Glossy, celadon eyes followed her. Pretending to be uninterested in front of the guards grabbing afternoon coffees from the main pack house’s kitchen? Bored and hoping she would provide some entertainment? Georgie could feel Cove’s desire the same way she could feel the mate bond stretched between them. With every step closer it would ease a little on her heart. She couldn’t allow herself to, there were others in the room, and she could smell her public mate approaching.

Casey burst in and locked his swerving gaze to her almost immediately. A raised hand to the guards, an amicable acknowledgement, but his eyes were for Georgie.

“Afternoon, beautiful.”

Georgie tiptoed to him and let Casey catch her before she fell. She would only crash into his wide, muscled torso – what a shame! “Afternoon, handsome,” she whispered, sickly sweet.

The guards’ hushed comments caused a chuckle to run through the huddle. Casey’s hard look over the top of Georgie’s head silenced them and sent them on their way. They were only permitted to use the main house’s facilities because the alpha had invited them in the last few years, a kind gesture, easily rescinded.

Cove was unmoved by the hostile body language. He sipped from his own mug, watching Georgie over the rim with all the feigned disinterest of before.

“I need to change,” Casey murmured into the crown of her head. “Come with me?”

There was no reason to stay. She would only be caught in the constant tug between them, unable to act, desperate for both. Casey hadn’t been out running the boundary lines or anything else that might make him sweaty and in need of a change, in fact, he smelled incredible. He always did. Georgie let herself be led by entwined fingers, curious as to whether this would be another sneaky attempt at-

“We’re going the wrong way,” she said, more to herself than him. They’d only made it one turning away from the kitchen and already they were taking an odd route. Casey kept pulling her through the house, unconcerned by her revelation. They didn’t take the second staircase, turning away and down a thin corridor with just one door embedded. There were a bunch of unused rooms in the main pack house, waiting for a grand purpose or holding junk until the item’s time to shine. Casey unfolded her fingers and dropped a key into her palm.

Georgie frowned down at the tiny item. Then, she looked to the door.

“Go on.” Casey was nearly bouncing with badly contained excitement. He tucked his hands behind his back in an attempt to hide it.

Georgie shook her head, a smile from side to side. “What could possibly be behind this door that’s got you so-”

Georgie stilled in the open doorway. An enormous suite was open before her, sparse in furniture and heavily embellished with personal touches: fairy lights and candles and their camp set-up crammed around a double bed and a stout dresser.

“I know we would have preferred the first time to be out in the woods, our happy place, but-”

“Casey,” Georgie sighed. She stepped back, shouldering into him and spinning into a cuddle. “It’s perfect!”

“Yeah?” His grin was pink-cheeked. “We don’t have to right now- I just wanted to-”

“Do you have somewhere better to be?”

“No,” he admitted, breathless.

―

Pillows piled just outside of the tent cushioned Georgie’s face. Her hips were propped up by more, angled in Casey’s hands. His mouth worked around the back of her neck, replacing her scent with his own, kissing away the tension in her shoulders. An unexpected nervousness had set in. Her body was ready, aching for it, while her brain had the ability to think of all the things that could go wrong. It could hurt... That was pretty much it, actually. Casey had bent her over like this because he was convinced it was more comfortable for her. Georgie squished her cheek into the pillows and hoped he was right. Between her lips he pressed against her, that same round head that she’d sucked on in the forest, filling the space made by his fingers just before. Pleasure tickled her from the inside out, the touch of her mate alone was enough to excite her senses, this… joining was sending her receptors into a frenzy. For her overthinking mind, the stretch wasn’t as scary as she had expected, not that different from his prepping, even.

His voice was a rasp when he told her, “You’re taking me so well.” The praise soaked into her, allowing her to sink beneath him, opening to his penetration, her body accepting his even more easily. She was clay softening in his grip.

Kisses worked their way down to her tail bone, the squeeze around the soft handles of her hips lifting her again. Deeper, in a push slowed by her twitching insides, his cock dug. He retreated almost all the way, then filled her again, faster this time.

“Fuck, you feel so good.”

Georgie whimpered garbled words in response, uncertain if she was supposed to thank him for the compliment. He felt good, too, the way he fit her so perfectly, the way he thrust right into that lovely spot-

Casey paused the roll of his hips. “Are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah.”

He leant forward, checking where her face was tilted to the side. She smiled, squeezing her eyes shut.

“Good girl.” He continued with shallow thrusts, easing her back into his rhythm again. The pleasure built, sparks stuttering through her body with every throw of his hips. The craving for something that her body could certainly not handle overtook her, a desperation for faster and harder. Her brain, once again ruining all the soul mate urges her body loved to follow without the intrusion of thought, reminded her that this was her first time having anything stuffed into her most delicate area and there was plenty of time to beg for everything and more.

Speaking of more… there seemed to be no more he could possibly wedge inside of her… and yet she knew there was.

“Are-” Her breath caught on a sudden thrust. She tried again, gathering her strength against his. “Are you going to use your knot?”

“No,” he groaned against her. “Not for your first time.”

However Georgie felt about his answer, he wouldn’t see anyway, but she didn’t know. He sped up a smidge, bouncing her against her cushioned buffer. She could feel his restraint, though, a sense on the tip of her tongue. Whatever he was withholding from her, she wanted it… maybe not yet. Her thoughts fought against her surging climax. What did she want and how did she want it and how to ask for it and...

Relax. Enjoy it for what it is. Your mate has you in his arms. He’s taking care of you.

Georgie blew out a long breath, melting with it, honing in her senses on nothing but the touch of her soulmate, inside and out, and for the first time in her life, she was struck with an orgasm without a graze of her clit. It was a warm rush, a flood of light, a symphony. Casey followed her, cuddling her close.

―

Georgie’s head lifted and lowered in time with Casey’s breaths, his bare chest warming her ear. “I can’t believe you finally have your own room,” she mused to herself.

“An alpha-sized suite,” he corrected giddily. “Enough room for me and my gorgeous mate.” His fingertips tickled up between her shoulder blades and back down her spine again. Georgie shivered and nuzzled in closer.

“You’ll need a bigger dresser for all my clothes.”

“Whatever you want, my mate.”

“A canopy for the bed, like a princess?”

“If you know where to get one.”

“A bathtub?”

“Already got it.” He nodded proudly to the other door leading out of the room. “And a shower, too.”

“Fancy,” Georgie giggled.

“Don’t have my own office yet though.” He pretended to pout. “Guess I have to take power for that.”

“You’ve got a long wait for that.”

“Have I?” It seemed like he was avoiding her eyes in the way he suddenly became fixated on the ceiling. It was plain white paint, little to look at. “It’s not like Cove is in the running without a mate.”

“Is that how your dad has decided to select his successor?”

“No… but I only pretend not to hear the rumours.”

Georgie sighed. “Those outside your dad’s office know nothing about it.”

“Neither do I, that’s what’s so annoying.”

“Are you eager for it?” Georgie reasoned, “You don’t exactly enjoy shadowing your dad.”

“No… but I don’t like feeling like I’m in a constant competition that I don’t know the rules of.”

“Would it be a problem if Cove ‘won’ the competition?”

“I don’t know…” It seemed for a minute or so that he wasn’t planning to say any more. Then, he murmured, “I would never kick him out of the pack if I was chosen.”

“And he wouldn’t do that to you either,” she assured him.

Casey didn’t argue or agree.