Phoenix Maplewood Look at all of these tears I've wept

"Could've what?" she snarled, pinning back her ears as fury grew. "You were thinking what? That you were better suited to lead the pack he founded in his moment of weakness?" She clamps her jaws together in a snap, sending a loud clap resonating through the forest. "This is not a democracy, Ukko! You don't get to make those decisions!" The pack belonged to her and Reek. It was a dictatorship, whether he liked it or not.

"My mate has been through a lot the past year," she chided him, "far more than you if you think his breakdown gives you the right to challenge his authority." She sniffed. "You're lucky it was him you challenged. You would not be here anymore if it had been me."

But Reek had done much more than just let the man go for his transgression. Her mate had promoted him. Saena thought it was foolish, and sought to make it known. "You are Beta to him," Saena told Ukko, "but you will not advise me. You are no Beta to me until you prove you are not a threat to this pack and to my family." With a snort, she went on. "I am having pups in the spring. I will not tolerate dissent in my ranks when that time comes. You have until then to prove you are not the upstart I now think you are, or you're done here."