Fate Mate

Chapter 26

"His birthday is in two days?" I looked up from my game of Candy Crush with wide eyes. "Why did no one tell me!"

Sophia and I lounged on her bed, thoroughly exhausted from our brawl earlier in the afternoon, with an episode of some horrible reality show buzzing from the television.

"Well, because of everything going on, we figured we would all be too busy to celebrate," My companion explained while braiding her damp locks of black hair. "Plus, Nolan's never been a fan of his birthday."

I huffed and set Nolan's phone, which he had given to me in order to play Candy Crush in my spare-time, to the side. My game would have to wait. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Because my brother's a stick in the mud?" Sophia offered through a mouthful of her own hair, a necessary step in crafting the perfect braid.

I nodded in agreement, although I couldn't help the smile that crept onto my lips at the thought of my conservative mate. "Come on, it's his birthday! We have to do something!"

Sophia shrugged, tying off the last part of her long braid. "We can order him a cake?"

I rolled my eyes, "Or, we could throw him a party..."

The Golden Walkers Pack never missed celebrating a birthday! Even if the birthday boy or girl didn't want a huge party, we still managed to make them feel special... And, given the immense pressures weighing on an Alpha's shoulders, we always made sure Sehan felt especially appreciated on his birthday.

"But the hybrids and the talisman and--" Sophia began to protest, but I quickly cut her off.

"All the more reason for us to celebrate!" I persisted, suddenly uplifted by the prospect of planning Nolan a party. Maybe I just wanted something to get my mind off of our impending doom?  "Look, the party isn't just for Nolan... I think the pack could use this too."

Sophia considered this for a moment before a mischievous smirk pulled at the corners of her lips. "Well...I have always wanted to throw a surprise party."

"Now we're talking!" I laughed.

Sophia and I spent the next hour making plans for Nolan's birthday party. I quickly discovered that making arrangements at such a short notice wasn't difficult when you were the Black Lupis Pack Luna... We called on one of the best cooks in the pack to bake a cake for the event, while Dylan volunteered to help barbeque. Even Raegan offered his help in arranging patrols so that Nolan would be away from the pack house in the hours leading up to the party.

Everything was falling into place.

With almost everything situated, Sophia and I skipped dinner and opted for a bag of popcorn while we carefully selected the music playlist for the evening. We selected ten songs that Nolan might have enjoyed before distracting ourselves with our own favorite melodies

Halfway through Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," the music cut out, replaced by the shrill ring of Nolan's cellphone. I dug through Sophia's bed comforter until I found the cellphone.

The Caller ID read: RESTRICTED.

My heartbeat quickened, a consequence of watching one-too-many horror movies in my youth, and I slowly brought the cellphone to my ear. "Hello?"

"Charlie?" The man on the other end of the line breathed, and my shoulders instantly sagged in relief.

"Dominic!" I half-cried into the speaker. "How are you? Where are you calling from? And Happy Early-Birthday!"

My questions followed one another far too quickly for him to answer, and I thought I heard him flinch away from the receiver due to the volume. To my disappointment, Dominic ignored all three, "Where's Nolan? Why do you have his phone?"