Zina's phone dinged with a notification and her eyes widened when she saw the message.
It was an official announcement from Meg about the new high-ranking member of the Midnight Guardians pack.
Normally, changes in the internal structure of a pack wouldn't be publicized to outsiders unless it's a change on the Alpha level, but considering the special relationship between the two packs, Talia approved for news about Sandy becoming a Gamma to be sent to Maya, Caden, and Zina (aka three people who were now in charge of the packhouse). If Talia was home, she would tell them.
"What is it?", Dawn asked while scooting closer to see what got Zina's attention.
"Sandy found her mate in the Midnight Guardians pack.", Zina said breathily. "It's Tyler, the Gamma of the Midnight Guardians pack, which makes Sandy a Gamma."
"I knew it!", Dawn exclaimed. "Malia strikes again!"
Zina looked at Dawn in disbelief. "You can't be serious."
"Oh, I am serious! I told you that you should go with them. Talia would find you a mate in no time. Keep on delaying this and you will miss the promotional period. Will you be able to afford it when Malia becomes world-famous?"
Zina shook her head helplessly. "There is no such thing as an ability to find mates, Dawn." If there was, Zina would find hers in Shifters the other night. Zina was there, and Talia was there, and plenty of unmated guys were there, but not a single one clicked for Zina.
Zina felt like crying. At this rate, she will be alone forever! Nights were the hardest. Even when she found a guy to keep her company, the joy was not complete because Zina knew it was just temporary. She wanted someone to feed her and to give her endless orgasms, damn it!
"Don't give up hopes, Zi.", Dawn said. "Just stick to Talia and she will find you a mate."
"You sound like Talia has a catalog and I just pick one."
"Picking is mutual, but yes, it's something like that.", Dawn responded with all seriousness in the world. "Didn't you see how many new mates found each other during the pack run? We never saw anything like it and I believe that it's because we finally got our Luna."
"I agree with that statement.", a familiar female voice from the door got Dawn's and Zina's attention and they whipped their heads that way to confirm that they heard it right.
"STEPH!", Dawn and Zina exclaimed in unison and then they rushed there to end up in a three-female hug.
Stephanie laughed. "It's good to see you, girls. How are you doing? Did you miss me?"
Dawn and Zina were both nodding earnestly.
Zina tilted her head toward Dawn. "This one has her mate to keep her company, but I'm missing you like crazy." Zina glanced behind Stephanie. "We heard you found your second chance mate. Did you already leave him at home?"
Stephanie couldn't stop grinning. "Richard was interested in the garden, so he went to take a look."
Stephanie looked around the kitchen. "I came here thinking that you will be busy cooking and baking, yet you are chatting like there is no work."
"There is no work. Not much work, anyway.", Zina responded.
Dawn explained, "Our Alpha and Luna went to the Midnight Guardians pack, and some of the guests went with them. Shaman Gideon and Mindy moved to their new home, so other than me and George, only Betas are still here. And for us, sandwiches are fine."
"Oh, they are not here", disappointment in Stephanie's voice was obvious. She was hoping to introduce Richard to Damon and Talia. Well, Richard knew Damon, but this would be an introduction as Stephanie's mate. "Do you know how long they will stay there?"
Zina shrugged. "A few days. Not long."
Dawn was curious about one thing. "Did you hear from Lisa? How is she doing with her mate?"
Stephanie's smile widened. "After Lisa told me she found her mate, I didn't hear from her, but isn't that expected? They are probably in solitude and if they are anything how Gil and I were, I won't hear from her for weeks."
All three women knew about Lisa causing trouble and how she couldn't accept when Tony found his mate, and they also hoped that Lisa finding her mate was a good thing.
Finding a mate helps one see things differently, and Stephanie wished for Lisa to grow up and stop clinging to things that were never hers. Now Lisa had her mate, and she should be busy starting her new life.
Stephanie didn't want to talk about bad things and spoil the mood.
"How are you girls doing?", Stephanie asked and turned to Dawn. "When will you go to the Red Moon pack with your mate? We should plan a sendoff party."
"A party?" Dawn really didn't think of that. "Don't make it sound like I'm going to a jungle never to return. It's not so far away. You can visit anytime. We were just planning for Zina to visit me."
Stephanie stifled a laugh. "You didn't leave yet, and you are already making plans for guests."
"Of course", Dawn said confidently. "With future Alpha James' birthday party coming, Damon and Talia will definitely attend it, and Zina can tag along and be my guest." She puffed her chest proudly. "As a Commander, George has his own villa there with guest bedrooms and everything."
"Oh, that's nice.", Stephanie said, her big smile creating crinkles around her eyes.
Dawn nodded earnestly and turned to Zina. "I will plan for some mixers. What if you find your mate there? You can be my neighbor."
Zina made a face. She loved the idea of being close to Dawn, but the Red Moon pack gave her heebie-jeebies. "If I need to go around and find a mate, I will stick to Talia and accompany her to the Blue River pack next week."
"What's there?", Stephanie asked.
Dawn responded, "Alpha Maddox will make his Luna Tatiana official. It will be a grand party with many high-ranking people attending. George also got an invitation. And there is also a birthday party upcoming, future Alpha of the Spring Leaf will be turning six years old and his parents were generous to invite us."
"I heard about those. Our Alpha and Luna will also be attending them.", Zina said and squinted at Dawn. "You got yourself a high-profile mate and now you can go to fancy parties."
Dawn didn't know if they will go because since they returned from the Shifters nightclub, George became sheepish whenever Dawn mentioned anything beyond the Dark Howlers pack; it made Dawn wonder what Damon said to George when they stayed in the VVIP booth on their own. It was suspicious.
"Did I come too soon?", a deep voice rumbled from the door and a burly man with a head full of red hair came into sight. The gentle gaze directed at Stephanie didn't match his rough appearance.
"Ladies…", Stephanie said in a singing voice while walking toward the man. "Allow me to introduce to you Richard, my mate."
She hugged him as soon as she got into the touching distance and his arms wrapped around her waist.
"Nice to meet you", Richard said to Dawn and Zina who observed the couple with sparkles in their eyes.
It was unusual to see Stephanie get so cozy with a guy. Dawn and Zina both worked in the packhouse for years, and Stephanie always kept her distance from men. This was different.
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See the pic of Steph and Richard in the comments.
