around us.
I blinked my eyes, looking up to see Laura, Blake, Tristan, and two other men I hadn't met yet. They all wore cute little party hats and Blake rushed forward, putting one of the hats on me. I couldn't help but smile, my eyes wide as I looked around.
"Thank..thank you." I said breathlessly. I heard Rowan groan, and suddenly he was glaring at Tristan.
"Really?" He said angrily as Laura ran up, taking my hand.
"Mila, we are so happy you are home." She pulled me into a hug, and soon an older man with black and silver hair walked up. He wore glasses and had deep blue eyes. I knew it had to be Rowan's dad right away. He smiled at me brightly, opening his arms and joining in on the hug.
"Mila, I am Vincent, Rowan's dad. We haven't officially met yet." He said looking at me with a smile and before I could even say anything Blake ran up, joining the hug and squeezing us all hard.
"Our Mil is finally home." He said dramatically causing me to laugh.
I felt Rowan's arms grip around my waist, a loud growl leaving him as he pulled me back into him, glaring at his family.
"Can you people just let her breathe for a second." He glared at them and his dad rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish grin.
"Oh Rowan, when did you get here?" Blake teased, but before he could even finish his sentence Rowan rushed forward, like he was going to hit Blake and Blake ran to hide behind their mother.
Laura turned quickly, hitting Blake on the arm softly.
"Stop teasing your brother, I swear..I have nightmares when I realize you two are the ones responsible for running this pack." She said smirking and Vincent burst out laughing. Laura turned to Rowan as he tucked me back into his arms.
"Darling, we just wanted to do cake and presents then you can whisk your mate away and never let us see her again. Or whatever dramatic thing you plan on doing." She said while Vincent walked up beside her, wrapping an arm around her waist and smiling warmly at me.
I looked over at Tristan smiling, and next to him was another man I hadn't met. Rowan followed my gaze and froze. The man by Tristan had longer black hair, his skin tan and his eyes hazel. A wild smirk played on his lips as he looked at me intently. He had dimples on his cheeks and reminded me of David from my favorite movie, Sabrina. His demeanor oozed charm and sophistication and his outfit was a red silk shirt and black slacks with his hands in his pockets. Did I mention the shirt was unbuttoned all the way to his chest?
"Rowan, how long were you planning on hiding her from me?" The man asked smugly, walking up casually.
I glanced at Blake who looked like was enjoying every minute of this.
"Finn, if I had a choice, I would of hid her from everyone if I knew it would be like this." Rowan stood straight, his hands tightening around my waist as Finn approached. His walk reminiscent of a predator stalking it's prey.
He reached forward, putting his hand out palm up in front of me. I looked down blinking at it, he was definitely a flirt. I placed my hand in his and he brought it up to his lips, kissing the back of it gently as Rowan yanked my hand away.
"Not with Mila, Finn, I will only tell you this once." Rowan growled, taking my hands in his now as tension began to rise.
"Can we do the Alpha intimidation stuff later, some of us want to actually celebrate Mila's birthday." Blake grumbled under his breath.
So Finn was an Alpha too, he definitely looked like one. I wondered what his pack was called.
"It's nice to meet you Mila, I am Alpha Finn, Rowan's best friend." He spoke arrogantly. Like I should be falling on my knees before him.
'He thinks he can intimidate us, he doesn't know what we are capable of.'
I heard Calypso growl, her words suprising me.
"It's nice to meet you." I said softly, not sure what to do as I leaned back into Rowan. His warmth enveloping me as I breathed him in.
"Mila darling, come this way, we will do the cake now since Rowan is getting antsy." Laura walked over, prying one of my hands out of Rowan's as she narrowed her eyes at her son.
"I can walk her there." His words were possesive, but not towards his mom, towards Finn. They hadn't broken eye contact since they spoke. Finn just smirked widely.
"Get to it son." Vincent said, patting Rowan's back as we all began walking towards the other room.
What waited inside blew me away completely. There were beautiful decorations hung on the walls with balloons everywhere. I looked up at Rowan excitedly, a small smile finally forming on his lips as he bent down kissing the top of my head gently. This had to be a dream..the room looked like something out of a movie. There was a bar in the corner and leather chairs and a matching couch in the middle. Music played from somewhere up on the walls, a catchy song I had never heard before. There was a large coffee table and rustic paintings hanging on every wall with a large stone fireplace lit in the corner. Balloons clustered around the room with some type of paper hanging from wall to wall. On the brick wall behind the bar was a large banner that read. Happy Birthday Mila, Welcome Home. Seeing those words, and everything these people have done for me. Tears fell from my eyes, the warm drops slid down my face as Laura looked misty-eyed as well. She rushed to me, hugging me tightly. After a few moments, she pulled back looking at me, her eyes gentle and full of emotion.
"We have been waiting for you for so long, it didn't fully register until this very moment." She whispered and I felt Rowan hug my waist even tighter, who hadn't let go since this all started.
"Thank you..this is all..it's just so wonderful. Thank you for making me feel so welcome." I said as Laura wiped my tears and smiled brightly. I had never had a birthday like this. I would usually make my own cake and my dad would get me something small and make whatever dinner I wanted and that was it. I never had decorations or a party, or friends and family to celebrate with. This was more than enough to make my birthday special.
"Well let's start this party then! Mil, what would you like to drink?" Blake said happily as he walked towards the bar.
I looked up at Rowan, unsure of what to say, considering I had never drank before.
"Champaign." Rowan said for me, his hands pulling my arm and turning me around to face him.
"We can spend a little longer down here, but after that, you are mine." He whispered close to my lips, a smirk pulling on the corner of his mouth as I reached up on my tiptoes, kissing him gently.
"I can't wait." My eyes flashed, the anticipation of being with Rowan alone made my stomach ache. I was nervous and yet excited, this is what I wanted, who I wanted.
Vincent walked over, carrying a glass of champagne as he handed it to me. I smiled, looking down at the bubbly drink as Tristan made his way over.
"Mila, after you get settled in a little more I can walk you through the house and show you the codes for the rooms. I set up one for your office too." I turned to looked at Rowan who was beaming.
"It's connected to mine, the wall opens up so we can spend the day together when I'm not in meetings." He said happily, kissing me on the side of the head.
"Blake was right Ro, you do have it bad, I can see why though." Finn said, walking up to us with a shorter glass and an amber colored drink inside, Rowan tensed. I brought up his hand and placed my lips against the back of it gently, calming him instantly. Finn watched my mouth intently, his eyes flashing black for a moment before returning.
"To be fair I didn't say he had it bad, I said the mating bond was legit and he was in deep." Blake said defending himself as he handed his mom a glass of champagne and walked over together.
"Don't use me in your schemes to annoy my brother, you do that well enough on your own." Blake said, clinking his glass with Tristans.
Tristan was loving this, I could tell he wasn't too fond of Finn, and it wasn't the type of annoyance he had with Blake. This one seemed genuine.
Laura rolled her eyes, as she took a sip of wine.
"Finn, how is your mother doing? She was supposed to come visit soon." Laura said, trying to move the conversation in a different direction.
"She is busy getting ready for the Blue Moon ball or something, I know it coincidences with Genevieve's Luna Initiation." He spoke nonchalantly, as if it were no importance to him.
"How is Genevieve coming along? I know she comes from a nice family with a lot of expierience." Laura's voice was steady as she spoke, her confidence always there. She was a true Luna, that's for sure.
Vincent suddenly leaned into me, whispering into my ear.
"Genevieve is Finn's chosen mate, they will be doing the Luna ceremony soon. We are all invited, it might be good insight to see how it is all done." He said with a smile, I nodded, smiling back as I leaned towards him.
"Laura must be a great Luna, the way she is so kind and how she holds herself..I hope I can learn a lot from her." I tried not to be loud, but then again we all are werewolves. I noticed Laura's posture straighten a little and her smile widen as she spoke to Finn now.
"She is a wonderful Luna and mother.." he said, looking at Laura longingly before turning back to me.
"We already see you as a part of our family, I hope you know that. Surprisingly Blake seems to have taken to you the most. He was acting like we were bringing a new baby home from the hospital." He said with a laugh and I couldn't help laughing as well.
We both glanced at Blake and he was glaring at us. Rowan placed his hand on my stomach as he leaned in, joing the conversation.
"Just wait, when you are officially Luna you can boss him around." He said, kissing my neck softly, sending a shiver to run through me.
"Why wait, you can do it now." Vincent laughed, clinking his glass with Rowans as they both seemed to really enjoy that.
I noticed Tristan watching Finn intently, realizing Finn's eyes drifted to me ever few minutes. Tristan's eyes went cloudy for a moment then he nodded his head tightly, glancing at Rowan now.
Finn turned towards us, Laura seeming to only be able to hold him off for so long.
"Mila, you should come to Blue Moon soon, my mate Genevieve would adore you I'm sure. Is your pack far from here? I don't recall hearing what region you are from." He said with a raised eyebrow, looking at Rowan.
Rowan stiffened, and for a moment I feared he might of been embarrassed of me.
"Mila isn't from a pack, her and her father lived a few miles from Black Stone." He answered cooly, holding me tighter as Finn's eyes flashed.
"A Luna not from a pack? Interesting..was your father a rogue?" He asked, the room falling silent.
"No, my father was not a rogue." I spoke stoicly, not letting him see how offensive that comment was. How dare he try to put my father in the same category as those horrible men.
"Sorry Mila, I meant no offense. Just wondering why a grown man would choose not to be in a pack, seems odd." He swirled his drink, sipping it slowly as he locked eyes on me.
'Put him in his place Mila, he thinks he can intimidate you.'
Calypso echoed into me. As I felt Rowan about to speak, or pounce, I wasn't sure which one but I was positive either one would of had the same outcome. I squeezed his arm, trying to comfort him.
"I know it does seem odd to an outsider, but my father made that choice to protect his family. I'm sure one day when you have a family of your own, you would do anything to keep then safe, and in that case, I would hope you are at least half the man he is for your families sake." I said cooly, my voice soft, refusing to waver as I looked at this man who knew nothing about our situation of my father and decided to cast judgment on him.
'Yes! Look at his face! He did not expect that.'
Calypso wagged her tail, bouncing up and down happily.
Finn seemed surprised, his eyes widening for a moment before he cleared his throat.
"I'm sure he had his reasons." He practically mummbled, taking another sip. His eyes still meeting mine as he drank slowly. I didn't back down, this man wasn't going to intimidate me.
I felt Rowan kiss the back of my head as Laura smiled into her glass. Tristan was beaming, not hiding it at all.
"But I do look forward to meeting your mate Genevieve, and visiting Blue Moon one day. If you will have us." I added for good measure, showing I wouldn't shy away.
Vincent smiled and clapped his hands together.
"Lovely, our two allied Luna's coming together, what a great thing it will be." He said drinking the rest of the liquid in his glass.
Looking at Blake I saw him give me a thumbs up and then a fake karate chop towards Finn. Which made me burst out laughing, causing Finn to look behind him and chase Blake off.
I was onto my second glass of champagne now, the bubbles filling me and making my head tingly. Between my mates touch and smell and the champagne..I was drunk.
"You need to eat something." Rowan whispered into my ear, causing me to turn around and look up at him. I lazily blinked my eyes, smirking softly as I spoke.
"I have a few ideas." I said seductively, a growl leaving him as he bent down, kissing me hungrily. His hands resting on my butt as he groped me softly.
"Ughh can we get the cake going, we are losing them." Blake hollered to his mom who was sitting in his dads lap. They all looked towards us and I heard them laugh.
"Okay okay, let's do the cake." She hopped up, pulling me away from Rowen for a moment.
"It will be for just a second son, I promise." She could already see his scowl forming.
Suddenly the lights went out, I giggled from surprise as those bubbles floated their way through me. Making me feel light and airy. I tried to feel the chair for Rowan, and grabbed the closest hand to me. It wasn't Rowan's though, i didn't feel my spark, so I let it go instantly.
"Sorry." I whispered, thinking it was his dads.
Suddenly I saw a flickering light enter the room, and Rowan was behind it. A cake with dozens of candles, well maybe eighteen now that I think about it. That would make more sense. He walked forward, the light illuminating his strong features as I gasped from the sight. He was gorgeous, his blue eyes flickered and his silver hair shimmered, he was more than I could have ever imagined. Just then everyone began to sing happy birthday, I felt like I didn't even hear them. My gaze was glued to this man before me as the candles flickered between us. The song must of ended because he whispered softly, looking at me with fire in his eyes.
"Make a wish Mila." He said breathlessly. It took me a moment to think of what I could even wish for, what I could want. Realization hit me as let my eyes flutter shut, wishing that this would never end, that this man would never stop wanting me, that my father would be found and come to our new home..I wished for us all to be happy together..with Rowan, my mate by my side until the day I die.