Their cabin was just about the same as all the cabins they'd been put in. It had one bedroom, a tiny kitchen and it was just about made for mating. In the bedroom, there was a king-sized bed, and even the couch was big and roomy with plush, open cushions. The bedroom night stand, and the couch end table, would be where lubricants and sex toys would reside.
Scarcely had they arrived at the cabin when alfie sat his bag on the couch, glanced into the mirror, and grinned at himself approvingly.
"Would you like to go on the west side, or the east side?" Alfie inquired, grinning.
Tradition prescribed that every alpha couple split and mingle on opposite festival grounds. If one of the brothers came across a woman they thought might be their forever mate, they'd take her to the middle pavilion ground, find their twin and introduce her to see if the bonding procedure should initiate.
Finley shrugged. "It's all the same."
"Brother, we're swimming in a sea of beautiful, hungry, female flesh. You'd be more enthusiastic, you'd imagine."
"We could just walk about together," finley said. "Could speed things up. Then if we see the right one--
"I'm sincerely hoping we don't come across the right one until the last day of the festival. Or the following year, at least. What's the injury in sampling all the wares in advance?"
"Donkey," finley snorted. "Once we've found her, we won't be longing for anyone else's wares, no matter how tasty they are."
"Right. That's why I don't have to rush along. I'm just fine as things are." Alfie headed for the door. "West side, then. Try and make yourself enjoy yourself, captain buzzkill." The door shut behind him.
Finley shook his head, watching out the window as his brother departed towards the festival grounds. He simply hoped that he'd find a way to get into it. He'd been in a peculiar state since he'd woken up that morning. He'd felt nervous and jumpy and restless, like he was expecting something to happen that would be about to happen.
His mother had always told him that he'd been the sensitive one. He had a sixth sense, which would warn him that things were going to occur before they actually occurred. On many occasions, he'd been able to lead pack members out of danger because of it – or catch the blood claws pack attempting to migrate on their territory.
Sighing, he tossed his backpack onto his bed and stepped out to face the day. He should be more excited, he told himself.
Hell with it. A couple of cold beers might do the trick, or something a little harder. Whisky, straight up. Now that was something he could get excited about.
As he headed in that direction, a blonde on heat caught up with him from behind, walking at the same pace as him. She wore tight blue jeans, high-heeled boots, and a fringed leather halter top. He did not slacken his pace, and she had to dash to stay with him.
"Hi, handsome," snuggled into him. "Ready to have a good week?"
"I'm here, anyway." He nodded respectfully to her but without an invitation. He was not yet ready.
She followed him close. "I met your brother. He's soooo hot. I definitely could have fun acquainting myself with the two of you better."
Finley glanced down at the trail that his brother had vanished off of, and nodded toward his brother's retreating back. "Go get yourself introduced," he encouraged. "He's always seeking a good time.".
She pouted, batting long eyelashes his direction. "I'd like to get better acquainted with the two of you simultaneously."
He restrained a snort of disdain at that. Yeah. The two of them. So they could start the bonding process, and get psychically wrapped around each other, and she'd be their mate for all eternity whether they wanted her to or not.
Did she actually think they were that stupid? Or did she think because she was attractive, he and his brother would jump through hoops for a chance to mate with her? It wasn't as if alphas had no availability of sexual partners at the alpha claiming festival. It was more that they had trouble deciding who to mate first. And he and his twin would never accept a woman who'd try to ingratiates her way into being their forever mate.
Even some of the females who only came to the alpha claiming festival to party, were intrigued by the upper echelon status of having an alpha mate, let alone twin mates and not single mates.
But the choice of a lifetime mate was not made lightly considering the risks involved in making the wrong choice of mate. It wasn't something an alpha was to be excused to get high about.
That was the reason twins spent time on either side of the festival until they met someone with whom they could see forming that lifetime connection. Nobody wished to risk ending up psychically bonding with the wrong woman accidentally. He'd heard stories. Alcohol, bad choices, waking up and realizing that you and your twin were being stuck for the rest of your natural life with somebody you couldn't stand.
Have a good time at the festival," he asserted, and turned and walked away without glancing back.