The Rise of Venus

A Better Future

Song: Lord of the Rings Ambiance by Ambient Worlds

After spending the day running around with Alpha Draco's kids, I was exhausted. Never before had five pups managed to slaughter all of my energy with their games and trickery. I was almost ashamed to say it, but I felt like an asthmatic by the time the moon decided to show her face.

I blamed the injuries.

Flora, Sky, and I were silent witnesses to their pranks and silver tongued thievery of sweets. It was beautiful and somewhat comforting to see how untouched the Lycan Pack was by the ongoing war. Known for their brutal savagery, it came as no surprise to learn only one band of fools were brave enough to attack. Any future assaults were halted when the Lycan Pack dismembered their invaders. Their body parts were scattered at their borders as an unspoken warning.

A warning that had more than worked judging by the carefree nature of every Werewolf in this Pack. I was a little envious to see how weightless their shoulders were compared to my group. On the other hand, I was over the moon to finally be among a Pack that wasn't uptight about Dark Witches or prophecies. This place gave us the shred of normalcy we'd all been missing for so long. It felt good to be able to recover somewhere that brought back the nostalgia of old Pack life.

I'd almost forgotten how safe I could feel when I wasn't worrying about everything and everyone.

"Bye, Vivi!" Little Lucy, the youngest of the five pups, waved at me for the fifth time since her mother came to take her pups home. I watched as she wriggled in her mother's arms, trying to get a better angle to wave goodbye for the sixth time. The blue eyed pup was resilient. Testing her mothers patience to the last straw while she worked to wrangle her four other rowdy pups. All five of their silver heads shined wonderfully under the moonlight. I watched them fondly as if they were my own. "Bye, Florie! Bye Sky!"

To the delight of the fair pup, we waved goodbye for the sixth time. She finally stopped struggling in Luna Cora's arms and slumped into her motherly embrace.

Alpha Draco emerged from the shadows, growling playfully as he nipped at his pup's feet. The large black wolf dropped to his stomach, swishing his tail side to side and bared his teeth. The older four boys screamed, shoving each other out of the way to run home like their mother told them to.

"I threaten them with no dessert and they barely flinch," Luna Cora grumbled. "Big Bad Wolf does a few tricks and they're suddenly faster than the wind. Unbelievable."

Alpha Draco nuzzled his Mate's leg, a wolfish grin stretched over his large mouth. Lucy brushed the fur of her fathers head before complaining about wanting a bath. It made my heart fill with warmth to watch their casual domesticity of family life. Seeing that, yearning for it too, made my back hurt a little less throughout the day. The pain was almost nonexistent come moonrise.

Well, that and I'd been taking little bits of strength from Leo as well so...

Yeah.

Alpha Draco flicked his tail towards the small bunker hidden within the thick trees. I nodded at his silent order and he turned tail to usher his family home.

The time was coming to meet Hemlock Pridesong.

Sky's brown wolf bounded ahead, chasing the drops of moonlight lighting the earth's floor. She'd been quiet all day but not in a worrying way. If anything, I got the feeling that she was simply content with just being here. Words weren't necessary to be spoken aloud from her so Flora and I never pushed it.

"I think those pups just convinced me to tie my tubes," Flora muttered.

I laughed at her admission, suddenly wondering what type of mother she'd be. In my mind's eye I saw her as someone that was free reigning but still somewhat firm. She'd definitely be one of those mothers that wouldn't let her pups get anything over her. Flora's mind games wouldn't allow them to weasel out of the truth no matter what. Flora would be the type of mother to preach safe sex. There was no doubt in my mind that she'd be the mother of scarily informed pups with absolutely zero filter.