The wedding follows up with a big dinner. People compliment on how delicious the food tastes, while all I can do is fantasize how the food emits a pleasing aroma. Sabia says that when I was an infant, I underwent horrible sinus infections that conclusively caused the loss of my sense of smell, or as Sabia calls it, anosmia. 

"Betrys!" 

I turn around to see my best friend, Keanna White bursting through the dining room doors, a purse swinging over her silver-spangled dress. With her sun-kissed complexion fixated with a silky raven braid on her shoulder, she's the beauty of our tribe. 

"Kee," I remark. We meet in the middle of the dining room with an embrace. Her hug is tight enough to crush my bones. I have to squeal impatiently to signal her to dial it down. I already know why she's late for the party. She better have adhered to my wishes and not brought a gift. 

"Happy early birthday," she says, pulling away. A smile plasters across her face - the signature visage that everyone seems to adore, including me. 

"My birthday's not until tomorrow, silly," I remind her. I pat her on the shoulder as she rummages around in her purse. When I have her attention, she looks up at me uneasily. Her smile widens more than usual, meaning she did not receive the memo to leave this day alone and let my brother run the spotlight for today. "Let's exchange gifts anyways then."

Keanna is the one who finds even the simplest of joys in celebrating holidays. She'll celebrate anyone's birthday. She'll bring in homemade cupcakes even if she abhors the person. She even extends out to lowlives like Athan Wellings. That's her best trait. She finds the best in everyone, even on their worst days.

"It has to be today." She reaches into her purse and digs around, talking a mile a minute. Her voice reminds me of the sweetness of sugar. People want to have a conversation with her, unlike me, the one who people keep their conversations brief and simplistic with. "Participants in the Matching Ceremony are forbidden to be in each other's presence until the hour of their Matching, remember?" 

I nod and sigh. "Yes, I've read The Way of the Wolf several times, Kee." 

She pulls out a sterling silver necklace with a wolf charm for a pendant. It's bedazzling, and it brings out my eyes.

It's hard not to appreciate the gifts Keanna's able to get her hands on for others. I may never be able to return the favor of all the precious possessions she's given me over the years, but our friendship, as cheesy as it may sound, is the best present I've ever received. No words can describe how grateful I am for having her in my life. 

"It's a token of good luck for your Match tomorrow," she tells me. Not even a Match can make me as happy as she makes me. Even if my Match turns out to be a complete jerk, at least I know I'll always have Keanna in my life. 

"It's beautiful," I  reply with a quick smile popping at the curves of my cheekbones. I drop the necklace into the back of my combat boots which I changed into before leaving for the reception at the courthouse. "Thank you." 

Everyone's beginning to sit down for the first course of meals. I take my seat next to Keanna. I begged Eileene and Kyran to treat me if I were any other guest attending their wedding and place me on the ground floor with the Whites.

The Whites are a big family. Keanna is the fifth oldest out of eight children. Their oldest is Kelcy, who's happily married with a daughter named Kallie, along with her twin sister Kaitlyn who also happens to be married. Their youngest are twins Kember and Keenan, Keanna's only brother. Although the all of the Whites were present for the wedding itself, Kia, and twins Keri and Kelley, who are the next oldest, are the only ones who joined us at the reception. 

I scan the room. I see a marble embellished extravagance of pillars towering up to the endless crystal chandelier boasting over the velvet stand on the balcony where Eileene, Kyran, and all the other prominent figures in the wedding divulge in their meals. They eat on fine china, while the people on the ground floor eat off of paper and plastic. We're basically Matchless for the reception. 

A Matchless wolf is the worst thing that can ever happen to a member of our clan. They can quickly decide this after the evaluation when the Elders review the profiles to check for compatibility. If they find someone incompatible, they're immediately deemed Matchless and banished to the sewers for all eternity. It's a punishment worse than death, some may say. 

"Betrys," Kia, Keanna's mother, remarks with a smile just as bright as her daughter's. She doesn't look that much different from her daughter, except the mark on her face. Keanna says it's from a nasty fall her mother endured when she was younger - it bears no significance, I've heard. "What a lov'ly su'prise." 

"Not a surprise at all," I correct her. I take my neatly folded napkin and throw it under the seat. It's too posh for my liking. My ideal wedding follows up a barbecue restaurant. Chicken bones will be thrown under the tables. And if I had my sense of smell, it will smell like deep fry and grease. "If you knew me well enough, you'd know I'm protesting against the setup of the reception. It's preposterous. 

"You'd think they'd have the decency to extend their generous budget to the entire guest list, or at least move their meal down to a stand on the ground to make their boasting of their big day less." I decide my choice of words after a moment. "Boastful." 

Kia looks at her daughter with her lips pressed tight together. In the years that I have known Kia, it has become apparent that she rarely is able to understand me. I'm not the easiest code to decipher, I've heard most people say. Keanna lets out a girlish laugh. In her translation, this is what I said: "Just her usual Operation: Breakup routine, Mum." 

"Anyways," I abruptly change the subject. "Mrs. White, how's Keelyn doing?" 

"Still gettin' o'er the death of 'er fav'rit cousin," Kia answers in a flat tone of great distance. She rarely ever mentions her side of the family. She didn't even join her side of the extended family during the wedding. If I'm right, the Whites were in the balcony. "She 'an Kiona was close. She hasn't spoken t' us 'n weeks. I'm beginnin' t' worry 'bout 'er." 

"Well if she ever wants to open up again, tell her I send my love," I offer. Kia nods, and I turn to Keri and Kelley. "Where are your boyfriends tonight?"  

"They're on guard duty t'night," Keri explains. She pauses to look at Kelley, who nods with a smile. Just like Keanna, Keri has a voice of hope and devoted optimism. It must be hereditary. "Kel wanted me t' tell ya, that she's engaged."

"Congrats," I remark to Kelley as she presses her lips tight together with a blush. 

Waiters place trays of seafood in front of us. I force a gulp down my throat as I see the salmon staring right back at me with its deadbeat eyes wide open. Seafood reminds me of my parents. Sabia made seafood the night she broke the news to Kyran and me that our parents died battling vampires. 

Sabia has been more than kind enough to take Kyran and me in for all of those years. As our godmother, she did more than her fair share of the burden of us two. Though sometimes, I like to think my parents could've made more time for us rather than always fighting for their lives, which eventually ended their lives, as I already know. 

"B," Keanna says soothingly, "it's gonna be alright." She knows just the words to say to make my heart beat steady instead of jumping out of my chest in panic. "It's just seafood. It's not a re-enactment."

I remember the first time I ever asked Sabia about my parents since their death. I was eight, staring out the window, waiting for them come home from hunting like I did ever since I found out they were dead. Sabia came up to me and said, "Betrys, you know they're never gonna come home, don't you?"

In her defense, she's not known to be the kind who sugar coats anything. She's more straightforward, no matter how gory the details and how sensitive the information. That's why I grew up so fast in hopes to get away from home. Sabia tends to say things that scar me for life. 

"I know Sabia," I told her innocently. I batted my eyelashes. Sometimes I wonder what ever happened to that side of me. The girl who once thought nothing bad ever happens. "I just want to know what my parents were like." 

"Betrys." 

Keanna waves a hand in front of my face as I stare down at my plate with utter and complete astonishment. I blink my eyes once as I look up at her. Thank goodness, I have Keanna. Without her, I would've droned on in my fantasies. 

"Your brother - " she nods toward Kyran on the balcony holding his glass of ginger ale up to Eileene " - is making a toast." 

I sigh. I don't know why I even sign up for these lavish festivities - they empty your bank account all for one simple way of saying you'll spend the rest of your life with that special person. It's so cliche. But still, every night I dream about how amazing it will be after tomorrow when I have my Match. These thoughts move through my brain as I make my way up the grand staircase. 

"A toast to my beautiful wife." Kyran looks joyously over at Eileene who's redder than Juliet's dress in one of the old movies one of my English teachers forced us to watch in ninth grade.  I gag to myself. Wedding ceremonies are overrated. "My blushing Juliet, the twinkle in my eye, the key to my heart. Without you, my life would've never found its meaning." 

Kyran walks over to Eileene and plants a kiss on her forehead as he raises a glass. That's my cue to take the stand. I now have to make a toast to such a wonderful wedded couple. Even though I could see myself doing something way more productive in preparation for my Match, here I am making a toast to my brother and his wife. I take the stand.

"I've known my brother my entire life," I say, forcing the phoniest smile on my face as possible, "but never in my life have I ever seen him this ... " I glance over at my brother, touching noses with Eileene, and choose my words. "... Happy." 

I can think of few other choice words I could've and should've used to describe my brother and Eileene's relationship. None of which are kind words, I will point out. Sabia would chide me if I used foul language at a wedding, something I learned the hard way. 

"Ever since he came home the night after my transformation, my birthday, I'll say, with a random girl hooked to his arm, jubilant as ever, Eileene has always been a part of our lives." I let my head twitch from side to side as I keep my smile forced onto my face. I look over to my brother and Eileene. "Although heaven forbids they ever get of the house and do anything but watch movies, cheers to them and whatever." 

I've said worse. 

I pick up Malvin's glass of ginger ale before he can even exclaim in great disgust for my petty behavior. I look over my shoulder at my distraught brother. 

He mutters just audible enough for everyone to hear him say, "B, cut it out. The act is over. You cannot try to separate Eileene and me anymore. It's juvenile, and you need to grow up. I did, so you can too. Hence, Eileene and I are moving into our own place. I'll be damned if you are deemed eligible to for Matching. "  

I look into the audience with a silver glass of ginger ale clenched in between my palms. My face shaking,  the glass is able to break with only one trembling, bare hand. Ginger ale spills into a puddle at my feet. I've known my brother for all these years, and now he's just going to bail on me and say those mean things to my face. 

Under my breath, I mutter, "I hate you, Kyran." 

Keanna's already at the stand on our level as I begin to growl. My last words bellow just so everyone can hear me in the midst of sarcasm, "To Eileene and Kyran, one happy Match."

Keanna grabs me by the arm and pulls me out of the dining room before anything else can happen. I am so damn lucky to have her. 

~

This chapter was such a fun chapter to write. I think it gives the readers an insight on Betrys' past and it shows what's going on. 

How do you feel about Keanna?

Why does Betrys have a problem with Eileene? 

If you liked this chapter, don't forget to vote and comment. I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

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X Shay X