My Resolution

Chapter 5

A week later, I was focusing on the attack less and less. I had trouble sleeping for a couple of nights, but that soon passed. We had taken a house field trip to a local pumpkin patch and picked out pumpkins to carve. There were all sorts of games and activities for every age. They had a cow train where the littlest kids could ride in little cow-shaped cars on an adult’s lap or be buckled in on their own, and there was a big hayride through the fields in the bright autumn sun. Mrs. Boone was running around with a camera snapping pictures of everyone and everything; we spent the whole day laughing and making memories. School was back in session on the following Monday, so Donovan and I had been putting more time into our biology project, and I proclaimed that I had been wrong; it was calculus that would kill me before the bio project had the opportunity. The upcoming Friday was my seventeenth birthday, it felt bittersweet because I was excited to finish school and move forward with life, but this birthday marks the beginning of the last year I will still be at home.

The house was bustling as Mrs. Boone was decorating and taking care of the finishing touches for my birthday party. I was not allowed to help with anything today, so I sat on the front porch reading after arriving home from school. Mrs. Boone went all out for birthdays. Decorations, special meals, cake, ice cream, no housework for the day, everything was about us on our day. For the ones whose birthday we couldn’t know until they got their wolf at eighteen, we celebrated their birthday on the day they had arrived at the house. It was by no means a perfect system, dates got adjusted on occasion to avoid too much overlap, but it worked well all the same. The day Emma got her wolf was a bit of a shock. Apparently, she was tiny for a toddler werewolf, plus she wasn’t walking or talking when she arrived, so they estimated her about a year and a half younger than she is, then about six months after her “sixteenth birthday,” she got her wolf. She found her mate within two months and was still a Junior in high school. She did graduate, but she has since told me it was a struggle trying to juggle classes and having a mate, along with feeling like she had just lost a year and a half of her life. She is doing well now, but she was a mess for a while.

The party started at seven o’clock; Mrs. Boone has insisted on a more formal party. “Nothing too fancy,” she had explained, “I just want everyone to dress in some nice clothes. No jeans or those stretchy pants you like so much.” I didn’t have many genuinely nice clothes or dresses, for that matter. In the summer, I like to wear long maxi dresses and skirts because they are cooler than pants, but that’s not what she had in mind. A couple of weeks ago, Emma had taken me to get a new dress, nothing too over the top, just something simple with a formal vibe.

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Emma delivered dress after dress to the fitting room; strapless, halter top, spaghetti strap, long, short, mini. She got upset when I refused mini dresses. “My ass is too big to stay contained in a mini dress,” I objected. When I refused to try on this knee-length ball gown thing covered in sequins, I thought she might abandon me in the store, but thankfully, she powered through. I hate over-the-top girly clothes, I like feeling feminine, but I don’t think femininity requires sequins. I know I’m a pain in the ass when it comes to shopping for clothes, especially when they’re wildly out of my comfort zone, but I do try not to be a total b***h. I just get frustrated because nothing ever looks quite right, and it's frustrating.

I tried on several before stepping out to show Emma a dress. I didn’t love it, but it was okay, and it fits me well. It was a black, knee-length number. It had a flattering square neckline with spaghetti style straps that ran over my shoulder and down the low cut back, tying in a crisscross pattern across my lower back, but it was shiny satin. I was not comfortable with the shine, Emma gushed over how well it fit, but the longer I looked in the mirror, the more I hated it. This pattern continued longer than I, or Emma, would have liked until I finally tried on the only dress left hanging in the changing room. It was uninspiring hanging there on the little plastic hanger with its chiffon fabric, A-line skirt, and t styled sleeves, but the alternative was starting over at a new store. With a sigh, I undid the zipper, removed the hanger, and stepped into the cranberry red dress, zipped it up the back, and turned toward the mirror. “Holy s**t,” I gasped, turning myself at various angles. The short sleeves had a slight wave over the curve of my shoulder, offering just a touch of soft femininity, either side of the bodice nuzzled my voluptuous bosom toward the deep v-neckline, the fabric continued to hug my waist, releasing in just the right place to highlight the curvature of my hips and ass. When I stepped out of the dressing room, Emma’s eye widened. She said nothing for several moments.

“Oh, my goddess!” She finally squealed, “Yes! You have got to get this dress.”

“I know,” I said excitedly, looking at my reflection in the triple mirrors around me. “But is it too sexy for the party? I mean, I know it's semi-formal, but all the little kids will be there, at least at the beginning.”

“You’re right,” she mumbled, “Fortunately, I have found a dress that I really think you will like that will be more appropriate for your party.

“I can’t buy two dresses, Emma.”

“I was going to buy your birthday dress anyway,” she responded with a big toothy smile, “Happy birthday.”

“You don’t have to do that, you know.”

“I know I don’t, but I want to.”

“When will I ever wear this?” I puzzled, still admiring my reflection.

“How about a date?” she said sarcastically.

“I don’t date. You know that.”

“I don’t date, yadda yadda yadda,” she mocked while rolling her eyes heavily, “you really should try just to enjoy your senior year, you know. Trust me; it sucks when you lose your teen years.”

“I do enjoy myself, thank you, but I’m not dating anyone,” I said simply. We are like sisters in some ways, so I appreciated her looking out for me, but this was a non-starter.

“Fine,” she huffed, “How about that winter formal or prom?”

“Ah, crap! I need another dress.”

“Yes, ma’am. We get to do this again,” she sang. I disappeared into the changing room when she started dancing with glee and making ridiculous faces at me.

The dress she had found was a simple spaghetti strap. The bodice was a delicately embroidered creamy white floral design with a dark purple peeking through around the flowers that trailed off, stretching past the waste line randomly. The skirt was a continuation of the dark purple; it flowed breezily down to just above my knees, flattering my lower half on the way down. She was right, I do love this dress, and it's definitely more appropriate for the party.

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I was back in my room shortly after five o’clock so I could shower and get dressed. I ran a little mousse through my hair and dried it with a diffuser to bring out the natural waves, then spritzed it with some hair spray. I did some light makeup, nothing over the top, a touch of eyeshadow and mascara, along with some neutral lip gloss. Finally, pulling on my dress and slipped into a pair of strappy heels that wrapped around each of my ankles. I love heels even though I don’t wear them a lot. I looked in the mirror, pleased with the woman looking back at me. I really do love this dress.

It was seven o’clock by this time, so I slid my phone into the back of my dress where it wouldn’t be noticeable and made my way down the stairs. I could hear the hum of people chatting and milling about the main floor. As I made my descent into the main hall, I saw some of the kids running around in dresses or little collared shirts and pants, friends from school all dolled up, and a few of their parents. I waved at a few here and there; Bennett came and offered to escort me to the party.

“My, don’t you look dapper, sir,” I complimented him on his white button-down shirt and khaki pants. His hair was gelled into a messy spike.

“Thank you. You are very pretty too, Valerie,” he responded sweetly.

I offered my arm, he slid his little hand into the crook of my elbow, and we moved through the entry, greeting everyone as we went. He directed me toward the double doors at the end of the hall that led directly to the backside of the house. Mrs. Boone really had outdone herself. Stretched across the ceiling of the dining area were long strips of billowy fabric that offered a soft purple sheen when the light caught it while dancing in the breeze, the long picnic tables had pristine white covers over them with lilac runners down the middle, and every couple of feet was a giant oversized opaque balloon with silver confetti sparkling from inside and floating above the tables. There was a table set up at the top of the dining area with a lilac table cover, each end of the table had a tower of white and lilac chocolate-covered strawberries, between them, was a silver framed mirror covered in cupcakes that were arranged with alternating rows where one row was decorated with a lilac-colored flower of buttercream. The other was fondant silver bow propped up in fluffy white frosting alternating back and forth for several rows. Extending beyond the dining area was a massive wooden dance floor set up with patio heaters at each corner. There was soft piano music playing as guests wandered around chatting.

“Happy birthday,” I heard Mrs. Boone call from the kitchen door.

“Oh, Mrs. Boone, thank you so much for all of this. You’ve really outdone yourself,” I smiled and strolled toward her.

She came through the door wearing a beautiful champagne dress with a lace applique around the bodice and bottom hem with a matching long-sleeved lace jacket laying delicately over. She looked so elegant. She pulled me into a warm embrace.

“That dress is beautiful, Mrs. Boone.”

“Oh, stop, dear,” she waved her hands, “You are a beauty. That color is stunning on you. I picked the colors for your decorations around your dress. What do you think?”

“Everything looks amazing,” I marveled, “I don’t know how you managed all this.”

“Oh, I had plenty of help, but it was no trouble. Now you’re doing your Chinese and movie night tomorrow, correct?”

“Yes, we didn’t want to cut into the festivities here.”

“Good, good, now you go mingle. I’ve got some yummy finger foods coming out and, of course, cupcakes and ice cream, plus a special treat just for you.”

“Special treat? What is it?” I asked excitedly, raising my brows and grinning widely.

“Never you mind, dear, go on now.”

“Fine,” I whined jokingly as I sauntered away.

I wandered around greeting various friends and snacking on finger foods as they were passed around. Some people had started dancing, and pups were running around playing and laughing loudly. I was dancing with Bennett when Donovan approached and asked if he could cut in. “No,” Bennett responded without hesitation, causing Donovan and I to both laugh softly.

“Don’t worry, I’ll save one for you too,” I promised.

“Sounds like a plan,” he replied, still giggling as he stepped away to join another group of people from school.

As Bennett and I finished our dance, Mrs. Boone announced that it was time for cake so that the little pups could get to bed at a “halfway decent hour.” It took a little while to serve everyone, but the pups were all served first so they could get finished. As the guests were being served, Mrs. Boone approached me holding something with a flour sack towel draped over the top. I raised an eyebrow and smirked, “what’s this?”

“This is your surprise,” she beamed, pulling the towel from the object, “Tada!”

“My very own pumpkin pie?” I squealed in delight, sniffing the sweet aroma of pumpkin, clove, cinnamon, and ginger. I didn’t even bother to cut a slice; I grabbed a fork and dug into the pan.

“Cody, you’ve had enough, young man.” Mrs. Boone said to the area behind me, "Excuse me, dear. Cody!"

“Look at you, eating like a real werewolf,” Donovan teased while unwrapping a cupcake.

“Shut up,” I garbled through a mouth full of creamy pie.

“Oh, but I’m disgusting when I talk with my mouth full.”

“Who said I wasn’t disgusting?” I asked simply, putting the remainder of the pie down on the table in front of me and covering it once more with the towel.

“Is it my turn for a dance?” Donovan started.

Before I could answer, his dad approached us. “Excuse me, Valerie, may I have a word?”

“Of course, alpha.” I answered, “See you in a bit, Donovan.”

Alpha Frederick took my arm and led me away from the crowd. “Val, I’ve been thinking about what happened last Friday during the attack.” I turned to look at him warily, my arms lightly crossed. I had been worried about having this conversation. He was already concerned about letting me live on the outside, removed from the pack, because it would be difficult, if not impossible, to keep a member of the pack safe in those circumstances. I stood there, waiting for the blow. He was going to deny my request, and I would have to denounce my pack and my home to become a rogue.

When I didn’t speak, he continued, “Val, I have a proposal for you,” he said, intriguing me, but I remained silent, so again, he continued. “Since you were able to defend yourself last week so successfully, I had the idea that you start warrior training officially on Monday. If you can keep up and advance as well as you have in defensive training, then I will agree to let you live beyond the pack territory while maintaining member status.”

I released a breath I didn’t know I had been holding. “Really?” I shrieked, “You really mean that?”

“I really do, Val. You taught me something last week, without meaning too.”

“I did? How?” I asked.

“You taught me that I need to stop underestimating my pack members, especially the young females. A lot of the fighters couldn’t have done what you did. How many times have I overlooked strong fighters just because they were women? I’ve been very wrong for years. Thank you for opening my eyes.”

I was taken aback, “I’m glad to have helped? I was just terrified, though.”

“And you handled yourself marvelously.”

I didn’t know what to say, but on the inside, I was singing and dancing. He was granting me my wish. I would have to train hard. That made me nervous; I’ve seen their training. But I'm not going to dwell on that right now! I am going to celebrate the win!

“Thank you so much, alpha. I don’t think you know how much I appreciate this opportunity.

“You’ll have to work for it, Val, but I know you’ve got it in you,” he concluded before walking back toward the party.

I made my way back to the party and found Donovan laughing with Tobi and Derrick. I slipped my arm through his as I approached his side, “You finally got time?” he asked with a smirk. I beamed back, “Yes, and I feel like dancing all night.”

We danced and laughed under the stars well into the wee hours of the morning. Once everyone left, I poured myself into bed and slept soundly. The feeling of peace and hope followed me into the following evening. Donovan and I noshed on sesame chicken, broccoli beef, crab rangoon, and egg rolls while watching a couple of favorite horribly fantastic eighties movies, “Little Shop of Horrors” and “Earth Girls are Easy.” Donovan had picked out “Labyrinth” as well, but I proclaimed I was not prepared for all the p***s bulge that movie had to offer. I went home that night brimming with happiness; this was the best birthday weekend. I couldn’t have asked for a better last celebration with my family and best friend.