Phoenix Maplewood Rain or shine, snow or sleet.

Saena's expectation that Tavi would rise splendidly to the occasion was soon flattened, for rather than graciously accepting the position Saena was poised to offer her, Tavi sort of stammered over it and then deflected the attention to Desna before half-heartedly saying she would do it. Well, that wasn't at all what the alpha female was going for. The last half-hearted wolf they'd made beta had turned out to be a complete waste of time, and she wasn't overly keen to repeat that experience.

"Desna is too young yet," she shared, having thought long and hard about the young huntress and her eligibility. Saena had begun this pack at the tender age of one year, but she had also been raised by leaders, even if her parents, the alphas, had left in the end. Dante, Lasher and Blue Willow had become like parents then—the thought ached and she hastily removed it from her mind—and so she had been well-groomed. Desna's mother had been Scarlett. While Scarlett had once led a pack as well, in life, she was not the same sort of hardened wolf that Saena fancied she was. Desna, therefore, was not groomed in the same way, or so the alpha female felt.

Besides, there was no rule that she had to allow young wolves to lead just because she had led when she was young. That would break her hypocritical code.

"If you don't want to do it, that's up to you," she said gently, reminding Tavi that the choice was up to her and no one would force it on her, "but I can't think of anyone better. I know you can, if you want to. Perhaps Desna will rise to it in time, but there's no reason it can't be both of you when that day comes." Until then, Saena wanted someone to take up the position, someone she could trust to aid Reek when she herself was unable to help him lead. She wanted that someone to be Tavi.