The Contrary Mate

We walked to the entrance, and were allowed into the main reception hall easily upon the checking our tickets. Following the flow of other attendees, we went down a hall down to an area decorated by origami creations made from the pages of books. Drinks and appetizers were already being served by wait staff to the guests already milling around, and classical music trickled in from somewhere up ahead. Glasses of champagne were passed to our small group, and I looked around the room, my nose searching for any scents of interest, but I found nothing more interesting than a few unfamiliar human scents.

The night was still young, so she could turn up. My wolf remained hopeful.

But, of course, she would likely not. I didn't dare let my hopes get too high. I'd already gone through this process a thousand times before and I knew how it would turn out. I smiled and greeted an acquaintance as we passed.

Kylie was looking around with wide eyes, and Vander was watching her reaction with eyes of adoration, as if he couldn't even see the room she was looking at around them. Lenora introduced them to a passing couple, and we made polite chitchat. I pasted on the charming and pleasant facade that I would wear for the rest of the night.

As the crowd of attendees dressed in formal fittings grew, I continued to scan for anything of interest while showing the best face of Meteor with Lenora on my arm in the light casual interactions that were so common at these things. We spoke of the goodness of Hawker's work, and it was easy, because who could argue with children's literacy as a noble cause?

Shortly after we arrived, we were ushered into the reception area where supper and speeches would be held. I was seated close to, but not directly next to Vander and his mate, and Lenora was seated directly across from me, between two humans with whom I was vaguely acquainted. It seemed that the four of us were the only werewolves in the gathering tonight, which disappointed my wolf. I had nothing against humans, but it was most likely that my mate was also a werewolf. Although after years of searching places where werewolves congregated, maybe that wasn't true.

I would have welcomed it if any one of these human females was mine. Certainly, being mated to a non-werewolf would present some difficulty, but I was confident I could overcome any resistance. I only had to look to the woman sitting next to me to understand that women considered me to be a good catch. Her body was turned subtly in my direction and she was hanging on my every word. It was flattering, and the unpopular nerd I had once been revelled in her obvious attention.

The human on my other side was intermittently talking about some other charity event that was coming up that he was trying to get me interested in. I listened with half an ear while my mind swept the room, double checking the other attendees. Other than noticing a vampire with whom I was casually acquainted and a number of people with whom it was advantageous for Meteor if I maintained good relationships, there wasn't really anyone of interest. My wolf rested in the back of my mind, completely disinterested now that he hadn't found what he was looking for.

Somewhere to my right I heard the grating voice of a human competitor who seemed to consider himself to be my rival. He didn't interest me because he truly was no competition for me, any more than his company could rival mine, but he wouldn't let it go and who was I not to indulge him?

The classical quartet trailed off so the opening speeches could begin, which gave me a perfect excuse to quit the small talk with my seat mates. The opening speaker talked about the charity's purpose in combating illiteracy as servers begin to file in with plates of food. Our food was delivered, and my wolf perked up at the sight of lobster stuffed chicken cordon bleu on my plate. If there was one thing that could sidetrack him from his constant longing for that one person we could never find, it was food.

Once our table had been served, we began to eat. The opening speaker finished up and a video presentation about Hawker's good work began. It ended before desert and the conversation started up again around me. I glanced over at Vander and Kylie and they seemed to be enjoying themselves—or, more accurately, Kylie was having fun, and Vander was pleased with that. Lenora was deftly handling the attendees all around her, presenting the company in its best light.

And under my charming guise, I was bored. And worse, my wolf was lonely, even in this crowd of people.

Dessert was cleared, and the keynote speaker was led up to the podium, Although I had heard of her in passing in my circles, I hadn't seen Hawker's granddaughter before, and my wolf felt a quick flicker of interest before it fizzled out. She wasn't my mate, either.

Her speech was engaging as she spoke of the good work her late grandfather's charity did and it seemed she was truly passionate about what they were trying to accomplish. She had the reputation of being a bit of shut-in due to her blindness, but perhaps she was just too busy with her own interests to waste her time at these sorts of frivolous things.

A little human girl was called up to the podium. She was blond and about seven years old. She began to read out a poem written by her class, her words broken when she stumbled over occasional words.

Everyone clapped and oohed and awed as she walked down afterwards.

Hawker's granddaughter continued speaking, thanking everyone for their generous hearts for attending. It was unlikely that most of them were there out of true philanthropy. People were here to see and be seen, to make connections with the influential, to get good press, to be amused.

My reason for attending was hardly better. I was here because I thought Vander's mate would enjoy the experience and I had wanted them to enjoy their visit, but it also looked good for the head of Meteor to care about the society's problems, a crass demonstration of our virtue for the public eye, and a sweet write off for tax season. Of course the welfare of children was a worthy goal, but how many of us would really be here if it weren't for our own selfish reasons?

Hawker's granddaughter finished her speech and was led away from the podium. The scents of the humans around me crowded in on me, almost overwhelming. The woman beside me turned her face up and her brows furrowed in concern. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine," I said. And I was. Everything was going alright. Almost everything.

When she finally got distracted and no one else seemed to be looking, I surreptitiously pulled a flask out of my jacket, and spiked my champagne with fairy juice. I slipped it away again. I didn't know what the fae who had invented the magically enhanced alcohol was thinking when they named it, but it definitely made these sorts of things go by faster. Werewolf metabolisms could take care of regular alcohol so fast it took hard drinking to get intoxicated.

"I saw that," Lenora commented privately through our pack link.

"Come on, it's not fair that only the humans get to let loose."

She just sent me a stern look.

"I'm not going to go overboard. Oh, while I'm thinking about it, did you switch suppliers? This new batch is great."

"That we did."

"Let's stick with it then for the solstice moon celebration."

"I'll set it up in the morning."

"Thanks. You're the best."

"I'm aware of that." Her slight smirk was almost undetectable.