“Yeah. It’s faint but it’s definitely her scent. She’s here.”
“I told you lucky number seven,” Luke grinned. Spying their approaching hosts he said, “But let’s keep it together for now.”
Jason growled. His dark eyes swirled amber as Lobo pressed closer wanting nothing more than to tear straight through the pack until he found his mate. He had waited long enough.
“Easy Jace,” Luke muttered feeling Jason’s aura washing over him. “Your mate is here, right? Well we’ll be going on a tour soon so it’ll be the perfect time to find her, right?”
“Right.” Jason breathed deep slowly regaining control.
Lobo whimpered, ‘Mate!’
‘I know. We’ll find her. We are not leaving without her.’
‘Yes! Find Mate!’ Lobo finally receded allowing him to withdraw his aura.
‘Patience, buddy. We’ll find her.’
* * *
Jason stepped out of the bathroom drying his hair before dressing. After a tedious tour of Rimrock’s packhouse and surrounding grounds he now had to sit through a welcome party with his hosts. Lobo impatiently prowled the back of his mind. They had picked up their mate’s scent just about everywhere but it was always faint and impossible to track.
His mate was like a ghost: everywhere and nowhere, except in the packhouse. Oddly enough her scent was everywhere except within it. It was strange. The packhouse was the one place most wolves spent the majority of their time, especially unmated ones. It was only through mingling and meeting others that one found their mate after all. Unless…
Had his mate given up on finding him? Or did she have a mate previously and lost him? Though he was somewhat disappointed he would not be her first, his heart also ached for her if she had gone through the pain of losing a mate. Lobo whimpered his sympathy. In either case they wouldn’t know the answer until they found her.
Dressing in a pair of simple slacks and a button-down shirt Jason was ready long before Luke arrived to collect him. Together they headed to the back patio where tables and decorative lights had been set up. Pack members manned grills and a steady stream of omega servers brought out salads and sides from the kitchen.
Every pack he visited insisted on these welcome parties hoping to impress him. This meant he sat through the same party seven times, only the faces changed. Still it was a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere. Jason saw several of his warriors mingling with the crowd. Aside from Luke, his escort was comprised of unmated wolves.
It was not only difficult for alphas to find their fated mates but also for warriors to find theirs. To help his warriors as much as possible he always traveled with unmated ones giving them the opportunity to search for their mates. Whenever his warriors found their mates he was both happy for them and jealous. But now, finally, he was close to finding his own mate.
Reaching the coolers Jason considered his options. There were bottles of water and a few sodas but most were beer. That fact alone wouldn’t bother him as werewolves’ superior recovery rate eliminated alcohol almost as soon as it was imbibed. However, werewolves had developed their own brews using small amounts of aconite, otherwise known as wolfsbane.
In large amounts the herb was deadly but in small doses in conjunction with alcohol it slowed their recovery rate and allowed them to get drunk. There were three different strengths to this special concoction determined by how much aconite was used. It was easy to tell the strength of the three brews based on the color of the label: blue for the weakest followed by amber and finally red for the strongest.
Looking in the coolers Jason was rather disappointed to see the majority were red-labeled with a few amber ones but no blue. Lobo growled as Jason grabbed an amber-labeled bottle. He supposed it wouldn’t look good for an alpha to walk around with a bottle of soda though he had no intention of drinking the beer in his hand. The red-labeled beer wasn’t even allowed in his own territory.
Greeting nervous pack members he made his way to his host who held one of the red-labeled bottles with two empty ones on the table in front of him. Jason was careful to keep his expression neutral. Lobo hated it when Jason imbibed aconite beer as it caused some pain to their wolf spirits and weakened their connection. Jason wondered if Alpha Graham could even feel his wolf anymore after three.
Luke joined Jason shooting him a glance seeing their host’s growing stock of empty bottles. No doubt the Beta was thinking the same thing he was. They didn’t have a problem with someone kicking back and relaxing but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a need for self-control.
“Alpha Jason,” Luna Kristie greeted sauntering toward him in a rather short skirt and a blouse so tight she was practically bursting out of it. She sidled close to him fondling his arm and making his skin crawl. “How do you like our little party?”
“It’s nice to see the whole pack together,” Jason agreed gritting his teeth trying to control Lobo who wanted nothing more than to rip out her throat as she stroked his arm.
“I’m sure it’s far below what you’re used to,” Luna Kristie smiled batting her eyes. “You’re from an ancient pack so this must be quaint.”
Jason’s brow furrowed trying to figure out if she was complimenting his pack or insulting her own. A pup brushed past them chasing her brother. He chuckled at the pups’ excitement. Tonight must feel like a festival.
Beside him Luna Kristie practically snarled, “Where is that useless, wolfless girl…these spawn are her responsibility.”
Jason frowned. A Luna was the heart and soul of her pack and the one who secured its future. As such lunas were particularly maternal treating all pups like their own. He recalled the rumors Luke mentioned during the drive. Though it was far from proof he found it hard to believe she was a true Luna.
“Finally!” Luna Kristie exclaimed moving away much to his relief.
Jason sighed as the night breeze cleared away her overwhelming perfume. A new scent reached him far more intoxicating than any artificial odor. It was a mix of sage and lilac and made Lobo practically roll onto his back.
‘Mate! Mate is here!’
Jason turned into the breeze and watched as a petite she-wolf stepped onto the patio. She was rather pale for a werewolf but her hair was a mane of rich, walnut brown. Her clothing was simple: turtleneck, denim jacket and jeans that hugged her small frame and teased him with what lay underneath. But it was her eyes that captivated him. Her gaze shimmered silver in the moonlight like captured slivers of the moon itself.
Jason broke into a sweat, his hands went clammy and his throat constricted at the vision in front of him. After a decade of searching he finally found her. And she was perfect. Lobo practically bounced off the walls of his mind. Their mate was here!
“Miss Phoebe!” an excited squeal erupted from the crowd as several pups emerged from the crowd.
They ran up his mate like moths drawn to a flame. A dazzling smile warmed her face as she knelt embracing the first little she-wolf who reached her. They rubbed noses in a familiar gesture usually reserved for mates or between mothers and their pups.
Another she-wolf approached carrying a two-year-old handing off the pup to Jason’s mate. She accepted the pup with open arms. The pup didn’t show the least amount of stress as its mother gave it to another. It was clear the pup was used to these handoffs and contentedly clung to his mate who tenderly nuzzled him.
Phoebe. Her name is Phoebe.
‘Yes! Phoebe!’ Lobo happily whined, eager to learn the name of her wolf.
“I thought I told you I didn’t want to see these heathens while we had guests,” Luna Kristie snapped as she neared Phoebe surrounded by pups.
Phoebe bowed her head, “Sorry Luna. It won’t happen again.”
“It better not. I won’t have our guests’ night ruined by these spawn.”
“Of course, Luna. Come along pups,” Phoebe herded the little ones inside the packhouse and out of view.
“Jace? You okay?”
Jason’s hair bristled as he tried to calm his wolf, ‘Easy.’
‘How dare she talk to Mate like that! I’ll rip her throat out!’ Lobo growled.
‘Easy, let’s be smart about this.’
Jason frowned. It wasn’t right for his mate to bow to any wolf, Luna or no. Kristie’s attitude had been rubbing him the wrong way since his arrival and now he had a hard time controlling his disgust. Jason never heard of a Luna who hated pups or treated them with such contempt, chosen or not.
As his mate disappeared inside, Jason struggled to suppress his urge to follow. He searched for her for so long he wanted to keep her within his sight at all times. But he was the guest of honor and could hardly leave without drawing notice. He had to handle this situation carefully. Alphas were very protective of their territory and there was protocol to follow for a wolf to transfer packs though no one would prevent an alpha from claiming his rightful mate.
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