“When did this door get so stiff?” Casey rubbed his shoulder theatrically as he squeezed into the space between them.

Georgie was frozen, Cove the same only a furious frustration was fanning from him now.

“Did I interrupt something?” The pause was incriminatory. “Were you being rude again?”

Cove didn’t answer the accusation. Instead, he shuffled backwards, out of Georgie’s orbit, and retreated through the side door like the threshold was his starting line.

“That secret exit won’t be much of a secret if we all keep using it!” Casey laughed.

Georgie tried to join in.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

Georgie nodded. “Sorry. Just needed some air.”

“That’s okay. It’s a lot of attention in there.”

“How do you handle it?” Every day since his birth there had been eyes on him.

Casey shrugged. “Never known anything different, I guess.” His easy smile settled her a smidge. “The novelty fades eventually. You remember my mate maturity party?”

She did. It was chaos. There had been hardly room for her to get near either twin that day. He was right, though, that had subsided some in the weeks after. “You’re not out here catching your breath too, then?”

“I was actually looking for you.”

“Cake time?”

“I thought maybe we could,” he glanced away, checking their surroundings, “sneak away and have some fun, but you seem… overwhelmed.”

“Yeah,” Georgie breathed. “I’m sorry-”

Casey clasped her face, it felt like a warm bath after a hard day. “Don’t be sorry!” His concern creased his gorgeous face. She thought she knew his face, and yet today it was like she couldn’t look away from it. There was so much more to see and commit to memory. “We have the rest of our lives to play,” he assured her. Oblivious to her moon-eyeing apparently. “Try and enjoy the party, that’s all that matters today.”

Georgie blew out a long breath. That was all the agreement she could give. They rejoined the party hand-in-hand.

―

The twirl of Georgie’s skirts offered her a little opening in the dance floor, brushing back those that were squirming too close. The birthday dress was a pile of marigold ruffles, chosen by Georgie’s mother and aunt and probably a couple of cousins weighing in. Now, she could see the appeal. Casey directed her gently, his hands always on her, anchoring her physically. Mentally, Georgie was free-falling.

There was so much to consider, and while she could rely on Casey to spin her around the room safely, she took the opportunity to do so.

She was magnetised to them both. Suspended between them. Incapable of putting both from her mind simultaneously. One always had to be there, clouding her ability to focus on anything else. However would she keep Casey front-and-centre when her soul was split between the two? It was equal halves, she could practically feel the carving line. Would telling him help or hinder this complicated equation?

And then there was the strangest question of all – if she was Cove’s soulmate, how did he hate her? The crowd around her laughed. Georgie bared her teeth in her best attempt at joining in. Someone was telling a story, something about their schools days from the few words she heard before retreating back into her toiling thoughts. Maybe hate was too strong a word… but Cove had made it pretty damn obvious he couldn’t stand to be near her for months. He’d acted like she was something clinging to his leg that he couldn’t shake off. As though they hadn’t been bound together as best friends for two decades.

Georgie swallowed, considering the invisible gulf between them. There were too many risk factors – top of the pile, the most painful of all, was straight rejection. He had already pushed her away that morning, right back into Casey’s bed.

“Would you like a cuppa?”

Georgie blinked. She was still in her mate’s arms. Casey held her close, but he was no longer dancing her from corner to corner.

He tried again. “A pick-me-up?”

“I think pick-me-ups are supposed to be alcohol,” Georgie said, although she wasn’t sure. She didn’t drink, it was more an old wolf hobby. A warm cup of milky tea could soothe her, though...

“You can have that too.”

“Just the tea, please.”

His elbows dropped and Georgie’s fell with them, no longer propped. There was worry still in his eyes, she smiled in the hopes to put him at ease. It didn’t seem to have worked when he turned away for the kitchen.

Minus her hunky alpha bodyguard, congratulations descended upon her again. Everyone was so kind and so well-meaning… it wasn’t their fault that she was lost at sea in her own thoughts. That Cove had not warned her before the big day. Without Casey encasing her, his presence at the edge of the hall pulled at her gut like a thick piece of cord.

It would be a lie to say she ignored it. She permitted it and did not act on it. That was all she could manage while treading the room and offering her attention to the hundreds of pack members who demanded it. It would fade, she reminded herself. She would no longer be the novelty soon enough. Now was her chance to make the best impression as a future alpha mate. Of course, they couldn’t possibly know that she was the only alpha mate. Anyone who didn’t take to her would be waiting an awfully long time for Cove’s mate to come along and oust her for the position.

Casey returned with a tea cup and saucer, the fine china his mother kept hidden until there was a celebration or an esteemed visitor. The ivy painted around the rims alternated in two shades of green with glinting gold finish. Georgie let her mate lead her, and the pristine almost-pearl-coloured tea, to one of the mismatched seats that had been dragged in to fill the edges of the room. They had needed every seat in the pack lands for a celebratory lunch with everyone under one roof at the same time. They shared an armchair with a button missing from the back and another dangling loose, Georgie across Casey’s lap and the saucer across hers.

“You’re doing so well, almost like you had time to practice,” Casey teased.

“I’m sorry I’ve been so distracted today. I am doing my best-”

“I know.” He brushed her bangs out of her eyes. “I can tell. And you’re smashing it. Just try to have fun now, okay?”

“Fun?” she repeated suggestively, recalling his earlier suggestion out in the alcove.

He laughed and looked away. “Whatever kind of fun you want, my love.”

A chug of tea-flavoured milk and a deep breath and she was ready to join the party. As long as Casey had her held, the Cove situation could be kept at bay. At least until the end of the day, it was her celebration and she should be able to enjoy it without worrying about a mate who hid from her.

“Let’s dance!” she demanded, handing back her cup and saucer.

―

On her bed was a bouquet, braced against the top pillow and tied with a ribbon. Roses, a mixture of reds from the south-side bushes and yellow from the east. Her parents would have mentioned it when the three of them arrived back that evening if they had anything to do with it. If they were another gift from Casey he didn’t claim them when he let himself into her bedroom.

He braced himself against the door as though holding back a mighty enemy. “The humans have this thing called a honeymoon-”

“I’ve seen the movies, Casey,” Georgie chuckled. Her mate stumbled forward from the frame, dropping the act and catching himself in a cuddle around her. His scent perfumed her with his touch, layering over the coating she’d gotten before bed. It was delectable, she could just stretch out her jaw and sink her teeth into his shoulder.

“Then, let’s take a honeymoon.”

Georgie scoffed. “A great excuse for a trip out into the woods.” She snuggled into his chest, tucking her arms under his. Maybe they could claim honeymoon every time they wanted to escape for a bit from now on...

“And some privacy.” His hands dropped to her ass and squeezed.

A blush burned where her cheeks met her eyes. A pink raccoon of a face she must have been hiding in his shirt. “Tomorrow?” Get me out of here. Get me under you. Get everything else from my mind.

“Tomorrow,” Casey agreed.