Chapter 1 - Mates

"Are you sure this is the pack?" Alpha Gunnar asked his head warrior.

"Yes, they're stealing women and children from human towns. We

need to do a surprise attack. Everyone there is involved." Omar answered, glaring at the pictures on the alpha's desk.

"I'm not too keen on taking out an entire pack. A few are usually involved, but it's rare that an entire pack is corrupt. We're going to do this right. We'll interview the pack members and collect evidence. If we kill everyone, we're just as bad as they are." Gunnar looked at Omar and could see his frustration, but he wasn't willing to wipe out an entire pack without more evidence than just a few pictures.

"Fine, let me see what else I can find." Omar stomped out of the office. Gunnar looked through the pictures again. He couldn't tell if they were humans or wolves from the images. He pushed them aside and got back to reviewing the new warrior recruits.

At the age of twenty-six, he should have his luna by his side. Gunnar hadn't found her yet and refused to mate with anyone other than his fated mate. His parents understood, but the pack was pressuring him to mark one of the unmated she-wolves. He was adamant about finding the one destined to be his. He hadn't remained a virgin all these years just to toss it aside because of what others thought. His wolf, Conan, agreed.

As an alpha, Gunnar was 6'8" and extremely muscular. He was the strongest wolf in the pack. His long shoulder-length sandy blonde hair and green eyes made him look like a large beach bum.

Gunnar looked up when there was a soft knock on the door. He immediately smiled when he saw the little head of curly black hair peek in.

"What are you doing sneaking around here?" He asked his five-year-old niece Polly, who ran in as soon as she saw he was alone.

"I don't want to go with Gram and Gramps. I want to stay and do alpha work." She answered, crawling up onto his lap. Gunnar hugged her and kissed the top of her head. Her parents were killed by a group of rogues that attacked their pack last year. He and his parents had been caring for her, but she preferred to be with Gunnar.

"Where do they want to take you?" He asked his favorite little distraction. Even when he was in his worst mood, she could bring a smile to his face.

"Shopping. Yuck. Why do I need to go shopping? I'm a wolf. If I could shift into Cami, I would stay a wolf all the time, then I wouldn't need clothes." Polly picked up a pen and started writing on a blank piece of paper.

"Maybe we can talk them into leaving you with me while they shop. You can help me make some important decisions." She looked up at him with green eyes that matched his.

"Like, what flavor of ice cream we can have for dessert? Or what movie we should watch before we go to bed? Those are very, very important, Uncle Gunny." She returned to writing on her paper as her grandmother walked in with her hands on her hips.

"There you are, you little rascal. We were getting ready to drive away when she jumped out of the car and said she had too much work to do. I swear I don't know what I'm going to do with her." Gunnar laughed as Polly continued to write as if she couldn't hear anything her grandmother had said.

Marisa was still a beautiful woman with a tall, fit figure. Her blonde hair was up in a twist that showed off her high cheekbones. Gunnar looked like her, except for her dark chocolate brown eyes.

"I'm sorry, Mom, but I told her she could be my assistant today. You almost took her away from her responsibilities." Polly tried to hide her giggles when Marisa glared at her son.

"You know covering for that wild little pup isn't going to help her in the future?" Marisa said with a sigh.

"Maybe not, but who's going to mess with her when she's the alpha's niece?" Gunnar answered, kissing the little princess's head.

"Fine. Stay here, but I don't want to hear you complain about the clothes we get for you." Polly giggled excitedly at getting her way. Once her grandmother was gone, her uncle looked at her with a smirk.

"You know she's going to make you wear dresses every day for not going?" She shrugged.

"I don't care. I'll just take them off. When are you going to find your mate so I can stay with her when you're busy?" Polly asked like he hadn't been trying to do that for years.

"It's not that easy, little one. I want to find her too." He sat back and let her continue working on whatever she was writing. Gunnar wondered where his mate was and what she looked like. Whoever she was, he couldn't wait to find her. His door burst open with a bang as he was lost in his thoughts.

"Omar, what the hell are you doing?" Gunnar asked when Polly jumped so high she almost fell off his lap.

"I have proof. Look at this. Live footage of them kidnapping people just a few minutes ago." Omar showed a video of several people being taken from the streets in a town nearby. He couldn't see who the kidnappers were, though.

"How do you know it's them? I can't see their faces." Omar flipped to another video of the humans being dragged through the forest toward what he assumed was The Last Moon Pack.

"I've been watching them long enough to know it's them. We need to go before they can kill or sell those people. You can stay here, alpha. The warriors can handle this." Gunnar didn't like to fight, but he wasn't going to let a bunch of hot-headed warriors loose on their own. He looked down at Polly. His parents were gone. What was he going to do with her? She looked up at him through narrowed eyes.

"I'm going with you," She said with confidence.

"If it comes to a battle, it's no place for a pup." She looked up at him with her little arms crossed.

"Fine, but you better make it up to me later," she said, jumping off his lap. "I'll go stay with Irena. She's always making cookies for the pups."

Gunnar let her leave. Irena was one of the elders; no one knew her actual age. They assumed she was over a hundred, but she could be closer to two hundred. Polly loved her because she spoiled the little pups.

"Let's go," He said, standing up. Omar hesitated.

"You really don't need to come. We got this," Gunnar didn't like his attitude.

"I said I'm going. Do I need to remind you who the alpha is?" Omar immediately backed down and shook his head.

"I'll get the others ready," Omar said. Gunnar watched him leave with an uneasy feeling in his stomach. Why was Omar adamant that he didn't need to go? He'd be sure to keep an eye on him.

_________________

Bianca laughed at her little sister splashing around in the pond. She was sure Trisha was more fish than wolf. There was a fourteen-year age gap between them. Their parents had trouble conceiving pups, which was unusual in the shifter world.  

Bianca was eighteen with long, wavy, golden-brown hair, hazel eyes, and a petite figure. She had hoped to meet her mate the day she turned eighteen, but almost a year later, she still hadn't met him.  

Her dad was the alpha of The Last Moon Pack. He was disappointed that he had no sons, so he planned to hand over the pack to whoever Bianca mated with. That caused a rift between her and her parents. They wanted a male alpha, and she didn't understand why they couldn't make her alpha. Other packs had female alphas.

"Okay, Trisha, it's time to get back." The little pup shook her head and jumped back into the pond. She reminded Bianca of the little mermaid with her long red hair and teal-blue eyes. Trisha didn't look anything like anyone in their family. 

"Almost done." She squealed when she saw Bianca was coming for her.

"If you want a surprise for dessert, you better come with me now. You know mom only lets me give you treats when you listen." Trisha immediately jumped out of the water and ran to her sister. The only thing she enjoyed more than swimming was eating. She was so tiny, but she ate like a man.

As they headed back to the packhouse, Bianca heard the sound of shouting. Wolves were running all over, and then she got a mindlink.

"The Shadow Howlers are here, and it looks like they came to fight," Her dad said in the mindlink to the pack. Why would The Shadow Howlers come to their pack? They were the pack that basically policed other packs, but The Last Moon Pack hadn't done anything wrong. In fact, they were so vanilla that Bianca hoped her mate would take her away. She picked Trisha up and ran toward the pack house. They got to the front porch just as the warriors arrived.

"What's this about?" Bianca's dad, Alpha Karl, asked them.

"We're here because your pack has been kidnapping human women and children. The alpha of The Shadow Howlers has sent us to eliminate you." The giant warrior in the front said. Bianca looked around for their alpha. She'd heard of Alpha Gunnar but had never met him. He had the reputation of being a fair man. Where was he? There had to be a mistake.

"That's absurd. We've never done any such thing. Please look around, and you'll see for yourself." The Last Moon's pack of warriors had shifted and were now flanking the alpha, beta, and their families.

"We don't need to look around. We have video proof. Now line up," The pack members began screaming and crying. Bianca didn't understand what was happening. How could they think this? Their pack was small and never had any conflicts with anyone. They didn't have any real fighters. As the pack began to line up, there was a loud howl in the distance.

Bianca's heart started racing. Her wolf, Jenna, began howling in her head. Who was that? She was no longer focused on the warriors. She was looking for the source of that howl. Her blood ran cold when an enormous black wolf came from behind the warriors, growling. Was this wolf going to kill them?   

He put himself between the pack and the warriors before turning his back to the pack. He continued growling as each of the Shadow Howler warriors fell to their knees in front of him. He stepped into the forest and out walked the most beautiful man Bianca had ever seen. When she caught his scent, her mouth watered. He smelled like fresh-cut wood and a sea breeze. She felt lightheaded as she stared at him.

He only wore a pair of athletic shorts, leaving his top half bare. Bianca had an impulse to run to him, but she stopped herself. When the man began talking, it felt like he was covering her body in warm honey.

"I must apologize to you. I'm Alpha Gunnar of The Shadow Howlers. My head warrior showed me evidence that you had been kidnapping humans. When I looked closer at the evidence, I couldn't determine if what he said was true, so I wanted to do more investigating. Omar?" Alpha Gunnar looked at the warriors, and the large one in front stepped forward, his neck bare in submission.

"Yes, alpha." He answered in more of a growl. 

"Why have you set out to destroy this pack?" Gunnar asked. However, it wasn't Omar who answered.

"I can tell you why." Bianca looked over and saw Natalie walk forward with her mate. "My name is Natalie, and this is my mate Josh. Omar was my boyfriend, but I left him once I found my mate. He's angry and is attacking our pack to get back at me."

Everyone in the pack gasped and looked toward the warrior who was glaring at Natalie and her mate. Alpha Gunnar looked ready to kill.

"Is this true, Omar? Were you going to kill an entire pack because of your jealousy?" Omar looked at Alpha Gunnar and shook his head.

"There's more to it than that. Yes, I was upset about her, but that's not why I came here." Gunnar didn't believe him. 

"You are no longer a warrior for the Shadow Howlers. You will be taken to the dungeons immediately, and I will decide on your punishment later. Warriors take him away." The other warriors dragged Omar off the Last Moon pack lands as Gunnar turned back to the pack.  

When he got ready to speak, he took a deep breath, and his eyes widened. What was that smell? It smelled like lilacs and chamomile, making a soothing perfume. When his eyes fell on the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, they instinctively stepped toward each other, speaking simultaneously.

"Mate."