3-1:Wayne

Harry entered with a determined step. He was reassured to know that the Mad One had not yet arrived.

"Hey, Harry, hi! Welcome to the Crossroad Cafe!" the two young Wind Tribe members said in unison.

The brother and sister standing in front of him shared some common features. They both had wavy black hair and brown eyes that shone with kindness. They wore a black T-shirts with the Café logo. The young man had dark jeans, while his sister wore a long skirt with ethnic patterns. She had a ring on each finger.

"Aiyana! Mat!" greeted Harry in turn.

The Red Moon Alpha hurried to the bar, where his friends, with whom he had played so much as a child during his visits to the Café, were standing.

"We'll have to be careful what we call you from now on," Mat said, patting Harry on the shoulder.

The redhead took a seat in one of the high chairs at the bar and grinned brightly as Aiyana placed a bowl of vanilla ice cream sprinkled with vermicelli candies of all colors in front of him.

"Thanks for remembering," he said warmly to the girl in front of him.

Since childhood, Harry had hoped with all his heart that Aiyana would be his Mate. He took each of her attentions to him as a sign of affection his soul mate might have had for him.

_ Don't be ridiculous," Harry's wolf growled.

The animal part of him liked the girl, who was a year younger than them, but he doubted that things were that simple. After all, it was extremely rare for soul mates to be close to each other.

It was a cruel game that the Moon Goddess seemed to play. However, the wolves welcomed this as part of a hunt, even though they feared they would never find their perfect match to complete them.

Aiyana and Mat exchanged a look. A golden glow could be seen disappearing in the corner of their eyes.

Aiyana took a beer from the fridge and put it on the counter next to Harry. Then she hurriedly grabbed her bag and quickly waited for Mat to finish placing clean glasses on a shelf.

"We have to go. Have a good night," Mat said, putting an arm around his sister's shoulders.

Harry remained silent, then went back to eating his ice cream. He heard the door of the Crossroad Café open, but he didn't pay any more attention.

His wolf had recognized the scent of the Alpha who had just entered.

They knew they were perfectly safe.

"How are you?" the warm voice of the colossus asked as he sat in the high chair beside him.

Harry put his spoon down, then rubbed his hand over his jeans before holding it out to his bar neighbor.

"I'm fine, thanks, Alpha Wayne."

Alpha Wayne shook his hand and proceeded to pop the cap off his beer bottle on the metal rim of the counter.

The appearance of the members of the Serene Moon had always amused Harry. They all looked more or less like loggers, and both men and women wore the same shirt style. However, the men seemed to have forgotten how to use razors or scissors.

On the other hand, Alpha Wayne made no effort at all with his physical appearance. He wore a red and white checkered shirt, as did all his pack members, and he never bothered to shave and tied his light brown hair up in a low man bun.

"What?" asked Wayne curiously, seeing Harry's eyes sparkle as he looked at him.

"I always wondered why the Serene Moon members all dressed like that," Harry stated as he began eating his ice cream again.

Wayne turned his stool so that his back was to the bar, then rested his elbows on the counter as he continued to drink.

"Originally, it was because I was too lazy," Wayne began before continuing when he saw Harry's interest. "I ordered this shirt, you see. And, since I got compliments on it, I figured, why not? I ended up recommending some, but I guess I got the order form wrong. I ended up with a shipment of a hundred shirts on my hands."

Harry laughed at the saucy news and ran a hand over his eyes.

"And when you paid, didn't you think your order was overpriced?"

Wayne nodded and took another sip.

"As you know, I have a bit of a shyness problem with women."

Harry laughed inwardly.

There was nothing small about Wayne's problem, and it could be considered a disease on his level. It didn't matter how old she was. As soon as someone of female origin came up to him, he would ultimately lose his chill.

Ironically, this daily handicap had allowed them to obtain a peace agreement with the mermen.

When their leader, a colorful individual, realized that Wayne could not speak in front of him, he was moved to know that Wayne had managed to identify his true inner self. The mighty merman thus hid the delicate heart of a sweet mermaid beneath his tough scales.

"All this to say that a woman was standing at the counter the day I ordered. So I handed them out to everyone. I guess it became a kind of uniform for the pack, out of support for my stupidity," Wayne finished by putting down his bottle.

As he placed his beer on the counter, a considerable goosebump appeared on both arms.

Wayne put a hand on Harry's shoulder and motioned for him to get up.

"The Mad One is here. Come on. It's time to make the introductions officially."

Both Alphas could feel their animal parts trembling under the overwhelming presence of the black wolf around the perimeter of the Café.