I notice that his tie is crooked, so I walk over to him, "Of course, she does. She's Amelia Storm!" I muse as I fix and straighten his silk tie, which coincidentally, matches my dress perfectly, "New tie?"
"Yeah, mom bought it when she bought the dress." He smirks and I can't help the bubble of laughter that slips from my mouth as well.
Taking a step back, I clasp my hands in front of my body. "Your text asked me to meet you here?"
"Uh, yes. I have part of your birthday gift that I thought you may want before we leave." He holds out a blue velvety box, wrapped with a white ribbon, "As you will see, they aren't brand new, but I think you will love them more."
I glance between Declan and the blue box as I untie the ribbon. Opening it slowly, it takes a moment for my brain to catch up with what my eyes are seeing, but then I gasp and lose feeling in my legs. Luckily, Declan is here to catch me before I fall on my ***. He holds me up while I gaze at the pair of diamond teardrop earrings that my father gave my mother for their twentieth wedding anniversary just a few months before the attack
I look up at Declan, "How? I mean…"
"Ember, I put all your family's things into storage, so you can go through it when you are ready. I have everything here, it's all yours. I wasn't sure if these meant anything, but they looked like they may have been special, so I wanted to give them to you for your birthday." He swipes at a tear that escaped.
"They are special. My father gave my mom these for their anniversary just before the attack." I throw my arms around Declan's neck, "Thank you so much Declan. You don't know how much this means to me!" "I think I did, that's why I did it." I can hear the grin in his voice, so I push myself away from him and slap his chest.
"You're such a ***, Alpha!"
He catches my hand and kisses the top of it, "Happy Birthday, Ember."
"Thank you, Declan."
He claps his hands together, "Why don't you go grab Mimi and touch up your makeup," he does a little hand motion by his face, "You have a little mascara running down your face."
"Ugh! Why did you have to make me cry?" I hurry out of the room to go find Mimi as I hear the Alpha's laugh all the way down the hall.
The Italian restaurant that we go to is one of my favorites, and we are seated in the VIP area. Since I am a wolf, I can now legally drink at the age of eighteen, since it takes longer for our bodies to metabolize the alcohol. Declan orders a few bottles of wine and some sparkling cider for Mimi, although she steals sips from mine all night long. When the waiters are done clearing the table, they start to bring our dessert out, but there is a slight commotion just outside the door. A moment later, Lila comes waltzing through the doorway with a smug smile on her face
"I'm so sorry I'm late! I couldn't remember what time it was, and my invite got lost in the mail." She leans down and kisses Declan on the cheek as he stares in shock at her. Lila grabs an empty chair and squeezes it right between mine and Declan's chairs.
"You must be mistaken, Lila," Amelia speaks up. "This is a private birthday party. There were no invites sent out. The only ones invited are already here."
Either Lila didn't understand what Amelia was saying or she chose to ignore her completely, because she giggles and sits down in her chair. There is no room for either Declan, nor , to move over, so we are squished together, and the **-scented perfume that blondie is wearing is already giving me a headache.
I stand up. "Excuse me, I just need to grab some air quick. I'll be back in two minutes." I smile at everyone but the intruder before I leave the room. When I step outside, I take huge gulps of air, needing the clean air to clear out the poison that she's wearing.
"The audacity of that ***!" Mimi's voice is low and menacing.
"Yeah well, it's not the first time today that I had to deal with her. I got in her face this morning and told her that if she ever treated me the way she did this morning than I'd be doing more than getting up in her space." I tell my best friend.
"Good for you! I don't know what he sees in her, but I'm sure there are better ***throughout the pack." My friend snorts.
"Who, like you?" I ask jokingly.
She pulls a disgusting face, "Ewe, no! That's gross, he's like my big brother!" She moves her body like she just shivered in disgust.
I laugh and shake my head, "Come on, I better get back in there."
We make our way back to the back room and would you believe that the /***has pushed my chair out from the table, not leaving any room for me. I've had enough of this ***; I don't care how ***Declan gets at me. This she-wolf is not going to come in here and ruin my birthday!
I tap her shoulder, "Um excuse me, Lila, but I'm pretty sure that you're in my seat."
She sneers over her shoulder at me, "Actually, your seat is right there, sweetie." She points to the chair that she pushed back.
Declan is about to say something, but I hold up my hand and walk out of the room, only to return with two of the security personnel. I point to Lila and they each grab one of her arms, dragging her from the chair.
"What the hell! Do you know who I am? Declan, tell them that I'm your girlfriend!" The she-wolf screeches.
"Lila, shut up already!" Declan sighs, "You are not my girlfriend, you're just a warm body that I use for my own needs. I've told you this since the beginning."
"Declan!" Lila calls out for him again.
I hold up my hand, stopping the security guys, as I walk over to them, "I told you this morning that unless he is in your nasty ***, you are to call him Alpha! Have some respect, Lila." I wave my hand and they take her away kicking and screaming.
The room is quiet for a moment, and I begin to think that I'm going to get my ***chewed, but then the room erupts in laughter, the loudest being Declan, himself. My face turns red in embarrassment.
"I am so sorry, Ember. I never thought that she would actually show up here!" Declan runs his hand over his face, "I should have ended it with her a long time ago when I first started seeing the signs."
"I think you may need your eyes checked son. I had seen all the signs the very first time that you brought her home." Amelia chuckles.
"Come on, Mom, she wasn't that bad in the beginning."
"Hm, you have your opinion, and I have mine. Let's agree to disagree." She smiles and then holds up her wine glass, "To Ember, the beautiful birthday girl! May all your wishes come true tonight, and every night after!"
"Here, here!" They all say, and I smile.
When I glance over at Declan, I can see that something is bothering him, but I don't broach the subject right now. Instead, I hold my glass up and toast to the man who made it possible for me to be here.
**I want to toast Alpha Declan! I wouldn't be here with all of you had he not saved me that day. Thank you for bringing me home, like a stray little puppy, and giving me not only a new home, but a new family."
"Cheers to the Alpha!" We all say in unison.
"Actually," Declan speaks up, a stray puppy would have been cuter and a lot less of a sassy loud- mouth."
gasp, but I see that he's trying to hold back his smile, so I shrug. "At least I don't get fleas."
Declan spits out his wine all over the table as he laughs, everyone joining in with him. My birthday is officially back on track! When we leave the restaurant, we tip them well for having to deal with Lila and then we head home; all of us in a great mood all the way back. Amelia is in charge of the radio, and surprisingly, she's got some great taste when it comes to listening to good tunes. We are all belting out the words to the songs playing on the radio, acting as if we are all still in high school. And to think, the night is just beginning.