~~

Falena

~~

I was currently standing in my Alpha's office. Landon Clayton, the leader of the felines for this area. The problem with us felines is that we're usually solitary creatures that like to stick with just our own family and not a lot of others. If there are too many of us around we tend to fight and argue. I was an exception to the rule really. I didn't mind having the others near me.

Maybe it was me being different that had landed me the Gamma position. I don't know how I felt about that though. I had been Landon's Gamma since he took over the position of Alpha when his dad died. Everyone used to think that Landon and I would end up together but that was so never going to happen. I saw the man as my brother and gagged at the thought of being with him that way.

Maybe it was because I saw him as a brother that I tended to get annoyed by his aloof attitude. If anyone I ever met personified the image of a house cat, it was Landon. He always seemed so lazy.

He wasn't really that bad though, because he really did work harder than everyone else I knew. But his attitude, such a house cat.

"Hey, Lena, do you remember Reece?"

"Yeah, I remember him." I said as I put my hand on my chin, remembering back to the last time I saw Reece. "He's a wolf, and he's an Alpha now too, right?"

"Yeah, he and I were good friends as kids since we were the same age and went to school together. Not overly close but we hung out from time to time."

"What about him?" I asked Landon, hoping he would cut to the chase.

"Well, he's getting married next week."

"Landon!" I snapped at him, knowing exactly where this was going.

"Lena?" He gave me that lazy smile he thought helped him to win every argument. Dammit, I hate that it worked.

"Why can't you go to this damn wedding yourself. He's your friend not mine."

"You know I am too busy for that. I have to run this damn company and this fucking pack. It's not like I am rolling in spare time."

"That's because you refuse to let anyone else do anything for you. You insists on being the one to do everything. If you shared the damn-."

"I'm not arguing with you." He snapped at me. "And I'm not asking. Go to the damn wedding as my envoy and present a peaceful attitude."

That was how it all went down. That was how I ended up coming to Reece Gray's estate to attend his wedding. I had to wear a dress to this thing and that wasn't really me either. I would rather be wearing fur. My fur. While I ran free through the mountains.

I first went up to Reece before finding my place for the ceremony. This was how Alpha weddings went. First I would greet the groom and then after the ceremony I would meet and introduce myself to the new Luna. I was used to this since it wasn't the first time Landon sent me to one of these things.

"Reece, it is good to see you. Congratulations on your wedding, I cannot wait to meet your mate." I hugged him lightly with a smile.

"It is good to see you Lena." He hugged me back. "Make sure you tell Landon he needs to come himself next time." Oh if you only knew Reece, if you only knew. I wish I could get that good for nothing out of that damn house.

The ceremony was beautiful, and the bride looked amazing. It honestly made me wish I could find someone to call my own. I wanted to have the whole mate thing too, dammit, I was twenty-four now after all. What, was I not good enough for anyone to call their own?

I was just enjoying the reception, there were so many people around that it was actually kind of annoying me. That cat part of me was still intact, I hated being in really large crowds. I was enjoying the food though, so it was well worth the time spent suffering here.

I watched as first Trevor Jacoby, the bear Alpha, introduced himself. Then came the warlocks. I was next after them. Slowly, I made my way to Reece's table to meet his new bride, Trinity. She was pretty, but so much younger than me. How come she had a mate already and I didn't.

I was into the opening near their table now, just beyond the swell of the people. And that's when the scent finally hit me. There was the unmistakable mewling inside my head that told me that I had just found my mate. The lynx inside of me was purring uncontrollably and screaming one word over and over.

"Mate. Mate. Mate."

I can't believe it, he was here. Who was he? Who was this man that my lynx was smelling? He smelled like cocoa and raspberries, it was intoxicating. That's when I saw him stand up, a gasp coming from his slightly parted lips. His gray eyes were locked onto mine, his silver hair shining in the sun, and that body, so perfect, so tones, so yummy looking.

~~

Shane

~~

I had thought that this day was just going to be boring with nothing much to do. Except watch the damn wedding. Don't get me wrong, I love Trinity and Reece like they were part of my own family, but weddings were boring. And I was still here under a partially official capacity so I couldn't even look for a new date.

This was going to be hell for me.

Still I put a smile on my face and did my job properly. I did quite enjoy the way things were going after a bit. The ceremony was nice, all things considered, and the food was amazing. I would have expected nothing less from Reece though, he would always want the best.

Following the food, there was a part of the ceremony where the other packs and clans came to introduce themselves to Trinity. The first to come up was Trevor Jacoby, the mountain of a man that was the bear Alpha. I had met the man a few times in my life and I knew he was a good friend of Reece's.

Good friend or not though, I might not have taken his flirting with Trinity like that if I was Reece. But it did look like he was joking so I don't know. I was still laughing at reece saying 'fuck you Winnie the Pooh' when the next envoy came up.

There were three warlocks that came and introduced themselves after Trevor. I always hated how Warlocks had no scent for us so they threw me off. I wonder if a warlock mated with a wolf or other shifter, would they have a scent then? That would be interesting to find out.

I was absentmindedly lost in thought, thinking about my little brain teaser when the next envoy was supposed to be walking up. I didn't even pay attention to who was supposed to be next and so I was thrown through a loop when I noticed my wolf howling inside my head.

'Mate. Mate. Mate. Mate. Mate. Mate.' He was panting and kept repeating the same word over and over again.

I snapped my head in her direction and gasped at the beauty I saw before me. She had long, wavy, dark brown hair. Her eyes looked like they were the color of the sun itself. And her body, so beautiful and so sexy with that narrow waist, firm arms, and that tanned, sun kissed looked. She was perfect.

I couldn't help it then. I stood up and looked at her with my mouth hanging open. She was perfect. And oh that scent. She smelled like a sweet bubbling brook in the mountains that was surrounded by wild berries. Sweet, tart, and frest all at the same time.

"Reece?" I barely registered Trinity's voice as I stared at the woman who had just captured my heart.

"It looks like another of your guards has found a mate. This is very good for the pack." Reece's words barely registered as well, all I wanted was to stare at this woman forever.

"Falena, it looks like this wedding has been very advantageous for you as well as me. I think this is cause for celebration, don't you?" There were cheers and applause ringing through the whole party after Reece spoke again. "Come Lena, let me introduce you." That was when I saw Reece and Trinity start walking over to where the woman was still standing, motionless.

Slowly, as if still in disbelief, the woman walked closer at the same time that I walked closer to my Alpha and Luna. With every step she took, the shock slowly disappeared from her face bringing back her radiant smile. By the time she stood right next to Reece and Trinity, she was beaming at me and I couldn't have been happier.

"Shane, let me introduce you to your mate. This is Falena Areli, a lynx shifter from the Rocky Mountains Pride. Lena, meet Shane Asher, one of my mate's guards and an excellent fighter." I had heard him say her name twice before this but it hadn't registered until right now. All I could do now though was stare into her eyes now that we were standing there face to face.

"Lena." I breathed her name with a sigh and a smile.

"Shane." She smiled right back at me.

"Let's get you two seated together so that you can get to know each other. Lena, come by to see me later tonight or tomorrow." Reece motioned for someone with a wave of his hand and whispered to them. "Please put another place setting at this table for our guest."

I stopped paying attention after that, but I was vaguely aware that there was another mating right after mine. I didn't care though, all I could see was the beauty sitting with me. Falena and I spent the rest of the night talking and getting to know each other. She was twenty-four with a birthday next month in April, I was going to be twenty-seven in August. We both loved nature, had similar tastes in music, and we both had important positions in our packs. I couldn't get enough of her and wanted to see her more. She even lived close by so I could see her quite easily.

We made plans to go on our first date in three nights, it was going to be perfect. I could show her how much of a gentleman I really was and there was nothing keeping us from jumping into this mating with no reservations. We were shifters, and we were mates, that's the majority of the info that we would need to make all of this work out.