Wolf RPG

Her heat was over, he presumed. He hadn't felt the need to be with her that way for a few days now and, in truth, he was kind of thankful for it. It had been a very exhausting week and they had done everything possible to create the pups that they both wanted. Whether it took and the fruit fell from the tree was in the Great Bears' hands now.

FitzDutiful woke that morning with an urging question in his mind. What names would they potential children take? He knew, already, that their middle names would follow his family's traditions and their first names hers. What names could he offer? He had plenty of options: Modesty, Harmony, Chivalry, Versatility, Loyalty. They would have no Fitz.

But what about their surname? He thought about his own, the place of his birth and the fact that Raissa had taken his for her own upon their mateship. Should their children follow that suit? They would have if he had not been an alpha but this was more his home than anywhere else. This is what he had made himself and the legacy he would offer them.

"Raissa." He called out to their den as he wandered back towards it in the here and now, "Are you here?"

Raissa had been thinking about the pups since the 'event'. She wished so hard that she would take and that had distracted her for the past couple days. That fact showed in her hunt of the day. The only thing she had managed to catch that day was a scrawny pheasant, she was sure it wasn't even full grown yet.

She had just buried her pheasant in one of the caches near their den and was walking towards their cave when she heard Fitz call out for her. Raissa's ears perked as she quickened her pace towards him, her eyes searching until she found his light grey shape. She smiled and hurried up to him, giving him a quick lick on the cheek. Here heat was over and she felt much better already.

"I'm here." she replied, sitting down in front of him.

Raissa came, it appeared that she had been closer than he had anticipated. He wondered how to start this conversation that he wanted. As he looked at her, his eyes were drawn to the underside of her belly. Were there puppies in there, small and tiny, growing and on their way to life? Pulling his eyes back up and to the direction of hers he started with an ominous, "We need to talk about something." His words trailed off.

He didn't realise quite how scary those words could sound to another as he got his mind around where to start. "I want us to change our surname. Our puppies are going to be born here, this is a home that we started. What do you think to taking on Silvertip as a family last name?" He had never heard anything about a family name of her own before she had taken on his. Wisconsin seemed too... in the past. It was outdated and not who they were. Silvertip would look forward and show the world that their family started here.

Raissa couldn't help but suck in a breath as the trouble-some words left his lips. Those words were never a good thing in here experience, and the fact that they had done something so intimate not so long ago just made her insecurity spike even more. But when he explained his reasoning the tension seemed to drain from her form and she gave him a smile.

Ears twitching ever so slightly, Raissa listened intently to his idea, getting more onboard for it with every word. She had abandoned her last name a long time ago, thinking it wasn't worth the time. Now that she was officially starting a family, it was probably a good time to get one back. His suggestion to taking the name Silvertip made her smile. Raissa Silvertip. It sounded good and she gave him a nod.

"I think that's a good idea, it will probably bring us closer together too." she added with a small smile.

Raissa spoke of them being closer together and, as she did, he finished the distance between them. As he sat down next to her she finished her words and he leant up against her. "Me, you, our pups, our friends. Our family." he said, trying to decide whether to mention his thoughts on the pack to her.

"Raissa," he said to her "You mentioned once that you weren't bothered about matters of rank. I need help when our puppies come along." He was very sure that there would be puppies from their tryst. "I'm thinking of promoting Bindi to beta. She's been very good for our pack and having someone else who can accept members and deal with issues will give me more time to spend with you and our children." He hoped she would understand. He knew that the two of them hadn't started off well and seriously hoped that she wouldn't think this was a personal slight against her.

Unfortunately, even if she hated the idea, it was going to happen after the turn of the moon. "I was planning on asking her to take this one when the new month begins." There was time yet for her to turn and flee, but FitzDutiful only had the impression that Bindi was here to stay.

Raissa's eyes widened in horror and shock at the mention of Bindi's name. How could he really consider making her the beta when she had emotionally damaged one of their pack mates and left Raissa to pick of the pieces. She instantly recoiled from Fitz, hurt flickering on her face as well. All that had been going well had sputtered and burned out, leaving Raissa with a dead, empty feeling she couldn't describe. And the thought of the dark wolfess being around her pups made Raissa's blood boil and her eyes narrow dangerously. She didn't want them anywhere near her babies. And if that meant leaving the pack, she couldn't help but think she would do that.

The motherly instincts were already kicking in and they over powered everything else, including the good of the pack.

"What?" she hissed slowly, her eyes darkening so they represented more of a scarlet color. "You do know that she only cares about herself, right?" she sneered, her face full of hatred. This was probably the first look Fitz had at his mate's dark side, and it was not going to be pretty.

FitzDutiful hadn't expected such a venomous comeback to his words. He knew the two didn't get on but refused to accept that anything was this bad. It had been a long time since the pack had founded surely they could let go and move on from that? Rather than make this personal he looked at her, his eyes almost cold. "Then who do you recommend?" he asked her, his tone void of any emotion at all.

Without giving her chance to reply he launched into his explanation. "I would ask you, but two of us as leaders will give us less time together than we have now. This is make us a priority. Tempest is flighty at the best of times, she had never shown any skills that would lend me to give her leadership. Both Copper and Jensen I have known for less time and neither show much interests in their trades. I don't want a leader that sets a bad example. Maybe to start with Bindi had no intentions of staying, maybe she was in this for herself but she has given me no cause to think that of late. She has been kind, thoughtful and looked out for this pack numerous times. I have seen her defend this pack from trespassers that did not respect our borders, I have seen her obey my word even if she disagreed with my opinion, I have seen her lead a pack hunt. She is the only one I can think of to help me and let me spend more time with our children."

He paused to take a breath. "However, if you know of someone better, if know of someone more qualified to help me, if you feel the need to make this so personal that my asking Bindi so I can spend time with you does not meet your approval then please? I'm all ears."

She opened her mouth to launch another hateful spew of words, provoked by the coldness in his voice, but clamped it shut as soon as he started talking again, explaining his decision. The more he spoke, the more she deflated, coming to her senses, realizing that it was indeed the right decision no matter how much she hated the idea of Bindi being in charge. There was no way Fitz should have to do everything on his own, and it would be unfair to the pack to have a leader that was close to having pups and not entirely focused on the well being of the pack as a whole. Bindi was the only one who qualified for the job, but Raissa still didn't like it. The hate drained from her eyes, leaving them weary and rather sad looking.

"I know what you're doing is right, but it still makes me feel uncomfortable." She replied, her voice nearly emotionless, the only hint of feeling was the raw honesty that filled her words. She met her mates eyes with a look that gave away how scared she actually was.

Was she really ready for this? They had just started a new pack and now she was pregnant. How did she know if she could handle that much? She already felt like she was failing not only Fitz as a mate, but the pack as a founding member. She felt like she was the weak link, ready to snap at any moment.

She felt pathetic, so small and defeated that she had actually let Bindi's words get to her. It wasn't like her to show her true feelings, but Fitz's cold voice had torn down her walls completely, leaving her defenseless and vulnerable. Not wanting him to see through her, she averted her gaze, instead looking at the frosty ground below her paws.

He didn't know how to respond. He didn't know how to reply. He didn't know what more there was to say. It was difficult, he could see how afraid she was but he didn't have a clue what she had to be scared about. Was she worried that Bindi would chase her out? That wasn't going to happen, he was still the alpha it wasn't as if he was conceding his claim to this land. All he knew was that he was hoping for puppies and for this to work he needed more help.

FitzDutiful looked at Raissa, saw her fear, and then looked away. He didn't see her defenceless stance or her looking away from him and to the ground. With nothing left to say, with no idea how to fix this problem he had caused FitzDutiful went inside their den and lay down to rest. That had been the most exhausting conversation of his life. Little did he know there was more difficult conversations to come.

When she sensed he was moving, she lifted her gaze from the ground to see his back turned, padding towards their den. It didn't feel like their den anymore. It felt like a black void of hell. He had seen her fear, her utter depression, and turned away. Her body shook, but she wasn't sure if it was from the sobs that threatened to escape her maw, or the terrifying hate that filled her. Hate for Bindi, but mostly it was hate for herself.

One single tear escaped her eye before she pulled herself together, shook her pelt and turned away as well. But she couldn't hold the act for long, her insides were cracking, breaking apart into a million little pieces and she couldn't take it much longer. What had happened to the strong, independent wolf she had once been? The one who didn't need help, who didn't care what people thought about her? Wherever she was, it wasn't here.

Maybe it was time to bring her back.