The Mate That is Just Out of Reach

3

*Unknown POV*

I was sitting in my bedroom with my best friend, Royce, working on preparations for my Alpha ceremony when we heard a blood-curdling scream. We both looked at each other and quickly got out of our chairs. We ran downstairs to the source of the scream. I saw one of the pack house workers, Jamie, curled up in a ball screaming and crying. I walked over to her and kneeled down next to her. I wrapped my arms around her.

"What's wrong?" I asked her while rocking her back and forth trying to comfort her.

"It's Damien," she sobs, "I-I can't feel him anymore. He's gone. Someone took him away from me, Alpha Adrien." She cries as she turns fully towards me and wraps her arms around my waist. I looked up at Royce, who was standing behind us with a sad look in his eyes.

I mind-link Royce. What are we gonna do? She's heart-broken. We can't just leave her alone with her thoughts. You know what happens to any wolf that loses their mate.

I'll take her to the Beta Hall so my mother can keep an eye on her. Then we can go talk to Alpha Grayson and let him know what has happened, Royce responded. I nodded and stood myself and Jamie up. "Royce is going to take you to the Beta Hall, so Mrs. Greyback can take care of you. Is that ok?" She looked up at me and then to Royce and weakly nodded. I handed her over to him and they walked off.

While I waited for Royce to get back, I mind-linked my father. Father, are you in your office? Royce and I need to talk to you.

Yes, I'm here son. He responded. What is it?

We'll talk when we get there. Something happened. I cut off the mind-link and went to sit on a chair in the corner of the room.

About 15 minutes passed and Royce finally came down the stairs. "She'll be ok for now," Royce began,"Poor Jamie. They had just found each other." I looked at my feet. Royce sat on the couch in the middle of the room and we just sat there in silence for a few minutes.

Finally, I stood up, "Come on. We need to go tell my father." Royce stood up and we began walking down the hall to my father's office. When we got to the door of his office, he was already opening it for us. He probably heard us coming. "Come in," he said. We walked in and stood in the middle of the room, in front of his desk, watching him walk back behind his desk and sit down. Once he sat down, we both sat in the chairs in front.

"Father," I began, "Something has happened to Damien."

My father looked at me with sorrow in his eyes. He already knew what I meant. He always does. Call it Alpha intuition. They already know what you're going to say before you say it.

"I heard what happened from the boy's mom. She was in here not long before you two got here."

"What are we going to do? We don't have his body and we can't go get it without risking another life. That pack hates us. And if the wolf that killed him already told their Alpha, I'm sure he has patrols on every inch of their territory."

My father sat there in silence, listening to me. "Damien deserves a proper burial. Everyone does. Good or bad." He nodded at my statement. "I understand, son. But we can't send anyone back there. Not if they're going to be on high alert. I had already made a mistake by sending him there in the first place. I should have left my curiosity alone. It cost a young man his life. Now his new mate is alone."

I nodded and looked over at Royce, who had been quiet the whole time. I placed my hand on his shoulder and squeezed. "If we can't give him a burial, we should at least give him a celebration. He deserves something." I looked back at my father, who had a look of pride in his eyes. "We will have the celebration tomorrow. Let the kitchen staff know what to make and how much. I'll let your mother know and she'll get the decorations set up," he said.

I then looked back at Royce, "Do you want to go and let Jamie know?" He nodded and stood up, bowing his head at my father. "Thank you, Alpha Grayson," he said as he walked to the door and left.

*The Next Day*

Tonight is Damien's celebration of life. My mother is running around yelling at the decorators, making sure everything is perfect. She stopped when she saw me, walked over, and gave me a tight hug. "I'm so proud of you Adrien. Your father told me this was your idea," she said with a smile on her face.

"He deserves this, mother. He was a brave and courageous kid. He always put a smile on our faces during training."

She smiled again and pulled me down to her height so she could kiss my cheek.

My mother is a small woman, only 5 feet tall. I am 6'4". Although she is small, she is a strong Luna. Taking care of anyone and everyone. She has a kind heart and I couldn't ask for a better mother. Everyone loves her and the children whose parents were killed or just died of natural causes would call her their mom. She's always there when someone gets hurt and she makes a great homemade chicken noodle soup that she gives to families who have recently lost someone. I'm sure Damien's parents and Jamie got it already.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!?" She began to yell at one of the decorators. "Those lights are supposed to hang outside in the trees!" I started laughing as she walked over to them.

I left that room before my eardrums started to burst. I walked upstairs to go to the Beta Hall. Mrs. Greyback, is Jamie with you guys? I mind-linked her and waited for a response. Oh yes! She's lying down right now. Would you like me to see if she's awake? She responded.

Yes please. I want to come see if she's ok

Ok, give me a moment. A few moments pass, She's awake. Do you want me to send her your way?

No, that's ok. I'm right outside. I stopped outside their door and knocked. As soon as I knocked, the door opened. Mrs. Greyback opened the door with her usual warm, welcoming smile. "Come in dear. She'll be out in a moment. She's just getting dressed," she said.

"Thank you," I said as I walked into the large living room. I sat on the couch in the middle of the living room and waiting for Jamie.

After 10 minutes, she came out and gave me a weak smile, "Hello Alpha Adrien," she said, bowing her head. I stood up and walked over to her. "Please call me Adrien. I'm not Alpha yet." She gave a small chuckle. Without asking, I gave her a warm hug. She tensed for a second, surprised, then hugged me back.

"I came to see if you were ok." I pulled away, keeping my hands on her arms, and looked down at her. She nodded and gave another weak smile. Tears started forming in her eyes and I pulled her back into a hug. She began to sob and tightened the hug. I did the same. I couldn't help it, as tears started to form in my eyes. "I'm so sorry this happened to you, Jamie. I wouldn't wish this on the worst person alive," I said to her, still holding her tight.

After about 5 minutes, she started to calm down and gently pulled away. "Thank you, Adrien. It means a lot that you're here. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't heard me last night."

"Neither of you deserve what has happened, Jamie. You just found each other. I will always be here if you need me, Ok?"She nodded.

"I have to go get ready for tonight. I hope you'll come."

"Of course I will. I wouldn't miss this for the world." I gave her one last hug and left the Beta Suite.

I walked back down the hall and went to the stairs. I walked up to the top floor of the pack house, which was the fifth floor, and the Alpha Hall. Instead of living in the Alpha Suite with my parents, I lived in my own room. It was just a room. It didn't have a living room or multiple bedrooms like the suites did. But it's mine, so I'm happy.

I walked in and closed the door. I looked at the time and saw that I had about an hour until the celebration, so I went to my bathroom, which was on the opposite side from the main door. I went into the bathroom and opened the shower door, turning the shower on. I closed the door again so water wouldn't get on the floor. I then started to undress. After I was undressed, I got into the shower, letting the water run down through my light brown hair. I lifted my hands up and ran them through my hair, letting it soak up the water.

When I finished with my shower, I got out and dried off. Leaving my bathroom, I walked to the walk-in closet next to the bathroom. I grabbed a pair of black boxers, a dark blue button-down shirt, and some blue jeans. I slipped the boxers on, then the jeans, and then my shirt and buttoned it up. Then I grabbed some no-show socks and my black canvas shoes and put those on.

I left my closet and went back into my bathroom and brushed my teeth. Then I combed my hair so it wasn't tangled. I went back out into my room and walked over to a shelf that held all my watches. I grabbed my iWatch off the charger and put it on. I looked at the time and saw I had 20 minutes left, so I went and sat on one of the lounge chairs in the middle of my room.

The 20 minutes went by so slowly, but when the time finally came, I stood up, grabbed my phone, and walked out of my room. I walked down the stairs alone until I met up with Royce, coming from the Beta Hall. "What's up," he said as he joined me.

"Not much. Tonight is going to be good though. For Jamie and Damien's family," I responded. He nodded his head and we continued walking.

When we got to the bottom of the stairs, we were greeted by Damien's parents. "Thank you for coming up with this, Alpha Adrien." They both gave weak smiles. It must be so hard for them to be here. "Damien was a great guy. It's the least I could do," I said. They both smiled again and his mother gave me a hug and his father shook my hand. They did the same with Royce.

We went out to the back yard where the celebration was being held. We both looked around at the decorations. "Damn, your mom is good," Royce said, still looking around. There were fairy lights hanging in the trees above us. Under all the trees, there were tables for everyone to sit at that had white table cloths. At the center of each table, there was a vase with assortments of white and blue flowers. To the left, there was a memorial table that was also covered in a white table cloth. On the table, there was pictures of Damien with his family and Jamie, and just himself. The pictures had white flowers strewn across the frames. In the middle of the pictures and flowers, there was a memorium book. We walked over to the table and signed the book.

As we finished signing, we heard my mother's voice come through the speakers that were connected to the microphone she was holding. "Thank you everyone for coming here tonight to celebrate the life of an amazing young man, Damien Lance. He would love that all of you came here to remember him. So please, have a seat as we begin." She walked off the patio and Damien's mother, father, little sister, and Jamie walked up. Damien's mom took the microphone.

"Thank you, Luna Carrie," she began, "As the Luna said, Damien would love that you are all here to celebrate his life. Damien was not only a loving and caring brother and mate. He was also an amazing son. He always came to check on us to make sure we were ok. And I cannot tell you how happy I am that he got to experience what it was like to have a mate before he was taken from us. He will forever live on in our hearts and he will always be with us in spirit. I know the Moon Goddess is taking great care of my amazing boy." She handed the mic to Jamie and turned to cry into her husband's chest.

Jamie began to speak, "Damien was my one true love. Although we had only been together for five months, those five months were the best of my life. He always made me feel so loved and happy. I would do anything to have that back. We were each other's everything. No matter how much we were together, it was never enough. We did everything together and I know, he's going to be with me, to do everything I do, because here or not, he's a part of me. He always will be." Jamie finished with tears rolling down her cheeks, "If anyone would like to say anything about Damien, please come up."

I looked over at Royce and looked back towards Jamie. I began to walk up to the patio. Before I could reach the patio, I heard a scream. I looked back and everyone was running, screaming, and turning into their wolves. I turned into my wolf, Axle, but before he could do anything, it hits him. The most amazing scent we have ever smelt before in our lives, strawberries with a hint of vanilla. Axle looked around to see if he could find the one with this amazing scent, but as soon as he saw her, she was being chained up and dragged away.