Chapter 41
Chapter 41
Chapter 41 Birthday
“Guys,” Thea said. “We need to let Delta team eat and Test.”
“You don’t want to wait until you shift?” Kai said.
“We can just come back out when it happens,” Thea said.
“Okay,” Conri said.
“Should we leave this stuff here?” Alaric said.
“I don’t think we need to,” Thea said.
The triplets cleaned up the site, took off their shorts, and shifted to wolf form. Caleb laid down and looked at Thea. She climbed on his back. Damon and Axel each took a bag in their mouths, and they ran back to the pack house. The triplets changed back to human form at the edge of the trees and put on their shorts.
“You guys want to mind link Delta team, tell them to come in and eat?” Thea said.
Alaric’s eyes glazed over. “Done. Goddess, it feels good to be able to do that. I can’t wait to hear you in my head.” He hugged her and kissed her neck, breathing in her scent.
“Mmm,” Thea said. “Me too. Let’s go.”
Delta team followed them into the dining hall. Half went to shower and dress. The other half started eating. Luna Ada sat across from the triplets and Thea.
“How soon do you want to hold the mating ceremony?” she said.
“Immediately,” the triplets said together.
Thea laughed. “It’s probably better sooner than later.”
“Agreed,” Luna Ada said. “How about tomorrow?”
“That is soon,” Thea said.
“I like tomorrow,” Kai said.
“Tomorrow is great,” Conri said.
“Will we be able to get everything ready by tomorrow?” Thea said.
“I already have everything ready,” Luna Ada said with a big smile. “Have for ages. Your parents are flying in for the weekend. We may have made some assumptions.” Content rights belong to NôvelDrama.Org.
“Tomorrow it is,” Thea said. She smiled at her.
“Okay. Tomorrow morning the Alpha and I will go over the ceremony with you. Don’t worry about a thing. We took care of this one. You just have to show up.”
“Okay.”
The Delta team men switched. Half came down to the dining hall clean and dressed, and the other half left.
“Do you guys want to go back out, or are you okay staying in?” Thea said to the triplets.
“You want to give Delta team the rest of the day off?” Alaric said. He had his hand on her leg, rubbing circles with his thumb.
“I suppose they’ll be on call, but yeah. They’ve been up all night, and it’s midafternoon now. Or I can just stay in here, and you guys can go out.”
“No, I want to be with you when you shift,” Conri said. Even though she was sitting in his lap, he squeezed her against him. He nibbled her shoulder, breathing in her scent to calm himself. Thea laughed inwardly. Just the thought of being away from her stressed him. She turned and kissed him.
“I don’t want to miss your shift,” Alaric said.
“Same here,” Kai said.
Thea leaned over and kissed them both.
After they ate, they went upstairs to rinse off the mud and put on real clothes, then they spent the rest of the day in one of the common rooms watching movies and snacking. Alaric mind linked the Delta team to let them know the plan and that they could go rest. Just her regular guard detail stayed with them.
When they came down for dinner, everyone in the dining hall started singing Happy Birthday to them in the dining hall. They brought out a cake for the triplets and a giant ice cream sundae with caramel and hot fudge for Thea. ‘
Lizzy found Thea and hugged her.
“Why haven’t I heard you on mind link yet? 1 expected a hello or something. I’ve been trying to mind link you all day,” Lizzy said.
“I haven’t shifted yet,” Thea said.
“Oh,” Lizzy said. “Sorry I jumped down your throat.”
“No worries,” Thea said. “Hey, when you shifted for the first time, did you have any feelings about when it was going to happen?”
“Not really. I was going about my business, and suddenly it was happening. First, my wolf crashed into my mind. It was like she broke through a wall, which triggered the shift. Or she just immediately took over to shift. I’m not sure. It happened fast. Why? What’s up?”
“I just, I feel like I should’ve shifted already. Like if it were going to happen, it would have already.”
“You still have time.”
“Lizzy, what if I don’t shift?”
“Don’t freak yourself out. Eat your ice cream. Celebrate your birthday. It’ll happen when it happens.”
Thea nodded.
Thea’s parents walked into the dining hall. They spotted each other and met in the middle. Thea hugged them both.
“What does your wolf look like?” her mother asked.
“I don’t know. I haven’t shifted yet.”
“Hmm. Maybe you were waiting for us to get here,” her mother said.
“We missed you,” her father said.
“I missed you too,” Thea said. “Did you find out anything important yet?”
“Even on her birthday, her shifting day, she’s thinking about work,” her mother said. “You’ve driven her too hard, Walter. Thea, just relax. Enjoy your birthday.” Thea sighed.
Conri came over and hugged her from behind.
“I need you,” Conri said. “I can’t be away from you this long.”
“It’s been twenty seconds,” Thea said, smiling.
“Yeah. It’s too long,” Conri said.
Thea’s mother smiled at them. “Go be with your mates,” she said.
“Mind link us when you shift. We’ll run with you,” her father said.
She nodded. Conri walked her back to their table with his arms around her. He pulled her into his lap. Alaric and Kai scooted close. She draped a leg over Alaric’s, and Kai held her hand.
“I’ve never seen you guys eat this much,” Thea said. “Shifting and running around as a wolf takes a lot of energy,” Conri said. “I’ve never been so hungry.”
“You should stock up now. You’ll need the energy when you shift,” Alaric said.
“Okay,” Thea said. “Feed me.”
The triplets got to work feeding her. After dinner, they followed Thea up to their room.
“Do you guys need to go for another run” Thea said.
“I don’t want to leave you,” Conri said.
“You know we can’t be intimate tonight,” Thea said. “Are you sure you don’t want to burn off some energy?”
“It’s been a long day,” Alaric said. “I’m beat. I say we just go to bed. I think we’ll crash quickly.”
“Yeah, sleep sounds good,” Thea said.
“Not as good as being intimate, but we’ll save that for tomorrow,” Kai said.
“Yeah, you’ll wake up when you start to shift,” Conri said.
“We all will,” Alaric said.
“Okay,” Thea said. “Let’s sleep.”
They woke up the next morning, not to Thea shifting, but to Thea crying.