"Well I thought I could never be surprised, but could it be that I bit my own tongue. Oh yeah, it's so hard to swallow when you're wrong."
~John Lennon, 'Surprise, Surprise'

~~~

*Remi's POV*

The last bell rings, and I run as fast as I can out the door. I've been avoiding Sawyer like the plague ever since that day in the locker room. Which means I've been having to jog home every day, but it's preferable to being subjected to spending any amount of time in Sawyer's car.

As soon as I'm off school grounds, I breathe a sigh of relief. It's Friday, so I'm free for the weekend!

I skip down the sidewalk, deciding to take a detour through town. It's not often that I got to roam around without someone accompanying me, so I'm basking in my temporary freedom. Because once Sawyer inevitably snitches that I've been finding my own way home, I don't doubt that my dads will find a different way to force us together.

Seriously, I wish they would give up on their quest to make me and Sawyer friends again. We're going to hate each other forever. And I'm fine with that!

In fact, I'd be fine if I never saw him again! That stupid son of a—

The smell of food wafts into my nostrils, distracting me from my inner monologue. Mouth already watering, I float over to the food cart selling street tacos.

My stomach grumbles from the delicious scent. Damn, I'm fucking hungry.

Before I can order, a depressing reminder sits on my brain, deflating my happiness. Reaching into my pockets, I feel around to confirm my worst nightmare.

Yup. I don't have any money.

I groan, stomping my foot on the ground. This is the worst thing that has ever happened in the history of the universe. If I don't get food soon, I'll probably die!

Right as I'm getting ready to write my will, I spot a familiar face in the crowd of people walking along the sidewalks. My spirits are lifted as I excitedly jump up and down.

"Finn!" I scream, waving at Stone's dad. He turns his head in the direction of my voice, and flinches. Finn ducks his head and tries to hide behind a street sign, but I shout out, "Too late! I already saw you!"

Finn curses under his breath before making his way over to me. I grin smugly, bouncing on my heels.

"Can't I go one week without you tracking me down?" Finn sighs tiredly.

"I didn't track you down," I roll my eyes. "We just happened to be in the same place!"

"Yeah, yeah. What do you want today?"

I point at the taco stand. "Those tacos smell really good, but I'm out of money."

Finn grumbles, pulling out his wallet. "You always seem to find me whenever you want food. I swear, this is my bad karma for making Theo buy me food when we were younger."

"Then papa would be proud of me!" I announce decidedly. Finn mutters something under his breath as he hands some cash to the vendor in exchange for five tacos. He holds three of them out to me, but I end up taking four.

"I don't know how your dad hasn't gone insane yet, living with you and Theo."

"That's because dad loves us," I grin, shoving a taco in my mouth. "Even when we act like little shits."

"Don't talk with your mouth full, you pig person," Finn scolds, making me laugh so hard that I end up choking on my taco. "I need to get going before my wife loses her shit. See you tomorrow, kid."

"Tomorrow?"

Finn raises a brow. "For Sawyer's birthday? Your dad said you would be going."

I groan and smack my palm against my forehead. I completely forgot about that! So much for being free from Sawyer this weekend.

"Yeah, I'll be there," I grumble before taking another large bite of my taco.

The Luna ruffles my hair before waving goodbye and disappearing down the street. I sigh, trying to lift my mood by shoveling the taco into my mouth. Shit, this taco is fucking delicious.

Deciding that I've spent enough time in town, I start jogging home. Heading away from town and towards the woods, I jog down the dirt trail that leads to our pack. It takes a while to get home, but I don't mind. My dads have always forced me to run, ever since they found out that it's the best way for me to burn off energy.

Not even two seconds after stepping into the pack house, a hand comes down on my arm; the sound of a slap resonating through the house.

"Ow!" I yelp, rubbing my arm. "Dad! What the hell?"

"Why did you ditch Sawyer?" Dad questions with narrowed eyes. So, Sawyer did snitch!

"You can't force us to be friends! He's a dick."

"He's also the son of our Beta, and the grandson of the Beta before Jayden. You guys should try to get along, since he will most likely be your Beta one day."

My jaw drops. "Over my dead body!"

"Remington."

"I would rather die than have Sawyer as my Beta! I can't stand being in the same room with him for more than five minutes, let alone work with him for a lifetime. It's not happening!"

I run up the stairs to my room, ignoring my dad shouting after me. I slam my door and lock it, since papa isn't home to calm dad down. Dad would never hurt me, but he would lecture me until it became painful.

Groaning, I throw myself onto my bed and beat my unsuspecting pillow with my small fists. If my dad knew that awful word Sawyer said to Asher, he wouldn't be trying to make me get along with him.

But I'm not going to tell him. Knowing that word is used to hurt people like my dads... I can't repeat it and risk seeing that look of hurt on his face.

I snuggle into my bed, hugging my pillow in a silent apology for beating it up earlier. The tacos settle in my stomach, making me feel drowsy until I eventually drift to sleep.

***

I shrieked a giggle, trying to twist away from the fingers tickling my tummy.

There were coos and words being said, but I couldn't understand any of them over the sound of my giggles. I just knew that they were my mommy and daddy. I loved them, and felt safe in their arms.

When I looked up at them, their faces were blurry. I couldn't remember exactly what they looked like, but I remembered their dark hair.

Mommy and daddy let me eat yummy food; I think I remember them calling it "cake". Bring lights flashed in my face as mommy's lips turned up in a smile, making me giggle.

Daddy pressed his lips to the top of my head.

"Happy birthday, baby boy."

***

I awake with a gasp; sweat covering my body and making my clothes stick to my skin. My blonde hair is damp with sweat. My heart thumps wildly in my chest as I feel my inner wolf stirring with life.

What... what the hell is happening?

This shouldn't be happening.

Not yet, not until I turn eighteen.

...until I turn eighteen.

Even though I know the chances are extremely slim, I can't deny the feeling of newfound power coursing through my veins. I've heard enough from my dads about what I would feel when I turned eighteen, but... I didn't expect it to be so soon.

"Papa!" I scream. "Dad!"

Within seconds, the lock on my door breaks as the door slams open, and my dads race into my room. Eyes wild with alarm and hair sticking in every direction from their night of sleep, they quickly run to my bed.

"Remi! What is it? Why did you scream?" Papa questions worriedly.

"My wolf," I breathe out, pressing my hand against my chest. "I can feel him."

Dad's eyes widen in shock. "What? No... no, the doctor said... he couldn't have been that far off. Right?"

Papa stammers. "His guess was based on Remi's size. We didn't stop to consider that he could've been... small for his age."

"Holy shit," I gasped. "He was a whole year off?! That means..."

My dads exchange a look of utter disbelief as I sit there, completely dumbfounded.

Today's my birthday.

I'm eighteen.

~~~

Did anyone see that coming?

Thoughts??

See you next time!
-Gumbie