Before she had dashed my trust against the rocks, spurning the offer I had made for the mate who gave me no reason to lay faith in him, Natu had been one of my highest ranking officials among the pack. Once, I had held her judgment in high regard, and that was why I had given her the power to accept members into the pack on my behalf. There was no wolf who roamed these mountains that had not sought the acceptance of those I placed in my council. That, combined with his affiliation with my sister, were reason enough for me to have abstained from seeking out this wolf’s company until this day. As it were, he was the only member of my pack I had never met face to face - aside from Ragnarok and Church’s litter - and I was glad for the opportunity to change that.

The mismatched eyes of the male who stood opposite to Haven lifted to the trees within which I stood, and I was glad to know he at least had a keen sense of smell. Moving forward, I revealed myself to his searching eyes, my stature lifting with the first step. It took only a moment’s pointed stare for him to shift backwards, leaving slightly more space between himself and Haven. As I reached her I pressed my shoulder against hers, and she responded by pressing her entire side into mine. Her greeting was not quite as light as it might have been on any other day, and I could smell the apprehension rolling off of her. I offered her a reassuring glance, but it did not seem to soothe her much. She clearly cared very much what I thought of this gentleman who stood before us.

Lifting my gaze back to the white-marked male, I introduced myself, and my words seemed to have at least some effect upon him. His jaw slackened, and he seemed somewhat stunned. Surely he could not have mistaken me for anything but the leader of these lands - my scent was everywhere, despite my lack of mobility in the last season. Which made me wonder, had Haven not told him who her family was? For a single moment I worried that she might be ashamed, and my tail twitched, but then I remembered how things had once been between Meryl and me. Despite the undeniable connection between us, it had taken time before we had been truly ready to reveal all of ourselves to each other. In fact, we were still working on that, building on a friendship that would last a lifetime.

When he lowered his gaze, he emitted a light chuff of amusement at some joke I was not privy to. I lifted a single brow inquisitively, but then he lifted his eyes back to mine and answered my introduction with his own. Hollowpoint, brother of Astrid, from afar. The names rung a bell, and I remembered a conversation with Sleekwing about a pair of siblings he had met not a year ago. Before he had fallen ill he had made plans to seek out the pair again, in hopes of recruiting them to the pack. My brother had not told me much about the duo, other than that they travelled together, and I wondered what disappointment Hollowpoint spoke of that had caused their paths to diverge. But when his gaze shifted to Haven, mine lingered on him, thinking that perhaps it did not matter. He had chosen to start anew here, and my instincts told me that despite his imposing size, he was far from threatening. Everything about him was respectful, seeking approval, and above all else it was clear how strongly he wished to be here. A most refreshing encounter, indeed.

Haven’s words caused a single ear to flick in her direction, but my eyes remained focused upon Hollowpoint. I let silence consume us, simply studying the situation at hand. Fate was a most interesting thing, tying together those who hardly knew they needed one another. And there was something about this young male that reminded me of my sister, the innocence reflected in his mismatched eyes as he gazed upon her. Finally, I broke the silence. “Very well,” I said firmly, letting the official tone hold true for a moment longer, before I finally looked away from Hollowpoint, eyes softening as I leaned over and licked Haven fondly between the ears. “But don’t you think ‘good friend’ sells him a little short?” I grinned at my sister, before flashing a sideways glance at Hollowpoint, curious what his reaction would be.