The Sunspire through the dreams and disasters.

The youthful boy in Summer saw the hackles rising in irritation along the former beta's spine and told him to stand down and ask for forgiveness for speaking out of turn, but the alpha wolf in his heart roared and forced him to stand strong and bold against it. His eyes narrowed as he listened to Jace defend himself, absorbing every word and rolling them over critically in his mind. He understood the reasons, could see them all clearly in his mind. And they all simply looked to him like excuses and a clear lack of respect towards the very rank itself.

"Why step down, though?" Summer asked, working hard to keep the chill from his voice although the disapproval was there, "You don't need to give up being our beta so that you can look after Vienna or so that you can hunt. A beta's job is to take care of the pack, which would mean doing both of those things. The rank is more than just a title, it's a commitment and it's an honor that you shouldn't just cast aside and then pick back up whenever you want to. You agreed to be the pack's beta and if you can't serve the position in the worst of times, then how can you ever claim it at all?"

He paused, mulling over his words and making sure to keep his temper in check. He didn't mean to anger his friend, but he just couldn't stand the thought of saying nothing. As quickly as he could, he broke his silence, not wanting to give Jace the chance to start arguing with him just yet.

"Jace, I don't want to make you angry or to offend you," he continued slowly, "I just don't like what you're doing or why you're doing it. I know you, you're only stepping down because you feel guilty for the things that have happened to our pack and you're taking that blame on yourself when the fault isn't yours. If anything it's more mine than yours. I'm the acting Warden for this pack when you're away, it was just as much my job to make sure Vienna was safe as yours and the only reason I wasn't was because I was away being selfish and stupid. That's why you are the beta, because you see the pack's troubles and you selflessly take the blame and the responsibility for fixing it."

Perhaps Ame would allow him to step down from his rank, but Summer never would have. He adored the pack's leadership and respected them both immensely, but neither of them were the kind of leader he would one day be. He would learn from that, take guidance from them and strive to emulate them in many ways, but he would never be them.