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Jude was looking forward to that. He had worked hard to prepare it.
“I’m sorry,” Delilah said quietly, as the room advanced into its own series of unrelated discussions. “I guess I’m still a bit shaken up from yesterday.”
“That’s okay!” Graham said enthusiastically. “I get it.”
Delilah meekly smiled. “Did the three of you prepare all of this?” Delilah asked, now looking distantly at the gathered crowd.
“Well, obviously, everybody pitched in,” Graham assured her. “But Jude prepared tonight’s dinner, and I was in charge of the decorations.”
She looked up at the banner, bearing the words “Happy Birthday Delilah!” in gold lettering, and then she took in all the balloons that filled the room. She couldn’t stop smiling.
“They’re lovely,” Delilah murmured, tears clouding her eyes. “In all my years at the other pack, nobody ever threw me a party like this.” She corrected herself. “Nobody ever threw me a party, at all.”
“That’s pretty sad.” Jude grimaced sympathetically.
“How did you know?” Delilah asked. “I didn’t think I ever even told anybody.”
“You told me, silly,” Miranda said. “During your shifts at the cafe.”
“I did? I don’t remember doing that…”
“I could have just cheated and looked at your application, but I kind of subtly snuck it in.” Miranda fiddled with one of her braids. “I was able to figure it out when you told me your star sign, and that you were born on the third Friday of the month. I tried to draw it out so you wouldn’t get suspicious.”
“And we just looked at your social media profile,” Graham confessed.
Miranda stared at him, looking betrayed.
“Yeah,” Jude admitted. “We knew before you told us. Sorry.”
As the night wore on, Delilah’s mood lightened. Jude got the impression that maybe the surprise had startled her more than she let on. But thankfully, she became more receptive through the evening.
At first, Graham got out a game of Twister, and he, Delilah, Miranda, and Jude all played together. Jude hadn’t realized how flexible Miranda was, and she ultimately won the game. He suspected that Delilah had thrown the game, though.
Then, they all sat together and played Truth or Dare. It had been Graham’s idea because Delilah had mentioned having fond memories of high school party games, but the truths were all relatively inconsequential, and the dares were pretty tame. Jude could see the frustration on Graham’s face, having expected something more taboo.
The utter realization of how terrible the game had gone crossed Graham’s face. The most exciting thing to happen had been Dakota admitting to being terrible with finances while Sarah nodded along in agreement. Jude couldn’t help laughing at Graham’s irritation. In response, Graham playfully punched him in the ribs, causing Jude to guffaw while trying to catch his breath. Delilah had seemed bored by the game but was delighted by the spectacle, giggling uncontrollably.
In the gift exchange, Delilah received a useful organizer and journal, small but necessary things for her kitchen and the rest of her apartment, as well as several more fragrances, a new tablet from Graham, a large set of cooking utensils and spices from Jude, and a year of gym membership from Dakota and Sarah. She was incredibly grateful for everything and seemed to be scrolling through social media, taking note of everybody’s birthdays in response. She seemed to be using her new phone even more than her old one.
Dinner was a pot roast Jude had prepared with sides of baked potatoes and macaroni. It was simple enough, but it was Delilah’s favorite meal. Then it was time to cut the cake, and Jude couldn’t have been happier at Delilah’s reaction. She seemed genuinely delighted and amazed by it.
“Holy wow!” she exclaimed. “Did you seriously make this?”
Jude nodded, cutting her off the first slice. For the cake, Jude had prepared a copy of the Bean Me Up diner’s menu cover, even custom ordering edible toppers. He had ordered the cake in vanilla with blue and yellow buttercream frosting, which he had found out was her favorite through an intensive trawl through her social media profiles.
Then while some of the shifters stayed back and watched John Hughes movies on the tavern television, Jude, Graham, Delilah, and Miranda, along with several other shifters, all went to Fang Park. The full moon wasn’t for several weeks still, having just passed, but Graham had wanted a mini gathering at the park regardless.
For about an hour, they traversed the paths around the park in human form as Jude caught Delilah gazing longingly across the pond’s surface, and Miranda seemed bothered by something. Graham tried asking her what was wrong, but she pretended everything was fine, despite being noticeably more silent than usual.
When Graham was certain that nobody else had wandered in, having walked a good deal of the park on foot, he remotely locked the gates.
Everybody nodded. Jude could sense some renewed apprehension in Delilah at the mention, but they all found a park shelter and stripped off their clothing before running back into the park, dashing under the diminished light of the moon.
Jude and Graham both stayed close again, trailing Miranda and Delilah. Jude wondered if she felt liberated. Graham had moved the location of the party from the diner to the Fang District at the last minute on a hunch, hoping that it might ease Delilah’s mind. He hoped that none of the thoughts that had plagued her entered her shifted mind. He hoped that for those couple of hours, she felt pure joy.
He knew he couldn’t protect her from the real world forever, and that as much as he tried to defend her, it was up to her to fight her past. He hoped that in here, her ghosts would never bother her directly, that the battles she waged would remain purely psychological.
When they regained their human form, and Delilah bade Miranda goodbye under the light of the stars, Jude and Graham stayed behind. “Did you enjoy your party?” Graham asked her. They had found a couple benches to lie upon, and Delilah curled up on top of Graham, gazing up at the night sky. Jude sat, his back pressed up against the bench, as Delilah caressed his face.
