Blackfeather Woods no one but you

It was Akela who broke Cicero's thoughts eventually. He looked up, mismatched eyes fixing on the new Beta. Cicero wondered how long it would take for Damien to accept Akela's position; it was no surprise to him, nor secret, that Damien disapproved. He was not sure if Akela noticed, though he wondered about it now that he was faced with the Beta's appearance. "It appears so." Cicero thought it funny that fate had brought together Cicero and Akela beyond their first meeting at Lion's Head Mesa. Something in Akela reminded Cicero of Damien, although the intensity of the attraction was not the same.

"Does Akela know Burke or Meldresi from before?" he could not help but wonder — if not only for the fact of his near immediate promotion. It had not taken Akela long at all to rise up the ranks, where it took most wolves many months. Cicero himself did not hold such ambition, but he was curious for the reasons nevertheless.