With the thawing of winter came the warmth and beauty of spring. Already, Asteraia was alive with new life. The millions of flowers were in full bloom, young calves were galloping aside their mothers as the large bison herds charged across the plains. The yelping of small voices could be heard from their underground dens. The thought made the Blood Guardian smile from atop the high hill. From here, under the shade of the newly green tree, he could see the vast majority of his pack. They had survived their first winter! He and Aster still ruled side by side and life continued. Feeling in a particularly good mood, the alpha moved away from his spot to make a lazy lap around the borders.

Ever since the cougar attack, he had made it his ritual to glide around the boundaries, lightly scenting each marker. So far, no other predators had made any effort to invade his land. But, he knew he couldn’t afford to let his guard down. There were puppies now and all it took was a small mistake to end one of those lives. No, he must stay alert and vigilante. As he made his way, he spotted a white figure pacing a certain spot on the border. Halcyon paused a moment to watch him, catching the scent of anxiety wafting from the male. The alpha may not know each of his pack members on a personal level (that would come with time) he did know them by scent. The wolf before him had Asteraia in his fur, but deep down was another smell.

Remembering what Aster had told him about her guest, Halcyon was able to put two and two together and figure out this wolf was Nike. The alpha stepped forward, his tail held slightly above natural and a pleasant smile on his face. He knew nothing of the seething hatred this new wolf had for Aster, only that they had talked and the white male might want to join Asteraia. The thought of having any new wolves join his ranks made the newer alpha happy and he would have liked to keep Nike, but the way his eyes were gazing at the freelands made him think there were other plans in the wolf’s mind. "If you wish to leave, you are free to do so," Halcyon said, moving to sit beside Nike.