Adopted by The Pack

Chapter 50

When Liam was holding me to give me the serum, I felt safer than when Jessica would hold me, but I was still worried about how much the shot would hurt.

Once it was over, I stayed a mouse and jumped to the table, transforming there instead so I wouldn't be in Liam's hands. I trusted him some, but not that much. Standing up, I was soon embraced by Preston, and it turned into a group hug.

"Guys! Y'all are smothering me!" I laughed, glad to be back.

"Too bad! Plus, we were worried about you!" Preston exclaimed, pulling everyone in tighter.

"But isn't my birthday party tomorrow?" When I said that, the hug ended almost instantaneously.

"Oh. Yeah. I forgot about that." Preston said, slowly backing away while scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah, we need to decorate for that. Liam, if Preston's fine with it, will you escort Ash to Cheryl's house?" Jerome said. After Preston gave his consent, we were on our way to Cheryl's.

"Hey Cheryl!" I said before getting smothered in another hug. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Liam slowly leaving, and I called for him to stay.

"Really? I figured you wouldn't want me here, since it was probably partly my fault for your dad and his friends being kidnapped." Liam stated, looking at his shoes.

"Nah. It's fine, plus, who else is going to help me explain this to Raven once Cheryl and I get her here?" I said, laughing a little. And soon enough, we were all on the couch in Cheryl's house, chatting like we had never lost any time.
Lachlan's POV
As we decorated the house for Ashley's extremely belated party, I realized we were missing a very key part.

"Hey guys? Where's the chocolate cake?" I mentioned. Preston facepalmed.

"Hey, could you teleport over to the bakery and get a triple layer chocolate cake?" Preston asked me.

"Yeah, sure. What about ice cream?" I said, ready to go.

"We already have some in the freezer." He said, and then I left for the bakery. Arriving there, I bought the cake and returned. In the time I was gone, they managed to put up a good amount of the decorations we had, which wasn't really all that much.

"I got the cake. Do you guys need my height for anything, or-" I trailed off.

"I've got it." Jerome said, using his telekinesis to put things up. I did a thumbs up at him, and went to the kitchen to put the cake up.

Just as I sat it down, the doorbell rang, and I teleported over to the door to answer it. The decorations all disappeared as I opened the door for Ash. She raised an eyebrow at the seeming lack of decorations, but went on up to her room. The rest of us followed her lead, except for Jerome, who stayed up to finish with the decorations.
Preston's POV
That next morning, we all woke up early in order to be downstairs before Ashley. I can't wait to see how excited she is. I thought to myself. I hope she likes what Bri and I got her.

"Preston, will you help me in the kitchen?" Brianna shouted.

"Coming." I said, and went over there. We had contacted Liam last night while Ash was there, and had arranged for him to bring Cheryl and Raven over at around 8 or so. "So, what do you need?" I asked Bri.

"Will you mix this while I start making the pancakes?" She said, handing me a bowl of chopped fruit. As I mixed the fruit salad, my mind began to wander.
Rob's POV
With my "talent" for having a green thumb, I was in charge of getting suitable flowers and making the lawn even greener. Out in the backyard, I did what I could with the grass, and then focused on the flower beds. I concentrated on what became flourishing rose bushes emerging from the fertile soil, fully grown and with full, peachy blooms. Satisfied with the fragrance coming from them, I moved on to the front yard. I needed to be more careful here, lest someone see me using my power. Slowly I changed the color of the lawn with barely any noticeable change. Looking over it, I figured it looked good, and went to work on a thing of flowers for Ashley. I stood up, and saw three people walking up.

"Hey Mr. Latsky. Are we early enough?" One of them, a black haired girl, asked.

"Yeah, you should be good. Don't bother knocking or ringing the doorbell, just go in so you don't wake her." I said, and they went on in. I headed to the backyard to do the flowers in private, and ended up with a bouquet of baby's breath, a vibrant red rose, and a few leafy ferns. Picking it up, I took it inside and set it in a vase of water.
Ashley's POV
Waking up, I remembered that it was my birthday party. The rest of the Pack would be leaving today, and hopefully all this craziness would be over.

My room had a restroom in it, and so I got up and went in there and put on a little bit of makeup. Everyone here for the party already knew about the shifting thing, so I put on cute clothes and fully shifted into my fox. I figured that someone would come up to get me, so I went over to the door and listened closely. But even my fox ears couldn't hear someone teleport. Or... maybe I just snoozed off.

"Ashley? You need to get up!" Someone said as they opened the door. "Ash?" The person questioned, stepping inside my room. I quickly shifted into an ant, and, avoiding Keeley's feet, I ran off towards my bathroom. Just as I was nearly there, she decided to check over there too, and since she was bigger than me in ant form, she quickly caught up to me. Right as a shadow fell over me, I managed to shift her into an ant so I could explain.
Hey Ash? You up yet? Vikk suddenly asked.
Yes, I'll be down in a bit. Just chatting with Keeley. I answered, and found Keeley looking at me.

"Hey, don't worry. If I turn you into something larger will you please not step on me while I shift back?" I asked her.

"I-I-I, sure. Who are you?" She asked me.

"It's just me, Ashley." I said, and with that I shifted her into an arctic fox. I quickly shifted into myself, and then did the same for her.

"Wait, so you can just, do that?" Keeley asked me. I just smiled and walked over to the door.

"Isn't it time for the party?" I asked, reaching for the doorknob. She nodded, and I held the door open for her. We went downstairs, and I was met with a modestly decorated party. I already knew that the entire Pack would be there's plus Brianna, and when Keeley came up to get me, I figured that meant that Preston's parents and siblings would also be there, but I wasn't expecting for Raven, Cheryl, or Liam to come. Barely able to speak, all I could do was grin. Finally I found my tongue.

"Thank y'all so much!" I managed t say, still grinning like a lunatic. "But, what's the order of events? Like, is it cake then presents and just skip breakfast, or what?"

"I have breakfast already prepared, so can everyone go to the dining room?" Brianna said. We all did so, and for breakfast there were pancakes with powdered sugar, fruit salad, and scrambled eggs.

By the time everyone finished eating, we decided that I would begin opening my presents before we got to the chocolates cake and ice cream.

I grabbed a smaller bag, and seeing it was from Preston and Brianna, quickly opened it. The moment I pulled out a red fox stuffed animal, I almost forgot about the rest of my presents. Just this one small gift made me thankful that I was adopted into this family. Even if Preston wasn't a super successful YouTuber, he probably would still be friends with Mitch, Rob, Vikk, Jerome, and Lachlan. With every terrible thing, like the death of my parents, comes an opportunity for something great to happen. If I was never orphaned, sure, I never would have nearly died or been hunted down, but I also may have never discovered Preston, or met him, or been added to the Pack.

And for the first time in eight years, I felt like I had a real home and family again.

Thank y'all so much for reading my entire book. By the end of summer, I will have hopefully remembered to come back and finish this book. But, in the time between that and my next book coming, which will be a Harry Potter fan fiction, please feel free to look at In The Woods, and like always, don't forget to vote.