THE INCRIMINATING PHOTOGRAPHS

"Don't cry, Lizzy." Jonah awkwardly patted my shoulder.

"What did you expect after showing me all that?" I pulled out a tissue from the decorative box on the side table and dabbed my eyes so it won't ruin my eye liner completely.

"I thought you'd be happy." Jonah mumbled.

"I am happy, you...you... nincompoop!" I scolded.

"Uh...okay. Good." Jonah nodded. He stood up and reached out his hand towards me, "I still have one more thing to show you."

"What?" I blinked away the tears.

"The surprise!" Jonah looked excited now. I reached out my hand towards him by instinct. He grabbed me by my wrist and pulled up up on my feet, "Come on, Lizzy. I'll show you something good!"

I followed Jonah out of the room. Our mums barely had time to flatten themselves against the wall to make way for us. I can't believe they were there the whole time with their cameras!

But Jonah's long legs forced me to walk in double quick time to catch up, he pretty much half dragged me out to the porch. The moment we stepped out, the party cheered.

It was then when I put the letters and the cheers together and realized that THE ENTIRE WORLD KNEW EXCEPT ME that I was Jonah's soul mate.

What the heck.

"Uh thanks! Now, I have a birthday surprise for everyone." Jonah pointed to a large screen set up on the side. He pulled me still by my wrist out to the open field and look up to the house. Ben gave a thumbs up from his window where the projector was perched precariously.

"This is for you too, Ben. Happy birthday!" Jonah shouted up to him. He took out his phone and hit the play button.

A slide show played. It was a montage of short video clips and photos of Ben and me, and Jonah, and Savy, and Sam and everyone growing up.

List of things I remembered when I watched the slide show:

Ben used to be shorter than I was, once upon a time.

Sam's hair wasn't always blue.

Jonah used to have chubby cheeks but for some reason none of us noticed till now.

Savy looked like a proclein baby doll when she was young. Everytime she appeared everyone went "awww..."

And then as time went by, there was Ben and me, both raven haired and emerald eyed next to each other at the same height. There was a photo of our Vday dance, the one where Savy and I didn't get asked no matter how hard we tried. In the end, we went with Jonah and Ben.

In the photo, Jonah was looking at me. Savy and I were grinning like the best friends forever that we were. Ben was looking somewhere off screen.

Photos of our wolves after our first shifts. We laughed at Savy's wolf... Like a little white snowball compared to ours.

We woahed at a video clip of Sam, Ben, Harvey, and Ki's wolves play fighting in the snow. They were unnaturally huge. Monsters really, mowing down full grown trees like toothpicks in the snow.

Ben at Sam's Alpha Inauguration, wearing a suit and posing in front of the Lambo.

Me and Ben's first day at highschool...

And then as the photos approached the present, I felt the tears well up in my eyes again. I kept getting emotional tonight.

It was weird, seeing us grow up in fast motion like that. Was that what Mum meant by me growing up so fast?

And while we grew from small pups to grown wolves, our little world in Night Leaf was full of love and peppered with laughter. Despite the rogues and war, we had a happy childhood. We were really lucky.

At the end of the slideshow, everyone clapped. Mum and Laura wiped their eyes. And then someone - I bet it was Tim, someone started chanting, "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"

Jonah made a look like a deer caught in headlights. It was funny coming from him. I laughed, and then I tip toed over to drop a kiss on his cheek, but he turned at the moment, and our lips met.

We pulled away in shock. There was a literal shock even while his hand on my wrist continued to tingle.

Our friends laughed and cheered.

"Do it properly!" This time I was sure it was Tim, because straight after, I heard Angela scolding, "Can you shut it! That kiss was p

PERFECT!"

"Jonah! Kiss me too!" Of course that was Carlie.

We all laughed.

We've been friends for a long time.

I let my head rest on Jonah's shoulder. I can't believe I hadn't realised he was my soul mate sooner.

Seeing my life flash before my eyes, even if it's from my mum's and Laura's cameras made me realize that the clues had been everywhere.

Jonah let go of my wrist and very carefully put his arm around me. More flashing... New photos being taken by Mum and Laura.

And then Jonah leaned in very close, our foreheads touched, and over the din of laughter and friendly chatter, the flashing photography lights by our paparazzi mother's, and the smell of apples, I heard a low growling and realised that this was the first time I had ever heard this sound from Jonah in his human form.

After that, Dad yelled like the grouchy old wolf that he was, "Alright! Party's over! Clean up or get out!"

So all our guests had to pick which they'd rather do.

Looking around at the wolves who chose to stay, I smiled fondly. It's true what they say. Your real friends are the ones who stay back after the party to clean up.

Even Sam and her betas stayed to help. She had to, I guess, or Savy wouldn't be allowed to.

"Now we should take a photo of that!" Ben and Ki were pointing their cameras in the kitchen. The Luna Bell was mopping!

Hahaha. The Lorent heir was mopping my kitchen!

"Only in Night Leaf..." Jonah grinned mischievously, "does our hieracy turn topsy turvy."

Luna Bell straightened from his work and growled at our direction.

"Run!" Jonah said. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me to the back of the house. Ben and Ki weren't quick enough, and now it was their turn to mop.

Alone again in the games room, Jonah shut the door.

"You know, Lizzy, just now..." Jonah gave me a wolfish grin, "you just took my first kiss from me in front of everybody."

"Eh, what?" I asked, "Well, it was my first kiss too!"

I wondered if it was weird, to only have our first kiss at 18. But it wasn't my fault! No one who knew us would have dared to kiss me with Ben and Jonah watching from the shadows. And I wasn't about to kiss anyone I didn't know.

"Yes, but I want my kiss back now." Jonah informed me.

It didn't work that way! He was being an idiot again, I was sure of it.

"Stupid! You can't take back a first kiss!" I said.

"Wanna bet?" Jonah waggled his brows at me. He looked so ridiculous I laughed, "There is no way..."

I was cut off when he pressed my mouth shut, with his own.

My hands flew up to push him away, but ended up trapped against his broad chest.

His tongue...

I turned my face away, "Why is there a tongue?"

"I'm just looking for my first kiss." Jonah quipped.

OMG. He was a RASCAL.

And now with the first kiss out of the way, he slid his mouth lower, just under my jaw. I started purring, and he... He started sounding like a lawn mower.

"Wha..." I pulled away again. Hahahaha. Jonah's wolf was pretty loud.

"Sorry, but your dress and you... feels so good..." He continued kissed down my neck.

My purring started again. We weren't doing too bad for first timers.

And then I felt something sharp, teeth... No, fangs! I wanted to gasp but it was too late. He bit right into the curve between my neck and shoulder, a bright flash exploded in me. And I passed out.