Standing in the ball room, reserved for their use that evening, the resort had specially catered for her birthday party. Banners decorated the room, with balloons bouncing off the ceilings as the streamers hanged, tied to the balloons. A giant cake in the center of a long table that lined the one side of the room filled with enough snacks for the whole Pack and the Coven combined to eat as much of as anyone wanted. This wasn’t even including the three course meal that will be served later on…

There weren’t that many people; it was Nate, Will and Millie’s families, the Beta, and the two Deltas’ as well. Then Ena, Blaze and Gale along with the Elder and her apprentice, Emelia and her husband. There were a few more, that she had met that often came to see Gale or Blaze, people of great importance in the Coven, that she hadn’t taken the time to learn their names yet… All of their attention was directed to her as soon as she entered the room, all of them in Sync shouting out ‘Surprise’ gave her a great big fright. But she reigned in any hysteria, and clung to her Charm, the scent it released calming her as she tried to focus on taking in one thing at a time.

Looking up at the balloons and the dangling streamers, it reminded her of the sunlight streaming through the trees, different, but still the same kind of dazzling – reason number one to why she should stay.

Reason number two was simple – her friends were here with her.

And finally reason number three – She had her ‘family’ there to protect her; Ena, Blaze, Gale; and even though she still struggled to close the gap with him; the Alpha and his mate, the Luna, they were her ‘family’ too!

She didn’t ‘talk’ with the other’s and none thought it strange that she would only stick around her friends at their ‘separate’ table right next to the Alpha’s table which was larger to accommodate Ena, Blaze, Gale and the Elder.

Once the main course was served, the Alpha stood and drew everyone’s attention to him, Nate nodded for him to start and quickly pointed to his mouth reminding his father to give a ‘gentle’ smile.

“Today, I want to thank Missy for ‘born’ and choosing us…” He gestured to his whole table and over to Missy and her friends.

“… as her family. Today might not be the actual date of your birthday, but it is a day we like celebrate you coming into our lives. Any day can do, but today, 20 March being the spring equinox, it represents new beginnings. And just as spring blooms into summer bringing warmth, we hope… I hope… that you will be able to bloom into a wonderful young lady, more wonderful than you already are! Missy Rue O’Connell, here’s all the best wishes for your future; happy birthday my dearest and most charming daughter, I hope you have plenty more years ahead that we can share with you.” He raised he glass and to that everyone saluted.

…

It was summer again, time was going by too fast!

After Millie had come to ‘steal’ Missy away from Gale who was taking care of her while Ena and Blaze had to work, she dragged Missy up to the Pack-House and into her room, braiding her short hair into two messy braids and doing her make-up, she dressed her friend a black grey and red striped sweater, a pair of dark blue jeans and woolen lined brown leather boots. And for the extra warmth since Missy didn’t do well with the cold a thick black leather jacket.

Because Missy after all this time still insisted her hair wasn’t ‘beautiful’. Millie had bought a shampoo that colored hair black temporarily. The black hair had made Missy look paler than she was, but it brought out a different kind of ‘beauty’ in her.

But after two to three washes the color would be out. She loved being able to change her hair color, Ena wasn’t so pleased, but she allowed it so long as Missy didn’t use it ‘every time’. Which she didn’t, only using it when she was going down to the resort like today...

“We’re ready to go! I’ve got our bags packed for Nate and Will to take. I can’t wait to get on our own little ‘holiday’ started, even if it’s just at the resort. But it’s perfect none-the less, cause if anything happens home is just up the hill.” Millie was an electric buzz talking non-stop about their ‘week ling trip down the mountain.

They had played in the forests surrounding them, they had gone skating on the frozen pond and climbing trees, she ‘learned’ to make traps and they caught plenty of birds that they would just set free, she was a decent ‘trap master’ as Nate so jokingly stated, she had become very ‘out going’ where it was just them around. She had even caped outside with them and even had ‘sleepovers’ at the Pack-House… Though she had her own room, she still didn’t feel right to ‘claim’ it as hers, plus Millie was adamant about her sleeping in her room instead so that they could spend the whole night talking and playing games – which didn’t happen since Missy is an early to bed, early to rise person.

She was walking slowly, trying to delay going down, anxious of being suddenly surrounded by ‘complete’ strangers. Winter and early spring was fine… There were only a few people, but summer had the place packed with vacationers and tourists…

She clutched her pendant tightly in her hands “Sa Fe Ra Sen” she chanted the smell enveloped her…

“You know, I actually never thought about it, but your natural scent it’s quite elusive.” William noted after Missy, activated her Charm, not because she ‘needed; to but because she just wanted to smell the flower - like a perfume. She looked at him confused at what he meant.

“Your scent, right now is sort of sweet, like honey, and even though I know the smell from yesterday, I was sure I described it to myself as citrusy, I can’t exactly remember how it smelled. It’s like your scent leaves a blank in my memory, and everyday seeing you, smelling you it’s like ‘new’.” Nate explained.

“She doesn’t smell like honey to me.” Millie chipped in.

“She smells more like cinnamon and sugar.” She told them, William lost in thought.

“To me she smells minty.” She was still confused what they meant by all the smells they mentioned, but each of the smells were the scents that Witching Magnolias could give off and depending on whichever one that caught her ‘attention’ more when she uses the charm that was the one she smelled the most. Quickly signing her thoughts they were surprised.

“I should have asked Ena this a long time ago.” Nate remarked.

“Will, do you know which of the Witches flower is yours?” Millie asked curious since she wasn’t sure which one was hers either.

“It’s the same one as Nate’s the Midnight Lilac, it should be the same for you too, almost all wolves can smell the Lilac.”

“Do we smell like the flower?” Nate shook his head as soon as Millie asked.

“Even though we can actually ‘smell’ the flower, it is very rare that the flower represents anything about you, it just means that if a Witch or Warlock is willing to make you a Charm that that will be their base for it. The other flowers wouldn’t work for us, of course if you smell a horrid smell from one of the other flower it means that that flower can be ‘used’ to ‘curse’ you, that is why it is important not to ever make known to anyone which Witches’ flower is repulsive to you, if there is one.

“But Missy… Didn’t you say you can ‘smell’ them all?” Millie recalled when Ena first started making the charm. Nodding she explained that the Lilac smelled of berries to her while the Blood Roses had a distinct iron smell but salty and sweet at the same time, and strangely made her think of the ‘sea’ even though she didn’t know how the sea smelled or looked like for that matter. The last, the Tear-Drops named after their small teardrop flowers, that were similar to Snowdrop flowers that the humans were aware of, smelled of the forest, a very woody fragrance that she liked and seemed to cling to something in her forgotten memories… Not that she really thought about it at the time…

“Well none of those smells are anything like how Nate or William smells!” Missy raised her shoulder asking her what the two smelled like, her senses not as sharp as other ‘wolves’, since she was Human.

“Mmmm…. William smells more like a spice… Paprika? Maybe? I can’t place it specifically, but Nate… eeeewwwww! He smells like the obscene amount of coffee that he drinks!” They laughed all at the expense of Nate, but he didn’t rebuke it at all!

“After you!” William hinted for Missy to get onto the chair that was approaching them. This particular lift was only used by the ‘staff’ that was all part of wither the Coven or the Pack.

The ‘extra’ security at the bottom was meant to keep any ‘outsiders’ from going up this particular chair lift, the two were already in Missy’s ‘good graces’. They were ‘kind’ and one time when she had lost her charm going down a few weeks ago, the younger of the two had searched the length of the chair lift from top to bottom till he found it and handed it to her the next day. This made her out in the extra effort to get to know him. Only a few people were learning sign language and he was one of them after that day.

“Missy, glad to have you here, I hope you enjoy your visit.” He greeted her as soon as she jumped off the chair.

(“John, I thought your shift was only next week again?”)

“Oh I took it this week, so I can have the next two weeks off to take my mate to the city, she wants to go ‘shopping’.”

(“I see, well then, keep up the good work!”) Since he was still learning she kept her pace slow.

“Always!” He grin was childish, but sweet.