“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 Georgie a smidge. “The novelty fades eventually. You remember my mate maturity party?”

He did. It was chaos. There had been hardly room for him to get near either twin that day. Casey 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 his face, it felt like a warm bath after a hard day. “Don’t be sorry!” His concern creased his gorgeous face. Georgie thought he knew his face, and yet today it was like he 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,” Casey assured him. Oblivious to his 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 he could give. They rejoined the party hand-in-hand.

―

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

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

He was magnetised to them both. Suspended between them. Incapable of putting both from his mind simultaneously. One always had to be there, clouding his ability to focus on anything else. However would he keep Casey front-and-centre when his soul was split between the two? It was equal halves, he 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 he was Cove’s soulmate, how did he hate him? The crowd around him laughed. Georgie bared his teeth in his best attempt at joining in. Someone was telling a story, something about their schools days from the few words he heard before retreating back into his toiling thoughts. Maybe hate was too strong a word… but Cove had made it pretty damn obvious he couldn’t stand to be near him for months. He’d acted like Georgie 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. Cove had already pushed him away that morning, right back into Casey’s bed.

“Would you like a cuppa?”

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

He tried again. “A pick-me-up?”

“I think pick-me-ups are supposed to be alcohol,” Georgie said, although he wasn’t sure. He didn’t drink, it was more an old wolf hobby. A warm cup of milky tea could soothe him, 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, Georgie smiled in the hopes to put him at ease. It didn’t seem to have worked when he turned away for the kitchen.

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

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

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

“Fun?” Georgie repeated suggestively, recalling Casey’s 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 he was ready to join the party. As long as Casey had him held, the Cove situation could be kept at bay. At least until the end of the day, it was his celebration and he should be able to enjoy it without worrying about a mate who hid from him.

“Let’s dance!” he demanded, handing back his cup and saucer.

―

On his 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. His 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 Georgie’s 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. His mate stumbled forward from the frame, dropping the act and catching himself in a cuddle around him. His scent perfumed Georgie with his touch, layering over the coating he’d gotten before bed. It was delectable, he could just stretch out his jaw and sink his teeth into his shoulder.

“Then, let’s take a honeymoon.”

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

“And some privacy.” Casey’s hands dropped to his ass and squeezed.

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

“Tomorrow,” Casey agreed.