✿ Ulyana's POV

The couch was not comfortable. It was probably the worst couch to ever exist. I mean what's the use of having an expensively gorgeous couch if you can't sleep in it?

I hadn't slept at all. The cushions weren't the slightest bit comfortable and my body was too long so I had to curl up to keep my feet from dangling off the edge of the arm supports. The entire night was filled with me sitting up to groan, pout, and curse Zoltan.

Why me?

I exhaled and rubbed my eyes. Just as I was shifting, a light from the hallway leading to Zoltan's bedroom turned on. I turned my head up and saw him coming toward the living, his head bowed. He was dressed in a neatly pressed grey suit and his dark hair was perfectly styled.

*eyeroll*

As he came down the little steps, he noticed me and I quickly closed my eyes, hoping he wouldn't notice I was awake. After a minute I heard him start to move again, this time more slowly as if he was trying not to wake me up.

But his phone started ringing loudly. Zoltan groaned and quickly searched his pockets to pull out his phone.

“It's six-thirty-four in the morning,” he answered the caller angrily.

I pushed myself into a sitting position and yawned loudly, letting him know I was awake. Zoltan barely glanced in my direction.

“You're already married, aren't you? Figure it out yourself” he said into the phone and then pulled it away from his ear.

Warren.

Was the wedding happening already? Maybe Claire would ask Geneva to be her maid of honor.

A small smile crept up my face.

I doubt she'll say yes.

I turned and Zoltan had walked out of the living room into the kitchen.

No good morning?

I sat up straighter.

“Good morning to you too. Oh and don't worry about the loud phone call, I was already awake” I said sarcastically.

He effortlessly ignored me, moving around the kitchen. I frowned.

“And I slept fine thanks for asking.”

There was a short moment of silence before Zoltan shifted his gaze to my face. He stared for a few more seconds and then turned his attention to whatever he was doing in the kitchen.

I arched an annoyed brow and pushed myself up to my feet.

“Your couch is very uncomfortable by the way!”

He didn't say a word.

“I'm speaking to you, Zoltan. Your couch is extremely uncomfortable. I didn't sleep at all!”

The strong smell of freshly brewed coffee filled the air as Zoltan poured... one mug?

Of course.

A devil in a designer suit with a personality to match.

I scoffed.

“Predictable” I muttered lowly.

Zoltan's eyes snapped away from the coffee he was pouring and at my face.

“Oh that you hear and react to?” I eyed him.

He rubbed a finger across his sideburns.

“Go take a shower. We're leaving in ten.”

I folded my arms, an annoyed look on my face.

“O'clock?”

“Minutes” he was quick to reply before bringing his mug to his lips.

Ten minutes? It was barely seven in the morning. Was I supposed to be done sleeping?

“I'm going back to bed,” I said instead.

“Fine. Enjoy your stay here” he tipped his mug at me.

“You're leaving without me?”

He frowned a little.

“What is your problem exactly?”

“You. You are my problem, Zoltan. You.”

He sighed deeply.

“Look, I don't have time for this. Be ready in ten minutes or else I leave without you. Are we clear on that?”

I unfolded and folded my arms again. Zoltan shook his head.

Your tie's crooked.

As if he was in my head, at the same moment, he noticed his tie was crooked and adjusted it. His phone went off, signaling a text message and he scowled a bit

“Ten minutes” he repeated and walked away.

I was about to say something that would have probably gotten me into trouble but thankfully, a yawn interrupted me.

“I need coffee.”

I moved into the kitchen only to find out the coffee pot was empty.

“Of course” I chuckled nastily.

I chewed on my bottom lip a little before reluctantly dragging myself away from the kitchen into the bedroom.

✽ ✽ ✽ ✽ ✽

✿ Geneva's POV

I rolled over, my eyes barely opened. My bed was askew now, all the neatly arranged pillows from the night before had fallen to the floor. I could feel one of the last pillows teetering at the edge, and I lazily nudged it over with my foot.

A ray of timid sunshine peeped from one of the windows whose blinds had shifted and I groaned and lazily glanced over at my auto-flip calendar clock.

So it wasn't a dream.

Zoltan was truly married and was on his honeymoon with Ulyana. And Warren? This only meant that his proposal to Claire was also all real. Not a dream. It was all very real.

“And so was your hell of a kiss with Thor” my wolf chided.

I blinked.

“Yeah,” I muttered.

But no one said I had to think about it now, right?

“Yeah,” I muttered again, yawning.

I pulled myself up and swung my feet onto the floor. The hardwood was surprisingly ice cold. I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes.

“Don't think about Warren. Don't think about Thor. Don't think about anybody. Think about yourself for once Geneva. Be selfish” I recited.

A thump sounded behind me and I turned my head just in time to see one of my photos clatter to the floor. I sat impossibly still, listening. The rest of the house was unusually quiet.

I picked up the picture. It was a photograph from my 'youthful' days when no one chastised me about being single.

Allison was in this picture.

I'd always been a teeny bit envious of her. Allison had perfectly straight blonde hair that looked sleek no matter how much she washed it, and it always fell in perfect strands when she pulled it into her famous buns.

Like a Barbie.

She had it all. But of course, she also foolishly ruined it and I'm among the people who had to, and before Ulyana, were still casualties of her foolish decision.

I was more or less a Midge.

My unruly curls had been a torment since birth. I always wore my hair in braids well into middle school, until everybody started calling me 'Pippi Longstockingʼ and yanking on my hair.

If I didn’t put it in a braid, my curls frizzed out in every direction and people who sat behind me complained that they couldn’t see. My entire school days were filled with me smoothing down my hair throughout the day and glancing at my reflection as I passed windows.

Allison had fabulous hair. And although I'm older, I always secretly wished to be like her... or at least have her hair. Till she did what she did to break my cousin.

And if I ever found her, I'd punch her... very, very, very hard.

I sighed and carefully placed the photo back in its place on my bedroom wall. I turned away, smoothing my hair down when a thump and clatter sounded again. My hand froze halfway down the back of my head and my breathing quickened.

Please don't...

I slowly turned toward the sound. Our group photo had once again fallen to the floor. I groaned and flipped the photo over. The frame had shattered. I carefully moved the broken glass out of the way and placed the picture in one of my drawers. I had to get someone to clean up the broken glass.

Sighing again, I settled back into the bed and closed my eyes, trying to go back to sleep. But a knock on the door behind me thirty seconds later made me frown.

“Wake up.”

I kept my eyes closed.

“Gen?”

Why couldn't these people just leave me alone?

“Gen?” he called out again, his tone almost worried.

Go away.

“Geneva!”

“Oh for heaven's sake, Al, will you stop it and get out of my room?” I questioned.

He straightened from where he was hovering over me and frowned.

“I couldn't hear you breathe.”

I sighed deeply.

“You won't be breathing if you don't disappear in two seconds.”

“Mom asked me to come wake you up.”

“This early? Why? I'm an adult. I can wake up whenever the hell I want and I'm not waking up now” I explained and buried the side of my face into the last pillow on the bed.

However, the moment I closed my eyes, I heard the plastic rings of the curtain holders scrap against the metal curtain rod and my eyelids glowed pink, making it impossible to go back to sleep.

“Niall!” I scolded, opening my eyes to a fully sunlit room.

“I'll tell Mom you're on your way down like a good daughter,” he said to me before walking out.

It didn’t take long before my mother started calling me. For some reason, she still treated me like a child, and at the same time, she acted as if I were too old to still be living with my parents.

I sat up and reached for my laptop. The agency for photographers we'd hired had emailed me the pictures she took at the wedding. I smiled at one with Zoltan and Ulyana exchanging their rings.

I bet he's having a great time right now with his wife.

I smiled to myself. Ulyana was good for him. If he could sing for her in front of both our packs, he could be his very happy and best self with her. And I wanted nothing more than Allison forgotten and Zoltan undeniably happy because he owed it to that innocent little boy instead of him.

I was chuckling at one photo with Marioara and me when my good moment was interrupted.

“Geneva!” my Mom yelled again.

Gaah!!

Instead of turning a deaf ear towards her again, I groaned like a drunk walrus, slammed my laptop shut, and like a petulant child, made my way towards the sound of her voice.

The second I stepped into the living room, all I got was loud, boisterous sounds from Niall and his old college buddies raiding the kitchen.

Tom Hanks was the first to spot me. And he was no Tom Hanks.

“Heyyyy Genny baby!”

He was drunk.

I glanced at the wall clock.

“At seven thirty in the morning? Really Thomas?”

He grinned and staggered closer to me.

“Don't you look hot in your jammies” he chuckled. “Want me to take a hit—”

“Dude!” Billy frowned. “This is why I never invite you to my home. Stop hitting on my sister, man. Gross.”

“Can you blame me? She's so dreamy. And so hot” he sighed happily.

I rolled my eyes.

“And you couldn't put on decent clothing before showing up here?” Billy questioned.

What did he know about decency? He farted everywhere.

“I'm in my father's house, aren't I?”

“Well yes but couldn't you wear something less—” he paused when his eyes lowered to my chest.

Billy cocked his brows inquisitively.

“Why are your tits like that?”

I looked down at my baby pink satin Cami top and my nipples were perky.

“Who's gross now?” Tom slapped my brother in the back.

I shook my head.

“Look, I'm not here for you morons. Where's Mom?”

“Patio” my brother gestured.

I turned away and Tom let out a low whistle.

“Damn Genny!”

I grimaced and tugged my shorts a bit lower.

“Geneva!”

“I'm here” I muttered as I stepped out into the patio.

I instantly regretted it.

Does it ever end?

My mother was dressed in a pale coral blouse paired with flared black pants and sat cross-legged in the middle of various floral samples with a nervous florist.

What's happening?

On cue, she glanced up at me and smiled calmly, as if she wasn't just banshee-ing my name through the whole city.

“Which one do you like?”

She's buying me flowers?

I wanted to ask what was going on. But I didn't want to stay too long to encourage her to bring up my dating history and start suggesting possible suitors.

I quickly scanned the bundles of overpriced blossoming buds of inflorescence and pointed toward the peonies.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

She nodded and gestured to the florist.

“Is that all... Mother” I added very Britishly with a fake smile plastered on my lips.

“Yes. And hey, an old friend of your father is in town for a business trip.”

This was all too familiar.

“His wife died a few years ago—”

Wait, this was new!

“Woah, woah, Mom!” I stopped her.

She was setting me up with people my dad's age?

“Relax. It's his son I want you to have brunch with today.”

I exhaled.

“Why do you keep setting me up on dates Mom? Seriously.”

“It's just brunch, Geneva.”

“Disguised as a date, Mother” I frowned. “Does this person even know he's being set up by the two of you?”

“Yes. And Devon is smart enough to want to bag a beautiful woman like you. I sent him your photos and he's floored” she grinned. “Just look how thick your thighs are, my darling. Only a fool wouldn't want you.”

I folded my arms.

“I can't do brunch today. I already have plans.”

“Cancel them because French toast casserole and tofu scramble is on the menu.”

“Mom” I scolded. “And I don't even like tofu.”

“Well Devon does so they're making that too along with thirteen other brunch dishes.”

“Mom!”

“No, no, Geneva. I will not watch my only daughter throw her life away.”

“Throw my life— Mom I'm not throwing my life away” I huffed. “And I'd very much appreciate it if you didn't interfere in my romantic life.”

“You don't have a romantic life, darling. You're not doing anything to contribute to it, and I'm tired of waiting. Geneva, when was the last time you even kissed anyone?”

I frowned.

“That's a very personal and highly insensitive question, Mom.”

She rolled her eyes.

“I'm calling your father.”

I groaned. So what if I was a little over thirty? It wasn't the end of the world, right?

Right?

My stomach grumbled and my Mom sighed dramatically.

“Go ask the maids to fix you something to eat. You need to be well nourished.”

I shifted my weight onto my other foot and she waved her hands in the air.

“Forget it, I'll go get them to make you something delicious and healthy before you order a pizza.”

She carefully got up and elegantly weaved her way around the flowers. I folded my arms.

“What are these for anyways?” I asked.

“The wedding.”

“Zoltan's wedding?”

“Warren and Claire's.”

My stomach grew cold.

“You heard they're getting married again, right?”

Heard and saw.

I shrugged.

“Wait, why are you picking flowers for their... wedding?”

She smiled.

“Well, Claire called me earlier this morning and asked if I could give my input on the floral decor.”

“Shouldn't the bride and groom be the ones doing all that?” I inquired.

“Yes. But Warren insists on beginning the planning when Zoltan gets back.”

I arched a brow.

“But?”

“Claire's impatient so she's starting with the small stuff like flowers, venues, the guest list... you know.”

That's the small stuff?

“And you're her to-go person?”

“Well no. She called you but your phone was off so she called me.”

Oh, my phone's on. I just have her number blocked.

I slowly nodded. Warren wasn't getting involved till Zoltan got back from his honeymoon. So I had to do just one thing.

Find a way to extend Zoltan's honeymoon.

I cleared my throat.

“Well since the flowers are for the wedding I think the peonies aren't good enough,” I said with a serious face.

My mother looked away from the checklist she was holding.

“What?” the florist asked.

I smiled sweetly at her.

“I don't think the peonies are good for Warren and Claire's wedding.”

“But I thought you said you liked them,” Mom said.

“Yes because I thought you were going to send them to Grandma” I giggled.

My mother's face creased lightly.

“So you don't think the—”

“Not at all” I cut her off and reached for another bouquet.

“Chrysanthemums?”

I nodded at the florist. Warren was super allergic and so it was perfect for his big day.

“Chrysanthemums” I grinned.

My mom bobbed her head.

“Those were my first choice.”

I smiled.

“Awesome.”

My mother looked at me and smiled back.

“See? You have my exquisitely authentic eye for detail.”

Sure, Mom.

“Well if that's all, I'd like to go now” I announced.

“Not before you eat something” my mother stopped me. “And brunch is a bit far from now.”

“Mom I thought we just spoke—”

“No, Geneva. You're going to do as I say. Don't make me call your father.”

He'd understand.

“Excuse me, Mrs. Wasserman but the Beta's here” a maid announced.

Warren?

“Thank you Jane” my mother nodded at her. “Please escort the florist out and ask them to make some egg muffins for my daughter.”

Jane nodded and scurried off. Why was Warren here? Did he tell my Mother about us? Wait if he did she wouldn't be this calm.

“If he did, she wouldn't be trying to set us up with Demon” my wolf growled lowly.

“It's Devon” I corrected.

“How is that comforting?”

She was right. Damon, Demon, Devon, it wasn't comforting.

My mother tucked her clipboard close to her chest and started to walk out of the patio. I hurried to the bathroom in the pool house, fixed my hair a little, and tugged my cami shorts a few inches higher.

Then I casually stepped into the living room.

He was in the middle of a sentence when his eyes fell on me. He paled, stopped breathing, and looked flushed. At that moment, I was thrilled I still had that effect on him. Till the devil came calling.

“I'm here!” she chirped, practically skipping into the room.

Warren's body instantly grew tense and I couldn't help but feel sorry and disgusted at both him and I.

“What are you doing here?” he asked her as he pulled his head away from the kiss she was coming in for.

“Mrs. Wasserman asked me to come. We're going to go over the choices so far.”

“Choices?”

“For our wedding, silly” Claire giggled.

Warren glanced up at me and I folded my arms under my bust to hitch them up. He swallowed.

“Something's off about those two” Billy muttered, breezing beside me.

“You find something off about everything and everyone” Niall chuckled, tossing a cashew nut into his mouth as he stood at my other side.

“Nah” Billy shook his head. “Those two just feel wrong together. Like a recipe for disaster.”

My head snaps in his direction and he meets my eyes.

“What? Why are you smiling?” he asked.

“Nothing. I just agree with you.”

“You agree with me?”

“Yeah, Gen. You agree with him?” Niall arched a brow.

I nodded, still smiling.

“I do.”

Billy chuckled.

“Isn't Claire like a part of your sisterhood?”

“What sisterhood? I've never liked her” I shook my head. “She knows...”

“Yet she keeps trying to get you to because she's a good person. You two are just bitter and jealous” Niall nudged my shoulder with his.

“Bitter? No. Jealous? That's probably Geneva. I'm just being observant” Billy said.

I scoffed.

“Why would I be jealous of Claire?”

“'Cause she's marrying Warren twice” Niall answered.

I knew my brother meant no harm but his reply killed me within.

“And you can't even bag yourself a Tinder swap” Billy laughed.

I held my hand out and flicked his forehead.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“Fun. And the next time you try to get smart with me, I will tweak your nipples.”

Billy moved around me and slipped behind Niall who was laughing so hard his eyes were teary.

“Miss Geneva?” I heard Jane call out behind me.

I stopped glaring at my bother and glanced angrily at Claire who had wrapped herself around Warren's arm.

“I'll eat in my room,” I said, not looking at the maid. “Niall, get me some running clothes. My wolf's itching for a release” I added, moving towards my room.

“Wait Miss Geneva” Jane called. “This isn't about the food.”

I rolled my eyes and kept walking.

“Someone's here for you.”

I paused and turned around.

“Someone's here for me?” I asked.

Jane nodded.

“Oh if it's Devon and his father, please let them in already, Jane” my mother looked away from Warren and Claire.

Ugh them?

I frowned.

“Niall, the clothes, now” I said firmly.

“It's not them, Mrs. Wasserman” Jane answered my mother.

Niall nodded at me and I was about to turn back away again when an oddly familiar low growl reached my ears.

Was that...

“Sorry for interrupting.”

My eyes immediately snapped to the person the voice belonged to.

Ohh...

Mitchell smiled, greeted my mother and everyone else, and made a beeline to me.

“Hey, stranger.”

“Hey. Did you call me?”

“No. I wanted to surprise you so... surprise.”

I narrowed my eyes a little.

“I thought you said we weren't going to make this a thing.”

“I did” he sighed and held out a hand to tuck a tendril away from my face. “But you're making it very hard.”

Which one?

My heart did a two-second throb and I smiled at him.

“I see.”

“Did you sleep okay?” he asked, his eyes roaming my face.

From the corner of my eyes, I could see Warren's attention on what my mother was saying was completely gone. He was now glaring... fully glaring at us.

“I'm not interrupting anything, am I?” Mitchell spoke up, causing me to blink.

“No, no. Of course not” I chuckled, touching his arm. “I slept really good... after last night.”

Mitchell's eyes sparkled.

“Did you sleep well?” I asked glancing at Warren who had now fully turned to look at us.

Mitchell smiled.

“When you've been running around in my mind the entire night? Not a chance” he chuckled. “Part of the why I just had to see you.”

Warren's jaw ticked and I smiled charmingly at Mitchell.

“And which Playboy edition did you get that pickup line from?”

“My princely heartthrobing, heartbreaking days are over Gen.”

“Since when?”

“Last night” he quickly replied, all traces of smugness gone. “And I think we should do it again.”

Another low growl reached my ears and this time I successfully traced it to Warren. He could have fun playing hubby to Claire but I couldn't have anyone else like me?

Not a chance.

I turned my attention fully to Mitchell and squeezed his muscled arm.

“I'd love nothing more than to do it again with you, Thor.”

He grinned.

“You wanna come help me change?”

Warren paled.

“And they say forwardness isn't sexy” Mitchell chuckled.

I tucked another tendril away from my face.

“Well?”

Mitchell took my hands in his and kissed my knuckles.

“I'd be honored.”

Thank you for reading!
Vote and comment if you enjoyed the chapter and recommend!
See ya.
~the_atticwriter