Horizon Ridge Mexican highway

The best word to describe Pied lately would be restless. She couldn't stop fretting about the situation with Akhlut. It reminded her of the cold, lonely, hungry weeks after Jinx's disappearance from Bon Dye, which triggered a bad anxiety within her. Why wasn't the Alpha male more present and involved in pack matters? His leadership wasn't very strong, whatever the reason, and Pied didn't know what to do if Jinx either stepped up to help him or—knowing the Gamma perhaps better than anyone else—stole the Alpha's crown entirely. Pied didn't want the crown for herself, nor did she want to fight Jinx, but nor could she swear fealty to her.

To make matters worse, Pied's mothering instincts were reaching a fevered pitch. She wanted to be a mother. She would would do anything to safely bear a litter. Yet she didn't have Akhlut's blessing, nor would she have Jinx's in the event that it mattered. As her body came ever closer to sexual maturity, she found her thoughts straying to the plateau. She knew Hawkeye was a good leader and that she'd welcome Pied's pups. It would be so easy to just run there, yet Pied was not the type to simply flee without a word to serve her own selfish needs, leaving behind a pack that needed her... even if the drive was strong and getting stronger, threatening to overrule her better nature.

Whining under her breath, Pied paced in front of the lair she shared with Kisu, stopping every now and then to stare at it. Would she raise her family in there... or would she be forced to go somewhere else? Back and forth she walked, mulling over everything. She hoped all this worrying would come to nothing, that Akhlut would reach his full potential as an Alpha, give his only mated pair his blessing to breed and keep Jinx in her place.

Yet she simply couldn't bet on that, not with her chance motherhood at stake. Stopping and sitting abruptly, Pied threw back her head and called for her mate. She'd reached the point where she needed to bring up the situation with Kisu and discuss their options. Besides, she couldn't and didn't want to make any decisions without him; it would take both of them to create and rear the litter of her dreams.

And she could feel that moment—the window of opportunity to start their family—drawing very near now. Once Pied went into heat, she knew that all bets were off and Mother Nature's most compelling desire would rule her.