Everything Anew

Chapter Forty-Nine

Forty-Nine

Nathan

I promised everyone that the next Christmas we spent together would be less rushed. Some of them complained that they didn't have enough time to get gifts for the others, while a few were almost relieved at the fact.

"I didn't know what to get any of you anyway, so it works out." Evan grinned, canines glinting just before Eric smacked him upside the head.

"You're a cheap fucker for someone who has money."

Eric moved out of the way before Evan could get his own hit in, and pulled out a chair to sit beside Seojoon.

The artist of the pack was the only one who was prepared ahead of time, calling each of us procrastinators while he handed all of us jewelry that he made himself. For Markus and I, Seojoon created cufflinks. Mine was the shade of smoky quartz, while Markus' was amethyst.

For Evan, he made a simple necklace that held an emerald in the center that hung low to his chest. Seojoon made sure to remind the beta that if he lost it, there would be hell to pay.

Eric was a little more hesitant to open his in front of everyone, but considering everyone else was opening theirs, he exhaled aloud and lifted the lid to the box.

"I know you don't wear them much anymore but...I thought it would suit you." Seojoon said.

He pulled an onyx ring out and stared at it closely. The outer edges were silver, making the black crystal stand out even more when Eric slipped it on over his right ring finger. I decided not to ponder why he chose to place it on that finger, but I glanced at the two nonetheless.

When Lila was next, Seojoon cleared his throat and smiled nervously. "This is something me and Nathan did together."

Her eyes found mine, full of surprise, and I found myself smiling back at her. "Open it." I said.

Lila opened the box and stared at what was inside. I made sure to tell Seojoon I didn't want her to have a necklace. From now on, nothing would be around her neck unless she asked for it herself, instead I insisted on something else.

Pulling them out of the box, Lila held the earrings in her hands. Both had a matching set of teardrop shaped rubies that dropped down into silver where two smaller ones hung.

When her eyes met mine again, they were wide. "This is too much." Lila said to me, but then turned to Seojoon. "I have nothing for you."

"All I want is for my alphas to be happy, and he asked to do it, so blame him not me." Seojoon beamed.

Before she could pester me, I put my hands up in defense. "My birthday is in May. Give me an extra gift then, if you want to make up for it."

Lila's eyes bore into mine, but after a few seconds she huffed out a breath and brought the earrings to her ears. It had been a while since she had any in, so she flinched when she pushed the first one through, but didn't struggle as much with the second. Moving her brown hair over her shoulders, she tucked the loose strands behind her ears and looked back at me.

Gods, she took my breath away. I was speechless for a moment until Markus cleared his throat to get my attention, and I finally mumbled like an idiot. "You're beautiful."

Some of the others chortled, but I ignored them to reach out and grab her hand. The next few hours I couldn't take my eyes off of her, even when half the pack went to the kitchen to start Christmas dinner, and Seojoon, Evan and I went into my office to attempt to catch up on my emails and paperwork that needed to be done while I was away.