So, facing a dining table that would satisfy a royal, my nose crinkled further as I saw the massive birthday cake, and then the silver that lined the mahogany surface, along with the cloches and different platters that were covered with fruits and different foods that were displayed to perfection.

Austin heaved a long-suffering sigh at my side, which Sabina heard and laughed at.

“You’d think I was poisoning you.”

“We hate birthdays,” I muttered, as I’d been muttering all day.

Austin had too, and he’d woken up with a birthday BJ and a long slow fuck that, according to him, made him realize that power ballads weren’t talking bullshit.

I knew my birthday gift was for tonight, so I’d admit I wasn’t pouting too much over that, but a party?

Cue grumpy face.

Eli was already seated at the head of the table, but Sabina darted over to us, pulled Austin and me into the room, and dragged us over to our chairs.

Normally, we ate in a room just off the kitchen. It was small, looked over the woods, let in a lot of light in the morning which sucked, but in the evening, the way the moon trickled in through the trees? Perfection.

This formality was uncalled for, but she looked so goddamn excited that, what? Was I supposed to ruin her joy?

Yup, not gonna happen.

So I let her drag us to our chairs, and when she stood between us, I decided there had to be some perks to today, so I settled my hand on her ass as she reached down, put her hands on the lids of the cloches, and revealed our birthday dinner.

I grinned at the sight, and I had to admit, she’d done good.

Burger. Steak. Fries.

No veggies. And no, I didn’t consider fries to be a vegetable.

“I knew you were perfect,” Austin told her, and I grinned wider because he wasn’t wrong.

When she beamed a smile at me, I felt my heart melt, and even though I was looking forward to later, I wasn’t too upset about this now.

“I got the same!” Daniel’s small voice made me jump. It was easy to forget about him, since he was so quiet, but the kid was a good one.

And he loved books, which made him popular with me too.

I smirked at him. “This is a feast fit for alphas.”

Eli snorted, and I saw he’d pulled off his own cloche, revealing a similar meal, but his had a little pot of blue cheese dressing on it.

I laughed and muttered, “Someone knows I’m the one getting laid tonight.”

He let out a chuckle, but didn’t get mad at my statement, instead, just upended the sauce onto his steak.

As she took her seat between Daniel and Eli, I asked, “How did you even find out today was our birthday anyway?”

She shrugged. “Overheard it.”

Overheard it?

“From who?” Austin pressed.

“Couple of maids.”

I rolled my eyes at that, guessing, “Hayley and Bridget.”

Austin nodded. “Bitches.”

Sabina frowned. “Why?”

“They were mean to us in school.”

Sabina snorted, because I’d admit it sounded pretty childish, but it didn’t stop me from huffing, “They were!”

Daniel’s eyes were round. “Someone was mean to you in school?”

I wasn’t sure if he sounded impressed or terrified.

I shrugged. “We weren’t always this big and nasty.”

His nose crinkled. “You aren’t nasty.”

My lips twitched. “Thanks, kid.”

Figured he’d know what nasty was with an evil bastard like his for a dad. Jesus, even if I hadn’t agreed wholeheartedly with bringing him in to the fold, I’d have done so just because of his past.

“Why were they mean to you?”

“Because we’re twins,” Austin explained.

Daniel huffed. “I think that’s silly.”

Sabina’s reply was strident. “Me too.” She frowned. “Weren’t twins disliked in your pack, Daniel?”

He shrugged. “There weren’t any.”

“But if there were some,” she reasoned, “would they be disliked?”

Awkwardly, he shuffled in his seat. “Yes.”

His unease told me he’d been raised to dislike twins too, but the way we’d treated him, our kindnesses, spoke for us.

Well, at least we had one convert.

I forked up some steak as Sabina grumbled, “I don’t get why twins are so hated. It makes no sense to me.”

“We told you. We’re like a broken rule.”

“It’s not your fault, though, is it?”

“No. But it’s just seen to be a curse.”

“If your line begets twins, then we’re going to have some, and I refuse for my kids to be treated like that,” she groused, plunked her knife and fork down, and glowered at us like we were going to argue.

But then I sensed her genuine distress, and it hit me square in the feels. She was such a mother. I didn’t know why or for what reason, but it was the truth. Everything about her was protective, defensive of the young. I’d picked up on it, thinking she was unhappy being a predator now, but it went deeper.

She was a natural nurturer for a reason.

Daniel mumbled, “I’ll protect them, Sabina.”

She twisted to look at him. “You will?”

“Of course!” He beamed a grin at her now that he had her attention. The second she was looking at him, the kid lit up like a firework. I couldn’t blame him—it was how I felt whenever she glanced my way. “When I grow up, I’ll be real strong.”

She reached over and squeezed his wrist. “You already are.”

He squirmed at that. “Not strong enough.”

“Plenty strong,” she countered. “For your age.”

“She’s right, Daniel,” Eli intoned. “Best not to run before you can walk.”

He eyed Eli, studying him with a gravitas I understood. Sometimes, Daniel had a way of looking at Eli with pure hero worship in his eyes, and it always made me want to laugh. Eli was so repressed, the last thing we needed was Daniel to emulate him.

Not that I was much better as a role model.

The best of us all was Austin. At least he knew how to let his hair down.

“Okay, Eli, I won’t walk before I can run,” he repeated carefully, like he didn’t want to mess up before he messed it up. Then, he cleared his throat. “Eli?”

“Yes, Daniel?”

“I can walk already.”

Eli’s lips curved. “I know. It’s just a saying. You need to get used to walking as a wolf, before you can run as one. You see what I mean?”

Daniel took a big bite of his burger as he contemplated that. “I think I do,” he said, with his face now covered in ketchup to the extent where he looked like he was eating rare, bloody steak.

I had to admit, whatever I’d expected for a birthday meal, it wasn’t this.

Something quiet, something small.

Just us.

With Daniel.

Who didn’t really count, because he fit in.

It was weird how he did.

How right it felt to have him here.

I’d figured he’d cramp our style, but he didn’t. Even though his alpha was strong enough to rub our wolves the wrong way, it didn’t seem to matter.