My phone rings while I'm watching TV with Liam. Lifting it up from the coffee table, I turn over the screen to see Mel, Riley, and Anna video calling me. My face immediately lights up with excitement. I excuse myself and rush upstairs to my room to answer.

"Merry Christmas, April," they all yell as soon as I pick up.

"Merry Christmas, guys. How are you," I exclaim, getting excited to talk to them after weeks.

"We're all great, but Anna has some news," Mel answers with a grin and I look towards Anna on my screen.

"Chris and I got engaged," she shrieks, showing off her left hand that dons a sparkly diamond ring. She moves her camera around a bit to include Chris who is sitting next to her. He waves at me and says 'hey' as he smiles at Anna's enthusiasm.

"Oh my God, you guys, I'm so happy for you," I shout excitedly. "Took you long enough, Chris," I add, rolling my eyes at him.

"Hey, I was just waiting for the perfect moment," he retorts.

"Now give us the deets," Mel yells and I nod, agreeing with her.

We talk for hours, catching up with each other. Chris is spending Christmas with Anna's family this year. Mel is travelling to her grandparents' house. Meanwhile, Riley has been busy doing random online courses. Seriously, this girl never takes a break.

I don't realise how much time has passed until Liam barges into my room.

"Hey, are you almost ready," he asks but his voice trails off as he looks at my state.

It's Christmas Eve and there is a party at the pack house tonight. I put the call on mute as I turn to answer him. He is already dressed, wearing navy blue pants and a white dress shirt and he looks hot, if I may say so myself.

"Shit, I didn't realise it was time. Just give me a few minutes," I say apologetically.

"April, who is that," Mel yells from my phone and I notice that the call was never muted.

"No one," I reply quickly, trying to hide the panic in my voice.

"Are you dating someone," Anna gasps. "Let us say hi, come on," she squeals.

"Guys, it's not a big deal," I say trying to brush them off.

"Stop lying, April. You're spending Christmas Eve with a boy and saying it's not a big deal. Now spill the beans," Riley adds.

I can feel my face heating up from embarrassment while Liam stands next to me, trying to muffle his laughter.

"We know he's right there, okay," Mel screams.

I can always count on these idiots to embarrass me. I look over at Liam to see if he would be okay with saying hi to them and he just shrugs.

"Fine," I say in defeat and they squeal enthusiastically. I turn my camera towards him, "Guys, this is Liam, my, uh—" I search for a word to introduce him as, since I can't say mate, and finally settle on, "boyfriend."

Liam awkwardly smiles and waves at them. "Liam, these are my annoying friends," I inform while mouthing a 'sorry' at him for putting him on the spot.

"Ooh he's hot," Mel exclaims.

"Yes, babe. You've done well," Anna adds.

Horrified, I hurriedly turn the camera back to myself and glare at them. Is it really necessary for your friends to embarrass you every time you're with a boy you like?

Before I can say anything, they start bombarding me with questions.

"So, how'd you guys meet?"

"How long have you been dating?"

"Is he nice?"

"How far has the relationship progressed?"

"Who even is he?"

"A few weeks at home and you've already found yourself a boyfriend."

"How many dates have you guys been on?"

"I can't believe you didn't tell us."

I finally cut them off. "I can't answer you if you guys don't shut up," I almost shout and they all comply, going quiet in an instant.

"Do you remember Lucas Kingston," I ask and they nod. "Well, Liam is his brother," I inform.
I can see them all gasp and get ready to start yelling again so I continue speaking.

"I met him at graduation. We've been together for a couple of weeks and things are going pretty well. I'll tell you the rest later because right now, I really have to go," I say in an attempt to get rid of them. I don't know what else I can tell them, honestly.

'Sorry guys, I'm part werewolf and this is my mate. We've basically been living together but I guess, you can call it dating.'

I don't think that will go well.

They immediately start protesting but I just yell, "Sorry, I really need to get going now," and wave as I hang up.

I look up at Liam with a flushed face and he just bursts out laughing.

"I see where you get your crazy from," he mumbles.

"Shut up," I say, throwing a pillow at him.

"Now get out, so I can get ready."

"Hurry up, we're already late," he orders as he walks out.

I quickly rush to the bathroom and brush my teeth. Thankfully, I showered in the morning so that should save me some time. For my hair, I settle on straightening it, since that's the only style that will take the least amount of time.

Rummaging through my closet, I come across some sexy red underwear. I've been ready to take things to the next level with Liam for a while now, so I decide to put it on with the hope that he might finally make a move tonight.

I wear a short, blue dress with spaghetti straps and apply very light makeup. The dress cinches at the waist and flows down to a few inches above my knees.

"April, it's been an hour," Liam yells as he knocks on my door.

And here I was thinking I got ready fast, for once.

"Shit, shit, shit," I mumble as I quickly put on a pair of beige heels and rush to open the door.

"Sorry, I'm all done," I say looking up at him.

"Wow," he whispers softly, as his eyes run all across my body, before they finally settle on my lips.

A shiver runs down my spine as he stares at me and steps forward, closing the distance between us. He slowly trails his hand from my wrist, all the way up to my shoulder, his fingertips gently caressing my skin. With his other hand, he grabs me by the waist and pulls me even closer. From my shoulder, his fingers trail down to my collarbone as he traces it, his touch as light as a feather. His eyes constantly shift between my lips and where he is touching me.

Slowly, he pushes a strand of hair behind my ear and proceeds to cup my face while his other hand still remains firmly wrapped around my waist. Our faces are so close that if I move even an inch, our lips would touch.

"Liam," I breathe as I look into his eyes and they instantly darken a shade.

His lips find mine and his tongue immediately fills my mouth with warmth. In an instant, he has me pinned against the wall as his hands wander all over my body, sending sparks wherever they go.

His hand reaches the hem of my dress and he begins trailing it on my thigh as he pushes my dress upwards. My knees buckle under his touch but his hand around my waist keeps me steady. A soft moan escapes my mouth as he starts to trail kisses along my jaw, his hand that was once on my thigh, now inside my dress and grabbing my ass.

I trace one hand along his arm, feeling the muscles under his shirt while running the other in his hair. I can feel his hardness against me as he peppers kisses along my neck, my own wetness pooling between my thighs. He nibbles my skin just above my collarbone and I feel tingles all the way to my core.

Liam abruptly pulls his hands and lips away with a groan, leaving me wanting more. An involuntary whimper escapes my lips as he backs his face away from me.

Resting his hands around my waist, he tries to catch his breath and I do the same.

"I would love nothing more than to continue this, but Jason has been bugging me for an hour," he says in a low voice.

"Well we're already an hour late. What's a few more minutes," I shrug and subconsciously bite my lip.

Pulling my lip with his thumb, he brings his face next to mine and whispers in my ear, "I'm gonna need more than a few minutes, baby." He gently bites my earlobe causing me to gasp, before pulling away. I can feel my face turn scarlet as I gulp at his statement and the nickname he just called me.

"We should go," he clears his throat.

"Okay," I sigh, wiping my lipstick on his mouth with my thumb.

I walk over to the mirror and fix my own lipstick which has been slightly smudged. After I grab my coat from my bed and put it on, we both head out.

Liam has his arm around wrapped around my waist, pulling me to his side, as we enter the pack house. There is loud music playing and people are hanging out all across the ground floor including the patio, foyer, hallway, and the common room.

Liam helps me remove my coat and places it on one of the coat racks placed at the entrance. Jason and Amy come over to greet us and we all head over to the dining hall.

All the tables and chairs have been removed except for the large dining table, which has now been pushed to the side and is overflowing with food. There is a makeshift bar at one end of the room and the guys go over to get drinks.

"So what do you guys usually do at these parties," I ask Amy.

"Just get drunk and have a good time," she laughs.

Liam and Jason return with drinks in their hands and Amy quickly snatches hers from Jason. Liam hands me a glass and I thank him as I take a sip.

"Let's go dance, guys," Amy almost yells as she pulls Jason by his arm and begins to make her way out of the dining hall.

"Come on," I say to Liam as I start to walk behind her.

"No, you go ahead," he replies.

"I don't wanna dance alone, Liam. Now, unless you want someone else grinding on me like last time, you have to join me," I tilt my head and smirk at him. A low growl escapes his chest as he begrudgingly agrees.

Amy leads us to the common room where the music is the loudest. The pool tables have been pushed to the sides while people dance in the centre. We walk through the crowd and start dancing to the music. I probably look like an idiot as I move to the music but the electricity of the place and everyone dancing around me keeps me going. Liam is surprisingly into the dancing and we both sway to the music. After dancing for a while, I can feel my throat getting dry.

"I'm thirsty," I yell over the loud music to Liam, handing him my empty glass. "Can you get me another drink?"

"Sure," he smiles and takes the glass from me. I continue dancing until I feel a hand wrap around my waist.

I turn around to see Liam with my drink. I take it from him as he wraps his hands around my waist from behind me. I can feel his hot breath against my neck, sending a shudder down my spine. We dance like that for I don't even know how long, until I feel myself getting tired.

Dragging Liam out of the crowd, I finally drop down onto one of the couches. Amy and Jason follow us and we are all soon joined by Tyler and Lucas.

There is not enough space for everyone to sit so we all huddle up on the patio outside, next to the pool. The music is faint here so it's easier to talk. The conversation shifts between different topics and somehow we end up talking about Lucas's fight with Daxton.

"I can't believe none of you warned me that Dad was sending Liam," Lucas complains.

"Dude, your phone was off. It's not our fault," Jason replies. "Still, we came over to help but—" Tyler cuts him off by elbowing him.

"What?" Lucas exclaims. "Are you saying you guys came to see me?"

"Wait, when did this happen," Liam interrupts, eyeing both Jason and Tyler. Jason is looking over at Tyler nervously, while Tyler's face is flushing red from embarrassment. Amy tries to hide a smile on her face, which means she knows what's going on.

"Tyler?" Jason prods, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Ugh, fine." Tyler finally gives in and begins speaking. "We both decided to come over to warn you. It was basically just an excuse to hang out outside of the pack and—," he drags on but Lucas cuts him off.

"Just get to the point. What happened?"

"Well," Tyler continues nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "Liam was driving so we decided to run through the woods to get there faster. We were almost there when I was crossing a road and got hit by a car out of nowhere."

I almost choke on my drink when he says that. Everyone's eyes immediately shift to me and Liam asks if I'm okay. I just nod and cough, trying to clear my throat.

"Sorry," I mumble, attempting to get my coughing under control.

"That was my friend's car," I finally speak, looking apologetically at Tyler, but everyone except him bursts out laughing. I stare at them in horror.

"Don't worry about it, April. He was fine," Jason comforts.

"Yeah, I bet I did more damage to the car," Tyler says smirking.

"Oh, you definitely did. My friend was worried she murdered you," I chuckle.

"It's gonna take more than a hit and run to kill this one," Liam adds.

The conversation continues and we stand around, talking and laughing for a little while longer. My stomach is growling from hunger by now.

As if reading my mind, Liam speaks up. "Let's go get some food in you," he offers and drags me inside.

We head over to the dining hall and I fill myself up with a club sandwich, a spring roll, and a couple of chocolate truffles. I get another drink from the bar and we head back to the common room.

It's almost midnight and a few people have started to leave. I sit down on one of the couches while Liam excuses himself to go and meet a few people.

My gaze travels around the room and I spot Tyler making out with a girl at one corner. Amy joins me a few minutes later.

"That was so fun," she shrieks as she drops down next to me. Apparently, she had been dancing again.

"Oh great, Tyler is at it again," she rolls her eyes as she spots him as well.

"Where is everyone else," I ask her.

"Just hanging out over there," she informs, pointing behind me.

I look over to see Liam standing and talking to Jason.

Out of nowhere, Zara joins them as she starts talking flirtatiously.

"God, what is her problem," I snap.

"Who, Zara?" Amy asks.

"Look at her drooling all over him," I say angrily. "Does she think no one can tell what she's up to?" I ramble.

"Don't worry about her," Amy dismisses me.

"I'm not worried. I'm pissed because Liam just lets it happen. And that too while I'm sitting right here," I grumble.

"He probably doesn't even acknowledge it. You know, he has been eyeing you all night," I can see her smirking from the corner of my eye, as I continue to glare at Liam and Zara. "I'm surprised he hasn't marked you yet," she says, musing.

Zara still hasn't backed off and I am going to need more alcohol if I want to stop myself from murdering her tonight. I turn back around to face Amy.

"Whatever, I need another drink," I say as I get up and head back to the dining hall.