Blacktail Deer Plateau How bright you shone for me tonight

She stood tensely, her eyes on Osprey and her ears on Dante. From her periphery, the juvenile spotted Dante's crest and mane rising, but the Alpha made no move to discipline her or otherwise suggest he intended to claim Osprey. His manner was testy, but Saena was testy too; aside from an outright dominance display, he couldn't dissuade her from this.

It wasn't personal, although her protective sweep around Valtyr may very well have seemed like it, as if she thought Osprey would try to seduce any male around, even a young one. Had it been Kesuk and not her estranged aunt, her behaviour would be the same. Had it been anyone but Dante standing there, she would've been more forward, rather than standing tensely with her snout angled up and her jaws silently displayed.

When Osprey approached the Alpha male more closely and sought to touch him, Saena surged forward a few more steps, peeled back her lips and snarled, making her warning more apparent and more dangerous. It was for Blue Willow, she told herself; the Beta would not approve of another litter while hers was so young unless it was Dante's express wish, something she was unconvinced of. She wasn't sexually mature, so it wasn't a battle for breeding rights, but more for authority and for the good of the existing Plateau children; if it were, one of them would already be bloodied.

Rumbling loudly, the youth advanced another step and let every hair on her body stand on end. Saena rose her tail over her spine, both challenging Osprey and silently demanding that she back away from Dante and back down from her coy attempts. So focused was she on preventing Osprey from breeding within the pack that she didn't even notice Valtyr's nervous shifting behind her, though she would've found it cute (and possibly irresistible if she wasn't an adolescent) if she noticed.