Chapter 11: The Birthday Party

Janine's mouth dropped. "What? Are you sure?" she asked Amara.

"Uh huh," Amara replied absentmindedly, not taking her eyes off Shaw.

"Oh crap, what do I do?" she asked herself.

"Go up to him and proclaim yourself as his mate!" Dakota demanded.

"No, I can't! He won't know I'm his mate because he can't smell me. What if he doesn't believe me?"

"Well at least go talk to him!"

Amara shook her head. "This isn't happening. This is bad."

"Are you serious, Amara?" Janine asked. "Your mate is the hottest teacher at our school!"

"Shh! Keep it down!" Amara hissed. "You want the whole pack to hear?"

Mr. Shaw was laughing at a joke Mr. Farley made. He took another sip of punch and his eyes drifted amongst the crowd. His eyes landed on Amara and he smiled. There was something different about her that he couldn't place. Whatever it was had Darragh in a tizzy.

"What's wrong with you?" Mr. Shaw asked.

"It's Amara. She seems different. More beautiful," Darragh replied.

"I think that's the makeup."

"No, it's not. It's something else."

Mr. Shaw shook his head with a chuckle before taking another drink of his punch.

"So, Mr. Shaw," a woman named Miss Shannon said. "What part of Scotland are you from?"

"Glasgow," Mr. Shaw replied, looking at her.

"Ah, and how is it over there?"

"It's beautiful."

"Go over there and talk to Amara!" Darragh commanded.

"Why? She's busy enjoying herself," Shaw replied.

"She's still looking at you."

Mr. Shaw glanced over and sure enough, Amara was still looking at him, although she had a deer in the headlights look. What was going on with her?

"Excuse me, Miss Shannon," Shaw said before walking towards Amara.

"Oh crap, he's coming over. Crap crap crap! What do I do?!" Amara thought.

"Tell him he's your mate!" Dakota urged.

"Hell no! I'm not doing that!"

Mr. Shaw closed in on her with a bright smile. "Hello, Amara."

"Um...hi," she uttered sheepishly.

Mr. Shaw glanced at Janine. "Hello, Janine."

"Hi, Mr. Shaw," she said with a grin.

Mr. Shaw gazed back at Amara. "You seem different today. Did you cut your hair?"

Amara shook her head. "No, um, I didn't. Um...well..."

"Well what?"

Janine nudged Amara's ribs. "Amara, don't you have something to tell him?" she asked.

Amara gave Janine a bewildered look which was followed by an "I'm going to kill you" expression. She looked back at Mr. Shaw, her cheeks blushing red.

"Um...you look nice," she sputtered out.

"Thank you. So do you," Mr. Shaw said with another smile.

Music started playing in the ball room and Amara groaned. She hated dancing. And it was a slow song, too. Amara looked around at everyone and sighed as they started picking partners. Benjamin came bounding up to her with a scowl towards Mr. Shaw.

"Hey, wanna dance?" Benjamin asked Amara.

She rolled her eyes. "You know I hate dancing."

Benjamin chuckled and grabbed her hand. "Oh c'mon, it won't kill you," he said before dragging her on the dance floor.

"Benjamin, I-"

He pulled her close. "Just one dance."

Amara rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said, putting her arms around his shoulders.

Benjamin held her at the waist with a smile. "I liked kissing you earlier."

Amara giggled a bit. "Me too."

"Oh shut up. You need to tell him you're off limits," Dakota said.

"Dakota, I can't. Mr. Shaw is my damn teacher," Amara argued.

"If you don't tell him, I will never forgive you."

"Alright, I'll tell him. Just not now, okay?"

Dakota growled inside Amara's head and Amara rolled her eyes.

"Can I kiss you again? Right now?" Benjamin asked.

Amara eyed Mr. Shaw who was watching them and she shook her head. "No."

"Why not?"

"Because people are watching."

Benjamin narrowed his eyes. "You mean Mr. Shaw is watching."

Amara sighed. "That's not who I meant."

"But he is watching."

Amara looked at Mr. Shaw again who had somewhat of a longing expression on his face. Was he still attracted to her even without her scent?

"Duh!" Dakota said.

"Dakota..." Amara scolded.

"He probably has an inkling that we're his mate even without our scent."

"I highly doubt that."

Mr. Shaw kept his eyes narrowed as he watched Benjamin and Amara dance.

"Go ask to cut in," Darragh suggested.

"I'm not going to do that,' Mr. Shaw replied.

"Rory, you gotta do something. I feel a stronger pull to her, don't you? Doesn't this feel familiar to you?"

"What do you mean?"

"The pull feels like a mate pull."

Mr. Shaw rolled his eyes. "Oh please. You're just saying that because of her scent."

"She doesn't have a scent right now, though."

Mr. Shaw considered this as he took another drink of punch. "That's gotta be the after effect or something. Besides, if she was our mate, she would know based on our scent and she would've said something."

"Oh really? I have a feeling she wouldn't because of Benjamin."

Mr. Shaw blinked at this realization. "What if you're wrong?"

"I'm rarely wrong. Now go ask her to dance and find out the truth."

"No! Dancing with a student is-"

"Mr. Shaw?"

In his argument, Mr. Shaw failed to realize Janine was standing right in front of him. "Oh, sorry. Was having a...debate with my wolf."

"Oh. Well, I know how that goes," Janine said, looking out at the dance floor. "I can't believe she's with Benjamin."

Mr. Shaw blinked. "Why?"

"He used to be really mean to her. In fact, have you seen the locker that has the word "cursed" written on it?"

Mr. Shaw clicked his tongue in irritation. "Yes? I take it that's Amara's locker."

"Yes. Benny is the one who wrote that on there."

Mr. Shaw's eyes narrowed. "So why is she with him?" he hissed.

"I guess he apologized and she eventually forgave him, I dunno." Janine looked at Mr. Shaw with a smirk. "You don't approve?"

Shaw cleared his throat and relaxed his features. "It's not my place to say."

"Oh, but it is!"

Mr. Shaw cocked an eye at her. "What do you mean?"

"You'll see," she said with a wink. "In the mean time, you should go cut in."

Mr. Shaw chuckled. "No, I really shouldn't be seen dancing with a student."

"But you're not a teacher and she's not a student. She's the birthday girl and you are a guest."

Mr. Shaw chuckled. "There's no getting around that, but it would look, well...quoting you, so scandalous."

Janine giggled. "I was only kidding when I said that."

"Yeah but it's not any less true."

Janine sighed. "Okay, but you're missing out."

Mr. Shaw watched Janine walk away and he wondered what she could mean.

After dancing with Benjamin, Amara made her way to the table that had all the presents. She started poking at them. Some were big, some were small. There was one particular box she saw that she grabbed. It was from Mr. Shaw and she smiled.

"How many presents is that man gonna buy me?" she asked herself.

Sonya came up and smacked Anara's hand playfully. "No opening presents yet!" she laughed.

Amara giggled and put the wrapped gift down. "I wasn't going to open it."

"Uh huh."

"I swear I wasn't."

Sonya laughed again then sighed. "I'm surprised you haven't eaten all the appetizers from the caterers yet."

Amara quirked her mouth to the side. "I'm not hungry."

This caused a frown to appear on Sonya's face. "What's wrong? Are you not enjoying the party?"

Amara bowed her head. "I am, I just..."

"Just what?"

Amara didn't know what to tell Sonya. Could she talk about this whole mate thing with her? Probably not. Amara decided only Janine should know, but Amara still had questions.

"Sonya, what will happen with Benjamin and I once I find my mate?" Amara asked. "I mean, what will it be like?"

Sonya's eyes lit up. "Oh, it'll be the most pure and wonderful thing in the world, Amara. You'll not love anyone like you love a mate. It's absolute bliss and you will not be happier with anyone like you're happy with a mate."

Amara frowned. "That's what I'm afraid of."

Benjamin came jogging up to them and kissed his mother on the cheek. "Hi, Mom."

"Hello, Benjamin. What's up?" Sonya asked.

"Nothing. Just wanted to say hi to my two best girls."

Amara snickered and Sonya smiled. "Oh, that's so sweet."

Amara blushed and Benjamin smiled, kissing her cheek. "Come on, let's go get some food."

Amara placed the gift from Mr. Shaw down and walked with Benjamin in search of appetizers. Even though she was too distraught for hunger, she decided to fake it and eat food anyway. However, Benjamin seemed to notice how slow she was eating and he gave her a sad look.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Amara shook her head. "Nothing," she replied, taking a bite of a mini quiche.

"Bull. I know when something is wrong, Amara. You're not eating like a crazy person so what's going on?"

Amara wobbled her eyes with incredulity. "Nothing!" she barked with a mouth full of food.

Benjamin was about to say something else when Gabriel announced that it was time for the birthday cake. Amara finished the mini quiche, walked to Gabriel and went in front of a huge red, orange, black and white three tiered cake with a Super Saiyan Goku figurine on the top. She grinned and kissed Gabriel and Sobya, thanking them for the DBZ themed cake. Amara blew out the candles after making a wish, people clapped, then a caterer started cutting out slices. Amara got the first piece.

She went out on the patio to eat, needing some fresh air. She looked out at the maze and sighed. Amara really wished she could go get lost in it right now. She had a lot to think about, like the fact that Mr. Shaw was her mate. What the hell was she supposed to do about that? As she took a bite of cake, she tried to think of ways to avoid him. Maybe she could switch classes. Or schools. No, there was only two twelfth grade math teachers and she hated the other one. She almost wished Mrs. Johnson would come back.

Almost.

And there was only one high school. Dammit, why did she have to meet Mr. Shaw? Why did he have to be her teacher?

"Maybe he could take that elementary job so we can be with him," Dakota asked.

"...I could, but that would be wrong of me. I can't ask him to leave his job because I'm his mate. That would be wrong," Amara argued. "And what about Benjamin?"

"What about him?"

"I don't want to hurt him."

"But he's hurt you."

"Yes but he's wanting to make amends."

"So what?!" Dakota growled. "He's made your life hell!"

"I know, but-"

"But nothing! I don't forgive him and neither should you!"

"I never said I forgive him."

"Then why are you with him?!"

"Amara?"

Amara turned to see Gabriel standing outside with her. "Um, yes?" she said.

"It's time to open your gifts."

"Okay."

Gabriel frowned. "Amara, is something wrong?"

Amara shook her head. "No. Just needed some fresh air."

Gabriel chuckled and walked to her. "Amara, you can tell me. I know something is wrong."

Amara sighed, taking a bite of cake. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Why not?" Gabriel asked with concern.

"I just don't," she said, horking down her cake. "I'll come open my presents now."

She walked by Gabriel into the ball room and headed straight for the presents. She started opening them one by one and was happy with each gift. She got cash, clothes, books, a few pieces of jewelry, a few other items...then she got to Mr. Shaw's present and she smiled brightly when she opened it. It was a James Hetfield Funko Pop! figurine.

"Oh, Mr. Shaw..." she said, looking at him happily. "Thank you."

Mr. Shaw nodded his head and Amara put the gift back on the table. She grabbed the last gift which was an envelope. When she opened it, she gasped, screamed and jumped up and down for joy.

"What is it?" some people asked.

"Two VIP tickets and backstage passes to go see Metallica in concert!" she shrieked with happiness.

People started laughing and Amara looked at the card inside. It was from Sonya and Gabriel. She went and hugged them both.

"Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!" she belted out.

"You're welcome," Gabriel said, wrapping an arm around her. "Now you get to choose who gets to go with you."

Amara bit her lip, her eyes immediately going to Mr. Shaw. He really looked like he wanted to go. He was, after all, a Metallica fan as well.

"I...um..." she said before pausing.

"You could take Mr. Shaw," Sonya whispered. "He's a fan, too."

Amara bit her lip more, looking apprehensive. "But Sonya, it would be innapropriate. And that would piss Benjamin off," she whispered.

"Why would it piss Benjamin off?" she whispered back.

"Oh, hell..." she said, sighing. "Because he knows I like Mr. Shaw," she hissed quietly.

"Oh, so you finally admit it."

Amara rolled her eyes. "Can I think about who I want to go with?" she asked.

"Of course," Sonya said. "You've got a week to decide."

"How did you guys even get these? I thought all their concerts were sold out?"

"I pulled some strings," Gabriel said with a smirk.

Amara hugged them both again and smiled. "Well, thank you! I'm going to love going to see them!"

After the presents were put back on the table, it was time for the real party to begin. Amara ran upstairs to put on her black bikini so she could go swimming with some of the other guests. She grabbed her anti-scent spray just in case and grabbed a towel before heading down. When she got to the indoor pool she noticed it was already in full swing. She plopped her towel and spray down on a chair, ran to the pool and did a cannon ball into the water. When she surfaced, she noticed no unmated males were coming after her. Oh good.

She swam around the deep end a bit, still eyeing people cautiously just in case. Just as she was doing that, she saw Mr. Shaw walk in the pool area in swimming trunks and nothing else.

"Oh dear Goddess..." Amara thought.

"Our mate is hot," Dakota said.

Amara couldn't disagree with our wolf there. She ducked under the water and swam around for a bit before surfacing. Mr. Shaw was at the shallow end and was having a good time swimming. He looked like a duck to water. Mr. Shaw spotted her and gave her a small wave. She waved back at him and dove under again. As she resurfaced she saw Shaw was closing in and she started to panic on the inside.

"Crap, he's coming over. What do I do?" she asked herself.

"Tell him we're his mate! I want to meet his wolf!" Dakota yelled excitedly.

When Mr. Shaw got close enough, he stopped and smiled at her. She saw his hair was actually longer than she suspected and it was dripping wet, his red curls framing around his face.

"Hello, Amara. Happy birthday," he said to her.

"Hello and thank you," she replied.

"So, Metallica tickets, huh?"

Amara chuckled with a nod. "Yeah, I'm very excited."

Shaw smirked at her and swam around her. "Have you decided who you're going to bring with?"

"Not yet. Metallica fans are slim pickins in our pack."

"I see. Well, I hope you find someone. I'm very jealous."

Amara giggled. "Yes, I imagine you would be."

The two looked at each other and swam around one another, Amara not daring to get close to him. Mr. Shaw sniffed at her and blinked.

"Is that anti-scent spray water proof? I can't smell you," he observed.

"Yeah, I think it's water proof."

"Good. Wouldn't want your pool party to be spoiled."

Amara bit her lip. "Yeah..."

Mr. Shaw tilted his head to one side as he looked at her. "Amara, are you okay?"

"Yes, why wouldn't I be?"

"I dunno. You seem nervous."

"Me? Nervous? Noooo, I'm not nervous."

"You sure?" he asked, swimming closer with a devious smirk. "Because I think you're worried about being splashed."

Amara crinkled up her face in confusion. "Splashed?"

Suddenly Mr. Shaw started smacking the water at her and she did, in fact, get splashed. She gasped and narrowed her eyes playfully.

"Oh, you little..."

Amara splashed at him and soon they were in a splashing match.