Hi everyone! Thanks for all the reviews so far. They really brighten my day! As you can tell so far in Untamed Hearts I am going to be drawing on more characters to fill in the story, although Lucas and Sophia are still the central characters. Tyler an Ruby will have some storyline, the other teens will also be developed more, and you have already met Randy's little sister Cassandra. Cassandra is a character I created to give us all a look at a more typical skin walker teen's life. We already experienced the drama of Sophia and how she had to adjust to becoming a wolfen. Her case was unique in that she was a half breed and raised with the idea that she would turn out human. Cassandra is there to show what it would be like for someone who knew what she was and what she wanted. And she is also another character in the arsenal for future situations.

Happy Birthday Baby

Lucas, Sophia, Sarah and Sean were heading towards the high school's parking lot after school hoping to get to the lake for a few hours of water skiing. They had a feeling that these last balmy days of October would come to an end and autumn would soon strike. Not that the cold would bother them, but they preferred the sun at these times.

Randy was cutting across the parking lot to reach them before they climbed into Luke's car. "Hey! Sophia!" he yelled out.

The four teens stopped and looked at him in question.

"Cassandra has challenged Krissy. They already started," Randy said.

Sophia looked at her friends in disappointment. She had to go to the fight; there was no question about it. But she knew that they would not be able to go skiing if she did. The days had grown shorter now and there was not many hours of sunlight left.

Lucas squeezed her shoulder and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Come on baby, let's go. We can ski on Sunday." They all began walking with Randy to the trees behind the school.

"I have that meeting with Tyler and the architect after church on Sunday. What if it takes a long time?" Sophia said.

"I doubt it will last more than a couple of hours," he reassured her.

They approached the crowd of skin walker teens who now stood in the forest watching Cassandra and Krissy come to blows. Krissy was a dominant female and proved not to be an easy challenge for Cassandra.

The crowd parted as the Alphas and the Betas came up to view the fight, giving them the best spot to see the action. The two females had obviously been fighting for awhile now as they both were scratched and bloody. Krissy's lip was split and swollen and Cassandra's eye was puffy and red.

Krissy was enraged at Cassandra for the challenge. She felt insulted that this fifteen year old female would think that she could put her down. She was determined to show the little bitch just what dominant meant. What was stirring her anger even more was the obvious fact that Cassandra was not easy to subdue. Her anger fueled her strength as she backhanded Cassandra again and sent her slamming against a tree.

Cassandra stood and smiled as she wiped the blood that began to fall from her nose. "Is that all you got, bitch!" she taunted.

"Rip her up Cassie!" Randy yelled to his sister.

Presley eyed Randy as he cheered his sister on. She looked over at Krissy and said, "Put her down Kriss!" Presley smiled when her comment earned her a glare from Randy.

Cassandra charged towards Krissy with her claws extended and grabbed onto Krissy's extended arms, tearing long slashes down the length of them. Krissy howled in pain and swung her face towards Sophia. "I'm going native!" she yelled in rage as she started ripping at her clothes.

Sophia had made a rule that the females needed to remain in human form when they fought for status as she felt that it was too easy to lose control when you were in your wolf and blood was drawn. It was much easier to end the fight when they were in their skin. Preventing a fight from becoming a death match was much harder to do when the combatants were in wolf form.

Sophia stepped forward. "You will not!" she ordered with a stern glare at Krissy.

"What's the matter? You need your wolf in order to defeat me?" Cassandra taunted.

Krissy growled and clawed towards Cassandra's face but Cassandra moved her head back just in time. Instead, Cassandra's hands grasped onto one of Krissy's arms and snapped it at the forearm. Krissy fell to her knees, howling in pain.

"Enough!" yelled Sophia. Cassandra let go of Krissy and stood straight, waiting for the words she most wanted to hear. "Cassandra, you have won."

A small smile lit Sophia's face as she said, "We have a new dominant female."

Randy whooped and cheered for his sister as Presley rolled her eyes. The other dominant teens approached Cassandra and touched her on the arm in welcome. The rest of the teens approached her with a respectful nod but did not touch her. Lesser wolves could no longer touch her without her permission.

Sophia turned to Dawn. "Dawn, drive Krissy over to Sherman's to get the arm looked at. She's in for a rough night." Dawn nodded and bent down to help Krissy up. Presley went with her friends as she did not feel like celebrating her friend's defeat with everyone else.

"Let's head over to the diner and celebrate!" Randy exclaimed. "Drinks are on me!" He clapped his sister on the back as they all started to head towards the parking lot. "Great job Cass!"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The next morning Sophia's alarm clock went off at 6:00 a.m. and she lifted her head off Luke's chest to smack at the button. She let out a huge sigh and laid her cheek back down. Lucas wrapped his arms around her and placed a kiss on top of her head. "Time to get ready for your big day," he said sleepily.

It was Saturday. A day she normally used to sleep in to her heart's content. But today she was going to Seattle with Vivian, Sarah, and Sarah's mom to attend a bridal fair and wedding dress fashion show. Vivian had insisted that the girls start planning for their weddings which would take place next summer and Vivian had told Sophia that she wanted to buy her dress for her as a gift.

"Just ten more minutes," Sophia mumbled.

"The limo will be here in an hour," he reminded her.

She moaned in defeat, "Alright, alright, I'll get up." She began to drag herself sideways off the bed until she felt Lucas pull her back towards his face for a kiss.

"I love you," he said when they finished their kiss.

"I know," she smiled at him. "I can't believe I'm actually planning a wedding. It all seems more real now."

"Of course it's real. I can't wait until I get to wake up like this every morning with you and not just the weekends," he said. "Better hit the shower beautiful." He slapped her butt with those last words.

She stood up and gave him a disgruntled look. "Well, I was going to invite you to come in the shower with me, but I didn't care much for that slap on my ass. I'm not a cow that you're trying to get into the barn!"

Lucas laughed as he knew that she was not really upset at him. "Aww baby, don't stand there looking so adorable. You know how cute you are when you pout?"

She pretended to be insulted as she walked to the bathroom. "I am not pouting!"

He put his hands behind his head and sighed. He was so happy with Sophia, he felt on top of the world. Just then a toothbrush came flying at him and hit him on his forehead causing him to spring from the bed. "Oh! You are so going to get it!" he said as he ran towards the giggles coming from the bathroom.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Lucas stood in front of Sophia's house watching the limo drive away with the four ladies in the back. He smiled to himself that he had really been able to keep his plans secret from Sophia. She had thought that he had forgotten that her birthday was today. She seemed to be waiting all morning for him to say something, but he pretended that he had no clue.

When he could no longer see the limo, he turned his thoughts to Sean and sent a strong signal.

They are gone. Meet me at the house at 8:00 a.m. You got everything?

He could tell that Sean was just getting up as it took a few moments for him to answer.

Yeah, it's all in the truck. See you at 8:00.

Lucas smiled and tossed his car keys up in the air then caught them again. He couldn't wait to see the surprise on Sophia's face when she saw the party he was throwing for her eighteenth birthday.

He got into his car and took off towards the Cate's mansion. He wanted to make sure that everything was perfect for tonight. Many of his friends would be helping him get things ready and would be meeting him there soon. How could Sophia ever think that he had forgotten, he laughed to himself.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The black limousine made its way down the highway towards Seattle as the four females chatted away. Sophia was a bit subdued and her mood did not go unnoticed by the others.

"What's the matter Sophia?" Sarah asked.

"I can't believe he forgot my birthday," she said with a frown. "I didn't forget his."

"Oh well, males can be like that," said Sarah's mom, Fran.

"Well, I think you should give him hell for that Sophia," said Vivian. "He should not forget something as important as his mate's birthday!"

Sophia turned her face to look out the window, feeling down about the situation. The other three ladies smiled at each other in conspiracy.

"How about some champagne?" said Vivian as she held up a bottle and reached for the glasses.

"Sound's good," said Fran.

Sophia looked at her and felt like she could drink the whole bottle herself if it would get rid of her depressing thoughts. "Fill it up," she said.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Cassandra and Lori were heading towards the ice cream parlor in the middle of town discussing the fight with Krissy. Lori wasn't allowed to go to the fights as she had not yet flipped and so she had to be satisfied with the descriptions Cassandra gave her. She was amazed that Cassandra had moved up to a dominant position so quickly and she wondered if it would mean spending less time with her.

Cassandra and Lori had been best friends for a long time and Cassandra did not want to abandon her. She could feel Lori pulling away from her lately as Cassandra made her way up the status ladder but it wasn't because Cassandra was neglecting her. It was Lori herself who was feeling the gap that now existed between them and was reacting to it.

"Maybe I should have more sex. Maybe that would speed the change," Lori said.

"I think that only works if you are showing signs of the change," Cassandra said regretfully. She could see how hard it was for Lori to be waiting for her day to come.

"Don't you have to go to Sophia's party tonight?" Lori asked, wondering why Cassandra was hanging out with her when the party was due to start soon.

"Yeah, but I wanted to have ice cream with my best bud tonight," she smiled at Lori. "I can go to the party later."

Just then a car containing Adam, Stephen and Brian pulled up along the curbside and slowly trailed next to the walking girls. The dominant males looked at Cassandra with interest and she felt her own arousal pooling low in her belly.

Brian was driving and Stephen sat next to him in the front seat. The car came to a stop and Stephen stepped out of the front and closed the door. Then he opened the door to the backseat and looked at Cassandra. He could smell her arousal and knew just what she wanted. "Get in Cassie," he said with a sexy smile.

Cassandra's body was reacting like crazy as she felt the sexual energy of all three dominant males directed at her. She glanced over at Lori who was observing her carefully. Lori could see Cassandra's inner battle.

It's alright. I understand.

Cassandra heard Lori's words but she still did not feel right leaving her friend. "Could Lori come too?" she asked Stephen.

Stephen glanced at Lori and sniffed the air. There was no smell of the change around her. "You know the rules. No puppies," he said.

Lori knew that teens that had not flipped yet were called puppies. She was not offended. Cassandra however, still tried to make the situation work. "Would you guys like to have ice cream with us?" she asked.

Stephen looked her slowly down her body. "It's not ice cream we want to lick," he said in a sexy voice.

Cassandra's breath quickened at the images the males were sending her and she no longer felt like she had the will to resist. She turned to Lori. "I'm sorry," she said.

Lori gave her a small smile of understanding. "It's o.k.," she reassured. "Go on. Have fun."

"I'll call you tomorrow," Cassandra said as she turned and climbed into the backseat. Adam immediately pulled her onto his lap and began kissing her. Stephen got into the backseat as well.

Before the car drove away, Lori caught a glimpse of Cassandra's top being pulled off. She sat on the curb and sighed. She hoped that she didn't have to wait until she was seventeen to flip like her sister did. Life really sucked at the moment.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sophia had a fun day despite how she had felt in the morning. The bridal fair was a lot of fun and both she and Sarah had found dresses that they absolutely loved. They also had an excellent lunch at a very upscale restaurant. They had dressed up for the day and now Sophia was feeling the effects on her feet as they entered Wolf Lake once again. She kicked off her heels and rubbed at her feet.

"That was a lot of fun," said Sarah. "Thanks for arranging such a great day Mrs. Cates."

"Your very welcome Sarah," said Vivian. Then Vivian opened the window between the backseat and the driver's seat. "Al, can you take us to my place first." She looked at Sophia. "I need to get to a restroom quickly and my place is closest," she explained. Fran and Sarah looked at each other in excitement.

As they turned up the long driveway to the mansion, they looked around at the abundance of cars parked all along it and everywhere there was space. "Now what in the world is going on?" Vivian said, pretending that she had no idea.

Sophia had a confused look on her face as well. For a moment she thought that maybe something bad was happening. Before the house came into view she was already reaching for her connection with Lucas.

Lucas? What's happening?

He did not answer right away which made her worry even more.

The mansion came into view and the sounds of many people could be heard inside and in the backyard.

Hi baby, I'm here. I'm at your birthday party.

What!

Happy Birthday baby.

Sophia saw him standing on the porch with a big grin on his face as the limo pulled up. She looked over at her companions in the car and saw them all smiling. They knew!

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed in wonder as the driver opened her door and she got out. Lucas walked down the path to meet her, holding out his arms for her embrace.

"You thought I forgot?" he smiled as she wrapped her arms about him. "Shame on you."

"God I love you," she said as she brought her lips up to his for a long, passionate kiss. When the kiss finally ended she looked around and noticed that everyone had come out of the house to wish her Happy Birthday. The whole clan was here it seemed!

Champagne bottles began popping everywhere as everyone celebrated Sophia Donner's eighteenth birthday. Lucas took her hand and led her into the mansion while everyone congratulated her on the way.

Matthew hugged her and said, "Are you surprised honey?"

"Yes, very," she answered. When she turned back to Lucas he was holding a silver box in front of her.

"Open it baby," he said in excitement. Sophia took the box and lifted the lid. Inside was a beautiful diamond choker with a matching diamond bracelet. She was stunned by such an extravagant gift!

"It's beautiful," she whispered as she touched the diamonds reverently. "You shouldn't have spent so much!"

Lucas looked at her as if she was crazy. "Are you kidding? Baby I plan on spending a lot more on you. Expect to be spoiled," he smiled in mischief.

She picked up the choker and handed it to him. "Here, help me put this on," she said in excitement. He fastened it around her neck and began kissing around her neck as well. Sophia closed her eyes and growled with pleasure.

"Thank you so much for all of this," she said in a voice just for him.

"You can thank me properly later," he whispered onto her neck.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please send me a review and let me know. Thanks!