Arrival

Phelan stepped out of his plane followed closely by his gamma and two warriors. All four men were eager to reach their destination. The sooner the better. It would be easier for Crescent Moon to ambush them on the rest of there travel. They had no way of knowing whether Cullen's spies were aware of them making this journey or not. They would be safer once the reached the Long Mounain pack's territory.

After researching the the names on the guest list they had discovered that two of the Alphas that were invited to the celebration had territorial borders near what had been the Dark Moon territory. Phelan was eager to discuss the attack on Dark Moon with them. He thought that it would be an opportune time to also start negotiating an alliance with them. Phelan had phoned ahead the day before and discussed the matter with Alpha Mixon. The two of them had arranged an Alphas meeting for the night of his arrival.

Long Mountain pack, although quite large in size, was considerably smaller than Red River. They didn't have their an airport with a landing strip adequate enough to accomodate his private jet. So, Phelan and his men had to fly into a neighboring pack's air field. This meant that they still had a two hour drive ahead of them in order to reach the pack house where they would be staying for the weekend. As Phelan exited the jet and reached the bottom of the stairs he was approached by a tall blonde haired wolf.

"Good morning to you Alpha Mchughes. My name is Samuel and I am a warrior for Long Mountain Pack. I've come in my Alphas limo to drive you to our pack house. Do you require any assistance with your luggage, sir?" Samual asked and waited eagerly for any instruction.

"Hello Samuel. Thank you for your service. I don't belive we will need assistance with our bags. Perhaps a bite to eat along the way though. If of course it wouldn't be too much trouble." Phelan replied.

"Absolutely no trouble at all, sir. Right this way to the car", with that Samuel turned and led the way to the limo.

Once all four men and their things were loaded comfortably inside the car, Samuel jumped into the driver's seat and proceeded to drive away from the air field. Phelan's men made small talk with their driver, while Phelan quietly watched the scenery pass by. The pack's town that they had landed in was a decent sized town. Nowhere near the size of his Red River city, but nice just the same. He imagined that Long Mountain was probably a much smaller, quaint town. Concidering that they didn't have a landing field that could accomodate his jet. It was an inconvenience, however, not a terrible one as the scenery was nice to look at. As they cruised through the countryside munching on their brunch Phelan quite enjoyed his site seeing ride. Passing the time thinking to himself how nice it would be to go for a run and let Lobo free to run through these fields and forests.

Two hours after landing they found themselves in front of a four story mansion. It was now mid day. Looking around Phelan was impressed with how the lawns and hedges were so well manicured. Wolves were busy running here and there obviously busy with preparations for the next day's birthday celebration for their Alpha's daughter. Lobo shook with happiness over being here causing his human counterpart to chuckle to himself. Samuel motioned for a couple men to come and gather the luggage and then led the way into the Pack house. Stepping inside they were greeted warmly by the Luna. "Hello gentleman. I am Luna Freya Mixon. Welcome to our home. We are so glad you were able to take time from your busy schedules to help us cellebrate our daughters eighteenth birthday and attend her coming of age party. We all hope that you will enjoy your stay with us." She smiled sweetly at each of them and then took Phelan by the arm and escorted the men to their rooms on the third floor. As she led them through the house she took time to point out family portraits and give a brief history of the pack. She also made sure to point out important areas to the men telling them to please make themselves at home. As they passed a few of the other guests along the way the Luna was gracious enough to make the necessary introductions.

Soon they were standing next to the three rooms that were designated for their weekend stay. There was one room for the two warriors, one room for Thomas, his gama, and the grandest room was reserved for Phelan. As Luna Freya finished showing Phelan his room she explained to him the itenerary. "Alpha Phalen, once again, I would like to say welcome to our home. I trust you will find your room accommodating. Our pack hopes that you enjoy your stay. Feel free to rest or wander our grounds as you please. I do apologize for my husband's abcense at the moment. As you know we have a lot to do to get ready for tomorrow and my husband is currently very busy handling some pack business. However, dinner will be served promptly at five o'clock this evening, he will be attending and recieving all of our guests then. I know that he looks forward to meeting you. He will be holding a meeting with all of the Alphas tonight at nine pm. I do apologize for it being scheduled at such a late hour. But it was necessary to do so. You see he wanted to be sure to allow all the Alphas that would be arriving today a chance to arrive before he scheduled a meet and greet with all of you. Please feel free to spend your afternoon as you please. You are welcome to mengle with our other guests here at the house or out about on the grounds. We also have a lot of lovely countryside to explore if that appeals to you as well. Now i do appologize, but i must leave you. There are other guests arriving soon that I must recieve and plenty of preparations to over see."

"Of course, Luna. Thank you for your gracious hospitality. My men and I look forward to meeting your husband at dinner this evening. Until then, thank you for sharing your daughter's celebration with us." Phalen held the door open for her as she left. Closing the door behind her he took some time to look around the room and found it to be quite accommodating. There was even a kitchenette complete with a fully stocked pantry, refrigerator, and even a wine cooler and mini bar. He reached into the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water before changing into a t-shirt, gym shorts, and tennis shoes. Phelan was anxious to turn Lobo loose for a while before dinner that evening. When he was changed he quickly mind linked his men that he wanted to go for a run.

He didn't have to wait long before there was a knock on his door. One of his warriors, Chadwick, popped his head inside the room to let him know he was ready. They had discussed this very protocol before leaving Red River. The four men would either stay together or if they separated, it would be that one warrior would travel with the Alpha and the other would stay with the Gama. This way no one wolf was ever alone. They couldn't be too cautious. "Ready to go sir?" Chad asked.

"Yes Chad, let's go stretch our legs for awhile." Phelan clapped his comrade on the shoulder as he left his room and headed down the stairs. Once they were on the ground floor he and his warrior proceeded through the main areas to the back lawn of the Pack house. As the two wolves stepped out onto the lawn they paused momentarily to take in all the commotion. Pack members rushed here and there setting up the party area. Some were placing decorations. While others were building a stage and dance floor on the lawn. It was clear that this was to be quite an event. Everyone was going above and beyond to ensure tomorrows festivities were something to remember always.

Watching all the goings-on brought back memories of the parties that his own parents used to have. His mother spared no expense when it came to celebrating her mate or her children. Family was always their highest priority. Family was everything. He remembered how devastated his parents had been when his brother died. His older brother had just turned eighteen. He had found his mate and was beyond excited. The young girl was a member of their pack. The night Alexander died he had taken the girl to dinner and a movie. A normal teenage activity. Witnesses had reported how they had seen the young couple walk out of the theater hand in hand, smiling and laughing, clearly so in love. As they approached Alexander's car they had stopped and embraced one another. In the intersection just beyond the theater parking lot a car had ran the red-light. In an attempt to avoid a collision a delivery truck had swerved, hitting the curb and losing control. The young couple never knew what hit them.

Pulling himself back to the present, Phalen took one last look around and sighed. He silently hoped that whoever this female was, she appreciated her loving family. That she wasn't just another spoiled Alpha's daughter. With one last look at the preparations he proceeded on across the length of the lawn to the edge of the woods. There he and Chadwick found a wooden chest. Quickly they stripped out of their clothes and stored them there before shifting into their wolves and racing away into the forest. The warm autumn breeze tickled their fur as they ran. The yellow, brown, red, and orange leaves were just splashes of color in their peripheral vision. Lobo yipped and howled as he ran. He was so very happy to finally be set free outside of an urban setting. Chadwick's wolf Adonis happily ran at his Alpha's flank. He was also thrilled to be set free. But even still he paid carefull attention to their surroundings. His ears caught every woodland sound. His nose didn't miss a single scent.

The two ran for over an hour before coming to a little brook at the edge of an open meadow. After quenching their thirst Phelan climbed up onto a fallen tree and surveyed the open area. He watched as the wind blew leaves from the surrounding woodland. He realized that they were upwind of the meadow. Lobo sensed another wolf nearby. But with the wind blowing away from him he was having trouble scenting the other werewolf. Feeling uneasy he turned to Adonis who was also on edge. Unless the other shifter presented themselves they had no way of knowing if they were friend or foe. Phalen decided to err on the side of precaution and had Lobo signal to Adonis that they should go.

They used the cover of the trees to circle around the entire perimeter of the meadow. After checking all around, Lobo hesitantly stepped towards the open meadow. He was feeling very uneasy. But with no obvious threat presenting itself he snuffed one last time before turning and heading back to the mansion. They had been out longer than he had intended. It was already twenty til five when they returned. The two quickly shifted and grabbed their clothes from the wooden chest.

Phalen, barely had enough time to shower and dress for dinner. He reached the crowded dining area by 5:03pm. It embarrassed him that he was late, even if it was only three minutes. He prided himself on keeping his word and always being punctual. As he and Chadwick stood surveying the large dining area his gama's voice rang out in his mind, "Alpha our table is near the front, we are seated with Alpha Mixon and his family." Turning and looking towards the front of the dining room he quickly spotted Alpha Mixon and his Luna. His men were seated with them along with a young Alpha he had not yet met.

Phelan immediately apologized to his hosts for being late and noticed that there were three empty seats at the table before taking a seat and joining them.

After he and Chadwick took theirs eats an omega came and provided them with their drinks. Clearing his throat Alpha Mixon stood and addressed the room. "On behalf of the Long Mountain Pack, I, Alpha Mixon, would like to welcome all of our guests. Tomorrow we have planned a brunch to start off the festivities. Followed by a live orchestra and entertainment provided by our friends and allies the White witches. They have promised quite the show. A formal dinner will be served at 4pm followed by music and dancing on the back lawn. For now I hope that each of you have been made comfortable and I hope you have all brought a healthy appetite as our omegas have worked very hard to provide us all with an amazing meal this evening. Later this evening I will be meeting with our honored Alpha guests in the den. We will have brandy and cigars. After business is handled we have scheduled a midnight hunt. We hope you will all join us tonight as I expect an exhilarating time to be shared by all as we kick off our daughter Wren's birthday celebration." At that moment he paused and glanced down at the last remaining empty seat at his table. Then shared a quick look with his wife. Taking a deep breath as if to calm himself, he continued, "I do apologize everyone for my daughters absence. I assure you she will be present for her celebration." Then he again glanced at his Luna again as the guests chuckled over his comment. From across the room an omega gestured to him that the meal was ready before he nodded his head and addressed the room again. "Alright everyone the meal is ready to be served. Please, enjoy."

Phelan glanced disapprovingly at the empty chair now knowing exactly who it was for. Sighing he looked across at the nonexistent daughter's poor parents and noticed that they were obviously having a conversation through their mindlink before turning and making small talk with the table as their omegas served the evening meal. When his plate was set before him he couldn't help but feel irritated with the absent daughter. He was positive now that she must in fact be a selfish, self-centered, spoiled brat. Incapable of gratitude for all that her loving parents and her pack had done for her. Shaking his head he forced a pleasant smile and engaged his hosts in conversation as they all enjoyed the delicious food before them.