---- To pile up: an accumulation of a specified thing. ----

Two weeks had gone by and I hadn't decided yet where I was going to apply for the internship program.

Not like I was in a hurry, but it was unsettling not knowing. Especially since I had to break the news to father, who probably wouldn't lift the ban of me leaving the pack for my studies no matter how soon I told him. Still, the more time Max and I had to convince him, the higher the possibilities.

I grunted when discarding another tempting option because of location. Out of the state was going to be an impossible hurdle. I lifted my hands to the air and was about to throw the papers and brochures from the table when I received a notification to my phone. I rolled my eyes but unlocked it when I saw Maverick's name on the screen.

「You have three minutes to put your research on hold, enter birthday mood and go downstairs to open the door. No buts!」

A smile pulled my lips up and I tossed all of the papers into the top drawer of the desk. I didn't want anyone influencing my choice, so Maverick was not to see anything yet. I jumped on my feet and glanced quickly at the mirror to confirm I was at least decent to get out of my room.

Messy hair, check. Black circles under my eyes due to lack of sleep, check. Sweatpants and lose t-shirt that read "meh", check. Could be worse.

I checked the time and decided I still had a solid two minutes to freshen up. I entered the bathroom and washed my face, brushed my teeth quickly and run my hands through my hair in an attempt to smoothen it a bit.

I checked the time once again and saw I had around 40 seconds to be downstairs before he arrived. Maverick was VERY precise with his time.

I rushed out of my room, run through the corridor and jumped down the stairs in pairs, opening the door with my breath caught in my throat.

"Meh?" I looked up to face Maverick. One of his eyebrows arched and his lips were pulling into a smirk. I noticed his hand was hanging near the door bell, having stopped mid-way.

"What can I say, there is nothing like a deep, meaningful message." I stepped back and signed him to get inside.

He nodded and with his smirk still plastered over his face, he lunged his body at me and wrapped me into a bone-crushing hug.

"Happy 23rd birthday Riley!" He snuggled his face against my messy hair and I chuckled, patting his back slightly. He pulled me away, keeping his hands on my shoulders and looking around. "Is Alpha Donovan here today? Where is your brother? I should be polite enough to greet them too before we start binge watching whatever you have prepared. Also!" His blabbering didn't leave me time to answer as I watched him step outside and pick something from the floor next to the door. "I brought your favourite cupcakes from Mrs. Johnson."

He winked at me while lifting a purple bag in the air and I squealed at the sight. I jumped excitedly and hooked his neck, squeezing him as hard as I could. The old grandma's cupcakes were deliciousness from another world.

"NOW you hug me..." He muttered, trying to sound offended, but I could see a corner of his mouth curled upwards.

"Ever heard of Pavlov?" I said, separating from him and snatching the bag from his hand to examine the contents.

"Yep, but in this case I don't know who would be the dog..."

"Obviously you!" I flashed him a cheeky grin and closed the door, gesturing him to follow me. "Why do you think I only hug you when you get me some of these sugary pieces of heaven?"

His smile crooked and I left him pondering the idea while we crossed the corridor and pushed the door open to find Max sitting on the kitchen island. Unsurprisingly, he was nibbling some ice cream and checking his phone. He lifted his gaze to us and smiled when I swayed the purple bag in front of him.

"Good job, sis." We high-fived and I could hear Maverick behind me groaning at the slap of reality he just received.

I sat next to my brother and turned to our guest, who was rubbing his face with his palms, dispirited. Max and me snorted and he glared at us, sitting on the closest empty chair.

"You twins are..."

"Handsome?" Max cut him, extending his arm to pick the bag and take a peek inside.

"Smart?" I suggested, placing my hand on my brother's shoulder and leaning on him. I saw Maverick' eyes ready to roll and I refrained from laughing.

"Awesome?"

"No Max, I think he means..."

"Enough, enough!" Ackerman threw his hands to the air in rendition. "Whatever you want, but do not forget to add a pair of little wicked monsters."

Max and me looked at each other for a second before bursting into laughter.

"We are werewolves, what did you expect?" Max whipped a fake tear from his eye.

"Yes, but I'd say the manipulative ways come rather from the human side..." The door opened and we were all looking at Gamma Josh, who had a knowing smile pulling slightly the corner of his lips.

Maverick stood up and bowed to him, greeting him formally. Josh nodded and walked to the island, leaning on it and crossing arms over his chest before Maverick sat down again.

"So, birthday pups, what's the plan for today?"

Everyone's eyes darted to me and I shrugged.

"I was thinking about ordering some pizza and spend the day watching some oldies..."

"Let me guess... Audry Hepburn? Again?" Max tilted his head backwards and I snickered.

I might have harassed him a bit much with one of the best actresses ever. Guilty.
A tiny chuckle escaped Josh's lips and I looked at him, pleading for him to join my team, but he shook his head.

"I'm with Maximilian in this one..."

I pursed my lips into a pout and turned to Maverick, my last hope. He shrugged his shoulders and gave me a pitiful smile.

"I haven't watched them yet, but something tells me that, if I stick around, I will be knowing the lines by heart sooner than later..."

Meaning: not backing me up either. My pout turned into a glare, making him flinch and avert his eyes away. I tipped my head to my brother, whose handsome face was corrupted by a smug grin, and I sighed.

"Well, what do you propose, party-pooper?"

"I agree on the pizza, this house only allows junk food on our birthday anyways." Max put back the lid on the ice-cream container, standing up and placing it back in the freezer. He then turned to face us rubbing his hands with amusement painted all over his face. "What about some Il Padrino?" His gesturing hands, together with his terrible italian accent, made all of us cringe rather than laugh.

"Max, be a nice kid and never, ever, try that again..." This time I could clearly hear Josh's chest vibrate with laughter and I immediately forgave him for his backstabbing just seconds ago.

"You both are suckers for classics, aren't you?" Maverick rolled his eyes and Max and me exchanged a glance, nodding matter-of-factly.

"More like the three of us." I added, pointing at Josh, who had moved and was now opening a cupboard and taking some chips and crackers out.

"Yep, this old man here taught us all the good stuff." Max moved quickly and took out some bowls, emptying the bags' contents into them.

"Do not blame me for educating your young and impressionable minds with proper culture." Josh flashed us a quick smirk and headed to the door. "I will set up the cinema room. Riley, would you please cut some cheese? I bought your favorite one."

"No way!" He winked at me and left the kitchen before I could jump and hug him. Instead, I bolted to the freezer, pulling it open and finding the rare sight of the Idiazabal cheese on one of the shelves. "Yes!"

"What got you nearly as excited as Mrs. Johnson's cupcakes?" I heard Maverick's voice close behind me.

I grabbed the cheese and turned around, closing the door, and showing the delicacy to my friend.

"Idiazabal cheese. Freaking delicious sheep milk from a northern region of Spain. Mouth melting."

Don't ask me how I discovered it because I did not. Looks like it was one of my mom's favourites. Maverick took it from my hand and examined it carefully. The tag was in Spanish so he probably understood nothing at all.

"Do not be stingy and slice all of it, Rie." Max's comment crushed my hopes on having cheese sandwich for dinner for the rest of the week, but I didn't complain. I knew he loved it too. "I will go ahead and help Josh. We changed the system not so long ago and I'm not sure he will be able to set it up on his own..." I laughed and nodded, getting the cheese back from my friend's hands.

"Also, Mav, can you bring the drinks? There is some soft drinks and beers in the fridge, take your pick."

"Understood." He nodded and Max started to head to the door carrying bowls in both hands. It took a couple of seconds for Maverick to react and hurry next to him, just in time to open the door. "By the way Maximilian, happy birthday."

"Thanks. Now, do give me a birthday present and drop the full name once and for all." He gave him a friendly smile and Maverick arched his eyebrows, pulling his lips upwards in response.
"Max it will be then. Anything for the birthday guy." My brother nodded and exited the kitchen, letting Maverick close the door behind him.

When we were finally alone, he turned to me with a guilty smile. He was up to fixing his betrayal and I could smell his intentions even without my werewolf's abilities. I made a face and spun on my heels, taking out the cutting board and the cheese knife and started slicing carefully.

I could hear his footsteps approaching, but I continued with my deed casually.

"I'm sorry about not taking your side, Rie." I ignored him. I was not angry anymore, I very much liked the "The Godfather" saga, but I wanted him to suffer a bit. "I hope you did not miss the part where I said I was declining because I plan to stick around. I am looking forward to you bombarding me all the movies you love any other time. Just with the two of us..."

The last part was a mere whisper, but he was close enough for me to hear, making me drop my knife in shock, cutting my finger a bit.

"Ouch!" I grabbed my hand and pressed under the cut, trying to stop the blood flow. It was a small wound, but it had started to bleed like a fountain in less than a second.

Maverick jumped next to me and pulled a piece of kitchen paper, taking my hands into his and pressing the cut with it. My eyes travelled from my hands to his face. He was concentrating on his task, concern knitting his brows. After a few moments, he removed the paper and examined the injury.

"You should seriously stop using yourself as a testing individual." He licked the cut and placed his worried eyes on mine. "The side effects are so strong that you are practically a mere human right now!"

I looked down, feeling a blush creep to my cheeks.

When it was impossible to hide it any longer, I lied to him saying that my lack of abilities was because I was testing some of my self-developed medicines on myself. Not that I wasn't tempted to do it, but I was not that close to find a cure and I could not take such risks yet.

Maverick didn't just completely buy the lie, but he was pretty worried about me. I was the worst friend slash fake girlfriend ever in history. Before I could wallow any further in self-hatred, I felt his fingers on my chin, lifting my face upwards and forcing me to lock eyes with him again.

"I don't want anything bad happening to you."

The following moments developed in slow motion. I could clearly see him leaning towards me, his eyes fixed on my lips. He exhaled a trembling breath and cupped my cheek with a caress. If I had any doubt about what he was about to do, now they were completely gone.

I did not budge, feeling like the few seconds it took for his lips to land on mine lasted an eternity. I could have easily avoided it but... I had just turned 23 y.o. It was already due time to get my very first kiss and Maverick was pretty much the best candidate.

Decidedly better than having it forced on me by a crazy Alpha that had decided he didn't need his real mate. Like, for example, Alpha Neil next week.

I focused my attention back on Maverick to see him closing the distance between us. He closed his eyes just before his lips brushed mine carefully, hesitantly at first. It didn't take long before his hands wandered to different directions. The one that had been grabbing my hand slid to the small of my back and the other one strayed to the back of my head.

I felt his ragged breath as he pulled me closer to him, lacing his arm around my waist. I tried to concentrate on what I was feeling, but I couldn't bring myself to close my eyes. There was a tiny freckle in the bottom right of his left eye that I had never noticed before and was surprisingly fascinating.

I studied it until I felt his tongue trying to make its way into my mouth, snapping me back to reality. I placed my hands on his chest, feeling his rapid heartbeat against them, and pushed him away. The idea of having his bodily fluids mixed with mine... I wasn't ready for that yet.

He looked at me, confusion painted in his expression before it changed into a shy smile. He let go of me in an awkward movement and ran the same hand that seconds before was on my neck through his hair, focusing his gaze on the floor tiles and biting his lower lip.

Maverick acting bashful. Another first for the day.

"I got a little..." He cleared his throat, his eyes drifting around me, not settling anywhere specific. "Eager." A blush appeared in his cheeks and he ran once again a hand through his hair before stuffing both of them in his jeans' pockets. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." His eyes darted to mine, assessing the sincerity of my words. I gave him a small smile and he relaxed visibly, making my heart quiver at his cute behaviour. "To be honest... That was my first kiss."

"Are you serious?" If his face weren't plastered with complete happiness I would have felt offended, but he was clearly over the moon. He stepped closer to me and took my hands in his. "I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did."

I forced myself to smile. It was definitely not something I could say I was flipped over. Neither was I disgusted by it. Just... indifferent. Maybe I just needed some practice.

Luckily for me, he didn't wait for an answer. He pulled me under his arm and gave me a short hug, sniffing my hair for the second time in a day.

"Maximilian and Gamma Josh must be waiting for us. Let's take the things and go before they get suspicious and decide to cut my crown jewels."

I chuckled and nodded, slicing the rest of the cheese while he placed it on a dish with pieces of bread. When we finished, he grabbed some soft drinks from the fridge and I took the plate, letting him lead me out of the kitchen.

Having a marathon about mafia and not about love stories sounded fairly nice right now.

A/N

And here we go! Looks like Maverick is more interested than what we once thought... Let's see where this goes to =P

This week is my last week before my Christmas vacation begin and I can go back home! I do not think I will have much time during the holidays, so I will do my best during this week to prepare a lot of chapters to upload while I am stuffing myself with delicious mom's food!

If you liked the chapter, do no forget to vote and comment! If you found errors or weird things, I would also be interested in hearing those! Thanks!!

Koe