Phoenix Maplewood California One/The Youth and Beauty Brigade

There was a slight reluctance to select Desna over Tavi, perhaps because the girl had left the maplewood on an extended trip and Tavi had not. Saena could understand, in part, the desire to seek out family and banished the thought from her mind. It was unfair to hold that against the yearling. Her real reason for preferring Tavi, at the root of it, stemmed from maturity and the fact that Saena, hypocritical as she was, trusted older wolves more.

Reek's hesitance caused her face to fall slightly, but she quickly masked it with a smile. "We can keep an eye on her," the alpha female agreed, "but we will need a beta sooner than she can be ready, someone to help run the pack when... if... I'm unable to." There was no guarantee yet that Saena was pregnant, after all. Appointing a beta right this second could prove risky if the pregnancy hadn't taken, but Saena had every reason to believe it had, and so her mind was on finding someone suitable and soon.

"I think we should talk to Tavi about it, though," she half-insisted, half-agreed. There was no law saying they couldn't also make Desna a beta alongside Tavi when the time was right. More specifically, when Saena felt Desna was old enough to not completely blow it.