...Arabella POV...

"Happy birthday, Ari dear." My mom hugged me tightly.

I hugged her back, but our moment was cut short when my father cleared his throat.

"I believe it is my turn to hug my little princess," Dad said with a grin. He held his arms out, and I gladly wrapped my arms around his waist.

"Happy birthday, Pup," Dad mumbled into my hair.

I mumbled a thank you into his chest. "I have to finish cooking," Mom said, dismissing herself.

"My little girl is growing up," Dad said while hugging me tighter.

"You've become a very beautiful, smart, and kind young woman. I am so proud of you. You will be an amazing Queen."

I pulled away from him and looked in his eyes. I saw nothing but honesty and pride. Pride in me. I shed a few tears of joy, happiness, and relief. Relief that my father believes in me.

"Mommy! Daddy made Ari cry!" Two little arms wrapped around my legs.

"You shouldn't cry on your birthday. You have to be happy." Aaron, my younger brother, frowned at me. I scooped him up and planted him on my hip.

"I am happy. These are happy tears," I told him. He stared at me with a look of disbelief on his face.

"I know what will make you happy!" He motioned for me to move closer. I put my ear towards his face and he cupped my ear with his small hand.

"Mommy said not to tell you, but she made chocolate waffles with Strawberries for breakfast. And she's got whipped cream as well." Aaron whispered. I put him back on the ground a ruffled his hair.

"I am very happy now!" I exclaimed with a smile on my face. Aaron cheered and hugged my legs.

"Aaron. Why don't you help Mommy set the table," Dad suggested.

Aaron nodded and ran away to the kitchen. When Aaron was out of the room, my father turned to me.

"You and Asher are leaving at dawn tomorrow," He informed me.

I nodded in response and walked to the kitchen as he trailed behind me.

"Ari! I got you a special plate!" Aaron exclaimed.

He took my hand into both of his and pulled me to the dining table. He stopped in front of a chair and started pointing at the table.

"Mommy said that you made that plate when you were little." I looked at the plate and smiled at the memory.

In sixth grade, my teacher told us to design our plate with something that defines who we are.

No one understood what she meant, so the class ended up coloring their plate however they wanted to.

But I drew a crown. The crown that would be my future. My mother's crown. The Queen' crown. It's always been my dream to be just like my mother. A strong, caring Queen.

"I remember that. You said that you couldn't wait to be a big girl, so you could wear your mother's crown," Dad said, peaking over my shoulder.

"Yeah. You told me that I had to wait. Cause Daddy still needed his little princess," I said, remembering my father's exact words.

"Mommy, can we eat now? I'm hungry," Aaron pouted, cutting off our nostalgic moment. Dad chuckled and took a seat. I ruffled Aaron's hair.

"Come one, squirt. You can sit next to the birthday girl." His pout was replaced with a face-splitting grin. He quickly pulled out the chair next to mine and sat down.

"Chocolate waffles for the birthday girl!" Mom said while walking to the kitchen.

She held a platter filled with square chocolate waffles, decorated beautifully with all sizes of Strawberries. She put them in the center of the table, and we all took a few waffles.

"Ari. Can you help me?" Aaron said, from next to me.

"With what buddy?" I asked, not looking at him, but at the heavenly breakfast in front of me.

My stomach growled sensing the delicious meal.

"I made a mess," Aaron said quietly.

I turned and immediately burst into laughter. Whipped cream and Strawberries.

There was a strawberry floating inside his juice and his whole plate was covered in whipped cream.

There was even chocolate syrup on the table. Kids are a force to be reckoned with. I have no idea how they do things like this.

"No more whipped cream for you, young man!" Mom scolded Aaron, when he held the bottle inside his mouth.

Dad chuckled and took the bottle away from him.

"More for me," Dad put some whipped cream in his mouth as Aaron pouted.

I scooped some whipped cream off of his plate and dabbed it on the tip of his nose.

"Hey!" Aaron rubbed the cream off his nose.

It just made the cream spread; so it looked like he put on sunblock, but didn't rub it in all the way.

He looked at me with his lips jutted out and his eyes narrowed. I laughed so hard, I started clutching my sides.

Tears formed in my eyes, blurring my vision. My laughter died down and I wiped my face. I was about to start devouring my waffles, but they were gone.

" What the heck?!" I exclaimed. My mom started laughing, and Dad tried covering his laugh with a cough.

"Where did my waffles go?!"

Dad pointed at Aaron, who was happily eating my food. Aaron looked straight at me, and took another bite.

"Very yummy," he said with his mouth full. I cringed at the sight.

Mom handed me another plate and I put another waffle on it. We ate breakfast and laughed at each other.

It was one of those rare moments that you wish would last forever. But it won't.

Tomorrow, I won't be able to do this. Tomorrow, I'm leaving with Asher. Tomorrow, I'm setting out to find my mate, the new King.

...Arabella POV...

After breakfast, Mom and I washed the dishes. Aaron fell asleep; and Dad was sorting out last minute things for Asher and I. Asher is the Alpha of our Royal Pack. He is by far the greatest leader and fighter.

He is also really close to my family, which is why he is going with me. The plan is to travel around to find my mate.

We will go to each pack, sniff around; literally. Apparently, I can smell my mate, and instantly know that it's him.

It's weird to think about, but helpful. Asher needed to meet up with other Alphas anyway, so it kills two birds with one stone.

"Party time!" someone yelled.

I heard the door close and footsteps started coming towards us. Mom and I were watching Criminal Minds in the living room. We both turned around and Asher entered.

"Asher!" I exclaimed. I jumped off the couch to hug him. Asher chuckled and hugged me back.

"Well, I feel loved," a female voice said.

I turned and saw Charlotte, Asher's mate. I pulled away from Asher and gently hugged Charlotte.

"I'm not a fragil doll you know," She teased. I smiled as I moved away from her.

"But you are very, very pregnant," I said. Asher and Mom chuckled while nodding in agreement.

"Isn't she due in a few weeks?" Mom asked. Charlotte nodded and patted her belly.

"Have you thought of any names?" Charlotte opened her mouth, but Asher cut her off before she could speak.

"His name is going to be Asher Junior," he stated proudly. Earning a hit on his arm from his mate.

"For the last time! It's a baby girl! How many times do I have to say it, so that it gets through your thick alpha skull?!" Charlotte said exasperated.

"What are you naming her?" I asked Charlotte. Asher glared at me, and I smiled innocently at him.

"Well, this guy-" she pointed at Asher with her thumb.

"Wanted an Asher Junior. So I compromised. Ashlynn," she said with a smile.

Mom squealed like a teenager. Asher chuckled and kissed Charlotte.

I fake gagged. "Gross! PDA!!!" I shouted, covering my eyes. Everyone started laughing. I opened my eyes just as Dad entered the room.

"Asher. " They did the bro-hug thing.

"Hello, Charlotte," Dad said and kissed her cheek.

"Hello, Anderson," Charlotte said.

"Asher needed to talk to you about Alpha stuff. And I wanted to give Ari this." Charlotte held up a small rectangular box.

I smiled. "You didn't have to get me anything," I said and pulled her into a hug. Charlotte laughed.

"You will be happy that I did though," she held the box out to me. It was wrapped in light blue wrapping paper and a little white bow

I pulled off the bow and undid the wrapping. It was a black jewelry box.

I looked up at Charlotte and she looked excited. I slowly opened the box and gasped.

It was a white gold charm bracelet. There were five charms. The letter A for my name and N for my last name connected, along with a small wolf, a crown, a simple heart, and a butterfly.

It was beautiful. I just stood there and gasped at it.

"Do you like it?" Charlotte asked nervously. I looked up at her and nodded.

"I love it." I put the jewelry on the table and hugged her.

"It's beautiful."

"It looked better in silver, but..." she trailed off.

I laughed. Silver can hurt werewolves. It won't kill us, but is does burn and weaken us. It sucks that we can't touch something so beautiful. But, I still have silver jewelry. It's just not real. Real silver is absolutely stunning, though.

"It was my idea," Asher stated. I laughed and gave him a hug. Charlotte hit Asher's arm again.

"Don't lie. Your only idea was the letters," she scoffed.

"It was still a good idea!" Asher argued. Everyone laughed. I wrapped my arms around his waist.

"It was a great idea. Thanks, Asher," I said sincerely. Asher grinned.

"Thanks, kiddo," I frowned at the nickname. He laughed.

"Sorry, your still a kid. Legally, you're an adult. But to me, an adult is someone who can go bar-hopping."

"I can go bar-hopping," I stated. It just won't be legal, by human laws.

"That would be illegal. But we are going to go pack-hopping," He said with a smile. Pack-hopping?

"What the hell is pack-hopping?" Dad voiced my thoughts.

"Like bar-hopping, but with packs," Asher said in a duh tone. Everyone just stared at him.

"Going from pack to pack. We are going to be pack-hopping, so Ari can find her mate," Asher explained. Charlotte squealed.

"I forgot about that! He's going to be the best mate ever!" If she wasn't pregnant, I could totally imagine her jumping up and down like a teenager.

Even though they're a couple of decades older than me, Charlotte, Asher, and my parents still act like young adults.

"Wow. That's not offensive." Asher pouted, Charlotte kissed his cheek and he smiled.

The power of the mate bond right there. They can instantly make you happy. It's a beautiful love.

"I'm going to have a talk with him before anything happens." Asher cracked his knuckles. His mate narrowed her eyes at him.

"You're going to chase away her mate before I get to meet him?!" Charlotte exclaimed.

Asher paled. Never, ever, ever make a pregnant werewolf mad. Especially if she is a Luna.

"I'll just make sure that he's good for Ari," he defended, taking a small step away from his mate. Charlotte still managed to whack the back of his head.

"Of course he's good for her! The Moon Goddess wouldn't pick someone that's not good enough for Ari. She did nothing wrong, so her mate must be perfect," Charlotte threw her hands up exasperated.

"Let's go talk about that alpha stuff" dad said to Asher. Saved by the King. Asher nodded and they walked off.

"What do you want to do now?" Charlotte asked.

I actually have no idea. It's my birthday. I had an amazing breakfast. I hung out with my family. I didn't have any other plans for today. I should pack for the trip though. But what am I gonna wear?

"Shopping trip," I said. Charlotte and Mom smiled and we left to go to the mall.