Life as a Werewolf called Danielle.

Chapter 4- Happy birthday!

For the next 2 years Dad and I continued to improve, we worked on coping with our grief and we both fell into a great routine. Dad learnt about balancing work and the house whilst helping me study, I learnt to balance working at the phone shop, catering events for Alpha and continuing to study as a doctor. It was easy for Dad to help most of the time as I’d usually be writing an essay on something he’d done that week or at least seen before. 

Tonight, he was helping me with an essay on healing powers and how different ranked werewolves healed at different speeds, it’s a normal Takeaway Tuesday for us, we order for somewhere different every week and spend the night working on any projects that are due. It became a ritual for us about a year ago when we both found it hard to make time or to do something together that wasn’t gaming. Gaming is now a Sunday night routine; we each cook something and spend the evening gaming together.

However, this week is different, whilst I know I have a lot of work to do but I can barely contain my excitement, tomorrow I turn 16, sixteen years old finally! For those of you that don’t know, that means I finally meet my wolf! I have been waiting for this day for as long as I can remember, I’m most curious about my wolfs colour, then anything else, my dad is a deep auburn colour whilst my mum was a light sandy colour. I wondered if I would be an odd mix of the 2, or if one would be dominant, my dad has always said there was no point guessing as it was so unpredictable, but I couldn’t help it I’m too damn excited. When I was younger, I used to draw wolves and colour them in any combination of the two colours that my mind could create, I kept each drawing in a folder hoping that when I finally found out it may be in there and I could add a real picture next to it.

I was excited for another reason though, when each teen turned 16, they were allowed to host a party at the packhouse to celebrate their transition into the pack, and this meant more time with the Alpha.

A few months after I had catered my first event there my dad finally broke through his grief enough to fully explain what happened. In the battle with the rogues many had died, including our Alpha, and Beta, with no heirs to take over their role, it fell to our partner pack to fill the void. This is how we ended up with the current Alpha and Beta, Alpha Jax was only 18 when he took over the pack with his Beta, Zane, being a few months younger, so a strange arrangement was made. Our new Alpha and Beta moved here to run our small pack and we pledged to them; however, they did not leave their current pack and remined connected. They used this connection to consult and use the expertise of their previous pack, Alpha James, Luna Bonnie and Beta Trev, aka their parents, as they all agreed they felt a little young to be let loose on running a pack, but it was the only solution as Jax's dad felt he’d be stretched too thin running two packs so far from each other. With over 200 miles between us, even a powerful Alpha would struggle to maintain mind links to lead. We lost a lot of people during the battle but those who survived only did so as Alpha’s men arrived in the nick of time. So, most of the pack was happy with the agreement and even offered the help the new Alpha and Beta get settled in.

Anyway, back to the party, I had planned almost everything except for my outfit, so my long-time friend Chloe agreed to go shopping tomorrow for a last-ditch attempt to find some form of dress, jeans, God knows what outfit that I could wear without feeling over or under dressed. Man being a girl is hard sometimes! I was awoken at 5:49 am by my dad popping party poppers and singing Happy Birthday whilst I appreciated the sentiment, I was too tired to even smile. Eventually he stopped and left the room, returning as I rolled over with 2 boxes. Okay I can wake up for presents! I forced myself to sit upright and scooted across the bed making enough room for dad to sit next to me, he placed on box on my lap and help the other, but as I went to open it, he stopped me. As I opened my mouth needing an explanation he looked at me with tears in his eyes “this is a gift that your mother left you in her will, only to be opened on your 16th birthday, I’ve wanted to cave and give you it so many times, or to even take a peek myself but I’ve waited…that’s why I woke you up so early” he gave a faint laugh but I could see his pain at remembering mum.

Opening the gift box, I found a small envelop, choosing to open this first. It was a 16th birthday card and a small message ‘My Dearest Danielle, Happy 16th birthday baby, you made it! I hope you have a wonderful day and know that I love you…even if your wolf is more auburn than sandy. I hope you love your gift; I tried my hardest to make it special. All my love Mum’ I must have re-read the words 10 times before I remembered where I was, I passed the card to dad, I knew he’d want to read it. 

Then I turn my attention to the two small boxes inside. I opened the first box and found a charm bracelet that was full to the brim and a small piece of paper folded up. Reading the paper I was shocked, it was a list, each charm had a moment or memory attached, for example ‘the sea shell charm represents the time we visited the beach and we we’re collecting shells until your dad for nipped by a crab and threw them all in shock’ or ‘the London bus they represent the time we visited grandma and rode the tour bus for hours’ the list went on and on with dad reading over my shoulder we read every word knowing mum would love how close we were now. We must have gone through every emotion reliving all of those memories until eventually we both looked at the second box. With a small sigh mixed with a yawn I picked up the second box, and opened it, inside was an almost blank bracelet, the only charm being a dangle ‘16’ the note with this one said ‘now go and create some more memories. We both sat their lost in our emotions until my alarm went off signalling it was 7am.

I went to get up to start my day when dad looked at me “we forgot about my gift” he picked it up and lifted it towards me “oh thanks dad” I sat back down and opened his card first, he’d picked a beautifully hand made one with an aquarium scene on the front. Then I opened the box, inside was a small wolf figurine that was half auburn and half sandy, the auburn side had a green eye matching dads and the sandy side had a blue eye matching mum. I absolutely loved it and placed it front and centre on my shelf immediately! 

“Thank you so much dad, where did you even find it!! It’s amazing” I leaned in and gave him a smushy hug, we rarely showed emotions in this way, but I was just so happy, he embraced me, and we stayed there for a little while before my snooze alarm went off “guess I better shower and get ready, I’m going shopping with Chloe in an hour!” I headed towards the bathroom and heard dad call behind me “oh by the way Selene squeezed you in for your hair and all the girly stuff, she said you can take a friend too so be there by 2pm!”

I stopped in my tracks and ran back to dad as he reached my bedroom doorway and hugged him again “thank you so much! That was half of me stress for today, I love you!” he simply shrugged me off and said, “one of the other mums suggested it so I thought why not,” I called a thank you, over my shoulder as I ran to the bathroom.

I started the shower and looked at myself in the mirror ‘today is going to be a good day.’