Rowan Ashclaw, one of my junior scouts, spotted them immediately. His eyes went wide as he approached. "Den-Leader, aren't those the same moonroots you gifted away last moon-cycle?"
He was right. Last month, Aurora's mother Isolde Frostveil had fallen ill—her life-force weakened—and she'd been taken to the healers' sanctuary.
I had personally driven my runner-cart deep into the wild territories, tracking down a mountain herbalist to procure these very stalks.
After considerable haggling, I'd secured both for five hundred marks each.
And now Aurora had returned these same moonroots to me as my seasonal tribute-share, claiming each was worth five thousand marks.
I wanted to laugh. Yet somehow, the laughter wouldn't come.
All these years I'd served the pack with unwavering dedication, never complaining, never asking for recognition. Partly because I needed the ration allotments. But also because I'd believed Aurora and I were true pack-sisters, bound by something deeper than hierarchy.
These two moonroots had just struck me across the face hard enough to leave a mark.
On a working day, during the morning hours, I gathered my belongings and headed straight home.
The Beta Enforcer Marcus Frostveil spotted me leaving. He couldn't stop me, but he made sure to mention he'd be reporting my departure to the Alpha.
Before long, Aurora announced in the pack's message-rune channel: not only would my rations be docked for abandoning my post, but my merit standing would also suffer—for displaying an "uncommitted attitude toward pack duties."
When news of this spread, several of my den-mates immediately spoke up in my defense through the shared channel.
"First she's cheated out of ten thousand marks, and now her merit gets slashed? They really don't see our Den-Leader as anything more than prey!"
"Exactly! This entire year, our Den-Leader has always arrived at first light and left well after moonrise. Even when her own family fell ill, she never requested leave—she'd wait until her duties ended before rushing to the healers' sanctuary."
"Alpha Aurora, aren't you worried this treatment will freeze the hearts of those who've served the pack longest?"
I was just about to urge them to unsend their messages when Aurora activated the voice-rune for the entire channel.
Her fury crackled through the connection. "Den-Leader? It seems none of you understand who truly leads this pack!"