Elias laughed loudly at something Wilhelm said, his cup of alcohol sloshing about as he sunk his teeth into a piece of rare beef.
"—but things are good," Wilhelm chuckled as he continued with his speech, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "I'm expecting good news from Jade any day now."
"Good news as in she's finally going to take Gillian as her mate, or good news in that one of your brood is finally going to leave the house?" Derek's father grinned, earning himself a punch in the arm from the Alpha himself.
"Yah!" Elias said jokingly and flicked his nose. "Give the guy a break here…he's got nine kids! That hut is cramped as it is."
The men at the table snorted. Each taking a sip of their strong drink as Wilhelm flapped his mouth open and closed like a fish.
His face turned beet red and he finally mustered a quick, "Hey!"
"I'm just playing," Elias laughed, reaching over to pat his friend on the shoulder. It was all in good fun. "Honestly, I can't wait for it either. Yah, you're so lucky! Jade about to accept a mate, and Eric about to start phasing…you must be over the moon!"
Wilhelm relaxed and grinned. A chuckle escaped from deep within his throat as he nodded. "You have no idea."
The men roared, each lifting their cups and clanking them heartily before throwing their heads back and knocking down the alcohol. Elias was just about to grab the jug to pour everyone another round when he caught sight of Suri. His grin grew even wider and he lifted his hand, motioning for her to come over.
'I need to speak with you.' She called through the private bond—one allotted solely to mates.
Elias's smile faltered, 'Can't it wait until after the festival?'
From where she stood, Suri shook her head. It was only then that the Alpha noticed Marianne standing beside his mate, looking anxious. He frowned, casting a look towards Wilhelm, who had taken to pouring the drink himself, laughter echoing off his lips as he exchanged friendly jibes with Derek's father.
'Bring Wilhelm with you too. We'll be waiting in our hut.' Suri said before turning on her heels and walking away, Marianne following close behind.
Sighing, Elias rubbed his brow before jostling Wilhelm. "Let's go."
"What? Why?" Wilhelm asked, a smile still on his face. "We just started!"
"I don't know," Elias grumbled, standing to his feet. "But apparently, both Suri and Marianne can't wait."
Wilhelm frowned at the mention of his mate, wondering what this could possibly be about. Hurriedly he got to his feet, giving a few parting words to his friends before clasping Elias on the shoulder and following him out.
:::
Ricky tore a big piece of meat with his hands and placed it on Matt's plate before sinking his teeth into his own portion. Their group had commandeered a spot close to the bonfire. And they sat in a circle on a cotton-weaved blanket, an assortment of food gathered in the middle.
"Why do you always give Matt first?" Sammy whined, reaching into the middle of the table and grabbing himself a fistful of rice before smothering it in fermented cabbage and dropping boiled chicken on the mass to top it all off.
"Because he likes me best." Matt wiggled his brow, making Derek snort beside him.
"Yah, Ricky!" Derek drawled, an impish smile stretched across his face. "Better be more careful. Some of us might start mistaking you for one of your sisters at this rate."
Hearing that, the slender teen glowered, eyes shifting to a deep azure blue, "At least I don't look like a girl!"
"Ha!" Derek snorted, almost falling back in his seat. "Says who? You look girlier than me!"
"I don't!" Ricky blasted.
"Have you looked in a mirror recently, babe?" Derek wiggled his eyebrows, loving the way Ricky blustered. His figurative hackles rising. "Those pouty lips have probably confused more than a wolf or two."
"YAH!"
Ricky was just about to throw himself at the instigator when Matt grabbed his arm and pressed the scorned teen to his side, pushing Ricky's head against his chest as the pale-skinned teenager growled.
Max was too busy stuffing his cheeks to intervene, only sparing his friends a glance before leaning towards the middle and grabbing himself half of the boiled chicken, mouth near to bursting from the food.
Ollie laughed, flicking a pickled radish at Derek. "Yah…I feel sorry for your mate, Matt." He said, turning his attention to their friend who was currently restraining a furious Ricky. "She's going to have to compete with Ricky for your attention."
"Kya kyah hahaha!" Sammy rolled onto his back, choking and laughing at the same time. It was so extreme that his brother Dan had to help him back up and pound on his back a couple of times to make sure that his brother was not really choking.
Matt grunted, tightening his hold on Ricky as his friend almost broke free from his grasp. "Really, Ollie? You want to run that by me one more time?" He glowered.
At the scalding tone of Matt's voice, Ollie instantly froze. His head shook violently from side to side. "Nope. I'm good. Carry on." He motioned, bowing his head a little for good measure.
As the topic of conversation slowly drifted to a different issue, Ricky eventually stopped struggling in Matt's grip. Enough so that Matt, if he had wanted, could have let him go without pause. However, his hold on the smaller teen stayed put as he reached over and bit into a stuffed egg.
"Yah…" Ricky whined, looking at the delectable morsel. "Give me a bite too."
Matt took the other half of his egg without hesitating and held it out for Ricky, who immediately opened his mouth and took the offering. He chewed happily, burrowing into Matt's side while his eyes continued to glow a mystic blue.
Picking up another piece of meat, Matt held it out for Ricky, watching as the other bit into the tender beef, allowing the juice to drip down his chin. He smirked, about to playfully flick the other in the ear when an almost overpowering scent suddenly assailed his nostrils. Startled by it, Matt's ears immediately shifted, perking up as he sniffed the air.
What was the scent?
He sniffed and sniffed—almost manically as he tried to figure out where in the world this tantalizing scent was coming from. He inhaled deeply, following the trail until his nose found the source.
He was shocked to find that the scent was coming from Ricky.
At that, he frowned, burying his nose in Ricky's hair and taking a big whiff.
It was unlike anything he'd ever sensed before. And oddly, there were no words he could find to describe it. He inhaled once more, deeply and more powerfully, allowing the scent to overpower his other senses completely. Yes. He'd never experienced this smell before. It was entirely new for him. And yet, he was drawn to it. Something about it made his whole body hum.
"Hey, look!" Liam pointed at Ricky, mouth widened into an enormous grin that spread from ear to ear. "Ricky started to phase!"
"Huh?"
"Where?"
Derek pushed Kole's big head out of the way as he stared at Ricky's crotch.
Sure enough, unlike before, there was quite a discernible change in the fall of the fabric. Slapping himself in the face, Derek let his shoulders sag as he peered at the tent in Ricky's pants. "Ugh…this sucks." He grumbled.
Even Max had stopped eating. He scooted in between his friends to get a better look. He smirked to himself, elbowing a wide-eyed Ollie. "Told you so."
"I'm phasing!" Ricky grinned, looking up at Matt, eyes shining. "Matt, I'm phasing!"