Horizon Ridge Arsenic and Lace

It was probably a common trait in all of the young ones to jump to quick conclusions, without letting the older one finish the sentence. Pump was fully awake by now and without interrupting Thistle was patiently waiting, until she let the wolf-dog speak again. To her pack was a family - a few months ago the current alpha would have considered this foolish and naive, but now Pump could agree with her. Not to a full extent though. They were a group of unrelated wolves that hade recovered and fared very well after the tragedy had struck them. They had stuck together and formed bonds of mutual friendship and loyalty and thus earned equal rights and some privileges, while not forgetting that Pump was in charge.

"Then - by saying that the cubs will belong to the pack - did I say that this exclude you?" she asked her. Even though Thistle had committed a bad deed, this didn't mean that she had no rights to her children at all. She was their mother in the first place and no one could take a better care and responsibility of them then she on their first critical months. However, if she decided to leave the kids unattended, while they still were in need of her, she would be there to kill them mercifully. No question about that. "Thistle, as you are well aware, it is a common custom in most of the packs to kill all of the illict children that do not belong to alpha bloodline," Ragnar might object, but he was one of a kind.

"Therefore don't assume that the care of other packmates me included is something obvious," she went on. "This means that by being bound to the Ridge your children will have to return our favor to them," Pump pointed out. She was not particularly emotional, when it came to pack business. Practical and rational throughand through. "See it as an investment now for gaining profit in the future. Gavriil worded it out nicely - more hunters, more healers, more warriors."