Double update to apologize for my tardiness.

I ran.

I ran down the corridors and five flights of stairs because the elevator had been too slow and I didn't think I would be able to take waiting patiently for the ancient contraption to crawl down five floors with multiple stops in between. I ran like my life was on the line, doing my best not to crash into people, because it was easily possible for one hard shove with my Alpha strength to severe people's shoulders off their bodies, and I did not want that kind of drama to slow me down at the moment.

The ironic thing was, I didn't even know why I had been summoned. Seneca had found me on Instagram and sent me a private message, and all I could figure was that if she had to go to such lengths to track me down and call me out of the blue, it had to be an emergency.

My overthinking brain had immediately deduced that something must've gone horribly wrong. I thought back to her simple message, "I need you to come to Big Belly Burger. ASAP," and wondered why the hell she had not been more specific.

I mean, the horrible possibilities I had conjured up in the two minutes it took for me to zip out of my building and reach the aforementioned burger joint simply couldn't be worse than reality. That said, I tried to assure myself that it couldn't be that big, that there wouldn't be anything as serious as I was imagining because Seneca and Micajah were Alphas who were more than capable to hold down the fort until I arrived, but the anxiety wouldn't leave me alone.

Was it Ezra? Had he done something to land him in trouble?

'No, if he was in pain, I'd know.' My wolf was oddly serious, and though her words were meant to sound reassuring and calm me down, I knew the animal was worried as well. When it came to our two mates, despite all the lewd jokes and the wisecracks, it was clear that underneath it all, my wolf really did care.

Two mates. It sounded strange, surreal even; because I still couldn't wrap my mind around it or get over it.

I was either really lucky or really unlucky to be have been destined to have two guys who looked like they had just stepped out of the front cover of a fashion magazine, guys who were so different, yet so perfect for each other and me that my heart hurt.

And here I had been assuming until two days ago that I would die alone.

"What happened?" I came to a proverbial screeching halt in front of Micajah and Seneca, who were easy to spot because of their vibrant hair, despite the overwhelming pedestrian traffic. "Is everything alright?" I quickly scanned them from head to toe, taking stock of their organs. "Are you hurt!?"

"No!" Micajah shook his head in a frenzied manner, his eyes wide. "Ezra and Theon—they're inside—"

That was all I heard before I was bursting through the doors of the diner because I had been wrong. It wasn't just Ezra who was in trouble, but it was also Theon. I scanned the crowded space with my heart rattling inside my rib cage, and my eyes landed on them the same time their heads swiveled around to spot me.

They seemed to be . . . just having dinner?

"Hey!" Ezra waved enthusiastically, a wide grin that looked almost relieved splitting his face. I worked my way around the bazillion tables—just how big was this place?—doing my best to avoid slamming into waiters and waitresses with armloads of greasy food, all the while not pulling my eyes away from the two people who had had me shooting out of my room like a missile on a mission at the slightest possibility of danger.

"What's wrong!?" I surveyed Theon and Ezra closely as I neared them, who both seemed to be seated calmly at a four-person table—no visible signs of trouble whatsoever—trying to narrow down the cause of the emergency. My wolf propelled me forward without my consent, and I watched like a stranger in my own body as my hands grabbed their faces simultaneously and turned them left and right, checking for injuries. "What happened?"

I could see they weren't harmed, but it looked like my brain had trouble accepting the fact. Why else would Seneca text me in such an urgent tone?

"Er." Ezra's pink mouth was squished because of my tight grip on his cheeks, and for a split second, I wondered if I could kiss those plump lips and get away with pretending like it never happened. His dark eyebrows slanted up in amusement. "Nothing?"

"Yeah." Theon's golden eyebrows scrunched as he looked me up and down. Those sharp green eyes made a nervous shiver of awareness race through my body, making me feel as if he could see right through my clothes. I could feel my nipples harden at the thought, and I thanked the heavens I was still wearing the padded bra I had thrown on this morning.

Not the time to get caught thinking sexy thoughts.

"Are you okay?"

I let go of their faces like I had been incinerated, taking a dire step back as red-hot embarrassment shot through me. Belatedly, I realised I was still in my ratty black t-shirt and sweatpants, and that my feet were adorned in my cute bunny slippers, because yes, in my hurry to make sure everything was alright, I hadn't given two shits what I had been wearing, or had time to change into better shoes. Besides, it wasn't like the roughness of the pavement was going to have any impact on my skin.

What I hadn't considered was this being an indirect set-up.

You're going to die, Seneca and Micajah.

"Sorry." I ran a hand through my hair, and with rising horror, became aware that it was a tangled mess atop my head. I hadn't brushed it since this morning when I had haphazardly done a half-assed job at best before rushing out my door. After my workout and shower this evening, there was no way it resembled anything more sophisticated than a rat's nest.

Kill me, now.

"I—uh, I have to go." I pirouetted on my heel, ready to flee like a coward because I absolutely couldn't take this a second longer. It was bad enough that my mates looked like the love children of Zac Efron and Chris Hemsworth, but to think there were two of them thoroughly succeeded in doubling my embarrassment, because having two specimens of male perfection watching you like you've finally lost it after you've made a complete fool of yourself was way worse than just one.

Trust me on that.

"No!" They cried in unison—it seemed like they were more in sync than they'd like to admit when it came to this mates business—making me halt mid-step.

What did they want now? Was it even possible to be embarrassed further?

"Please sit." It was Theon this time, and that surprised me as he hadn't stricken me as the type to ask anyone of anything. In the limited interaction we had had before, it was always Ezra doing most of the talking while Theon just stayed silent, and as much as I had wanted to do something about it, I didn't know how.

Growing up, I had been really bad at all things social, and the way that I could reply to whatever Ezra asked but could never say something smart and funny in return was a testament to that. Finding out that Theon was worse than me just made it harder. I looked at him and I had this deep want to say something, but I just didn't know what to say.

How did people like Ezra smile and strike up conversations so easily?

"Please," Ezra repeated, and that did it. The soft way their voices washed over me instantly crumbled my resolve.

Two days in, and I couldn't say no to them for something as small as this even if my life depended on it. I wondered just how badly I was going to spoil my mates as time passed and the bond grew stronger.

Goddess knew that one pleading look from their blue and green eyes would have me a gooey puddle on the floor.

I shot a look heavenward and I patted down my messy hair, taking a deep breath.

Goddess, help me.

~

"So what brings you here? Apart from having dinner, of course." Ezra questioned as he settled into his chair across from me, smiling while receiving the half-finished plate that I pushed over to him. When both of them had looked at me expectantly to see where I would choose to sit, one arch of my eyebrow had made Ezra sigh and move over to take the empty seat beside Theon, leaving me as the neutral party on the other side of the table, facing them.

Until they got over this silly idea that they could compete for my attention, I wasn't going to give either of them the satisfaction by caving to do little things like these which would no doubt be taken as a victory in their stupid contest. As much as it killed me to do this—sitting with an empty chair beside you was absolutely no fun when all my wolf wanted to do was rub up against the two of them—I would endure this if it meant that things would eventually settle down.

Oh, how I wished things would settle down already. My bed felt awfully empty despite the fact that it was a single and made me irrationally feel like I would fall to my demise every time I rolled over.

I should do something about that. Just in case.

"Guess." I rolled my eyes, Ezra's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. I watched with unconcealed amusement as he absentmindedly grabbed Theon's untouched salad bowl and started picking out the tomatoes in them.

Was there something they weren't telling me? Had my prayers been already answered?

"Not that I don't like it, because it makes you look absolutely stunning—" Theon cleared his throat, making my grin widen as heat rose to my cheeks. This night was full of good surprises. "but why, exactly, are you grinning like that?"

I raised both my eyebrows as I pointedly looked between the two of them, the smirk tugging my lips up impossible to hide. Ezra seemingly caught on first, because he put Theon''s bowl down and casually popped a fry from his own plate into his mouth, and I knew he knew how date-like it all looked. It took Theon two seconds before his eyes widened slightly, an irresistible shade of dusky pink tinting his masterfully sculpted cheekbones in an instant as he put two and two together. "Gimme that." He snatched the plastic bowl from near our mate and put it on the other side of his plate, out of Ezra's reach.

"So neither of you had the balls to ask me out but you asked each other out." I grinned cheekily, plopping my elbows on the table and resting my chin in my palms, "Don't worry, I'm not offended. This shit is too cute."

The truth was, I wasn't. Considering the fact that Seneca and Micajah had set me up, I knew they must've done this to them too. Ironically, even if it wasn't a setup, I knew I couldn't be happier that these two were spending time with each other.

More time equaled lesser wait before they finally pulled their heads out of their asses.

'And replace it with another head . . .' My wolf sighed dreamily. I bit my tongue to prevent a moan at the thought.

"Shut up!" Ezra cried at the same time Theon scoffed indignantly, "This isn't a date."

"Sure, it isn't." I had this untimely urge to pinch both their cheeks and then kiss the hell out of them. Why couldn't they just accept that they were attracted to each other and save us all the heartache? It was clear as day to anyone that there was tension in the air.

Giving into it would be So. Freaking. Simple.

But, of course. They were "straight".

"Seriously." Ezra shook his head exasperatedly, but to me, it looked like he was trying more to convince himself than me. "My friends duped me."

"Duped us." Theon added, "It was a coincidence that I showed up here, but they created a scene and forced me to sit with them."

"Oh." I laughed, "Well, it's certainly no coincidence that I'm here. Seneca texted me."

"Can't say that I'm pissed at them." Ezra grinned, popping another small fry into his mouth. I returned his grin as I glanced down at his plate, only to find that his huge cheeseburger remained untouched. "You guys arrived here just now, or something?"

"No." Theon swallowed his food and looked up, and I was momentarily distracted by the small movement of his jaw and the fact that he was making an effort to not stay silent. "By the time I got here, his friends and he were already half done."

"Really?" The sudden panic I felt overrode all dirty thoughts occupying my head. Did one of my mates have some sort of an eating disorder? He certainly didn't look like he had one. I mean, come on . . . that body. "Then why haven't you touched your food? Are you waiting for something?"

"No." Ezra blushed all of a sudden, his grin one of embarrassment as his cheeks colored up. "I just . . . didn't wanna eat it?"

"Why not?" Theon turned to his right, his voice sharp. The way his calculative green eyes assessed Ezra's expression told me that despite all the fake drama, he really did care too. Under any other circumstances, I'd have taken a moment to happily revel in that realization, but the possibility of my other mate being ill kept me from it.

"Because . . ." Ezra pressed his lips together, and it was clear that he was stalling. "It's —um, cold?"

"It wasn't cold fifteen minutes ago when you should've eaten it." Theon raised an eyebrow with a flat look, and when Ezra turned to me for help, I just shrugged and stared at him, waiting for a reply.

"Well." He coughed, his blue eyes darting between the two of us as he continued to mull over his answer. Suddenly, his gaze caught on something behind my head, and he raised his hand, pasting on a smile, "Hi! Can you take the order of my m—" he glanced at me, probably unsure of what to label me, "er—friend person, please?"

A harried looking, middle-aged woman rushed over to our table, momentarily forcing me and Theon to let Ezra off the hook, "Hello! Sorry again, guys." She finished scribbling something on her notepad and looked up, seemingly surprised when she caught sight of my presence. Was I missing something? "So it really isn't a date." She bit her tongue, her face flushing all of a sudden. "I'm really sorry, I know it's none of my business. What can I get you?"

I didn't know if I was supposed to feel amused or offended that she had just written us off like that. On one hand, I knew humans weren't overly accepting with the concept of more than two persons in a relationship, but that didn't mean that I could let this slide. I really didn't care if she couldn't handle the truth.

"Actually." I leaned forward, lowering my voice to a conspiratorial stage-whisper, "This really is a date."

"But—" Her sloe brown eyes widened, "Oh!" A slow grin crept up her face as she let her eyes roam over the three of us, and she lowered her voice to match mine. "Good for you, kid. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

I decided I really liked this woman.

"Thank you. I'd like one large cheeseburger and a coke, please."

Liked the chapter? Hated it? Sort of average? Be patient, amigos and amigas. We'll get to the fun part soon.

Hope you enjoyed this! Please do,

~