Try Me

Chapter 8

Willow's POV

I woke up and had my usual cup of coffee. Shade had sent me a text, telling me he wasn't able to train this morning so I had my morning free. When Jacey came in I smiled, "Good morning." "Do you have any plans," he asked me curiously. "Nope," I replied. "Well, I'd like you to take you to the Christmas fair the town is doing," he said to me. "Today is the first day it's opened, and given our soon to be busy schedules, I thought it best we go today before we missed our chance." I nodded as I smiled, "That sounds like fun." After I finished my coffee, I went upstairs to get changed and left with him.

The fair was filled with many games, foods, music, and cute photo areas. The winds were low today so Jacey wasn't shivering every few minutes. I still stood close to him though anytime we stopped at one of the booths. When one of the games he decided to mess around and cover my eyes, making me miss my target. I laughed and smacked his arm playfully once he uncovered my eyes. When it was his turn, I bumped him with my hip, but it was no use since he still got it. He picked the stuffed dragon that wore a Santa hard and red scarf around it's neck and gave it to me. We spent the entire day having fun and taking pictures.

As we began to walk back to the Jeep he wrapped an arm around my waist. I looked up at him, "I had a lot of fun. Thanks for bringing me here." He gave me a soft smile, "I had fun too." He then lowered his head and kissed me and I eagerly kissed him back. Sparks erupted between us and I was addicted to them. When we pulled away he rested his forehead on mine, both of us smiling. He gave me another kiss, this one quick since the temperature was dropping and I didn't want him getting sick.

When we got back, he took my hand and lead me to the mountain and I wasn't complaining. When we got near the living space I caught a few scents that confused me entirely. When we got to the living space, I was speechless. Standing in the living space was my mom and my brothers. My brothers, both still in their wolf forms since they haven't shifted yet. My eyes burned as I went and hugged my mom. I never realized how much I missed my family until now. We pulled away and she cupped my face and explained how Red and Desiree had wanted to fly the three of them down as a gift to me, and to allow me celebrate Winter Solstice properly.

"Oi my daughter," she said then pinched my cheeks. "You need to eat. It's good to see that you've been keeping up with your training." She let my cheeks go and I introduced her and my brothers to Jacey. Jacey smiled, "It's good to meet you." "And you Jacey. Thank you for accepting my daughter," she said to him. My brothers just seemed to stare at him, most likely mind linking to one another their opinions.

I then thanked Jacey's parents for bringing my family here for the holidays. "This will be a good chance to see just how our traditions will mix," my mother said and Desiree nodded in agreement. I just prayed they didn't clash too much.

Jacey's POV

It was nice seeing Willow so happy. Her smiles were bright and filled with joy, and it made me really happy. The day after her family arrived, my tribe began to arrive. Since Solstice was in a couple of days, today we were doing our secret Santa reveal. We all sat in the living space with the gifts we had been given. "Since Willow is our newest addition, she should go first," my mother said with a nod towards Willow. "Mine was pretty easy to guess," she said as she pulled the flute out of it's case. "Thank you Dancer," she said with a smile. "What gave it away," he asked with a soft chuckle. "You were the only one in the bar that night when Jacey and I were playing pool when I mentioned I played the flute and didn't have one here with me. The bottom part though was made me really like it." She turned the flute for everyone to see the engraving. "Plus your scent." I looked at her mother, "Out of curiosity, for next year, is there anyway to effectively cover our scent so she actually has to guess?" Her mother laughed softly, "Citrus or mint. Works every time. I keep a bottle of citrus scented air freshener for that very reason."

After that we went from youngest to oldest, meaning it was Lucas' turn. When it had gotten to me, I had to admit that I couldn't figure it out for the life of me. I had to admit everyone's gifts were pretty impressive this year, but not many were able to guess their Santa. When it was time to reveal our cards, I was shocked that Willow had gotten mom and Shade. She had gotten my mother these special picture frames that allowed her to take a memory she has from before cameras were in existence and to think about it, and it will appear in the frame. She got them from a coven of witches. She had gotten Shade a pair of glasses that assisted with his light sensitivity that had transition lenses. Since he had complete color blindness, bright light can make everything appear almost not there because he isn't able to tell the difference. So this helps him rather well. It was Shade who was my secret Santa. He admitted to seeing me looking at it a few times on my phone, but never actually purchasing it.

Willow had been deemed the winner since not only were her gifts thoughtful, she was the only one to figure out who had been her Santa. She was rather lucky. It was then time for us to open our Christmas gifts. We always opened our Christmas gifts early due to the large gathering we have that takes up our entire day, and we only buy presents for our immediate family. When I got to Willow's gift I saw it was a dagger. It had a white bone handle, and a black blade. "It's a tichnia," Willow told me. "It's like a badge that declares you're my equal and second. I had to get permission from my Alpha in order to gift it to you since it's something I can never take back once it's been given." I was a little speechless at what it meant. As a warrior I knew just how important that meant.

"It means you're the fourth highest ranking in our pack," her mother shared with me. "Willow is the third and then you have our Luna, and last is our Alpha." "Thank you Willow," I said to her before leaning over to give her a kiss. "You're welcome handsome."

One of her gifts she had gotten completely shocked almost all of us. They were a set of warrior feathers from my parents. They had to have gotten permission from our Tribe leader in order to gift them to her since no female has ever been given a set. What really shocked me is that they were black. Most feathers are white for those who have no rank. However, a few, like myself, have colored feathers. They can be black, gray, or red. Black means they're a sentinel, someone seen as an elite warrior with a special set of skills that are seen valuable to the Tribe. Gray means they're trainers and guardians. Trainers and guardians are those who are seen with the best skills and are trusted to ensure our future warriors have the skills they need to protect the tribe, after all not just anyone can train us to be the best. Red is for those who are deemed worthy enough to be a warrior in our holy lands. Our holy lands is where our Tribe first settled, and those grounds are very sacred to our people.

"You're a special case," my father explained. "We informed our tribe leader that the two of you aren't following gender roles and see yourselves as equals. He thought to make your declaration of being equals official. Of course with the tribe she'll have to prove herself. Since Jacey is a sentinel, so are you." I looked at her and saw the smile on her face. She nodded, "I'm honored, thank you."

That night, since the weather was calm, I walked her to her room, her fingers laced with mine, her head resting on my arm. When we got to her room she turned to me, "This year has been better than I could have ever imagined, thank you Jacey." I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "You don't need to thank me Willow." "But I do. Its because of you and your family that I'm actually happy and I've received the best presents I have ever gotten," she said to me. "I can say the same to you," I said to her. I then lowered my head down to kiss her.

When we pulled away we were breathless, but I didn't want to stop. I knew I would have no choice. Tomorrow we began preparations as more of our tribe arrived. At least I will get a break on Solstice.