Lakota I place the journal down to let my mind settle from what I read, "Our Mate was a Mountain Lion," Lotus smiles at me, and I know I would have loved him just as much as I would have loved a Wolf Mate or a Lycan Mate; to us it wouldn't have made a difference. The Goddess paired us for a reason, and who are we to doubt her. I pick up the journal again to continue reading about Shasta's life; she got rejected by the Pack's Gamma and was gifted a second chance Mate. A Mountain Lion like herself, and they had nine kittens before she died; she handed her journal and those of her Father over to her youngest Son, Jake. Lotus and I ask one another the same question at the same time, "Our Jake?" I find out that Jake lived in these mountains, just like a big part of his family, and I recognize one of the places he describes in his journal. It is a stream Quinn and I found about three years ago when we decided we needed a more detailed map of the area. He writes about Hidden Mountain Pack and how they slowly died, one after the other. He writes about his oldest brother being mated to the Alpha's Daughter and how they tried to hide it from everyone, but they were caught. Both of them were killed immediately, and the Alpha announced the new Pack-rules within seconds; Jake had witnessed it all. Apparently those Pack-rules were not as old as I had expected if it is my Jake that wrote this down, unless he was a lot older than I would have suspected. He writes about finding his Mate and the kittens they had during their lives together, but none of his kittens kept living in this mountain range. On his deathbed he hands his journal over to his Sister's youngest kitten, and I know that this is my Jake he mentions. Jake writes about his travels as he visits his family that is scattered all over the mountains in the country, and I enjoy every visit he writes down. Jake writes about returning home decades after the last Alpha died and the remaining Pack-members had moved away. He writes about watching the buildings collapse, about nature taking back control of the territory, and every other page he draws how a part of the territory looks from his spot on the mountain. As I turn the next page I see that the handwriting is strange, and it only takes me a few words to understand why; he wrote this down after he had been attacked by three Rogues. My name is Jake, and these journals contain the stories of my family. We are Mountain Lions, and we have lived here for generations. I am the last one of my family that still lives here; the rest of them moved away or died somewhere down the line. I never had the pleasure of meeting my Mate, but I never gave up hope on finding her until right now. I will never be able to hold her, to look into her eyes and tell her that I love her, or to hold our first Son or Daughter. I know she will find a Mate without knowing that she was meant to be mine, and I am fine with that thought, because all I want is for my Mate to be happy. If by some miracle I find her before I take my last breath, I want her to know that I want her to find happiness and to have the family we are not able to have. I love you, my Mate. I feel two arms wrap around me and I smell my Dad's scent calming me, wrapping me in a blanket of comfort as I quietly sob. It takes me a while to stop crying, but I am finally able to point at the last entry in the journal, and I know that Dad is reading Jake's last words. Dad lifts me in his arms and sits down with me on one of the couches, just holding me. "Is it time to head to the diner?" I ask him, and he actually chuckles. "Lance asked me to accompany him when he found you reading the journals. We both agreed it was time for you to find out more about Jake; I hadn't expected to find out he was a Mountain Lion. I wonder what they are like when it comes to fighting, if they could adapt to Pack life as we know it. Dang, I keep coming up with questions I would have liked to ask him," Dad mumbles as he squeezes me tighter into his chest. "He wants you to be happy, Lakota. I think it is time to let go of Jake, and maybe the Goddess will grant you another Mate." I am not sure if she would, but I know I have some closure now, and I will always have the journals to remind me of the second chance Mate I never got to know. Jake and his family will become a part of this Pack, because I want Mylana to teach our Pups that we are not the only shifters around. "Lance still at the Pack-house with our guests?" I ask Dad as I grab the journals from my desk to place them back on the bookshelf. "Yes, and Mylana already introduced herself to them. They are all telling the truth; she said it is safe to inform them and to make them full Pack-members," Dad replies.