Silvertip Mountain Digging that den.

She looked at first like she might chew his face off, but the moment passed. Mason breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Then he noticed that she still didn’t look happy – she looked sort of confused, or nervous. It was hard to gauge because Zaria usually looking nothing other than confident. Her next words sounded careful, but he wagged his tail at their sentiment- gradually they appeared to be mending the weird rift that had formed between them. Mason was growing up and Zaria was growing… softer? She was having puppies, after all.
 
Mason listened as she spoke – clearly she was thinking of the same subject as he was. The Beta noticed her glance towards her project, and he realised it was probably a birthing den. She seemed to be doing okay so far. For all Mason knew, Zaria would be the best mother ever. But then he thought of his own mother, or lack-of. Raissa hadn’t managed it for long, and Dad had admitted in the few times he spoke of Raissa that she had definitely loved them.
 
Mason took a couple of steps towards Zaria, keeping himself low and unthreatening. He wondered whether she was going to give in to self-pity. “Why shouldn’t it have happened? It’s a natural thing. Pups carry on the pack when you get old.” Mason spoke matter-of-factly, hoping not to anger Zaria but hoping she didn’t try and do something stupid (like infanticide as soon as they were born).

“What do you think will happen?” He probed gently – to her, to the puppies, to Fitz, to the Pack, to the family dynamic. He was happy to listen to her concerns and try to help her overcome them. But he knew Zaria, and he knew should would not ‘admit’ her concerns if he asked a direct question – she was too stubborn for that.