Hannah

Alpha worked quickly when it came to his parties, and the man enjoyed throwing them. He only gave the pack a week to prepare for the festivities. I tried to ignore that it was happening at all, but when Micah put on dress pants and a button down shirt I all of a sudden wasn't quite so annoyed.

"You look beautiful, sweetness." He murmurs in my ear. His eyes are bright with excitement as he helps me slip a necklace around my neck. I smile shyly at him and look down at my pale blue dress a little hesitantly.

"You don't think it's too much?" I ask of the sparkly dress that Katie damn near demanded I wear. He shakes his head as his eyes trail my exposed legs and black heels.

"No. You look amazing. Although it'll look great on the floor later too." He says before chuckling at his own joke. I roll my eyes and he grips my hand, pulling me towards the packhouse.

I was able to talk Alpha into having a more barbecue type style party rather than some extravagent affair. So the party was being held outside with food being cooked on grills, lots of lemonade and tea as well as pies. It was a communal type of gathering that made the pack feel more relaxed. More like a family.

I smiled at the sight of some of the children trying to fly a kite. There was a makeshift football game going on with some of the highschoolers and Micah grinned.

"I'm gonna kick their asses later." He says smugly making me giggle.

"You're twice the size of any of those kids." I admonish him and he shrugs.

"Good. They should see how fierce their future Alpha is." He says brightly and I shake my head at him before pulling him towards the largest group of people. I find Katie in the group and she pulls me along with her.

"I told you that dress would look fantastic." She says smugly, taking a sip of her drink. I steal it from her and gulp it down making her huff in annoyance.

"Yeah. Micah's a fan." I say with a smirk making her laugh.

"Hannah! Hannah!" I hear being called from behind me. I turn to see little Austin barreling towards me like a torpedo.

I lean down and hold my arms out for him and he launches himself at me, almost knocking me over. I pull him in close and he tucks his little face into my neck. I feel him relax in my firm grip and smile as I kiss the top of his head, breathing in the smell of his shampoo. He pulls away gently and looks up at me.

"I've missed you." He says, his high child voice ringing out loudly. I smile and boop his nose making him grin.

"I've missed you too, buddy." I say fondly and his eyes drift up to Katie.

"Who's that? She's pretty." He says quietly and I smile.

"This is my friend Katie. Katie, this is Austin. Alpha Jamie's son." I explain and she nods in understanding. Austin shimmies from my hold and runs to Katie, wrapping his arms around her waist. She looks at me surprised and I just shrug, not really sure why he's taken to her so quickly. She leans down to pick him up, resting him on her hip as he encircles his little arms around her neck and rests his head on her shoulder

"Are you ok, Austin?" I ask him, pushing his hair back out of his eyes. He nods and looks up at me with his deep brown eyes.

"Yes. She just seems nice. I want to stay with her." He says and my heart melts, as does Katie's.

"Aww. You're the sweetest boy I've ever met in my whole life." She coos to him, pecking a kiss on his forehead. He smiles sweetly before digging his face back into her neck.

"Austin? Austin?! Where are you!" I hear his father yell from across the yard. I wave to him and he starts over to us when he sees me.

"He's right here, Alpha!" I call and his face relaxes until he gets a few feet away from us.

He stops in his tracks and looks at Katie holding his son. His eyes go wide, his body rigid as his breathing speeds up. I look at him confused, and look back to Katie. She is staring at him much the same way, eyes wide, body rigid as she clings to Austin.

"Is something wrong, Alpha?" I ask cautiously. Micah must sense my trepidation as he walks briskly over to us, wrapping an arm around my waist and standing between the Alpha and Katie.

Alpha Jamie growls at him and Micah pushes me behind him.

"What's going on?" He asks the Alpha. He seems to come out of his stupor, shaking his head and eyeing Katie again.

"Do you feel it?" He asks her. I look to her and she nods her head slowly.

"Feel what?" I ask, starting to get exasperated.

"Mate." She murmurs and a breathtaking smile comes over Alpha Jamie's face.

"Mate." He confirms and I gasp in surprise.

Alpha Jamie stalks up to the two and wraps them both in a firm hug. Austin chuckles at his dad as Katie stands still, seemingly not sure what to do. She looks at me terrified and I nod gently to her, understanding her silent plea.

"Alpha Jamie, Katie and I were just about to grab something from the packhouse. Do you mind if I borrow her for a moment? We'll be right back." I say, tugging gently on Katie's arm. Jamie seems unable to take his eyes off of his new mate, but eventually nods in agreement as Katie follows me.

I pull her into the packhouse kitchen and give her a glass of water before launching into my interrogation.

"What the hell? You're second chance mates?" I ask and she nods, still looking a little shell shocked.

"Your first mate must have been killed or something." I muse but Katie shakes her head, making me look at her curiously.

"What do you mean, Katie?" I ask her and she takes a deep breath before sighing.

"I found my mate. When I left the pack right after I turned nineteen. I found him in another pack." She says and I wait for her to go on, when she doesn't I prompt her.

"Well, what happened? You're killing me with suspense here!" I exclaim and she gives me a sad smile.

"He had already been in a relationship for a long time. The woman had rejected her mate for him, so he did the same to me." She says quietly and I gasp before reaching out to hold her hand.

"I'm so sorry." I murmur to her, but she just shakes her head.

"He was plenty sorry. He told me he wanted me. That he wished they had made different choices. I didn't hold it against him. He had been with the other woman for years, he was a stranger to me. It hurt, obviously, but I got over it. Moved on. Learned to accept it." She says looking out the window.

"Why did you never tell me, Katie? I thought we were friends." I ask quietly and her eyes shoot to me.

"Hannah. You're the best friend I've ever had. I just... I didn't tell anyone. I didn't want to talk about it. Or have people pity me. I would rather them think I just never found him." She says with a shrug.

"Well, now you have your second chance. An alpha no less." I say waggling my eyebrows at her making her chuckle.

"My original mate was a future alpha. I was kind of grateful not having to worry about being a Luna but honestly, it's been kind of difficult, being in a pack with a Luna when you were born to be one." She says and I nod in agreement.

"Alpha Jamie told me that would happen to me, if I decided not to accept Micah. No wonder Austin took to you so quickly. You got those Luna vibes." I say with a smile making her giggle. She nods and pushes away from the counter, coming to wrap me in a firm hug.

"Thank you for getting me out of there for a moment. I just needed a second to... process things. Not only do a I have a second chance mate, he's from another pack, he's an Alpha and he has a son." She says and I nod.

"Yeah, but that kid is fucking adorbs." I say making her chuckle again and nod.

"Yeah he is. His dad is a fine specimen too." She says slyly making me giggle.

"Well, I'm glad you think so." A deep voice calls out from behind us making us spin in surprise. Alpha Jamie stands there, watching Katie like a predator about to eat dinner. She gulps audibly and he chuckles a low deep sound and I feel my friend shudder next to me.

"I'll give you two some privacy." I say, slipping from the room.

I walk out to the party and see Austin riding on Micah's shoulders as they run down the makeshift football field, Austin clutching the ball for dear life as teenagers pretend to chase them down. I smile at the sight and soon feel a presence next to me. I look up to see Alpha, following my gaze to his son.

"You've done good with him, Hannah." He says proudly and I shake my head.

"He is good. He just needed reminding."