Chapter 2 - Dominick

When Sue walked into the men's room, she was surprised to see all the men were already in their tuxedos and patiently waiting for her. They seemed to be in good spirits as well. She smiled as she quietly started going to each man, ensuring no alterations were needed.

These were some of the nicest people she'd ever met, and she was happy they had asked her to do their wedding attire. Most women acted like a bridezilla, but Allie was a sweetheart, and so was her future husband. Sue was human, but she was aware of the shifters that lived among them. She kept that to herself, though, because they were her best-paying customers.

"Alright, Lenny, are we allowed to throw you a bachelor party? You are getting married in two days and everything I suggest you have turned down. What gives?" Patrick, one of the groomsmen, looked at Lenny in frustration.

"I told you, Pat, that Allie and I decided on no bachelor or bachelorette parties. We don't need that. We already had our commitment ceremony, and being away from her drives me crazy. Besides, what do you know about a bachelor party? We are werewolves. We don't even usually have weddings." Patrick, who had yet to find his mate was speechless. He didn't understand wanting to be around a woman that much. He turned to Lenny's best man Dominick to help talk some sense into him.

"Dom, can you please tell him how important a bachelor party is? This will be his last chance to have fun before tying the knot. I know the perfect girl that will do anything you want, and Allie doesn't even have to know." Patrick was grinning, but his grin quickly fell when he looked at Dominick.

"If Lenny doesn't want a party, he will not have a party. Don't you understand anything about the mate bond? If Lenny did anything with any other woman, it would cause Allie to feel physical pain. Not only that, but once you have that bond, you no longer desire or think about another woman. It's so strong that you will only want your mate for the rest of your life." Dominick continued glaring at Patrick, disgusted with his antics. The other groomsman, Trent, was glaring at him as well.

"You don't have your mate yet, so how do you know?" Patrick asked him quietly.

"That is what keeps me looking for my mate. I want to have that bond with my better half and never need anyone other than her." Dominick turned to Sue as she was adjusting his tuxedo jacket. She looked up at him and winked. She liked the way he put that Patrick in his place.

Dominick Rhoades was tall at 6'8", very muscular with a dark brown complexion, golden-brown eyes, and short black hair. He was next in line to be Alpha of the White Raven Pack. They were one of the largest packs in northern California and one of the most respected. White Raven was known for their warriors.

Dominick had been looking for his mate for five years. At twenty-three, he had had no luck. Dominick's father was ready to hand over being Alpha to him. Still, he would rather wait until Dominick had his Luna by his side. Dominick also agreed with that; he wanted time to get to know his future Luna before throwing her to the wolves. He saw the look Lenny got in his eyes whenever he talked about Allie, and he couldn't help but be envious. He wanted to experience that as well.

Lenny looked at himself in the mirror and made sure his tux was perfect while Sue checked that the fit was right. Dominick watched Lenny with envy. He knew there would be a lot of unmated she-wolves at the wedding, and he was hoping that one of them would be his fated mate.

Dominick's wolf Ash was getting just as frustrated as Dominick. He had even threatened to take over and search the ends of the Earth until they found her. Dominick kept him calm by telling him they would meet her when the time was right. Ash wasn't so patient and grumbled as he curled up to sleep. He told Dominick that if they didn't find her at the wedding, he would take over until they found her. Dominick sighed but didn't argue either.

Dominick had just arrived at the packhouse that day and had already caught a lot of attention. His dark complexion, tall, muscular frame, and golden-brown eyes had put several she-wolves in his path, trying to get him to look at them. Dominick, however, had no interest in casual relationships; his love and affection were being saved for his mate. He had his fun when he was younger with a couple she-wolves. As Dominick got older, he realized that the she-wolves, who were not his fated mate, disgusted him and Ash. So he stopped fooling around and vowed he would wait for his mate. Ash agreed.

"Dom, what do you think? Do I look good enough to marry Allie?" Lenny stood tall with his dark brown hair a mess all over his head like always. He stood around 6'2", had an average build, tan skin, and dark brown eyes. Lenny always looked like a young boy no matter how hard he tried to look like a grown man.

Lenny was twenty-three, just like Dom, they had been best friends since they were pups, and he would be Dominick's Beta when he becomes the Alpha. Lenny agreed to the wedding for Allie's benefit because they were rather popular in her pack. Still, Dominick knew that Lenny was just as excited as Allie was. He smiled at Lenny before walking over to him.

"You look as messed up as always, Lenny. It's a good thing Allie loves you so she can see past this rat's nest you call hair." Dom rubbed Lenny's hair, messing it up even more while they laughed together.

"I know I got lucky to have such a beautiful she-wolf, and we truly love each other." Lenny's eyes were shining while he thought of his lovely mate.

"You guys are too soft. Women are only good for sex and making their mates happy. They should be kicked to the curb if they can't do that." Both Dom and Lenny turned to glare at Patrick.

Neither of them cares for Pat, but he is one of the groomsmen only because Lenny's dad is good friends with Patrick's dad. They both felt sorry for whoever ended up mated with him; he had no respect for the mate bond or women in general.

"Patrick, shut up. I hope you change your tune before you meet your mate, or she may reject you, and that will be a pain I wouldn't wish on anyone." Lenny turned back to Dom while Patrick rolled his eyes. "Maybe you will find your mate at the wedding, Dom." Dominick smiled at him, hoping the same thing, but he would focus on his best friend right now.

Allie and Lenny decided they wanted to stay apart these last two days before the wedding. Dom, Patrick, and the other groomsman, Trent, were taking him to a separate cabin in the woods to stay until the wedding. Lenny's fourth groomsman was Allie's brother Riley; he would be joining them later.

"Sue, are you done messing with us so we can get to the cabin before we cross paths with the women? Allie and I are not supposed to see each other until she walks down the aisle." Lenny had that dreamy look in his eyes again, imagining his beautiful princess walking to him. Dom smiled to himself as he watched him; he was happy for his friend.

"All done, boys. Go have your fun. I will return to the women and keep them occupied until you leave the packhouse." Sue quietly left after telling them to hang their tuxedos up carefully. She smiled as she walked out of the room, thinking about the two young people about to get married. No matter what species you were, you could not help to feel the love in the air when there was a wedding.

"Alright, guys, let's head to the cabin. Alpha Randal said we should have everything we need until the wedding. Dom, can you peek your head out to ensure no women are in sight?" Dom headed to the door to do as Lenny asked and stuck his head out.

He caught the faint whiff of something that made his pulse race. He felt light-headed and looked around. No one was in the hall, and just as quickly as he caught the scent, it went away. Ash perked up and tried to capture the scent again, but he could no longer detect it either.

Ash was a big gray wolf with his ears, tail, and paws black. He had black around both of his eyes as well. Dominick liked to tease him that he looked more like a raccoon than a wolf. Due to being an alpha wolf, Ash was bigger than the average werewolf. He acted tough most of the time; however, he was worried about his human counterpart. They needed their mate. Ash didn't care if she was human, werebear, werecat, or any other species; they just needed her. So when he caught that scent as Dominick opened the door, he almost went crazy, wanting to shift to follow it.

"Ash, what was that?" Dominick asked his wolf. Ash started running around in his head, laughing like an idiot. "Will you stop that before you make us both sick?"

"Dom, that was the scent of our mate. That means she is here in the packhouse. Go look for her right now."   Dominick couldn't believe it. He wanted to run down the hall, banging on every door until he found the woman meant to be his like Ash said. Instead, Dominick took a deep breath and reminded himself that he was here to be with Lenny right now, and when he crossed paths with his mate, he would claim her.  He could feel Ash wanting to shift to go find her.

"Ash, we have to be here for Lenny. I am sure we will find our mate during the wedding. Keep yourself in control; at least we know she is here." Ash agreed, but he was not happy about it. He thought about taking over Dominick and going to find their mate himself, but he briefly forgot that Dom could hear his thoughts. "Don't even think about it, Ash."

"Fine, but if we don't see her at the wedding, I am taking over until I pick up that scent again." After Ash laid back down, Dominick took a deep breath before turning towards the others.

"It's all clear, Lenny. Are you ready to go?" Dom could tell his voice sounded weird. Lenny and Patrick exchanged a look before Lenny nodded, and they all headed out the door.

"Dom, what's going on with you? Why are you acting weird and looking like you just saw a ghost?" Lenny was walking next to Dominick, watching him looking from side to side as they walked down the hall. He jumped at every little noise and sniffed the air like he was trying to find something.

"It's nothing, Lenny. Let's just get to the cabin." Lenny nodded but still watched as Dom was acting peculiar. Dom usually kept his emotions hidden and didn't let anything slip through his tough armor, but right now, he looked like a pup searching for a bone he had hidden. Lenny figured he would drill him later once they had time alone without Patrick or Trent.

Meanwhile, Dominick could not help but try to pick up that scent again as they walked. He could not even pinpoint what it was because it was so faint that he barely had a chance to smell it. Dominick knew he would know it once he smelled it again.

The packhouse of the Pale Moon Pack was big and beautiful. It was set up like a vast cabin; everything was made of wood. He saw omegas running around cleaning and getting everything ready for the wedding. The packhouse just looked like a big resort.

Dominick's pack, White Raven, was only about an hour's drive from this location, but it didn't have a view of the lake. Instead, it was hidden even deeper in the forest, where it was too dangerous for most humans to venture.  His pack was also much bigger because of the number of warriors.

As they walked to the small cabin, Dom couldn't help picturing how his mate would look. Would she be tall or short? Would she have a dark complexion or light? What color were her eyes and hair? He stressed himself and Ash with these thoughts until they went crazy.   Ash finally told him to stop. They would know what she looked like when they saw her in two days.

Dominick hoped that whoever his mate was, she would be as happy about finding her mate as he was about finding his. He honestly couldn't care less how she looked. All that mattered was that the Moon Goddess fated them, which meant they were each other's better half. Together they would be whole, and he couldn't wait.