The Misadventures of Kade and Celine

Celine was fairly certain that she floated instead of walked to the Rose and Raven, breezing through the door and spotting Tillie behind the bar. Tillie saw her coming and stopped what she was doing, an oddly excited glint in her eye. Celine bounded forward, leaving Kade chuckling behind her. Celine showed her friend the ring with a flourish and Tillie shrieked.

“He finally did it!” she exclaimed, awkwardly hugging Celine across the bar.

“You knew!” Celine said accusingly, then she laughed. Tillie’s brown eyes twinkled as she grinned.

“The waiting was killing me,” Tillie said. Kade came up behind Celine and she could feel him rolling his eyes.

“I told you, the moment had to be just right,” he said.

“So, where did he end up doing it?” Tillie asked casually.

“The Ferris wheel, at the carnival,” Celine replied and Tillie flashed Kade a slightly smug look.

“The carnival, hm?”

Kade heaved a sigh. “Yes, Tillie, the carnival.”

“I told him about the carnival,” Tillie told Celine and Celine laughed as Kade made a grumbling noise and sat on the stool next to her. Celine reached over to hold his hand.

“You’ll be my maid of honor, right, Tillie?”

“Do you even need to ask?” Tillie laughed. She beamed at the two of them. “Look at you,” she cooed. “Celine, positively glowing. Kade, looking relieved and happy to be here.”

Kade made a face at her and she laughed again. “I’m kidding. Here, have a toothpick. Really, I’m so happy for you two. In fact, I think I have some of the good quality pixie champagne in the back.”

She bustled off and Celine leaned over to kiss Kade’s cheek.

“She’s not totally wrong,” he said. “I am happy to be here.”

Celine cocked her head. “So, if just over a year ago someone had told you that you were going to fall in love with the ‘dhampir princess’ and move into a cute house and get engaged, would you have believed them?”

“Not if they were the greatest psychic on earth,” Kade laughed. “Well, actually. I could maybe believe them about me falling for the princess. The princess falling for me would be harder to swallow.”

Celine rested an elbow on the bar and propped her head on her free hand, studying him. He reached over to tap her lightly on the nose. “Something on your mind?”

“I think I fell in love you when you tired to steal my pillow at the Golden Laurels,” Celine said. His eyebrows shot up.

“What?”

“I threw a pillow at you because you were trying to annoy me, and you said you were keeping it. I went to take it back and I got a fluttery feeling that I tried to ignore at first, because I thought you didn’t like me.”

“So that’s why you gave me another pillow,” he said. “I’m pretty sure I fell in love with you when you threw the martini in my face, I just didn’t know it yet.”

Celine winced. “Will you please not bring up the martini thing anymore? I feel really bad about it. I don’t even remember why I threw it at you. It wasn’t even my drink.”

Kade laughed and kissed her hand. Tillie returned triumphantly with the bottle of champagne she’d been looking for, popping the cork and pouring them each a glass.

“To the disgustingly adorable couple,” she toasted. Celine sipped the drink and immediately sneezed as the excessive bubbles tickled her nose, making Tillie and Kade laugh. They stayed and chatted with Tillie for a while, she and Celine already discussing possible wedding venues. Kade just leaned on the bar sipping his champagne and watching her.

“You two have the night off, so go home to your pretty lovenest and stare at each other adoringly,” Tillie said. But Celine turned back from the door and hurried back around the bar, startling Tillie with a tight hug.

“What was that for?”

“You're my best friend and I wanted to say thank you,” Celine said. “You’re really supportive of me, and us. It means a lot to me. And you’re nice to Kade.”

Tillie smiled, shrugging. “I grew up in an area that didn’t have a lot of wolves of any kind. I was in a tight knit mixed pack, because we had to look out for each other. Besides, Kade is a good guy and he loves you. And you’re happy, and that’s really all that matters to me because I love you too. Now scoot, your fiancé is waiting for you.”

Celine returned to Kade, who was waiting by the door.

“What was that?” he asked as they stepped outside.

“I was thanking Tillie for being Tillie,” Celine replied. “And she says you’re a good guy, by the way.”

“So I have her fooled too, huh?” Kade joked. Celine elbowed him softly.

“Stop it,” she laughed. “You’re amazing.”

They wandered around for a while, with no real destination in mind. But when they passed the confectioner’s Celine brightened.

“Oh, I’ve been meaning to get more of those little bon bons,” she said. “I’ll be right back.” She zipped inside, procuring sweets for her stash at home. When she stepped out with her box, she noticed Kade talking to a red haired man. He didn’t look thrilled about it. Celine approached, realizing as she got closer that the nervous looking man was like Kade; she recognized the yellow cast to his eyes. Kade noticed Celine first, and was clearly trying not to grimace. He started to make some excuse to the man about how he had to leave, but Celine intercepted.

“Hello,” she said, smiling politely at the man. He did a double take when he realized she was talking to him and his face turned red.

“Uh, hello,” he replied.

“Kade, are you going to introduce me to your friend?”

“No,” Kade mumbled. Celine gave him a look and he sighed.

“This is Bob,” he said. “Bobby Hale.”

Celine rolled her eyes when he didn’t elaborate. She turned to Bobby. “I’m Celine,” she said. “Kade’s fiancée.”

The man seemed shocked by this introduction, and also too flustered to look at her for more than two seconds at a time.

“Oh, that’s…fiancée, wow. That’s great. You’re very…I mean, it’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too,” Celine said. “I didn’t know there were any other wolf shifters in the city.” She didn’t like the term Mutt; Kade used it all the time but she staunchly refused to say it.

“Oh, there’s a few of us,” Bobby said. “That’s what I was just telling Kade. We meet up pretty regularly, in fact we were going to get together tomorrow night.”

“Really?” Celine perked up at the same time Kade said, “I’m busy tomorrow night.”

Celine slid him a sideways look and he carefully avoided meeting her gaze.

“Busy, are you?” she asked. He coughed.

“Yeah, we have that…thing, tomorrow.”

“No, I’m pretty sure I cancelled that thing tomorrow,” Celine said.

“I’m pretty sure you didn’t.”

“Oh, I think that I did.”

She turned to Bobby again. “Why don’t you give us the information of where you guys will be tomorrow, in case Kade decides to come,” she said sweetly. Bobby fumbled a pen and piece of paper out of his briefcase, hastily scribbling an address on it. Celine took it before Kade could, knowing he’d just “accidentally” lose it. She thanked him and then steered Kade up the street, toward home.

“So, when exactly were you planning on telling me you’d met Bob Hale?” she asked when they’d returned home. Kade looked like he was sucking on a lemon.

“Uh…eventually?” he said. He slumped into a seat at the kitchen table while Celine made coffee.

“Liar.” Celine shook her head, handing him a mug of coffee. “This is good news, Kade. It would be good for you to know some other wolves.”

“Celine, Mutts don’t really have packs and full moon parties.”

“Wolves,” she repeated, wrinkling her nose. “You’re not a Mutt. And I still think you should at least give it a chance. I don’t like you being alone.”

“I’m not alone, I have you.”

“But…what if that’s not enough?”

Kade choked on his coffee, then winced as he jerked and spilled hot liquid on himself.

“Not enough?” he repeated, holding his wet shirt away from his chest. “You’re everything.”

“I know, and you’ll always have me. But I’m not a wolf and I can only help you so much with wolf stuff and you only got scratched in the first place trying to help me and I worry about you being unhappy-“

“Hey, hey.” Kade took her hands. “I am happy, and it’s not your fault I became a Mutt-“

“Wolf,” Celine corrected. Kade smiled softly.

“Please don’t be upset, Celine. If it means that much to you I’ll go meet them, at least. But you’re more than enough and I really don’t need anyone besides you. Don’t forget that, okay?”

Celine nodded, leaning forward and kissing him. She drew back and laughed slightly. “Maybe you’d better go change your shirt.”