Silvertip Mountain Waking the Dead.

He hadn’t expected it to be a walk in the park. In fact, her reaction was diminished from the affronted anger he had expected. Motherhood was softening her whether she wanted to believe it or not. Her comment about Beta stung – yes he had only just become a Beta, but she had become an Alpha within a couple of months of joining the pack. Should Mason point this out? No.

 

She mentioned the bugs, which had come swiftly and had scared Mason at first. They had eaten everything in sight. He understood her worry about their effect on the prey. Which was exactly what his point had been – they need to be strong.

 

Her offer was more than he had expected, but less than what he felt he deserved. On that unhappy medium he could roll along for a while at least. “Thank you Zaria, for the chance. I will stay close to my brothers and sisters. I can tell them stories and bring them prey to test their hunting skills. If I can find any…” Mason looked backwards at the entrance to the den and shuddered at the memory of the swarm. “I hope they don’t come back.”