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The low echo of conversation and laughter filled Beth’s ears as she stood behind the kitchen counter pouring drinks. Her friends and family were all comfortably crowded in the space of her new home. The home she was now sharing with her partner. Moving in together was a logical next step given how often the two ended up at each other’s places. Still it had taken a little while for Beth to agree. If she had dragged her heels a bit just to spite fate and the vision Beautiful had when they first met, that was no one’s business but hers.
After the announcement the pack had insisted on throwing a housewarming party. They would reliably take any excuse to get together and celebrate. Beautiful had also taken the opportunity to invite some of their friends. Simon had commandeered the kitchen immediately upon entering. He had graciously allowed his daughter to slip in and pour wine for some of the guests. From over the counter Beth observed the chaos. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, talking, drinking, flirting, and laughing. She smiled as she watched Beautiful flow between the guests. Greeting everyone with a warm smile and their trademark snark.
Claire approached from the side of the living room and nodded to get Beth’s attention.
“Hey, how’s it going?” She asked.
“All good so far boss. If you’re wondering about food, Simon says wait fifteen minutes.” Beth smiled at her own bad pun.
“Keep telling that joke, one day it might actually be funny!” The man in question called back over the sound of a pan frying.
“Counting on it!” Beth responded over her shoulder.
Claire just snorted at the father-daughter duo.
“Anyway, I was wondering if you’ve seen your Seer much tonight?” Claire spoke hesitantly.
“Yeah, why?” Beth asked, curious about Claire’s tone.
“Well they seem really…flirty? With a few of the guests.” Claire elaborated.
“Did something happen?” Beth prompted her to continue.
“No, not really, just…I don’t know, I guess I’ve never seen them that way before.”
“Well yeah they aren’t going to be that way with you.” Beth clarified.
“You’re okay with all that?” Claire gestured to where Seer was talking to a pair of guests, a flirtatious grin on their face and a hand suggestively touching an arm.
Beth simply chuckled.
“Yeah girl it’s fine. I know Beautiful doesn't mean anything by it and so do the people they do it with.” Beth explained.
“Besides, look at me.” She stood back from the counter and gestured to herself. Beth had an immaculately tailored button up shirt with a matching set of jeans just tight enough to show off. She had undone the top two buttons of her shirt and rolled up the sleeves. Her best assets were on display and she smiled smugly at Claire to show she knew it.
“You really think I got anything to worry about? I don’t see any competition here. Everyone knows exactly who my Beautiful is spending the night with.” She said with a cocky grin.
Claire laughed and shook her head.
“Yeah, I guess you’ve got a point there. I’m glad you guys are so secure with each other.” She said with genuine appreciation.
“Of course we are, we’re moving in together. Gonna get domestic as fuck in here as soon as you all leave.” Beth waggled her eyebrows.
“TMI.” Claire said with a grimace.
“I don’t know what you mean. I was talking about cuddling on the couch under some blankets and watching cartoons. You have such a dirty mind sometimes.” Beth laughed as Claire shoved her shoulder.
“Oh my god! Who is this cutie?” Seer’s voice, pitched up in excitement, reached them both in the kitchen.
Beth turned to face the new guest with Claire. Her cocky grin was firmly in place in anticipation, ready to further gloat to her Alpha. Her face immediately fell when she took in the scene. A large, floppy eared, brindle coated, mutt was currently basking in her partner's attention.
Her Beautiful was kneeling down and running their hands through the wretched beast's coat, scratching behind its ears. They were cooing at it and the slobbery thing was enjoying every second. There was a sudden sour twisting feeling deep in Beth’s stomach. Here she was, standing not five feet from her partner, and there they were gushing over someone’s ugly pet. Beth could hardly believe her eyes. She was clearly the better choice for a furry cuddling partner and yet Seer was ignoring her in favor of this mongrel. It simply would not stand. Beth resolved to evict the creature as quickly as possible. That same sour feeling curled and pulled her forward.
Beth hurried out from behind the counter. Claire raised an eyebrow and followed quietly behind.
Beth reached Seer in a few long strides. She put an arm around their waist and shot a smile that didn’t reach her eyes towards the new guest.
“Hey Beautiful. Who’s this?” She asked while side-eyeing the dog.
“This is Erin, my friend from work.” They gestured to the human owner. “And this gorgeous girl is Riley.” They said as they patted the dog's head.
“Nice to meet you.” Beth said to Erin, completely ignoring Riley. “I didn’t know people would be bringing pets.” Beth pointed out to her partner.
Seer looked confused. “Babe? I told you someone might be bringing a fluffy plus one.”
“I thought you meant like…” She gestured to herself and nodded subtly toward Claire who was just behind her, hiding a grin in her wine glass.
“Oh.” Seer laughed. “I see the confusion.”
Erin spoke up. “You don’t have to worry, Riley is super chill, she won’t cause any problems I promise. I made sure to train her well.”
“Yeah you did. You’re such a good girl Riley.” Seer gushed as they scratched behind the dog’s ears.
Beth glared from behind her partner and was preparing to object to the mutts presence when Erin added
“Riley is my emotional support dog, she really helps a lot in crowds like this.” She said, indicating toward the gathering in the house.
Beth clenched her jaw and spoke through gritted teeth. “Really? That’s…so cool.”
“I hope it’s okay that she’s here.” Erin inquired innocently.
Seer turned their attention away from Riley to look back at Erin. “Of course it is.” They said earnestly. “Why wouldn’t it be?” They looked to Beth for confirmation.
“Of course it is.” Beth’s smile didn’t reach her eyes and her fist balled up behind her back. “What kind of…total sociopath would I have to be to kick out someone’s emotional support dog?” She asked rhetorically as her eye twitched.
An idea struck Beth and her smile turned genuine if a little smug.
“Oh but, Beautiful. Should you be petting her then? Aren’t you supposed to avoid emotional support animals like the plague so they don’t get distracted?” Beth tried to insist innocently.
“Uh oh, you might be right- wait, what was that middle bit?” Seer cocked their head to the side.
“No no, that’s more for proper service animals. It’s fine if Riley is a bit distracted, as long as she’s nearby she’s doing her job.” Erin clarified.
“Is that how that works?” Beth tried to keep the annoyance out of her voice. “Thank you so much for clarifying that Erin.”
Seer furrowed their brow. “Everything okay babe?”
“Yep! All good.” Beth tried to sound enthusiastic. “This is fine .”
The last guest left in the late hours of the night. Seer smiled as they returned from seeing them off at the front door. Beth was sitting on the couch scrolling through her phone. They hadn’t gotten to see her as much that night as they had hoped.
They strolled over and sat down next to their girlfriend leaning into her side.
“Hey babe, watcha looking at?” They asked as they cuddled closer.
“Uh, nothing really.” She answered without looking up.
“Hmm, well the last straggler is out the door. So it’s just us.” They rested their head on Beth’s shoulder.
“Yeah.” She replied non-committedly.
“So I was thinking we could break in the new couch with some wolf cuddles? Then maybe later break in the bed?” They kissed Beth's neck up to her ear.
“Oh, so now you’re interested in me?” Beth said passive aggressively as she shuffled down the couch.
“What?” Seer gaped at her, utterly confused by the sudden distance between them.
“Well it seemed like you were a lot more interested in one of the guests. Maybe you should try asking her.” Beth accused, as she put her phone down as she turned to face Seer fully.
“Excuse me? I am not interested in any of our friends! What are you talking about?” Seer defended.
“Oh well you could have fooled me. You were all over her the entire night!” Beth stood up from the couch and paced back and forth.
“Beth, you know that means nothing. We talked about this and you said you were okay with it.” Seer reminded their girlfriend of the long discussion the two had about boundaries.
“We did not talk about this . If we did I would never have said I was okay with it. You were petting her right in front of me!” Beth shot back with a pained expression.
“Oh my god, I was not petting anyone!” Seer stood up to match Beth’s position. “I wouldn’t even do something like that in front of people with you!”
“Well you were , you were petting her belly, I saw it!” Beth insisted as her voice raised and eyes narrowed.
“What the hell are you-” Seer desperately searched their memory for any situation that could have been misconstrued as something so bizarre and intimate.
They abruptly realized their interactions with one guest fit the description of Beth’s accusations. “Wait the dog?! Riley?”
“Can’t believe you said her name.” Beth shook her head and faced away from her partner.
“Oh dear lord.” The ridiculousness of the situation hit them in full force. They buried their head in their hands. “You’re jealous of Erin’s emotional support dog?”
“Well excuse the fuck outta me, but it’s kinda hard not to be when you were so much more interested in petting her than me.” Beth threw up her hands in frustration.
“I was not more interested in her than you, you weren’t shifted and she was there. You can’t blame me for wanting to cuddle with a cute dog when you aren’t in your wolf form.” Seer looked up at their girlfriend as they tried to argue.
“Wow, okay, first of all that bitch’s coat was mid at best.” Beth declared. “So I really think you need to get your eyes checked if you actually think she’s cute.”
Seer let out a disbelieving laugh.
“It’s true and you know it. Brindle is a ‘pick me’ bitch color and I’ve seen used motel towels that were more fluffy.” Beth continued. “Not to mention, she didn’t even really like cuddling you that much.”
“What?” Seer asked bewildered.
“Yeah, she wasn’t into it. Trust me I would know, shifters have a good sense of what dogs are really feeling. We can read their body language better. And she,” Beth gestured out to the front door the guests left through “was totally just putting up with you.”
“Beth you’re being ridiculous.” Seer deadpanned.
“No, what's ridiculous is that Erin's emotional support dog is emotionally frigid.” Beth shot back with a glare.
“You weren’t hitting the right spot when you were scratching her ears either.” Beth gestured to her partner. “So you know, zero chemistry there.”
Seer’s brow furrowed as they thought back to their interactions with Riley. Wondering if Beth's accusation held any merit.
“I don’t know why you think it was fun cuddling her when you have someone right here who actually enjoys it. Honestly, would you prefer it if I was less responsive? Because that sounds insane to me but whatever.” Beth’s question was dripping with petty sarcasm.
Seer let out a heavy sigh. They quickly concluded that Beth was throwing nonsense accusations out because she was upset. They also concluded that they’d much rather move past this argument and spend quality time with Beth. They decided to indulge her ego. It wasn’t like they’d be lying anyway. Just exaggerating.
“Really I feel bad for Erin, her emotional support dog sucks. She should get a new one.” Beth muttered out further slander.
“Beth, baby.” Seer spoke softly and approached their girlfriend.
“What, are you seriously gonna keep defending her?” Beth asked as she huffed and turned her head.
“No, I was gonna say that you’re right.” They rubbed their hands down Beth’s arms to where her hands were balled up. “Mostly, I mean. Please don’t say any of that in front of Erin. She really loves Riley. But you’re right.”
They raised Beth’s hands to their lips and kissed them open. Beth looked like the wind had gone out of her sails a little but she still stubbornly refused to look at Seer.
“You are so much prettier than her. Your coat is much fluffier, I love brushing it and running my hands through it. You know that.” They reached up to loosely loop their arms around Beth’s neck and gently pulled her down.
Beth stole a single glance to look at Seer. She still faced away but allowed herself to be pulled down closer. “Yeah?” She asked, suspicious, but eager to hear more.
“Of course baby.” Seer kissed up Beth’s jaw to her cheek.
Beth stayed quiet but put her hands on Seer’s waist.
“I meant it when I said I was only petting her because you weren’t in your wolf form. You are the only one I ever really want to snuggle with like that.” They ran a hand through Beth’s short hair and lightly scratched at her scalp.
Beth let out a heavy sigh in relief. The tension in her shoulders easing under Seer’s touch.
“And you’re right. She was just disappointing compared to you. I was cuddling her but I was thinking of you the entire time.” They spoke softly next to Beth’s ear as they kissed up the side of her neck.
Beth held them tighter as a smug grin began tugging at her lips. “Mmhmm, really? You better not just be saying that, Beautiful.”
“Never. I was so looking forward to when the guests would leave. I couldn’t stop thinking about how I wanted to snuggle you all night long. Can I still have that?” Seer’s voice turned pleading.
“Can I please cuddle my favorite puppy?” The hand that wasn’t buried in Beth’s hair reached up and lightly stroked the sensitive skin just behind her ear.
Beth leaned down and lifted her partner up by the back of their thighs. Seer gasped out a surprised laugh. Beth walked them both back to the couch and lightly tossed Seer into the cushions. She then shifted quickly as she fell down on top of her partner squishing them into the couch.
Beth’s massive wolf head nudged into Seer as she cuddled into them.
Seer laughed at Beth’s insistent contact. They scratched behind her ears. “Thank you puppy.”
They planted a kiss in her snout. “Now let’s watch some cartoons.”
Beth’s head remained in Seer’s lap for the three episodes the two watched, her tail lazily wagging whenever her partner’s hands ran through her fur.
“You know you’re my best girl, right? I’m sorry I made you jealous.” Seer said after they finished watching. Beth, unable to respond, looked up at Seer and cuddled closer.
“I love you too.” They stroked between Beth’s eyes.
“If you’re feeling better, we could do the rest of what I had planned tonight?” Seer offered with a sultry smile.
They were halfway to the bedroom before they realized Beth shifted back to human form and picked them up.