Havoc's Reign

The Gathering

Days after days, the white wolf sat, pleasant, petite, and calm with a smile that arched across her features, and her head tilted, eyes half-squinted, paws neatly tucked together and perfect posture. The alpha-in-line, after her father, the massive gray wolf known as Atch. Her mother was nowhere to be seen, and it was said after she birthed she died. Regina never questioned it. She had a brother, Ezekiel, who was also powerful. But he grew distant from her when she was the one to succeed her fathers throne, not him. Every month (full moon to them) the three packs gathered for an annual meeting. They lived in peace, and everyone treated them with kindness, as if they were their own kin. Females frolicked around the clearing, dashing and teasing males, grinning and laughing, while the males, as big-headed idiots sprung to their side, and they paired up.
Swallowing, the white wolf straightened her posture and sat higher with a tilted chin, her ears erect and tail flicking. She sat on a pile of smooth rocks, one for each of the betas, while the largest, flat and smooth, was to the alphas. Her father was among them. He was still strong and fit, but a dulling glaze was added to his eyes, and he looked almost frail. She never said anything, as he would protest that he was fine. But occasionally she would hear miserable hacking from his den. He was growing ill and it was only the middle of November. Turning her gaze from him, her head turned and she craned her neck to press the base of her snout against a gray shoulder, inhaling and exhaling. The scent was a mix of fresh pine and soggy Pete, and it made Regina's shoulders sag.
"Yes?" The wolf asked. His voice was deeper-toned and a bit scratchy when you listened thoroughly. "I'm scared, Havoc. He's growing worse." She had held comfort with him many times, so he knew what she meant. Havoc bent his head and rest his muzzle against her skull firmly, and her head drooped softly. This is all she needed, just his comfort. "He's going to be fine. I promise. And when he does go..." It was an assumption, and he didn't want to say that but he removed his muzzle from her head and bent his neck down, nudging her head upwards. "I'll be here, and so will your brother. He'll be in the stars among his own parents." And Havoc detached himself from her, but brushed closer, and his pelt mingled with hers. They weren't an actual couple, or mates. Betas of two different packs, they were a little on edge in the past, but it was resolved. They were close, and supposed to be mates for everything to go peaceful.