Redtail Rise israfel

She listened and her feelings mixed into a volatile concoction that made her guts swim with a sensation she had never felt before.

Lilia was a worthy Berserkr. She had earned her position time and again and she had protected the Rise and the growing cubs within. But she was not Wealda. She would never be Wealda, and for her to have a hand in denying the one and forever Wealda from reclaiming her rank after denying another stepping in to fill it made Watcher realize something about Lilia.

Lilia was a worthy Berserkr but she had overstepped considerably, and that was arrogance.

Her respect for Augur slanted downward as well, for the Ulfhedinn should have reined in the fiery Berserkr and ensured Lilia was kept in check. She was not Wealda and had no right to deny Avicus that rank. Only Augur had that right. That Avicus was here, planning to leave her home, must mean Augur had not intervened. He had allowed this to happen.

How could he stand as the pillar of Redtail Rise and yet stand aside as its rightful ruler was ousted like this?

Watcher found herself biting the tip of her tongue and eased the tension out of her jaw by licking her chops. To Avicus, she felt little. Her mother had been gone, and when she returned, she had been distant. The bond that should have been there was not. But even Watcher knew Avicus was Wealda, and the breaking of pack hierarchy could not stand.

Masquerade was right. They should not have to leave. This was their home. Lilia and Ancelin were leaving in the spring, and in the meantime, would continue to destabilize whatever pack remained here. They would leave it a husk when the time came, and there would be no winners. There was a simpler solution that would ensure the Rise did not crumble here and now.

They should leave, said Watcher, her voice a note of finality. They plan to leave. They should go now. She canted her muzzle toward Redd, whom she scarcely knew, and then to Mulherin. They would go, but had Lilia and Ancelin not chosen to leave first? Avicus would regain Wealda and neither she nor Lilia would chafe under the pride of the other. Everyone would get what they sought, whereas this...

Avicus and the Redtails leaving would forever damage relations with Augur and his family, and the Redtails leaving Redtail Rise was wrong. To Watcher, this seemed simple, but she was only a juvenile. There were still things she could not see.

We are Redtail Rise.