After the welcome banquet, Jasper dragged himself out of the event hall with the echoes of the attendees' howling still ringing in his ears. Werewolves were seldom anything less than deafening when enough packs mingled with each other, and he'd had to endure the whole affair wearing the most uncomfortable outfit he could imagine.

Like all the other werewolves who lacked a mate, Jasper couldn't stay in his suit during such an important inter-pack social event. No, he'd had no choice but to don a long, flowing robe.

Dark blue with silver swirls gleaming like galaxies, the garment looked pleasant enough, but the faintest breeze could blow the fabric away from his legs with ease. This wasn't a practical outfit, at least not for Jasper. For wolves whose bodies flooded with the urge to shift and run to their soulmate, such robes prevented their tails from tearing through their pants in an overwhelming display of passion.

For Jasper, all the robe meant was he'd had an uncomfortable number of Alphas staring at his ass for any signs of a wagging tail throughout the entire banquet. It was no wonder Gwen had left the event as soon as politely possible. Or perhaps his first impression had simply been that atrocious. He'd been so preoccupied with all the nuances of networking with the other Alphas that he hadn't noticed Gwen had left until his father had grumbled about it on their way out of the banquet hall.

He'd only been at the Cowrie Cabana for a few hours, yet Jasper already wished he could return to his office. At least there he'd be useful to his pack. Alone in his empty suite, all he could do was listen to the waves lapping against the shore below. With the banquet demanding all his time and energy that evening, he hadn't had a moment to enjoy anything in his room. Not the bottle of complimentary wine. Not the private hot tub.

Not the letter that hadn't been on his bed when he'd left for the banquet.

The elegant cursive that spelled out his name told him exactly who wrote it. Jasper opened the envelope with the flick of a claw before shifting his finger back to its human form and gingerly removing the elegant stationery within.

Dear Jasper,

My sincerest apologies for speaking to you so little during the welcome banquet. Rest assured that it was a pleasure to finally meet you in person. However, given our fathers' arrangement, I thought it only fair to make sure you had the chance to mingle with as many of the other wolves in attendance as possible. Though you are great company, it was only fair for me to give you the opportunity to find your soulmate.

Now that the initial pleasantries are over, I was wondering if you would like to join a few of my packmates and I on a hunt this Saturday. You are more than welcome to invite a few friends, too. Since our packs will eventually merge should we marry each other, I thought it would be wise for us to try to improve relations between them.

I eagerly await your response. May the Goddess grant you a restful night.

Yours truly, Gwen Evergreen of Kudzu Pack

Jasper breathed a sigh of relief. Thank the Goddess he'd made a decent first impression. With every wolf staying at the Cowrie Cabana howling for a chance to meet the Alpha at the heart of the festivities, this hunt would give him a chance to get away from the crowds for a while and spend time with his packmates. If he was going to be stuck with Gwen as his mate, he might as well get to know her properly before they marked each other under the light of the full moon.

With his answer decided, Jasper wrote Gwen a brief but cordial letter thanking her for her thoughtful invitation and agreeing to join her on a hunt. He'd need to ask his packmates who would be interested in joining them—especially since many of them would be busy taking advantage of the beach and the many amenities the resort had to offer—but he was sure he could convince at least a few of them to join him. If nothing else, the promise of fresh venison was bound to entice a few of his packmates to shift.

Jasper had only just finished writing his response to Gwendolyn when a knock broke through the quiet. It was probably another Alpha from a smaller pack looking to weasel their way into his good graces or, Goddess forbid, forcefully introduce him to their heir in the hopes they might be Jasper's soulmate. "Just a minute!"

The scent of mangoes with a fragrant coconut undertone grew stronger as he approached the entryway, accompanied by something sweet. Sugary.

The instant Jasper opened the door, he was greeted by the sight of the selkie from earlier with a beach bag overflowing with tissue paper. Goddess help him, the last thing he needed was for other packs to start trying to bribe him with gifts.

"I don't know who asked you to bring all this here when the Goddess is already raising the moon, but please do me a favor and return it," he said.

The selkie's eyes widened, her lip trembling. "I'm really, really sorry I'm such a screw-up," she said, her voice cracking like sand crunching underfoot. "I was hoping that if I brought you some stuff to make it up to you maybe you wouldn't have such an awful day, but if you want me to leave you alone, I—"

"Wait a minute." Jasper breathed deeply. Though his nose was nowhere near as powerful in his human form, he could still tell there wasn't a single werewolf scent clinging to what the selkie was carrying. Shit. "Did you buy all this yourself?"

The selkie nodded so quickly it was a miracle her head didn't pop off her neck. "I wanted to cheer you up, but I had no idea what you might like. I mean, we just met and I really don't know you very well, so it wasn't exactly easy to pick something since you were so grouchy earlier." Her hands flew to her mouth, nearly smacking her in the face with the beach bag. "N-n-not that you didn't have every reason to be annoyed, but—"

"Breathe," Jasper said firmly.

The selkie—Brooke, he remembered now—took a comically deep breath and let it out in a whooshing exhale.

Jasper peered around the doorframe, checking to see if anyone was listening to their conversation. He caught neither sight nor scent of anyone, but since subtlety wasn't exactly Brooke's strongest asset, it wouldn't take long for her to attract attention.

"Why don't you come inside?" he said. "Since you came all this way to talk to me, we might as well get comfortable."

Brooke opened her mouth, only to close it and allow him to usher her inside. Her eyes darted from one piece of expensive furniture to the next, anywhere but his face.

"Is everything okay?" Jasper asked.

"Totally fine! It's just..." A nervous giggle bubbled past Brooke's lips as she spun in a slow circle in the middle of the room. "I've never been inside the Alpha suites before."

Seeing her so awestruck filled Jasper's chest with a gentle warmth. Such a shame she never got to enjoy the same luxuries the guests did. "Feel free to help yourself to the wine, if you'd like."

"Oh, I could never. Besides, that's for you. And so is this." Brooke gave the seashell-print beach bag a gentle shake. "Do you want me to just leave this here or...?"

"You can if you want, but something tells me you want to see me open it."

"Of course!" Brooke threw herself onto the bed so hard she nearly bounced back off.

Jasper chuckled and took a seat beside her. If he had even a tenth of her energy, he could run a marathon in his sleep. "Alright, let's see what we have here."

"Wait, let me just—"

His fingers brushed against hers amidst a rustling rainbow of tissue paper. The warmth of her skin against his quickened Jasper's heartbeat until all he could hear was his pulse thundering in his ears.

"Sorry!" Brooke yanked her hand out of the bag and pressed it into her lap. "Just wanted to make it extra nice for you."

"The fact you got me anything is more than nice enough," he said. Before he could question why his fingers felt far too cool without her touch, he submerged his hand in the bag and pulled out Brooke's gifts.

The first, a jumbo bottle of sunscreen, would do him good when he actually spent time at the beach. The box of chocolates stamped with a bright blue picture of a seal balancing an ice cream cone on its nose got his stomach growling just thinking of the sweet morsels inside.

Then there was the sea turtle.

Teal, lime green, and light brown balloons twisted together to form flippers and a head peeking out of a rubbery shell. This wasn't like the simple creatures pups played with whenever the pack hired a clown to entertain them at a party. No, this was a work of craftsmanship, something that, while certainly not the most practical present, showed an impressive amount of effort.

"I'm sorry if the balloons are a bit silly. I just thought it might help you come out of your shell," Brooke said. There was that laugh of hers, that frantic giggle that reminded Jasper of a seagull that had just discovered a picnic. "Get it? Because turtles have shells."

Jasper snorted, shaking his head. "I get it."

"What am I saying? Of course you do!" Another burst of laughter. Brooke clamped her hand over her mouth. "Sorry, this happens a lot when I'm nervous. I just hope you know how sorry I am. About earlier, I mean. I really put my flippers in my mouth about your mom." She smacked herself on her forehead. "And I just did it again. Sorry!"

"It's alright." Her laughter was infectious, making him laugh so hard the bed creaked beneath him. His hands found the moonstone pendant dangling around his neck, tracing the cool rock until he'd calmed down enough to say what he needed to. "Thank you very much for the thoughtful gifts, and I'm sorry I was so rude to you earlier."

Brooke dismissed his words with a wave of her hand. "Don't worry about it. Traveling can make anyone as prickly as a puffer fish."

"That doesn't make it okay, though." Jasper bowed deeply. "Please accept my deepest apologies for how I treated you."

Brooke returned his bow. "Only if you accept mine for being such a mess, Alpha."

Jasper's lips tugged into a smile. Even with her bright red hair curtaining her face, there was no hiding the sincerity in her voice. "Apology accepted. And please, don't call me Alpha. I won't be the Alpha until Father gives me control of Cedar Pack, and that won't be for many years yet. Call me Jasper."

"Yes, Alph—" Brooke shook her head. "I mean, yes, Jasper. I hope the rest of your trip is more relaxing. If you don't mind me asking, how was the welcome banquet?"

"It was... alright, I suppose." He couldn't explain exactly how awkward it had been for him without getting into things he'd rather not talk about. Besides, he'd already upset her more than enough times without criticizing something her family had put so much effort into. "It was nice to meet Gwen, at least. Seems like I made a decent impression too since she invited me to join her and some of her packmates on a hunt this Saturday."

"That's great." Brooke bit her lip.

Goddess help him, what had he said to upset her now? "Are you alright?"

Brooke startled. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish gasping on the deck of a boat before settling into a trembling smile. "I just remembered something. Nothing important." She shook her head, plowing ahead to the next sentence before he had time to respond. "Why don't you guys have some fun before you go hunting? We have lots and tours and stuff around the beach, so maybe you could go fishing or something while we sort out your reservation at the hunting grounds."

"That sounds really nice, actually." At least, it would give him something to do besides aimlessly wander around the resort searching for his soulmate. "Why don't you come with us? With how territorial packs can get sometimes..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Let's just say we could use a mediator."

"Can't say no to our guest of honor, can I? I'll bring lots of snacks and water bottles and—"

"Before you start packing all that," Jasper said when she finally paused to breathe, "could you please take this letter to Gwendolyn for me?" He eased himself off the bed and picked up the envelope from his desk. "It's basically just telling her I'd be happy to join her on a hunt, so it would be great if you could let her know about that excursion you're planning, too."

"Of course!" She gave him a quick salute, wincing as she accidentally smacked herself in the forehead. "You can count on me."

Once the selkie left to deliver the letter, Jasper found the room brighter than when she'd first arrived. Maybe this trip wouldn't be so bad after all.