"Trevor must really be a monitoring spirit," thought Lia as she caught her brother Trevor spying on them for the umpteenth time.

"Your brother sure has a lot of time on his hand," Daniel told her as he too sensed him hiding behind a tree and staring at them from there.

She had gratefully fallen asleep earlier in the middle of Ben's endless chatter - Asher brought it upon himself.

Lia still refused to believe that Ben has supernatural powers. There was nothing extraordinary about him aside from the fact he is a

paranormalist and her friend.

But she was still curious, if indeed Ben was a supernatural creature as Asher claims, what could he possibly be?

It seems Asher must have been fed-up with Ben's ravings because when she awoke he was nowhere to be found, while Ben had moved his latest obsession to Wikipedia - at last, hallelujah!

Said he was studying Greek mythology or something like that? Lia couldn't exactly remember but she was thankful his research moved his ass out of her room.

Asher didn't return as she expected, he called to say an emergency came up and had to leave.

Yeah, she was bored for a while until Daniel arrived. Apparently, Asher called to tell him that today was her birthday.

Truth be told, Lia loved their new interaction; both were working together unlike before.

Inwardly, she knew she has no other option than to make her choice soon, but she was happy they weren't killing each other over her - it made things less problematic.

Daniel hardly arrived when Trevor came in and began his "Brother- protects- sister - from - bad guys " display.

Unlike Trevor, their mother was more welcoming and though she had given her the " Who-is- this - hot - dude ? " look, nothing else went wrong aside from her probing questions :

"What's your name? "

"Daniel "

"Daniel who? "

"Daniel Lucian "

"How old are you? "

"Twenty four "

" Your parents? "

"Late "

"Sorry. So what do you do for a living? "

"Mom!" Lia had butt in when the questioning became too prying.

"What? " Jenny cast her an exasperated gaze.

"Aren't you going too - "

"I need to know everything about the guy hanging around my daughter " she interjected.

Daniel scratched his head "I'm not hanging around her, I'm - "

"You're her boyfriend then " Jenny filled in while Lia went red in the face.

"Mom! "

"Don't mom me young lady! " Jenny scolded her sternly " Are you trying to say I'm seeing wrong? You two can't take your eyes off each other and he's been keeping you company for God knows how many hours now. If you both aren't dating, what are you doing then? "

Lia scratched her scalp, she had not expected that things would escalate to this level. Why were moms so quick on catching on things like this?

"Mom, it's a little bit complicated - "

"Yes, I'm her boyfriend, " Daniel admitted.

Lia turned to face him surprised," You are? "

"Yes, I'm her boyfriend," he said more confidently and determined this time.

Her mom was staring at both of them with arms folded and a self-satisfied smirk on her face.

"Since you decided to come clean, I'll continue with my questions "

Lia groaned out loud and facepalmed, her mom was impossible.

"What do you do for a living? " she still pressed forward with that question.

" I'm the village chief of Kinney village "

She watched her mom's brow raise questioningly "Kinney village?"

"Yeah " Daniel confirmed.

"More like the Alpha of the silver moon pack, " Lia said in her head of course.

"Little Town shares a boundary with the village, right?" Jenny asked no-one in particular but Daniel took it upon himself to answer.

"Yeah, we do, just a few miles away. Perhaps, you should come to visit sometimes "

Her mom's expression light up "Really? "

"Yes, I'll fund all necessary expenses "

Suddenly Jenny scrunched up her face "Aren't you a little bit too young for that position? "

Daniel explained, " Kinney ways are different, plus the position is hereditary so after the death of my parents, I had no choice than to take over "

Lia shook her head, Daniel was such a smooth liar but she couldn't blame him.

They couldn't just tell her mother he was leading a pack of hormone raging half-human, half-wolf shapeshifters, and ironically, she was one of them too - not from the same pack though.

Come to think of it, Lia slowly realized she was no different from her father. She was now keeping deadly secrets from her family - even more than her father ever did - but it was to protect them, it was better they remained in the dark.

"Miss Jenny, I know I might not look much, but I'm more than capable to take care of your daughter and cherish her for eternity," Daniel said, causing Lia's head to jerk up.

Her brows furrowed together, why does he sound as if he was asking for her hand in marriage.

Jenny sighed " Fine but I still got my eyes on the both of you though " her mom even emphasized by giving them the "I've -got -my - eyes - on - you " gesture.

Because Lia was "admitted " in the hospital, she was given a simple birthday celebration and Daniel accompanied her to the end of it.

The birthday candles were blown off and wishes were made. Her Mom gifted her with these new dresses while Daniel gave her an exotic perfume that smelled so good that even her inner wolf moaned in satisfaction.

Though she and Daniel didn't do anything suggestive, she saw her mom giving her knowing looks, not to speak of Trevor.

Trevor's gaze followed their every movement, he always found opportunities to interrupt both of them.

Lia couldn't understand why he was behaving that way, why did he dislike Daniel that much. This wasn't even the first time she dated.

She had once dated this guy from her old school and Trevor never bothered with him, so why wasn't he in support of this one?

If Trevor was this protective, what now happens if he accidentally finds out she doesn't have one, but two legitimate boyfriends? She didn't even dare to imagine the scenario.

"Mom, I need to get some fresh air, " Lia told Jenny before walking out with Daniel.

"Fine, but don't stay outside for too long so you don't catch a cold " She reminded Lia while secretly giving her the "please -use - protection " look.

Lia rolled her eyes, what was her mother seriously thinking.

And that was how they found themselves sitting on a wooden bench beside the walkway in the hospital's garden with Trevor spying on them.

"Don't mind him " Lia laughed after spotting Trevor out of the corner of her eyes trying to conceal himself from sight.

"Why don't we fool around with him a bit? " Daniel suggested with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

She drew closer till their faces were nearly touching and whispered "What are you suggesting? "

He drew closer too, this time till their noses were touching with his breath hitting her face making her wolf quiver with excitement.

His brow moved " The rooftop? "

"Call me game "

They stood up simultaneously and Trevor straightened up as well, ready to trail after them as usual. At first, they walked slowly and in circles, before disappearing from the garden entirely.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm enjoying the misery on his face," Lia said, watching Trevor who was hellbent on searching for them in the garden.

Though it was late at night, the electricity and her great eyesight made everything as clear as day.

She was standing beside the rooftop ledge and enjoying the sight below, the hospital was a five-story.

Lia felt butterflies in her stomach when Daniel suddenly encircled her waist from behind.

He had been right when he told her the bond would be stronger when she clocks eighteen, cause she has been so aware of him ever since he walked into her room.

"Your scent is becoming stronger " He murmured as his breath hit her neck making her gasp.

Lia turned in his arms and found herself face-to-face while her throat dried up at the sight of him.

"Is late already, wouldn't you go back to your pack? "

"Why? Are you chasing me off already? " his hands ran down the curve of her body and she gulped, but her wolf loved it.

"Kiss him " It chanted in her head but Lia closed her eyes and shut it out. It was becoming a hassle handling this creature inside of her.

When she opened her eyes, Daniel's gaze had darkened and drifted down to her lips.

"Dan - " He sealed her words with a kiss that left her mind swirling. His arms around her waist tightened, pressing her firmly to his body.

Lia kissed him back with passion, her hand running through his silky strands and pushing him closer.

Her heart pounded against her chest while her inner wolf she thought she had shut out, squealed with excitement when his tongue parted her lips.

But Lia pulled away as soon as her lungs began to burn, she needed oxygen. Daniel smiled and leaned his forehead against hers saying,

"Happy birthday mate "