The rest of the walk back to camp was filled with an awkward silence between the two wolves. Clearly they had different thoughts about what was important when it came to leadership. Maybe Ryko wasn't the kind of leader Fae had been led to believe.

She entered the camp before Ryko, not looking back to see if he followed. Upon seeing her, KoKo ran up to her, ears perked in excitement. She peeked around Fae to look at Ryko.

"So, did it go well?" She asked, eyes shining.

Fae shrugged. "I'm not sure. We had a conflict at the border. He was acting a lot more aggressive than I thought he was."

KoKo tilted her head in confusion. "Really? That's interesting."

Fae opened her mouth to continue the conversation, but was interrupted by her father's summoning. She had gotten back just in time for the pack meeting.

She unwillingly made her way over to the center of the clearing, sitting down next to her parents.

Her mother leaned over to hear and nuzzled her affectionately.

"There you are! I thought you might be late."

Fae smiled slightly at her. "I would never, mom."

She laughed, sensing the sarcasm in her voice. "Well, either way, I'm glad you got to spend the day with Ryko."

Fae nodded, directing her gaze towards the ground while her father started the meeting.

(Sorry it's short)

He flopped down on the ground just to have kenley pounce on him. "Kenley. Get off. I'm tired." He told thr male as he used his hind legs yo kick him off.

"Come on let's go to the river" kenley told him. Dijkstra looked at his bestfriend like he was insane. "What's the point of going to the river when it's pouring outside?" Dijkstra asked as he looked at the entrance of the den.

Fae listened to her father drag on about pack affairs. Boring things like how many rabbits we caught this week. She knew it was important, and that she was supposed to learn how to do it. But she had already spent years learning about running the pack, and for now, she found it boring, so she tried to stay away from it for as long as she could.

Instead of focusing on the news of the pack, she tried to drown out the voices by listening to the pitter patter of the rain instead. She watched the delicate raindrops fall, landing on the tree leaves until they slid off, bending the leaf with their weight.

Lost in thought, she didn't notice her father calling her name until he was practically shouting.

"Faeris! Do you have anything to say?"

Fae blinked in confusion for a moment before clearing her thoughts. She stood up and looked out over her pack, clearing her throat to catch their attention.

"After hearing a few stories from wolves in the pack, I'd like to mention something concerning the borders." She tried not to make eye contact with Ryko as she spoke. "It seems as if there has been little enough physical conflict with the dark pack recently that they are feeling more confident around our borders."

Fae tried to ignore the mutters and whispers that broke out as she spoke. Although she was avoiding his gaze, she could feel the piercing gaze of Ryko passing over her. She shook off her doubts and pressed onward.

"I wanted to encourage everyone not to react in haste. Just because a wolf is near our border does not mean that he or she has malicious intent. We are only damaging our reputation by being aggressive at the first sign of a stranger. That makes ourselves no better than them."

Swallowing nervously, Fae sat back down. She had no idea how her pack would react to her saying something like this. Everyone around her had been raised to hate the other pack, including her. But she didn't want that to lead them to ruin.

"So when has that ever stopped us before?" Kenley asked happily. Dijkstra sighed and got to his feet. "Come on let's go and satisfy the pup in you." He chuckled and started for the entrance of the den. Once outside, the female from earlier that day who had came up to him after his training with the pups, walked up to him. "Here we go again" Dijkstra said under his breath as he rolled his eyes. As kenley came padding out of the den behind him, Dijkstra noticed the female stop and think for a moment before coming up. "You seem in a better mood." She told him as her tail swished.

Fae swallowed as she anticipated the response of the pack. She couldn't gauge how any of them felt. There seemed to be a mixed response. She looked to her mother for help, and she simply smiled sympathetically at her.

"Those were very wise words, dear." The luna whispered.

Fae glanced away, avoiding eye contact. She had said something completely out of line with the packs beliefs, and she could completely lose their support of her leadership.

Her father stood up, silencing the crowd.

"Thank you, Fae. I agree that we should be slow to jump to conclusions. Heed her words in the future." His intimidating gaze quickly communicated to everyone that this wasn't an option- they would respect his daughter. "This meeting is dismissed."

Fae breathed a sigh of relief as she gathering came to a close. She stood up and walked away, seeking shelter from the rain. She soon found a sheltered spot beneath a hidden rock outcropping that no wolf had claimed yet.

She settled down and tried to shake off as much rain as she could, thinking over what she had said. It had been the right thing to say, she felt sure. It just wasn't what anyone had expected. And she was sure it made Ryko upset, he probably hated her now.

As this thought crossed her mind, her ears perked at the sound of his name. She turned her head towards the sound and saw two members of her pack in quiet conversation with Ryko himself.

"She's going rogue. She can't tell us how to feel about the other pack!" One growled angrily.

Ryko flicked his ear, seeming a little uncomfortable. The other wolf jumped in before he could say anything.

"He's right. Fae is getting a little too comfortable. Doesn't she know you'll be the one in control once you're mates?"

The two wolves beside Ryko laughed at this, but he kept a straight face.

"You might be right." He agreed. "But I don't mind a wolf with a little willpower. She's just using it in a stupid way. I'll show her how to lead."

Fae scoffed. This was really how Ryko and the pack saw her? Just his future pawn who knew nothing about leadership? She swallowed back tears as the thought hit her, and she ran out from under the outcrop, not caring if they noticed her. Blinded by the rain, she dashed through the camp until she had left it all behind her.

"I was in a better mood yes." He said emfacizing the was. He tried to walk past her but she blocked his path before rubbing against his side. Dijkstra stepped to the side causing her to fall. Kenley let out a snicker. Dijkstra had to force himself to keep from laughing. The female stood up and stormed off. "Your never going to find a mate." She said as she looked over her shoulder before continuing to leave. As soon as she was out of sight, Dijkstra burst out laughing along with kenley. They were both laughing so hard they hadn't noticed Dijkstras mom walk up. "Dijkstra why did I just see Astrid storm off?" She asked him. Dijkstra stopped laughing and had to jab kenley in the side to get him to stop. Kenley let out another laugh at the question. "Because she fancies him but he doesn't like her back and wouldn't choose her to be his mate if she was the last female in the pack." Kenley said which earned him another jab in the side from Dijkstra. "Mom she's not the one I want and I wish she would just back off. All the other females have learned to give me space. I just wish she would give me a little too is all. Rather then coming up and practically throwing herself on me." With that said, he began to walk past his mom he paused a moment once past her and said "I know it's not what you want to hear but it's the truth." He then padded away his paws landing softly on the earth as he headed into the forest.

Fae's paws pounded against the now muddy ground. She struggled not to slip in the slick grass. The rain falling across her face mixed with her tears.

She had no idea that they saw her like that. Everything she had ever worked for in her life was to become a good leader. And they all thought she didn't deserve that responsibility? That she couldn't handle it? Sure, Ryko was an impressive prospect as the alpha heir, but why shouldn't she have just as much responsibility as him? He hadn't spent hours pouring over every rule that the pack had to follow- over every diplomatic strategy. She had no choice but to dedicate her life to this pack. And it seemed they were turning their backs on her as soon as she tried to do what she believed would help them.

Fae finally slowed to a stop, catching her breath as she stood in the rain. She looked up to see the river that made up the western border in front of her. She sighed, taking in it's beauty. She wished she could fish to help her gather her thoughts, but it was too rainy. So instead, she padded over to the edge and stared in, gazing at her faint, rippling reflection.

Dijkstra found himself once again patrolling the border. No one was supposed to patrol the border alone but Dijkstra need something to clear his head and he needed to do it alone. He started at the southern border and headed west towards the river that snaked around the two packs. He padded along side the river for a while as he made his way towards the northern boarder, letting his mind wander and think. If he was going to be alpha and had to choose a mate from his pack, it definitely wouldn't be Astrid. And for kenleys sake it wouldn't be calypso either. Dijkstra rolled his eyes at the thought. "Like they even talk." He mumbled under his breath.

Fae just sat by the water for a moment, letting the rain drown away her thoughts. It eventually occurred to her that she had disappeared from camp without telling anybody, even KoKo. The chance that someone was sent to look for her was fairly high. But she decided to ignore that fact and enjoy her peace and quiet for as long as she could.

Getting bored of sitting around, Fae got up and padded around the trees nearest to her, sniffing around their mossy trunks for anything interesting. There wasn't much of note, to her disappointment, most of the scents had already been drowned by the rain. The only thing of note was an old fox's den, but it was clearly abandoned. She vaguely remembered a report of a fox that the pack had driven out a few months ago. As she sniffed the entrance to the den, the dust that had gathered there filled her nose, causing her to sneeze.

Dijkstra soon cam upon the area of the territory where the river and northern border met. He sniffed around but found nothing of interest. The rain had turned to a drizzled and would stop soon all together. He shook out his now heavy coat of all the excess water he could. After a couple more shakes, he decided that was as good as it was gonna get and left it be. He found a small covered spot by the river and managed to squeeze his large build into the space.