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Reece

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When we got to the dining hall I saw that we seemed to be the last to arrive. I hadn't lied when I said I was going to talk to someone when I left Little Bunny earlier. I had gone to see Bryce about what the future might hold for our packs, it seemed an alliance was possible for us. But in the time it took me to fetch the girls from Emmalee's room, everyone else had already arrived for dinner.

Wesley and Noah were sitting on one side of the table side by side. Bryce was sitting at the head of the table, sitting on the end to view everyone else easier. His mate was to his left holding his hand, it was the most gentle I had seen his look since meeting him. The place on his right was open, intended for me so we may talk if needed.

Further down the table was Bryce's other two children, I hadn't met them yet but he had told me about them. His son was almost my age, and his younger daughter was fourteen. Emmalee was in the middle, same age as my Little Bunny.

Emmalee dragged us to our seats. I sat in the one intended for me. I pulled Trinity to the seat next to mine, and Emmalee sat next to her. Once we were seated two female servers came in to put the food on the table.

"Wait, where's Grandfather?" My Little Bunny asked.

"He had something he needed to take care of so he left a little while ago. He told me to tell you that he is sorry he didn't get the chance to tell you goodbye. But you will see him when we get home tomorrow." Wesley explained to his niece. I had known that the old man left, but he had asked his son to explain for him. I hope he knows what he is doing.

"Oh." She seemed dejected for a moment, but she perked up after a moment, she seemed to trust her grandfather a lot more than she used to.

"No worries, Trinity, you will see him again soon." I assured her. "For now, let us enjoy dinner. It is your birthday after all."

"It is?" Emmalee exclaimed excitedly. "No one told me that. We need to celebrate."

"No, please it's not that important. Don't trouble yourself."

"I absolutely must, birthdays are special. Isn't this the first one you're celebrating with your mate? Come on Trinity, you need to treat it like the special occasion that it is." 

Bryce laughed as he listened to his daughter's enthusiasm before chuckling out his response. "You might as well let her do as she wants, Trinity. She's quite stubborn when she wants to be. And she absolutely loves birthdays."

"I'm going to go get it ready." She rose from the table and started to leave the room.

"Let it wait until after you've eaten, will you." Bryce's mate, Bree said sternly.

"Fine." Emmalee sounded exasperated. "But since I will have less time, then Katie and Jordan need to help me as well." She informed them excitedly.

"Already saw that coming." Jordan sighed.

"Yay, I get to help." Katie squealed almost as excited as her sister. It was clear who was on board and who wasn't.

We enjoyed a pleasant meal with the Evans family. It was better than I thought it would ever be. Despite Bryce's surly nature when you first meet him, once you get past the outer shell he's a pretty good guy. He was a little older than my father was, but reminded me a lot of him when he was around his family. It was actually really nice to see. But it made me miss my father more than I have in a long time.

We talked about our families a lot. Bryce quietly asked me if I was going to give my mate a human wedding to follow traditions. That way we were married in the eyes of the world and not just the pack. I told him we would discuss it. I didn't want my overly excitable mate to hear what he was talking about. I thought she would accept a marriage, but I didn't know for sure.

Little Bunny was excited when she found out that Emmalee's birthday was just a little over a month before her's. She had apparently turned nineteen on December 18th. This was something that seemed to bond them even more.

I had noticed Emmalee excitedly trying to discreetly texting someone throughout the meal. And once dinner was over she rushed her siblings out of the room and told us to wait in here and give them some time.

"Hey, Noah, she's your sister right, you come and help me."

"What?" He jumped in surprise at Emmalee's command.

"Come help me get everything ready for her." She insisted.

"Fine. But just so you know, we're cousins." Noah seemed to grumble as he got up.

"Really?" Emmalee seemed surprised. "I usually have a sense about who is family and who isn't, you just come across as her brother." I noticed Noah smile proudly.

"Well, I am like her brother though. My parents raised her, so I was raised with her."

"See, you are her brother, so come on we got work to do." She grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the room. Noah looked back with a pleading look that made the five of us still at the table laugh at his desperation.

"I hope she doesn't go through too much trouble. I really don't need much." Little Bunny seemed embarrassed.

"Nonsense, I wish you would have told us sooner, we would have prepared already." Bree pushed aside the words. "To think that you would get your long awaited wolf on your birthday, and tonight being the night of the Wolf Moon as well. It's like it was fate." 

I looked at Trinity at those words, I had remembered that it was her birthday, but with everything that had happened I had completely forgotten that it was the full moon. It really did seem like fate when you thought about it. Was it really seeing me in the midst of battle, or was it the stroke of midnight, ushering in her birthday and the day of the full moon that aided her shift? And just what was with the strange markings that she had? Whatever the answer to those questions were, it was clear that she would be someone special.

"Yeah, you've got it, fate is probably playing a big part in it." Wesley added. "I'm sure that she is going to surprise us all." He was smiling proudly at his niece.

"It's definitely unique. And for it to happen when she is nineteen, that seems late, but I guess it's not completely unheard of."

"There's a lot to be said about the number nineteen if you think about it. In the world of numerology, the number nineteen has the power to influence life events. It's said to contain all root numbers so while it is not a powerhouse number like eleven or twenty-two, it is still quite special. Nineteen usually references the sun arcana in tarot cards, but the significance with that is that it means the number is positive and influences all the cards around it, likewise those with that number tend to influence the people around them. It also signals renewal of primal energies." Bree was speaking expertly, but what she was saying was going over my head. I had never looked into numerology before.

"Excuse her, she really loves that numerology stuff. She says it has a lot of importance on our lives." Bryce was smiling at his wife.

"It's true though." She looked at him harshly as if he said she was speaking gibberish. "Let's take today for instance. The 28th, those with the number twenty-eight are said to be independent, self sufficient, original, and live with a strong sense of determination. Those with a twenty-eight and a one, as today would give, are given qualities of leadership and originality, they're also capable of teamwork and diplomacy. So I would say that Trinity has quite the good reading with her number chart already." Bree was smiling at her adoringly. "You're bound to be a wonderful Luna with numbers like those."

We continued our discussion a little longer. Trinity and Bree were talking about future prospects while Wesley and I talked to Bryce about more current events. Neither of us had ever been friends with Stanley's pack, and now with his hand in the attack on my mate and infiltrating Bryce's land, we both had reason to want his head.

"Whichever one of us comes across him first will take the honor, but just promise me you'll let me know if you kill him before me, will you boy?" Bryce assumed that I would find the man first. I hoped he was right.

"As long as you do the same." I told the man as I shook his hand. 

Emmalee barged into the room, nearly bouncing with excitement, interrupting the different conversations.

"Come on now, we're ready for all of you." She was full of energy that just seemed to be bubbling over. She looked like a firework someone had set off, bright, cheery, and full of explosive ideas. I chuckled to myself at the comparison. She was definitely an interesting person to have around.

We were taken to the living room that the family used most frequently. It was large and spacious much like mine back home, but it had been beautifully decorated with balloons, streamers, and banners. I didn't know how she had managed it all so quickly, but if she truly loved birthdays that much then I guess she probably had a stockpile of supplies.

Katie, Jordan, Noah, and a small group of Bryce's staff and pack members were waiting inside the room, waiting for us all to arrive.

"Happy birthday!" They yelled when Trinity was in sight. I noticed the shock on her face when Little Bunny noticed the level of dedication Emmalee had put into this celebration for her.

"Emmalee, this is too much." She tried to protest, but I saw how happy it was actually making her. I was glad that they had managed it, just so I could see that smile. She radiated happiness and beauty in that moment. 

Emmalee had apparently managed to get people to coordinate this party all while we were having dinner. A cake was purchased from a local bakery. A few gifts were picked out by her friends, easy since they had talked earlier and she knew Trinity's size now. The room was decorated and music was playing. It looked like a proper surprise party that had been planned long in advance.

"So, were you surprised?" Emmalee asked her. "I mean, I know that you knew I was doing something, but did I still manage to surprise you?" Emmalee's bubbly personality seemed to be the perfect compliment to my Little Bunny's.

"I definitely didn't see this coming. I don't know how you managed this so fast." My Little Bunny's face was flushed with embarrassment and excitement simultaneously. 

"A master will never reveal their secrets." Emmalee giggled. "I'm just glad I could make your day special. And this is a good way to introduce you and Reece to our pack. I'm going to look forward to pack visits from now on, I have a friend to visit with." Emmalee hugged her tight. "We definitely need to stay close." She added, releasing her.

"I promise." Little Bunny told her, beaming.

The next morning we slept a little later than we usually would have because we were up late getting to know Bryce's pack, but we got ready and were gone before noon. Bryce and his family were nice enough, but I was eager to get my mate home. But one thing was for sure, I walked out of this whole ordeal closer to my mate and with a new powerful ally.

We boarded the plane that had returned to the airport the night before, after Samuel Whitton had returned home suddenly. The man didn't tell me why, but he said he had something he needed to do and wanted to use my plane. I had officially hired the man who piloted it and purchased the craft so it was, in all sense, my plane. I hope he managed to conclude his business so he could be there when his granddaughter got home.

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