Crescendo || A Wolf Tale

seven

Maria wasn't prone to second guessing the Alpha, or questioning things she thought were a certainty.

But when Wren had dropped into their laps, she had forced herself to stop and consider the past.

She was the spitting image of Jane Ferris.

Maria had been around when Marcus had first taken over as Alpha, after challenging the previous Alpha and winning.

But like most of the pack, Maria was not certain exactly what had happened - Henry Ferris had been a good Alpha, and when Marcus had come home one night, soaked in blood, it had been a shock to the entire pack when he announced that he'd challenged Henry and won.

Only Arthur Rempel, the packs old beta, had questioned what had happened, and for that, Marcus had exiled the old Beta and his wife, Miriam.

Maria had been even more shocked when Marcus had delivered Archer to her care - the young pup had been devastated when his parents had been banished.

In the decades since, she had been so focused on raising Archer, and looking out for the other pack pups, that the question of What had Really Happened, hadn't crossed her mind in years.

She’d never questioned what had happened to Jane, or the two pups the alpha and his mate had together.

Surely Wren couldn't possibly be the Ferris' daughter …

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even notice Kalen settle into the seat across from her, Wren taking a seat a moment later.

"Can we join you?" Archer asked, taking a seat next to Maria last.

She jumped a little, looking up in surprise at her unexpected guests at the dinner table.

She had tucked herself into the furthest table of the dining hall, feeling unusually anti-social that morning.

"Oh," She resisted the desire to frown, "I suppose so."

Sometimes, as the Pack Mother, she knew she had to put aside her own desires to help out the younger pups, no matter their age. She put aside her concerns, and focused on the trio before her.

"We had a request," Kalen said, before glancing at Archer.

"You do?" Wren looked a little lost, though Maria couldn't blame her. The poor pup had been through so much in the past two days - honestly, Maria was impressed she was holding up as well as she was.

It probably had everything to do with Kalen and Archer, of course. Though Maria had never met her own mate, she understood the unique bond mates could share, and how the Soulbond would make their connection that much stronger.

Archer smiled patiently at Wren, taking her hand to physically reassure her, "We do," He turned to look at Maria.

"We were hoping you could teach Wren a bit about wolf culture?" Kalen said.

"Since she didn't grow up in a pack, we don't want her to feel left out," Archer continued.

"Just things like our basic history, pack hierarchy, and the typical day of a pack member," Kalen explained next.

"You don't think I'm already busy?" Maria asked, even though she was touched by their thoughtfulness.

"Yeah, we know," Archer said, a small frown on his face as he exchanged looks with Kalen.

"You don't have to, it's fine," Wrens smaller voice spoke up, but Maria waved her concern away.

"Oh, goodness - it's fine Wren, I'm just teasing the boys."