"Wake up birthday boy!" Was all the warning I got before my sheets were ripped off and the pillow that was once comfortably cushioning my head was suddenly used as a weapon as my supposed best friend smacked it down on me as hard as he can. On repeat.

"ENOUGH ALREADY IM UP! Jesus Christ, Mason! I swear if you hit me one more time I'm going to use that against you!" I warned him dead in the eye, but the mischievous glint in his tells me already he was willing to take that risk.

Before he could successfully land another one I grabbed it and he ran wherever he could escape, me hot on his trail.

When we reached outside I lunged forward and tackled him, resulting us rolling across the front of my house playing a round of rough housing.

"Ryan! Mason! Break it up you two and hit the showers before you're late for school!" I overhear my mother yell from the doors.

We broke apart in laughter before I stood up first, extending my arm to help him up.

"Alright I'll see you in a bit then" I said to Mason as I walked back to the house.

I was greeted by my mom with a kiss on the cheek and a quick happy birthday before I headed upstairs to the shower and get ready for the day.

Today I turn 18, I'm supposed to be able to find my mate today or any day after that. I hope my mate is my girlfriend Sofia, I would be heartbroken if she isn't. I won't know until near midnight when I officially turn 18 anyways exactly to my birth time, that detail I absolutely loath. So for now all we can do is just enjoy the time we have and hope that the Moon Goddess fated us as mates.

I got downstairs and was greeted by my family with birthday cheers. I'm the oldest of 5 kids, after my 16 year old sisters Flora and Eloise, my 10 year old brother Ronan, and lastly my 8 year old brother Westley who was a surprise to say the least considering he was conceived after my parents sterilized themselves medically. I guess Brigid the Fertility Goddess decided one more child is needed to complete the family, but I couldn't imagine him not being in my life.

"I made you your favourite; crepes and choices of spreads." I thanked my mom as I scanned across the table with toppings ranging from whipped cream and jams to fresh fruits. I quickly made a plate for myself excited to scarf it down.

Once I was done eating, I rinsed my plate and placed it in the dishwasher before heading my way to the door.

"Flora! Eloise! You better be in the car in one minute before I leave you here to figure out a way to school" I threatened since teenage girls take forever to get ready otherwise. I planned to meet up with Sophia before school and I cannot afford to keep being late to class. I do not need to get a detention slip on today if all days especially.

I hear footsteps running after me as I headed to my car. Mason was already waiting for me, per usual leaning against the door of the passenger seat. By the time I started the ignition doors in the backseats opened and my sisters hopped in.

When we got to the school, I saw Sophia was already waiting by our usual spot by the parking lot. A wave of sadness passed me when I remembered about today.

I shoved my feelings down and pretended like nothing is happening. Unfortunately Mason already saw my reaction towards Sophia and understood without words needing to be expressed. Thankfully my sisters were oblivious as they were glued to their phones probably texting their friends.

"I'll catch up with you in a minute" I said to Mason before walking to Sophia.

"Good morning, birthday boy" she greeted me with a smile and a kiss.

"Good morning, babe" I replied before reaching down to give her another kiss.

"Get a room" Hailee her best friend shouted teasingly as she passed by us, resulting Sophia flipping her off.

"We should get going to homeroom anyways" I said to her, interlocking our fingers before pulling her towards the school. Neither of us really wanted to say anything at school so we ignored the elephant in the room.

"I was hoping today we could play hooky, ditch school and make the day of it" she suggested.

"As much fun as that sounds, there's a Calculus test I can't miss third period. How about we ditch last period and stop by for some ice cream before heading home?" She nodded in agreement. I let go of her hand to let her go through the classroom doors, making it in the nick of time as the bell rang when we took our seats.

"Alright everyone, settle down and turn to the front. I will begin to play the documentary shortly after the announcements but make sure to take lots of notes as it will be a huge component to your final project" with that the whole class groaned.
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The lunch bell rang and everyone rushed to get out, not wanting to spend another second in this classroom.

I went to my locker to put away my textbooks before taking my wallet and headed to the cafeteria where I'd meet Mason.

"Hey, I heard it's Taco day! I'm thinking of getting myself 8," Mason greeted me at the lineup, my face scrunching up in disgust. He never fails to surprise me with how much he can scarf down considering he most likely ate at least two plateful of breakfast at the pack house this morning.

"I think I'm gonna go with a burger and fries, I'm not feeling up to playing Russian roulette with my stomach today." Sometimes I think there's no meat in the specials they do.

"Too bad you're not like me. My stomach is like a black hole," he says like it's a matter of fact as he pats his belly.

"Why a Black hole?"

"You know, because they are like a vortex or something, they suck everything in. My stomach's like that, I can scarf down a horse and a cow, and I still won't puke no matter what" stated with a stupid smile on his face. I shake my head at him.

"You're lucky I'm your best friend, I don't think anyone else would have followed that stupid analogy" I remarked.

He's not wrong though, there's only been a few occasion he has thrown up since we've grown up together. Me? I can eat but I know my limits, especially with my anxiety today.

When we finished paying for our food, we got to our table where some pack members are sitting. It seemed that Sophia saved space for us to sit beside her.

I greeted her with a quick kiss before settling on the bench. I slid the fries to share with her before I started eating the burger I got.

We ate our lunch with chatter as we passed time, some of us worrying about the test coming up next period, while others talked about the party tonight.

No one dared to mention the word "mate" today knowing that it's a sore subject revolving around my 18th birthday.

Lunch period goes by quickly, which I never like since it's less time than a class period. Sophia kissed me good luck for the test as I head to history class.
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I spotted her already waiting at my car, making me beeline towards her. When we got in the car I gave her a quick kiss before taking us to the best ice cream shop in town.

When we arrive there I got myself two scoops of chocolate mint while Sophia got a scoop of cherry cheesecake with graham crackers crumbled. I always tease her for having weird taste but she then tells me I'm the weird one for liking mint and chocolate chip as if it doesn't belong with the ice cream flavours.

We go to take our seats in the usual booth, enjoying a few moments of ice cream before one of us had the courage to speak up.

"We need to talk about the possibility of us not being mates" I brought up. She sighed sadly before mustering the courage to reply.

"What is there to say? Today we find out whether or not we are mates, nothing we can really do about it." As right as she is, this is still something we have to talk about.

"What do you want to do if we find out we aren't mates?"

"I think it wouldn't be fair on our mates to keep dating as much as I wish we could continue. What if you were to find your mate next week and she's to discover you're with someone else? As painful as it is to think about life without you as my mate, it wouldn't be fair" her voice faltered slightly.

I wish I didn't have to agree with her but the reality is most people break up when they find out they aren't mates. I nodded my head in agreement sadly, but then an idea popped in my head.

"If we do not end up as mates, then let's make this last date a great one. Do you have something in mind that you want to do for today?" I asked her.

"Why don't we go to the arcade one last time just like we did on our first date?" I smiled at that as we used to go to the arcade quite a bit at first, even naming it 'our spot' despite not being there in like 6 months.

"That's a great idea, we'll do just that when once we're done with our ice cream," I honestly couldn't think of a better way to spend the day with her.

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We headed back to the pack house, where everyone is getting ready for the party tonight.

"I'll see you at the party, I had a great time today" I said giving her a quick kiss goodbye on the forehead as I dropped her off. The moment felt bittersweet as my chest ached.

I opened my eyes to see hers slightly teared up as she must've felt what I had in that moment as well. With only a nod to indicate agreement, she opened the door to climb out of the car. I think couldn't say anything without crying so I joined her silence as we don't say goodbye.

When I saw her disappear into the pack house, I started my car again and sped to my house not too far from here.

I got home and got changed into some basketball shorts and an old t-shirt, before meeting up with Xavier and Mason in the clearing. They noticed I wasn't in the mood to do our usual chatter so we opted in training in silence.

We got started with a 30 minute warm up by running laps through the wood before moving onto sparing matches, conditioned for an hour, finally cooled down with stretches to make sure to avoid sore muscles.

"You look like hell," Xavier, my soon-to-be third in command, finally commented as we finished stretching.

"Well I feel it, I swear I am barely getting through this day. I just want to know all the answers and get this over with already," I said before I chugged down a whole bottle of water. They nodded in sympathy as they can't imagine what I'm going through. Neither of them has a girlfriend, they sleep around to avoid getting attached so that they can be single for their future mates. I couldn't help fall for Sophia at the age of 14.

We did the practice alone since everyone else took the day off to prep for my birthday, we thought it was a good idea to get the session over with today rather than tomorrow so we aren't training hungover.

When I reached back to my house, I took a long shower, letting the hot water relaxing all the tension in my body. I stayed there for a while until I notice the water getting colder, so I quickly washed my body before I wrapped a towel around me and headed to my closet to get ready for my birthday party.

My nerves came back as I searched for what to wear to the party. After more time than necessary had passed, I ended up deciding on dark jeans and a black button up shirt, with some black shoes to pair up with.

I combed through my hair with my fingers for the 40th time, quickly putting on deodorant and cologne before heading to the door. I stopped when I reached for the handle, exhaling forcefully before opening the door to leave.

I can do this.

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