A/N: Originally I had wanted to end this story with the proposal. But after a few days of working on other stories, something kept bringing me back to this one. So I guess it's not over yet! I hope you continue to follow and enjoy this story. And thank you to those who encouraged me to write more! :)

Chapter 13

Despite Iko's constant nagging, Wolf and Scarlet did not set a date for their wedding. In fact, they refused to start any sort of planning. Both of them were okay with a long engagement and neither of them felt the need to have a ceremony anytime soon. They already felt like they were married, and in a lot of ways their bond was deeper and stronger than any rings could symbolize. Eventually Thorne asked Wolf why he had even bothered proposing. Wolf told him that it had felt like the perfect moment and he didn't want to miss it. Cress "awed" over this for days and continuously asked Thorne why he wasn't romantic like that.

Besides, Wolf and Scarlet had a lot of things to distract them from the stress of wedding planning. Things like cuddling by the fire, playing in the snow, and a few fast approaching holidays. Scarlet felt these things were more important than what kind of flowers would be in her bouquet. She eventually said so to Iko and needless to say, she is currently not on speaking terms with Scarlet or Wolf.

But Scarlet knew that Iko's cold shoulder treatment would be ending soon. Wolf's birthday was coming up, and it was going to be his first birthday on Earth (Scarlet imagined they didn't recognize birthdays in the Lunar packs). They had missed his last birthday while they were on the Rampion because Wolf had never brought it up. And Scarlet ended up finding out his birthdate from Cress who was able to hack into the lunar files on all the Special Operatives. Scarlet swore Cress to secrecy and immediately started planning everything she was going to do for Wolf's special day.

Scarlet had it all planned out, and that meant having all of their friends over. Even Iko wasn't stubborn enough to miss something like this.

It was the night before the big day, everyone was on their way, decorations and cake supplies were hidden in the cupboards, and everything was going according to plan. Now, it was up to Scarlet to get Wolf to bed early so that she had time to put it all together.

They were just finishing up dinner when they both heard the chime of Scarlet's portscreen. Scarlet was so surprised she almost dropped the plates she was carrying.

"Are you okay?" Wolf asked. She looked nervous and he couldn't imagine why.

Scarlet ignored him as she rushed over to her portscreen.

SCARLET, WHAT KIND OF PRESENT DO YOU GET FOR SOMEONE WHO'S HALF WOLF? IS IT MORE THAN HALF? HEEELLLLPPPPPP SCARLET!

Scarlet rolled her eyes, leave it to Thorne to ask such a ridiculous question, and to be so insensitive. She quickly typed a response, hoping that Wolf was't getting suspicious. She made sure it was on silent before she headed back to the kitchen.

"What was that about?" Wolf asked.

"Nothing," Scarlet said, "Cress just had a quick cooking question." She was starting to put the dishes away when she could feel Wolf staring at her. "What?" She asked defensively.

Wolf quickly shied away. "You're acting weird," he mumbled.

Scarlet hung her head, immediately feeling bad about snapping at him. "I'm sorry," she said softly, "I think I'm just tired."

Wolf stood up and crossed over to her, wrapping his arms around her. "Let's go to bed then," he whispered. Scarlet nodded and he took her hand, leading her upstairs.

It was around midnight when Scarlet snuck back downstairs. She started with the cake. She had quite the dinner planned as well but luckily she didn't have to start that tonight.

Once the cake was in the oven, she moved on to the decorations. She covered the living room in streamers and a rather large banner that said "Happy Birthday, Alpha Ze'ev." The decorating took a lot longer than she thought but to be fair she was only one person. She was wrapping streamers around the bannister when the over timer went off. Stars. She ran to the kitchen, shutting it off as quickly as she could. She held her breath praying that Wolf was still asleep. After a few moments of silence, Scarlet assumed he was still asleep. She let out a sigh of relief and took the cake out.

Scarlet put the now frosted cake in the fridge and checked her portscreen one last time. It was close to two in the morning. There were comms from Cinder, Thorne, and Jacin all saying that they were in the village. She yawned, shut off her port and headed to bed. She was quietly sneaking up when she ran into a very sleepy Wolf at the top of the stairs.

"What are you doing, Scarlet?" Wolf asked, rubbing his eyes.

"I just wanted some water," she replied as innocently as possible.

Wolf frowned, "how come I feel like you're lying to me?"

Scarlet's eyes widened and her heart dropped to the floor. She was at a loss for words. Technically she was lying, but it was for a good reason. She wanted to tell him everything just to erase the pained look from his face. "Ze'ev, I—" She started but he shook his head.

"It's okay, I'm sure you have a good reason," he said before turning and shuffling back to the room. He left Scarlet at the top of the stairs gaping at him. Oh Ze'ev. Sometimes she forgot just how delicate he was. She had to stop herself from running after him and spoiling everything. She reminded herself that he just wasn't used to surprise parties. He probably didn't even remember that tomorrow was his birthday. It will all be worth it she reminded herself and with a sigh she slowly headed to bed.

In spite of being up late Scarlet woke up particularly early. She was just too excited to sleep. She turned her head to Wolf lying next to her remembering their conversation from last night. It's okay she thought, he'll be so happy. Scarlet watched him as he slept, his chest gently rising and falling. He looked so peaceful. She leaned over and kissed him lightly on the cheek and she could see his mouth curl into a smile.

"Good morning, Scarlet," he said sleepily, eyes still closed.

"Good morning, Z," she responded as she continued to plant kisses all over his face, "Do you know what today is?"

Wolf's brow furrowed, "Friday?" Scarlet giggled. "No, that's not right. Saturday? Wait, why? Is there something we were supposed to do? Should I have gotten up earlier?" Scarlet was overtaken by a fit of giggles. Wolf rolled over to face her, "And what exactly is so funny?"

Scarlet kissed him again, "You're just so cute. Like, you're literally the cutest."

Wolf frowned, "I am not cute. I'm manly as hell." He rolled away from her as she burst out laughing.

"Stop it, Z!" She said between fits of laughter, "You're adorableness is killing me! Cuteness overload!" Scarlet dramatically pretended to die, falling on top of him, tongue hanging out and all.

Wolf couldn't help but laugh, "Now who's being adorable?" He said as he started to play with her hair. "Seriously Scar, I can't believe you would die on my birthday."

Scarlet immediately sat up. She was genuinely shocked. "You knew?" She asked.

Wolf laughed again, "Scarlet of course I did, you don't just forget when your birthday is. I know I didn't have a normal childhood but give me some credit."

Scarlet was gaping at him, "But you never said anything last year on the ship."

Wolf shrugged, "I didn't want to make a big deal out of it."

"I cannot believe you!" Scarlet was basically yelling at this point, "Of course it's a big deal, it's your BIRTHDAY!"

"It's really okay, Scar. I know you'll make up for it this year," Wolf said. Their was something mischievous in his eyes.

Scarlet's jaw dropped to the floor, "What? What are you saying?"

Wolf was thoroughly enjoying her shock, "All I'm saying is that you're not as sneaky as you think you are."

"Tell me what you know," Scarlet demanded.

"Well, I know you were up making food last night, and maybe other things. But I know about the food for sure because I heard the timer and I could smell it," Wolf said proudly.

"When you same out…Why didn't you say something? I thought you were upset." Scarlet looked away, she suddenly looked a bit sad.

"I didn't want you to figure out that I knew," Wolf responded, "And I was right, you were lying."

Scarlet punched him in the arm, "For a good reason, you goon!"

Wolf feigned hurt, "Stars, Scarlet! No need for violence!" Scarlet punched him again, just for good measure. "Scarlet!" He cried, pulling her to him, "I'm sorry I made you feel bad. I didn't mean to do that, but the look on your face this morning was definitely worth it." Wolf wrapped her in a tight hug before she could throw another punch. "Oh, and I do believe your guests are here."

Scarlet wrenched herself out of his grip, "How did you know?!"

Wolf started laughing again, "Our friends are loud. I heard them make their way up the path already. I think they're waiting at the front door." Scarlet sat back looking rather impressed. "Super human hearing," Wolf said with a wink.

Scarlet rolled her eyes, "So much for surprising you."

"I'm still surprised," Wolf responded, "Just because I figured it out doesn't mean I wasn't surprised. And it doesn't mean I appreciate it any less." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "I know I've said this before but I really don't deserve you."

"Shut up," Scarlet breathed before kissing him. Wolf didn't stop until both of their faces were flushed and they had all but forgotten about their friends outside in the cold.

"I guess we better go get them," Scarlet finally said. She knew that if one of them didn't stop now then they'd be in bed all day. Wolf groaned as she peeled herself away. "Ready to get this party started?"

Wolf smiled and nodded. "Get dressed and meet me down stairs in twenty. They still think you don't know that they're here." Scarlet kissed his cheek one last time and hurried downstairs. Wolf peeked out the window to see the gang standing outside laden with gifts. He quickly started getting ready.