Gabriel had her body pinned against a wide Oak. The rough bark pierced into her bare skin, scratching down her arms. His body was pressing hard against hers. Her breasts squished between them, nearly popping out of her corset. She kept her eyes focused on his and extended her hands up, setting them flat against his chest. She couldn't resist the urge to touch him. To feel the weirdly familiar sparks that danced across her skin whenever they made physical contact.

She breathed him in deeply. His scent produced an oddly calming effect that made her brain go fuzzy and warm. She pushed her eyes closed for a moment, gathering herself, recalling what she was saying.

"You can't just force yourself on me every time we have a disagreement," Amelia spoke softly. For some reason, her breath was coming in short and winded. "Otherwise, we'll never get anywhere."

Gabriel growled deep in his throat, tilting his head down, resting his forehead against hers. His eyes fell closed as she noticed his nostrils expand, taking in her scent.

"You're gonna be a problem for me, aren't you?" Gabriel asked.

Amelia chuckled. "Probably."

"I barely know you, and already you're driving me and my wolf mad."

"I've been known to have that effect on people."

Gabriel pulled back, looking deep into her eyes. She looked up meeting his gaze, making out a few flecks of gold near the iris as his eyes warmed before her. His demeanor had changed. Moments ago she could have sworn he wanted to throttle her, but the way he was looking at her now made her knees weak, her stomach quivering with nerves, and her skin flushed.

She swallowed with difficulty under the scrutiny of his gaze. The movement wasn't unnoticed. His eyes flicked down to her neck, right to her marking spot. Unknowingly, she cocked her head to the side, waiting to see what he'd do. Rey was purring like a kitten in the back of her mind, waiting and watching, urging his wolf to claim her. Amelia wanted to silence her other half. Remind her they were nowhere near ready for such a commitment, but she couldn't bring herself to form the words.

She stood there waiting for him to make a move. Do something. Her patience grew thin. The idea of seizing him by his collar and pulling him down entered her mind. That is until he suddenly stepped back.

Amelia was instantly confused. A violent chill crept along her skin from the loss of contact. She could have sworn he wanted to mark her, or at least kiss her, but instead, he backed away. She was impressed. She wanted to step forward. To steal a kiss in this isolated part of the woods,''''',ii89 when she heard a familiar voice in her head.

Amelia! Where the hell did you disappear to now?

What?! she growled, not realizing she'd also spoken aloud. Gabriel looked at her curiously.

Get the hell out of the woods, off of your mate, and over here. It's time for cake.

Amelia blocked her brother, refusing to respond before focusing her attention back to her mate.

"Cake," she said with a shrug of her shoulders.

Gabriel nodded his head, gesturing for her to go ahead of him. Amelia set off, back in the direction of the Packhouse, the voices and music getting louder as they got closer.

"I didn't know today was your birthday. All we knew was there was going to be an Alpha ceremony," Gabriel said, walking alongside her.

"Yeah, Dad didn't want to wait to pass the Alpha rank along. Damon is very mature for his age, and Dad deserves a break. He's been playing Alpha and Luna for over a decade. He could use the time off," Amelia told him.

"What happened to your mother? If you don't mind me asking."

Amelia took in a deep breath, softly shrugging her shoulders. "We're not really sure. She was outside in the garden. She loved working out there. That was when we heard her screams. Dad, Damon, and I ran outside and found her. She had been torn apart, shredded to pieces. There wasn't even enough of her to bury." That day still haunted her nightmares. Still left her shaking, sweating in fear. "We never found who did it. We couldn't track him. There was no scent, no trace, nothing."

"How old were you?"

"Damon and I were six," she told him. "She was pregnant, too. I was gonna have a sister."

He reached down, lacing his fingers in hers, giving her a gentle squeeze. She looked up at him, surprised by the gesture, and found herself smiling.

Together they left the shelter of the lush, green forest and walked out onto the neatly cut lawn. It was still littered with guests and pack members. Children were running around, chasing each other, and dodging their parents. Off to the side, two wolves were wrestling, snapping at one another's necks. Goddess only knew what they were arguing about, but no one seemed to be paying them any attention.

As they walked deeper into the crowd, Amelia felt eyes turning on them. She felt herself inch closer to him, gripping his hand tighter than before while still holding her head high, squaring her shoulders. She was not going to let anyone intimidate her, especially not her own pack.

Amelia spotted her brother near the stage. A large five-tier cake adorned a small table beside him. She could smell the overly sweet buttercream icing and vanilla extract used in the cake making her mouth water. She couldn't wait to devour it. Ms. McKready never disappointed.

She moved in his direction, Gabriel following closely behind her, their hands still entwined. Nearly reaching her brother, she looked back at her mate. He offered her a faint smile in support.

Amelia caught her father's eye as they traveled down to her hand entwined with Gabriel's. She could tell by the tick in his clenched jaw he had words to say about it, but would keep silent with all of their guests present. For now.

She left his side to join her brother.

Thomas stepped forward, "I know a lot of you have already celebrated Amelia and Damon's birthday last night," Thomas glared at them.

Amelia instantly looked elsewhere. Anywhere but her father. Damon beside her lowered his head. They were lucky enough to not be sporting their hangover, but many of the teens present were not so fortunate. She could smell the booze still leaking from their pores, much the same as Damon was experiencing earlier that day. She couldn't help but feel embarrassed at having been called out but they had a blast last night. Even if it did end up with her covered in vomit.

"But tonight is for all of the pack. Today my children become adults. Damon is going on to become one of the greatest Alpha's our pack has ever known, and Amelia ... well, we all know she'll do whatever her heart tells her," her father said.

This earned him quite a few chuckles and an annoyed glare from his daughter. "Raise your glass and let's wish them a very Happy Birthday. The start of the rest of their lives."

Everyone in attendance raised their glasses in the air, wishing them a happy birthday. Amelia smiled brightly, bouncing on her toes beside her brother. Damon stood proudly, his cheeks gaining color by the second.

Amelia cut into the cake, portioning out a slice and placing it down on a plate. She turned to her brother smiling, offering him the first slice. Damon looked at her curiously. Normally, she insisted on the first piece.

He went to take it from her, smiling in thanks.

Silly man. She mind-linked him just before smashing the slice of cake straight into his face. His eyes widened, eyebrows raised in shock as the icing stuck chunks of cake to his skin. Amelia laughed as most of their friends joined in. The adults and elders that knew them couldn't help but smirk, rolling their eyes—typical Amelia.

"Here we go again," Thomas mumbled.

Damon licked the cake that was adhered to his skin around his mouth, before wiping the icing from his eyes. He blinked them open, trying to prevent them from sticking. Amelia laughed hysterically as he pursed his lips. Nodding his head, he reached around her and pulled back a solid hand full of cake in his palm.

"You wouldn't." Amelia narrowed her eyes at him.

"Oh, I would," Damon pushed the cake straight into her face, smearing it in as he went. Amelia gasped, shrieking as he went further, smudging the food into her hair.

Thomas stepped in before it went any farther. They were known for their epic food fights and she could only assume he did not want to make a spectacle with all the neighboring packs visiting.

"So much for being adults," he said to the two of them, his eyebrow raised.

Amelia wiped the food from her eyes before inserting a finger in her mouth, sucking off the delicious buttercream frosting. "We can be adults tomorrow."

Thomas laughed, shaking his head at her. "No food fight tonight. Let's not further ruin this stunning cake Mrs. McKready made."

Amelia pulled a small piece of cake from her brother's face before popping it into her mouth. "It's delicious."

Her father merely laughed at her and pulled out two towels from underneath the table, handing one to each of his children. This had become a tradition of theirs since they were pups.

Amelia took the towel from her father, wiping off the cake from her face while one of the omegas from the kitchen began to cut and hand it out. She felt his eyes on her as gooseflesh prickled down her neck. Like a moth to a flame. Still wiping off the icing, she walked over to him. His eyes narrowed at her.

"I'm gonna have my hands full with you," Gabriel stated once she was close enough. She still had icing streaked through her platinum hair, lining her eyelashes.

"Probably," Amelia reached up, wiping icing down his cheek. His eyes widened. She stood up on her tippy toes, reaching behind his neck, pulling him down closer. She slowly licked the icing off his skin, pulling back to find his eyes shifting from silver to black and back as he fought his wolf for control.

Her heart raced in her chest, oddly satisfied by the effect she was having on him. Rey pushed forward. Her own eyes turned a vivid shade of green as her own wolf pushed through the thin veil that separated man from beast. Her better half wanted nothing more than to meet his wolf, frolic and chase each other through the forest like new pups. But, Amelia pulled her back. She wanted to see how far she could push him.

"I'm also a tease," she whispered in his ear.

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