Noah's surprise party was certainly extravagant, to say the least.

It seemed as if all the stops had been pulled for this gathering; the pack house garden was decked to the nines with balloons, fairy lights and bunting. Xavier was a bundle of nerves, which I found pretty cute. He was buzzing around trying to make sure everything was perfect for his best friend's big surprise.

"Everyone get into position! He'll be here any second!" Xavier's Alpha voice bellowed through the open space, authority dripping from every word. 

I shuffled to his side, awkwardly taking his hand as everyone stared at us. This had been happening since we had first arrived- everything was chaos, so I hadn't met anyone officially yet, but they were certainly curious about me. I couldn't shake the feeling that I had hundreds of eyes scrutinising me, which was probably because they were. 

"Where's Noah's mate?" I whispered to him, scanning the area. 

"Gracie? She's just getting ready inside- she's nervous." Xavier replied, "I'll introduce you once Noah's here."

Xavier's head suddenly whipped over to the woods and he began to wave his arms around, signalling that everyone needed to hide- his wolf senses must have picked up a sound that I couldn't. He pulled me under a table with him, almost tugging my damn arm out of my socket in the process. 

Hundreds of people rushed around the garden, finding places to hide. Most of them rushed inside because, despite the garden being massive, there wasn't enough hiding spaces outside for the hundreds of people present. The garden went silent once everyone was in place and I held my breath, everyone waiting for Noah to appear.

"Why the hell is the pack house quiet for once?" I could hear Noah ask himself, "And what's with the damn balloons?"

I heard several loud bangs and we all jumped out of our hiding places, yelling 'surprise'. The confetti that had just exploded littered the sky as it fell over the unsuspecting victim, blurring my view of Noah with an array of rainbows. 

"It's not my birthday, guys! You've got the wrong day... How embarrassing for you." Noah chuckled, shaking his head to get rid of some of the confetti. 

All of the hustle quietened down and Noah's jaw dropped, his eyes narrowing in on something behind me. I glanced over my shoulder and my heart melted at the sight. A woman dressed in a white flowing dress- who I presumed was Gracie- was stood just behind Xavier and I, holding a pregnancy test out towards Noah.

As sweet as it was, all I could think about was that she had pissed on that thing. 

Noah's eyes began to water and he rushed forwards, scooping his mate up into his arms and spinning her around. It was clear for anyone to see that Noah loved Gracie more than anything on earth by his reaction- he had happy tears streaming down both cheeks now, which were pressed up against Gracie's. Their tears blended together, making the whole thing seem a bit too private for an outsider like me to be present. 

"I'm gonna be a dad!" Noah whooped, kissing Gracie's face all over.

Xavier squeezed my hand, pulling me out of my thoughts. He ducked down, whispering in my ear that he had to address the pack a second. It was nice of him to warn me before I suddenly had four hundred eyes on me.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank Noah and Gracie for being the best Beta pair that I could ever ask for. They're both so reliable and hardworking, so I know you're going to make excellent parents. I speak on behalf of the whole pack when I say good luck and we're here with you every step of the way." Xavier's voice boomed.

The way he spoke to the pack was completely different to how he spoke to me. It was more professional, which was understanding because it's an occupation at the end of the day, but I still found it odd to hear the switch. 

"Introduce Cam while you're at it." Noah urged, gesturing to me. 

Xavier gave me a look that asked whether I was okay with that and I nodded tentatively, my gut twisting with nerves. I had been dreading this moment.

"As I'm sure you're all aware by now, I found my mate upon returning from University. I would like to formally introduce you all to Cameron White, my mate. I ask that you all welcome him warmly and make him feel at home in our pack." Xavier's voice was loud enough to carry across the gigantic garden, everyone listening obediently to what he had to say.

I sent a shy, small wave to the crowds, unsure about what I was supposed to do in this situation. It's not everyday that you're introduce to four hundred and fifty people at once, let alone ones who are all under your boyfriend's care. It's crazy to think that Xavier is responsible for every single person in front of me right now. 

"Let's hear a round of applause for the new Luna." Noah butted in, resulting in a burst of clapping sounds from every person, "I'd also like to say that you for all coming and celebrating this day with me. I'm over the moon to be becoming a dad!"

I scanned all of the people in front of me, finding it interesting that they lived such a different life to me. They lived their whole life in secret from the outside world... Harbouring a centuries old secret must be hard work. They all seemed very happy, though. The pack certainly did seem like a lovely place to grow up; I'm not sure why anyone would ever want to leave and go 'rogue'.

Hold the fuck on... Is that Ava?

My jaw dropped open as my eyes narrowed in on her. She was barely visible in the huge crowd of people, but considering I had seen her every school day since year seven, I could recognise that face anywhere. Her own jaw dropped open and her face blushed red once she realised that I had seen her, trying to duck her head to hide from my view.

You're telling me that Ava is a damn werewolf? 

Suddenly everything made so much more sense: leaving Oscar, the secretive nature of her home life, the friends none of knew about... She's a wolf. Does that mean that Oscar and Ava aren't mates? That must be so hard on her.

The speeches had ended, so I took the opportunity to dash through the crowd towards Ava. People stepped out of my way as I walked towards them, but Ava stood frozen in place. She watched me draw closer and closer, her eyes pleading with me. She clearly didn't want to have this conversation in front of everyone, which was understandable.

"Come with me?" I muttered once I was close enough for her to hear, which she nodded to.

We walked off through the party, coming to the edge of the garden. I knew she was following me, since I could hear her footsteps crunching against the leaves and twigs now that we were in the forest and out of the garden. Once we were far enough that I was sure people couldn't hear, I took a seat and looked at her expectantly. 

"I'm a wolf..." She trailed off, taking a seat with me.

"No shit sherlock." I rolled my eyes, "You should have spoken to me! I've been going crazy wondering why you and Oscar would ever break up. I was worried that something bad was happening at home."

"I'm sorry, but..." She seemed reluctant to say what she was thinking, "You're the Alpha's mate. It's kind of hard to see you as approachable right now. I can't sit with you without pack members staring and speculating! I had to break up with Oscar because of it!"

That felt like a slap in the face. After almost seven years of friendship, I would have thought that Ava could have come to me with absolutely anything- regardless of who I was dating at the time. I know that things were different because of Xavier, but surely she would have known that that didn't change anything between us as friends?

"Oh, Cam, I didn't mean it like that." She sighed.

"No, it's fine." I shrugged, "Xavier warned me that this might happen- I just didn't think my own friends would do it. I'm the same person, Ava, just remember that."

I got up to leave after that, needing to calm down before we spoke about this properly. Right now I felt pretty emotional because everything was a bit overwhelming. I didn't ask to be the Alpha's mate! I don't even know half of them, so how could I have some kind of authority over them? 

I was already stressed out from being introduce to the pack and being judged by four hundred and fifty people, so finding out that Ava had been avoiding our friends because of me was just a bit too much for today. 

How was the Oscar part even my fault, anyway? I didn't want to find out today because I knew that it would just make me feel even worse about everything. 

I made my way back through the woods, following the sound of hundreds of people chatting in a garden with music playing in the background. Before I stepped back into the garden, I attempted to compose myself. Taking deep breaths and straightening out my clothes probably didn't do a lot, but it was better than nothing. 

"Cameron?" Xavier appeared at my side, checking me over, "What happened?"

"You could have told me that one of my best friends was in your pack." I frowned, fixing him with a cold look.

"Ava? I didn't think it was my place to tell you..." He scratched the back of his head awkwardly, "I'm sorry. Are you two okay?" 

"No." I replied curtly, "I don't want to seem rude to Noah and the pack, though, so I'll explain later." 

"Sure. What to go see them first? My parents are with them right now." 

I nodded and took his hand, ready to march back over there. As I began to walk, however, I was pulled backwards by my hand. I crashed into Xavier's chest and he wrapped me in a tight hug, squeezing me to let me know that I was going to be okay. The soft kiss he placed to my forehead made me shiver and his low chuckle was like music to my ears. 

"If Noah says anything stupid again I'll kill him." Xavier murmured in my ear, sending even more shivers racing through my body.

We left hand in hand, our fingers laced together as we crossed the pack house garden, saying hello to a few people as we went. There's no way I'm going to remember this many people names- I couldn't even remember the ones of people who went to my Sixth Form!

"Hi, sweetheart!" Xavier's mum greeted me warmly, "And Xavier." 

"Hi, Mum." I greeted, remembering to call her what she had asked me to, despite it feeling strange while rolling off my tongue, "And Dad."

It was a good move on my behalf, however, judging by her reaction. Her whole face lit up and she rushed forward, pulling me into a tight hug. It was rather suffocating because of her wolf strength, but I felt good about pressing my boyfriend's parents. It was only made worse when Xavier's dad joined the hug, crushing me even more. At least they were both happy.

"Mum and Dad, huh?" Noah teased Xavier, "Even I don't get that privilege and I've known your parents since birth." 

"Yeah, well you're not my mate." Xavier laughed, "They actually like him."

"I guess you're well on your way to marking each other, then?" Noah's voice was full of mischief and Xavier looked mortified, which peaked my interest.

"What does that mean?" I was finally released from the death grip of Xavier's parents, despite them still gushing to each other about how happy they were.

"I'm going to kill you one of these days, Noah." Xavier groaned, burying his face in his hands. 

"He hasn't told you yet?" Noah barked a laugh, "You can tell that he's a virgin- talking about you and sex makes him all squeamish."

My face lit up red at that one too, matching Xavier's. To be fair to Xavier, I wasn't a virgin and I acted the exact same way about Xavier and sex. Noah was way too much sometimes. I was going to start to avoid conversations with him if this is how every single one of them goes- ending with awkward and difficult conversations for Xavier and I. 

"Marking is a ritual that results in the strengthening of the mate bond and the intensification of emotions between mates. You would be able to feel Xavier's emotions, no matter where he is." Xavier's dad explained, which was horrifying to me considering it included some kind of sexual act. 

"It's the last stage to fully accepting your mate. It's a beautiful thing, Cameron." Xavier's mum cooed, making me feel even more awkward.

"Can we all stop talking about me marking Cameron?" Xavier finally spoke up, deeply uncomfortable, "He's a human and we're taking things slowly, but you're all making it very difficult."

Xavier's mum giggled but pretended to zip her lips closed, flicking the imaginary key away.