The first thing I did when I woke up the following morning was knock on Amie's door. She looked half asleep when she opened it.

“Finn, is something wrong?” she asked, followed by a yawn that would have dislocated most people’s jaws.

“Nothing wrong. How are your ribs?” I asked. She stretched, turned from side to side, and then shrugged.

“They don’t hurt at all. I guess Hugo was right. How about your side and your arm?”

“That’s not important. Are you sure you’re fine?”

“I’m sure, and it is important,” she insisted. She started unwrapping the bandage I had on my arm after my brother clawed me.

“See, not even a scar,” I told her. She let her fingers caress the skin.

“Good. Then we are both fine,” she said. I wasn’t completely happy. I felt like I should insist on checking her injury, but I had a feeling it would lead us into dangerous waters. I had to keep myself under control for a while longer. If that coward James refused to meet Amie much longer, I would personally drag him into the woods and make him listen to her. If she wanted to do it in private, that was what would happen. He had gotten to dictate how he rejected her; she would get to dictate how she rejected him. So, instead of telling her to pull up her sleep top and show me her side, I smiled.

“Breakfast?” I asked.

“Yes, please. I’ll just change,” she told me. I waited while she got ready, and we walked down together. The mood in the cabin was high. The game was over, no need to dread what was up next. Now, we just had a couple of days of relaxation and tying up loose ends ahead of us. There was the fact that we were still waiting for our points and rank. I decided not to worry about it for the day. Today we would spend resting. Everyone was free to do what they pleased. I knew Ramses still hadn’t given up hope of meeting his mate, and Sam was going to spend time with Medow’s father. I was planning on not letting Amie out of my sight, so whatever she was planning on doing, I would do it as well. My aunt might go and see my mother. I didn’t know if my brother would let that happen after my win yesterday. I hoped he would; they were sisters and had been close until the last eight years.

“What do you want to do today?” I asked Amie after we had eaten and people were heading off to do their thing.

“I was thinking I might walk around a bit. I haven’t really moved around the other packs, and now seems as good a time as any. Want to join?” she asked.

“Sounds like fun, I would love to come along.” We told Sam and Jake what we were doing and headed out. It was another beautiful day, and Amie had been right in guessing it was a good time to talk with other packs. Everyone seemed to have relaxed and was open to talking to us. Without talking about it, we avoided our old packs. We walked into the campsite, and it was like a whole other world. The tents and campervans were standing close together, and the mood was high, with BBQs going and music playing. We came to a colorful tent with what looked to be most of its pack sitting outside. They greeted us, and one of the males looked at Amie. I sighed internally; it had been the same throughout the day. She was a stunning wolf and unmarked; even with me by her side, she drew attention. I had been on my best behavior and kept my objections to glares. This male jumped up from his seat and headed straight for her. I was close to growling.

“Well, hi there,” Amie said, as if she knew him.

“You are the Beta from Blue Mountain, right?” he asked.

“That would be me,” she agreed.

“I need to apologize again. I’m really sorry about hurting you,” he told her. Amie smiled.

“It’s fine. I got under your skin. I get it. It was an honest mistake,” she said.

“Still, I should have better control of my temper. My mate has been scolding me ever since,” he insisted. He glanced down at a smaller male who got up and put his arm around him. That was when I saw they both had mate marks. I relaxed as I understood who he was. I would have been tempted to teach him about hurting Amie, but he seemed sincerely regretful.

“I have. He should know better than to have himself all worked up over a thing like that,” the smaller man said.

“Oh, don’t be too upset with him. I can be really, really annoying when I try,” Amie said.

“She can. Even when she isn’t trying,” I added. Both men laughed, and I earned myself an elbow in the side from Amie.

Their Alpha came walking up to us.

“I’m Alpha Jonas, we are the Winter Peak pack,” he said, extending his hand toward me.

“Alpha Finlay from Blue Mountain, this is my Beta, Amie,” I said, shaking his hand.

“We are sorry about Lawrence hurting your Beta. I hope you don’t hold it against our pack,” Alpha Jonas told us.

“Not in the least. Things like this happen,” I said, and Amie nodded.

“Why don’t you join us for a burger?” the Alpha asked. We accepted, and after an hour, we were well on our way to an alliance. We exchanged information and decided to get in touch after the games.

“We need to start heading back. I have a date with the other women soon. We are getting ready together. No men allowed on the second floor,” Amie told me.

“What am I to do until the dinner?” I asked, not happy with the prospect of an Amie-free afternoon.

“Well, I don’t know. Hang with the other men? Get ready for the dinner. If I spend time getting ready, I expect you to do the same. I’m looking forward to a proper date.” I spent the walk back thinking about it. I had to admit I was out of practice when it came to dating. Since I met Amie six years ago, I hadn’t been interested in dating anyone. Before then, I had too much to do with the pack and making sure we would survive. When I thought back, it had been around ten or eleven years since I had been on a date. I made sure Amie got home safe and watched as all the women, including my aunt, disappeared up the stairs. I found Sam sitting on the sundeck, playing cards with Ramses and Jake.

“How do you date someone?” I asked them as I took a seat. They all stopped playing and looked at me.

“What part of dating are you asking about?” Sam asked.

“The actual dating part,” I told him. Ramses smiled.

“Have you asked Amie to go with you to the formal dinner?” he asked, and I felt like I was fifteen and going to a prom.

“Yes,” I said.

“Ah, I remember being newly mated,” Jake said.

“Yeah, fun times,” Sam said.

“That is all nice and shit, but it doesn’t tell me anything,” I pointed out.

“It’s easy, Alpha. Just show up, be nice, make sure she feels like she is the only one you see, and listen to what she tells you,” Jake told me. Sam nodded. I looked at Ramses.

“Don’t look at me, I’m just as unmated as you are,” he told me. Sam laughed.

“But that’s what I do every day,” I objected. Sam and Jake looked at each other.

“Yeah. But on a date, you, like, dress up and maybe bring her some chocolate and stuff,” Sam said.

“Sounds right,” Jake agreed. I decided my friends were useless. I had to figure this thing out on my own. I sat back and tried to think of something. Amie had wanted flowers. I thought it would be impossible, but as we walked around, I saw a lot of wildflowers. I smiled and got back up.

“Where are you going?” Sam asked.

“I’m not telling you. I will be back in an hour or so to get ready.”

Three hours later, I was ready to go. I had put on a dark suit and had gotten a sizable bouquet of wildflowers. I was waiting with the other men downstairs as the women came down one by one. They all looked amazing. The last one down was Amie. When she came walking down, I forgot how to breathe. How could someone be so beautiful that my brain stopped working? Her emerald green dress had a tight top. The short sleeves were off the shoulder, and the top followed the curves of her breast, hugging her waist and complimenting her every curve. The skirt flared out and was full length; it gently swayed as she moved. Her curly, red hair was loose and pulled to drape down over one shoulder. The only jewelry she wore was simple gold loop earrings and the gold necklace I had given her on her birthday. She looked like a goddess descending from heaven.

“You look beautiful,” I told her as I walked to meet her. I handed her the flowers.

“Flowers! Thank you,” she said with a brilliant smile and stuck her nose into them. “You look very handsome today,” she then told me.

“I need to keep up with my date,” I told her, happy she liked the flowers. I offered her my arm, and she took a grip on it.

“We need to put these in water,” she said.

“We can put them back into the same container they have been standing in, waiting for us to get ready,” I said, and walked her into the kitchen. With her flowers safe, we all walked to where the dinner was to be held. The area the fighting rings had been in the day before had been transformed to the point of being unrecognizable. Tables with white linen tablecloths had been set up, one for each pack. In the middle of the area, an enormous dance floor was built with a stage in the center for a live band. Between the straight, tall wood trunks, fairy lights and lanterns were hung. The sun was still up; it would be for hours. But the trees gave enough shade for the lights to have effect.

“This is amazing,” Amie said as she took it all in. I only had eyes for her. If she was happy, I was happy. People from other packs were moving around, all dressed up, all in a good mood. We walked over to the Coyote Hill pack to talk and congratulate each other on a good game. I made sure Amie kept her hand on my arm and stood close to me. Far too many eyes were on her. I didn’t mind as long as they respected that she was with me tonight. As we walked to our table, I kept an eye out for James and my brother. Neither was going to ruin this night.