We must go on now

[Phoenix]

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The cold never bothered Phoenix. Even though he didn’t look it his maternal heritage was that of an arctic wolf, and his mother’s physical hardiness served him well, as did his thick dark coat. In fact he even preferred this time of year, since summer was usually unpleasantly hot for him. Perhaps he could have chosen a better day to do this, weather-wise, but he was tired of procrastinating. Besides, the weather seemed to fit the mood of his reign so far: unstable, chaotic, even gloomy. After all, he’d already lost three of his children since becoming alpha, the most recent having left to look for his sister a couple days ago. He’d nearly started a war with that lunatic Gabriel. So, yes, a storm was brewing—perhaps in more ways then one. The small female that answered his call was not Tayui, which potentially made his job harder. Of course, this also left him with a chance to make a good first impression, something that he and Tayui were already past. He stood motionless as the female scanned him and he returned the gesture. She obviously couldn’t have usurped control of the pack by force, not that any pack around here would tolerate such a tyrannical form of leadership. Phoenix was the largest and strongest member of Storm, almost brutish in appearance, but he led his pack only because they wanted him to, not because he desired the role. At least he could outwardly take the authoritative stance of an alpha, hold his head high and look like he knew what he was doing for those who didn’t know him better. It helped that half the pack was family now. His first adopted daughter Dierdre and her mate (and his best friend) Pilot, his own mate Iskata and his young children constituted a large fraction of Storm. “Good day t’you,” he began, perhaps a but too formally, “I’m Phoenix, th’new alpha of Storm. I heard there was a power change in Jaded Shadows as well, an’ I figured it was high time we got to know each other.”

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