The dinner went smoothly--Andy had everything under control, including giving his wife a nearly virally sterile environment (as wolves aren't carriers). Announcements from Fall's Creek came from their Gamma, mostly on Timberhull transfers--as often happened between the locals.

That pushed the slowly awakening Alpha to think: his people were big enough for a Gamma and Delta, but it had been several generations since anyone suited to those tasks had descendants. Such realizations told him that if he had been a better man, he would have already had people stepping up to fill those roles.

But he couldn't predict the madness of having a mate like Jodi. An older married woman who was happy with her husband? How could the Goddess choose a woman like that?

Amazing how often his mind drifted back to a lady he met once--and not to the one he had slip through his fingers more recently.

Perhaps trying for Eva's sake started now, even when gone? He knew pack changes had to start here, but things that were about who she was to him?

Trace decided to swipe a small plate of the snake meatballs before he was dragged up to speak for his own people--Andy wasn't leaving Mae's side tonight--or any remaining nights they had.

He bit one in half. Tuna? Chicken? The seasoning was a tad heavier than he was used to, but it was probably his best experience with a new meat. The sauce was like a spaghetti-gravy blend, not too heavy a flavor.

If Eva fed him an hour earlier, it might have softened his mood. No wonder wolves obsessed over meals.

Hell, the same thing while he'd been half drunk and today wouldn't have happened. At this point in his thoughts, Trace was softly laughing at himself, as he took the podium. He was a damned fickle man, easily won. Perhaps he should have told her. She was young enough to not understand males.

"Don't have many announcements, but we have one that's close to Fall's Creek's heart. Three years ago, a little cherub of a wolf stumbled into the ant gulch during a game of hide-and-seek to land at the feet of one of Timberhull's biggest wolves. She was already screaming and running away as he muttered 'Mate' where any of us could hear him."

They always had to pause for laughter, there, because the packs had a century-old agreement for right of crossing. There was no reason to run.

Their meeting was one of his strongest memories before Jodi. He could remember the taste of his jealousy as he bit his tongue. They were both children, and it wasn't the girl that he wanted--just their bond.

"Well, Marcus Jackson wasn't about to let Micah go, but no one told our fastest runner that tiny could cut through places no sane wolf would. I think he ran a good 3 miles more than she did, just catch up?"

Micha heard the uptick and cupped her hands to her face to yell. "4!"

"Thanks, Cherub." He gave a genuine smile--not even a new mate got that. "Well, the little one made it out and our great warrior runs straight into the Fall's Creek Gamma and his twin boys--her uncle and cousins. And they were having a little standoff until I strolled up."

"It took some stiff negotiations to figure out where two underage wolves would live--which I eventually lost." This part got a lighter laugh, giving him time for the change in tone. "And they lived there until the ravages of an unexpected rejection left this pack too weak to be without Marcus. Fall's Creek lost their Cherub as she became ours, so our young guard could focus on his work."

"And then the Goddess gave a fool a second chance. Our pack's would be Luna likes to hunt small game--and once two determined women get together, nothing stands in their way. Our Micah went on her first hunt last night and fed her mate right after his shift. And you have tasted some of the kid's and Eva's work if you had any of the frog legs or meatballs."

He gestured at the young couple to come up and face the crowd. Micah wore an off-the-shoulder shirt with her shorts, to expose her petite shoulder--Marcus' bite was huge enough, but it was doubled, making an infinity of teeth from her neck to her arm.

Trace whistled. "Not often we see a double-mark anymore. Nobody would challenge you."

Marcus rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly while Micah took on a rosy hue. "Well, ah, Grams...my great-great-great aunt? She passed away earlier this year and one of the stories passed around at her wake was about her southern-fried frogs. I hadn't had them since I was smaller than Micah, and I've been kind of craving them for about 6, 7 months? I guess she fed more than one...craving..."

The cackles out of the more knowledgeable exposed themselves for being dirty minded. Trace smirked because he liked it when they went over younger pup's heads. "Well, this is as official as it gets. Our young mates are now one."

A cheer broke out from family and friends--these two were well-loved.

Once it died down, Micha leaned over to her Alpha. "Where is Eva?"

Trace spoke up for the gathering. While it was no one's business, he still wouldn't hide from the changes to come. "Unfortunately second chances are given to fools, and we decided to take time to cool down--she's off to finish her journey, and then we will meet again. For those who pray, we will need them to."

He managed to say this lightly, then he dismissed them--he was still a good enough actor to hide from people when he remembered to.

A few conversations round the room and he managed to make it into his office, to close the door and shake from pain.

He had held doubts on the strength of the Goddess' bond, but he knew better, now. This hurt far worse than ending things with Jodi. Between them not settling things and his instigation, he hoped Eva's choice wasn't retaliation. Genuine need would make her the better person, and hopefully he'd stay the only bastard in their relationship.