Chapter 53

Anila’s POV

“Look what I found!” Penny said as stepped out of her bedroom. I turned to see what she was holding, and my eyes widened.

“Is that wine?” I asked, cocking my head at the large vase-like bottle she was holding filled with a light pink liquid. She was holding two of them and that smile on her face suggested that I was correct, it was wine.

“Yes, it is,” she confirmed walking toward the kitchen counter. She placed the wine on the table. “I must have put it in my bag when I packed to come here. We are totally getting drunk tonight.”

“Won’t they be mad?” I asked, furrowing my brows together.

I was all for a good time, but getting in trouble was not on my agenda. Penny only chuckled as she grabbed cups out of the cupboard.

“Only if we get caught,” she said with a mischievous smile on her face. Then her face grew serious. “We need snacks. Pop some popcorn and grab the bags of chips. I’m going to scroll Netflix and see if there’s anything to watch.”

I nodded and did exactly what she said. I popped the popcorn, only burning a couple of kernels, and then I grabbed the bags of chips. By the time everything was ready, the girls were here.

“Sadie and I were just saying that we needed a girl’s night,” Sally said, leaning her head against her sisters as they curled up on the couch.

I sat beside them, and Penny sat on the loveseat. Becca pulled up another chair from the small dining table that we mainly use for homework. Sage was content curled up on the floor though. She sat with her legs crisscrossed, but she kept her knees pressed to her chest and her arms wrapped around them to hold her together.

She said it was a cat thing.

“What are you watching?” Becca asked as she took a sip of her wine.

Penny had gotten us all a large cup of wine and then set the rest of the wine in the center of the coffee table for refills. I stared down at my cup and saw that it was filled with the light pink elixir. This was my first time drinking but I didn’t want to seem lame in front of my new friends. These were the first set of friends I’ve ever had, and I wasn’t about to screw it up.

I sipped the wine slowly, not sure what it was going to do to me.

“Oh! We should watch The Bachelor!” Sally suggested.

“Yes!” Sadie agreed.

“Isn’t that a little… I don’t know… superficial?” Sage murmured.

“Very,” Becca agreed with a grimace.

“I vote for the Bachelor,” Penny said, smiling at the twins. “What about you, Anila?”

“Bachelor is fine,” I shrugged.

I’ve never seen The Bachelor and was interested to see what the twins were so excited about. We spent the rest of the evening watching The Bachelor and I found myself way too invested. I was on my second cup of wine, and I was feeling very giggling.

“How does that guy get all those women to basically beg for him?!” I laughed, holding my stomach because it hurt from all the laughter. “He’s not even that good-looking.”

“They just want fame,” Sage said, shaking her head in disgust at the TV. “None of it’s real.”

“He’d solve a lot of problems if he was just able to choose them all,” Penny chuckled.

“It would only cause my problems,” I laughed. “Trust me…I would know.”

“Oh, yeah! How’s the multiple mate thing going?” Becca asked, peeking over at me. “I see Zach all over you in our werewolf history class.”

“Um, gasp! What?!” Penny asked, facing her full attention on me. “You didn’t tell me that! He’s all over you?”

“He’s always whispering in her ear and she’s constantly blushing. Should see Xaden's face,” Becca laughed.

I suddenly grew very hot, and the room was spinning.

“Wait, Xaden’s in that class too?” Penny asked, raising her brows.

“He’s the teacher’s aide,” Becca answered. “And Zach failed this class last year so he’s retaking it this year and he happens to be in our class. It’s tense in there.”

“Zach just likes to get a rise out of his brother,” I murmured. “We aren’t cozy.”

“I don’t know. He sometimes whispers stuff to you when Xaden isn’t even around. He still sits close to you and the way he looks at you…” Becca’s voice trailed off as she thought more about how Zach looked when he looked at me.

I blushed.

“Be careful. Zach is the dangerous one. He will take your heart and stomp all over it,” Sadie warned. “I’ve seen the aftermath of some girl’s here. He gets around.”

My heart ached from the warning.

“Nothing is going on with me and Zach,” I assured them. “I’m dating his brother so nothing can happen.”

“But he’s still your mate,” Becca said, shrugging. “Once you get your wolf, I hear it’s a lot harder to control those types of emotions. All your wolf is going to want is to be with your mate and she’s going to be pulled in many different ways. It’s going to be hard. I hope you are prepared for that.”

My birthday was fast approaching, which meant, my first shift was too. I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat and took another sip of the wine, which grew delicious the more I drank it. It was fruity and sweet; it made my lips taste sweet as well.

I felt my body swaying when I thought about how sweet my lips tasted. I wanted to share the taste with my mates. I wanted to kiss them each. I puckered my lips and started to smooch the air. I thought about Xaden’s handsome and sexy face, and I thought about my lips pressed against his. His mouth was always warm and inviting and I really missed him. I wanted to kiss him right now.

“I think you’ve had enough,” Penny chuckled, grabbing the cup out of my hand.

I heard a whimper escape my lips, but it echoed like it felt like it didn’t belong to me. The entire room was spinning, and I chuckled when I saw an entirely new Penny sitting right beside Penny. They were like sisters.

“Another set of twins,” I chuckled, reaching out to touch the second Penny.

“Shit, how much did she have?” Sage asked, and I could hear the frown in her voice.

Why was she talking about me like I wasn’t even here?

“Only two cups,” Penny answered, scooting onto the couch beside me. “Then again, I don’t think she’s ever drunk before.”

“I’m right here!” I slurred loudly, still swaying back and forth because the entire room was rocking.

Penny chuckled.

“Good thing it’s Friday and we have no classes tomorrow.”

The others nodded in agreement as I leaned my entire body weight against Penny.

“I’m so tired,” I whispered loudly.

“Then let’s get you to bed,” Penny chuckled as she wrapped an arm through mine and stood to her feet. Suddenly, I couldn’t feel my legs. I frowned as I stared down at my lap, hitting one of my legs with the hand that Penny wasn’t holding onto.

“I can’t feel it,” I murmured.

“You are just drunk,” Penny assured me. “Once you sleep it off, you’ll be able to feel your body again. I promise.”

Sadie wrapped her arms through my other arm and helped me to stand to my feet. I nearly fell right over as soon as my feet were planted on the ground. But thankfully, Sadie and Penny caught me before actually fell.

The entire room was still spinning and when I stood up, it got much worse. Soon, it was like my entire stomach turned inside out because the nausea I felt came suddenly.

“I think she’s about to—” Sage tried to warn as she scrambled away from me, but she wasn’t able to get the rest of her words out because soon I was losing the contents of my stomach all over the coffee table and the floor.

“Fuck,” Penny said. “Let’s get her into the bathroom.”

The rest of the evening I only remembered in bits and pieces. After throwing up, I closed my eyes and held my head in shame. Penny and Sadie brought me into the bathroom and cleaned me up. They drew me a bath and washed my hair and I was too out of it to actually do anything for myself.

They dressed me in my pajamas and took me into my bedroom where they tucked me into bed. I was still awake, but everything was spinning so much, and I still couldn’t feel my legs. I was appreciative of my friends at this moment.

Penny apologized for getting me so drunk and I tried to tell her that it was no big deal and that I should have known better, but I don’t think I could speak in a coherent sentence.

I heard the girls talking for a few minutes in the living room and then everything went blank, and I found myself falling fast asleep. I wondered if I was going to have another dream about my mates.