Athena tipped her head to Soliel. The girl was smart. “I understand your concerns, Soliel. The fact is, I have no problem with Cato, Hecate, and Kalon. If it’s their wish to avenge Hecate and Cato’s family, then yes, I respect that. But ties lead to alliances, and alliances lead to being dragged into a war. Furthermore, I did not really know Hecate and Kalon. I trust that Cato will lead Nightingale well, but I knew Irina, and I know that several members of her pack were more than happy with her.
“As for Tarben, we did not exactly ally on the best of terms. It was a forced alliance, if you will. Beartooth preyed on my senses of honor and loyalty to make that bond. And I do hope that Dawnshire, Hawthorne, and Amberbjorne will not bother us in the future; this war is pretty much over and there’s no need for unpleasantries, at least not toward or from Sindri. It may be a vain hope, but if they do come knocking, looking for revenge, then I will not drag any of you into the debates that will inevitably ensue; I will do my best to preserve and protect this pack. I do realize that in the future we may need allies, so I will be keeping Nightingale in consideration if a situation like this ever arises.” Athena was incredibly anxious, due to the aura Soliel was giving off. It almost felt like . . . the zeta wasn’t confident in her. But she cloaked it to the best of her ability, continuing to speak. “I realize not all of you are satisfied with this explanation. But if you wish for me to explain things further, I will.” Rain began to fall on the grounds.
“Mother, Soliel’s right. Nightingale could be a powerful alliance. Why don’t we side with them?” Helene queried. Athena heaved a sigh.
Before she could speak Callie piped up. “The queen does not want concrete alliances, Princess. Concrete alliance with Tarben, no less in an underhanded way of conduct on King Beartooth’s part, is what got Sydney severely injured almost to the point of death, and broke your mother’s ankle which is now healing, and threatened the lives of every single wolf in this pack who went to fight alongside our queen. As she said, she is keeping Nightingale in mind for the event that we do need an ally.” Athena nodded her thanks to her new beta. Sydney and Jelethe looked on, impassively.

“Lucky lucky lucky me, I got everything I need!”