It didn't take long to shower and change in the locker room at the dive shop. This time, I put on my string bikini. The shark motif made this suit my favorite, even though they had to be very small to fit on the triangles of fabric that made it up. I smiled as I checked it in the mirror; I rocked this outfit! I pulled a long, thin T-shirt over my head and put on flip flops before grabbing my bag and heading out.
It wasn't a long trip down the Strand to the beach they had picked, and it was warm and breezy. Jennifer parked the Jeep in the lot, and we walked over the hot sand to join the large group set up around some of the grills and picnic tables. "Did you guys have fun," Karen asked as she walked up.
"Some more than others," I said as I looked over at Amy and Kai with a knowing glance. Her mouth dropped, and she turned red as a beet as she figured it out. "It was a lot of fun."
"Very scenic," Adrienne said. "Lots of wildlife to see." She smirked at Amy as she walked past the couple. They had towels laid out for us, so I set my bag down on one before pulling off my T-shirt. I could see a bunch of human males that decided to hang around this stretch of beach, hoping to meet some of the hotties in our group. I ignored them as I headed back to the grills.
The burgers were great, and I was starving after a full morning of diving. The afternoon was a blast. We had about three dozen people there, enough to get a good volleyball game going and some touch football. The water was warm and inviting, and there were plenty of people to rub suntan lotion over my back. More people from the Summit arrived around dinnertime, and they brought steaks and all the fixings with them.
I was sitting at a table with a few other single females when I saw Terry get up and walk along the water towards the far end of the beach. He'd participated in today's activities, but his heart wasn't in it. I felt an urge to follow him, so I did. "Where are you going," Adrienne asked as I walked past their table.
"I'm going to talk to Terry," I said.
She looked over at Karen. "We'll take a walk as well. It will feel good after a big meal like that." She took my hand. "
Never alone,"
she said. "
Especially not with a desperate unmated Alpha."
"Terry would never do that, but I need to speak to him,"
I said as we walked away. The two Lunas dropped back as I jogged through the wet sand to catch up to Terry Foster. Luckily, he was stopping to pick up shells and toss rocks out into the surf, so it didn't take long. "Terry?"
He smiled as he turned to me. "Hello, Sharkbait," he said with a smile. I blushed a little at his use of my kiddie nickname. "I had some time to talk with Amy and Kai today. Your friend was a fountain of knowledge on you."
"Oh, Luna, I'm going to smack her into next week," I griped. "Do you want to be alone? I don't want to impose."
"I enjoy your company, Vicki. It doesn't have to be more than that." He turned and kept walking down the beach away from our group. I fell in next to him, the waves licking at our feet as they finished their run up the shore. We didn't say anything for a few minutes. "I've been thinking a lot about what you said," he finally let out. "I've been so obsessed with finding a mate that I've let the rest of my life pass me by. This is the first time in years I've just gone out with a group for the fun of it."
"You didn't go out?"
"I did, but it was always with a purpose. I'd visit Packs to look for my mate, but I'd leave right away if I didn't find her. I didn't stick around to make friends or experience new things. The older I've gotten, the less fulfilling my life has been. I train, I do my Beta duties, and I try to sniff out my mate. Today was different. I knew my mate wasn't here, but I let myself have fun just for the sake of fun. Thank you for that."
"I didn't do anything, Terry."
He stopped and turned to me. "You did it all. I only signed up to dive because I wanted to get close enough to make my offer without scaring you. What you said to me on the boat gave me hope again. I've spent so many years being bitter at our Goddess for what she took away that I've not prepared myself for what she has in mind for me. Maybe the reason I haven't found my second-chance mate is because I haven't let go of my first one."
He stopped and walked into the surf until the waves hit his knees. I walked behind him, placing my hand on his back. "We grieve in different ways," I said. "My Uncle lost his will to live after his mate died of cancer. It got so bad that his Beta challenged him and took over the Pack, leaving Leo as a rogue. He had money, a big empty house full of memories, and cases of Jack Daniels to drown his sorrow with." Terry didn't say anything. He just stared at the water as his fingers rubbed the canine tooth that hung with some precious stones from his necklace. "His wolf was dying slowly, and he didn't care."
"What turned him around?"
"My mother was a waitress at the restaurant he ate at every Tuesday, and she became friends with him. When her car died, he realized that his wife's car was still sitting in the garage, unused. He couldn't bring his mate back, but he could help out a friend. The car, her clothes, her jewelry; none of it would do him any good once he died, but all of it could help someone now. My Mom invited him for Christmas when I was almost five, and that's when he discovered I was a werewolf."
"You had no idea?"
"No, my Mom was human; she'd had a fling while on break from school with Leo's younger brother and got pregnant. He wanted her to abort it. Mom left town, and we had no idea I was a werewolf, much less a mantled Alpha female. It caused all kinds of problems," I said with a sigh.
He snorted. "I can just imagine."
"The Council got involved, and Luna Adrienne came to his house. She recognized him as her second-chance mate right away, but Leo's wolf didn't tell him. He wasn't ready yet; he hadn't moved on. When he finally did, his wolf came back. They've been together for thirteen years now."
Terry sat down, letting the surf run over his legs and up to his chest. "I haven't shifted for five years," he said. "I can't hear my wolf. I know he is there, but he won't talk to me."
I got down behind him, hugging his body from behind as the emotions came out. He was clinging to the necklace as the tears went down his face. I knew that the tooth he wore was from his lost mate, and as long as he clung to it, he'd never be free. "Let her go," I told him as I held him tight. "It's time for you to live again."
"
What is going on,"
Adrienne linked to me as they kept watch from down the beach.
"
He's finally letting go of his mate,"
I said. "
I'm fine."
It took a few minutes for him to make the decision, and I could sense his wolf coming forward as he did. He pulled the necklace over his head, staring down at the tooth. "Goodbye, my love," he said. I stepped back as he got up and walked until he was in waist-deep water, then threw the necklace as far as he could into the warm waters.
