The air seemed… quiet, around her. Everything was still, and there was no doubt in her mind by now that her scent had changed, and that her and Nash’s actions had once again taken to forming life within her. It would be her third litter, and she felt no more prepared than she had for her first. There were always uncertainties with childbirth… her mother was a constant reminder of that.

All in all however? She was doing better. The bouts of depression were less severe and more sporadic in their occurrences. She found herself nesting, already attempting to sniff out the perfect birthing dens, ensuring she had supplies for the delivery, helping fill the caches. It kept her busy, but also it gave her a renewed sense of hope, like those who had passed were trying to send her a message. It was all going to be okay. She had always been big on the messages that those who had already gone were trying to send.

For a time, she hadn’t thought herself spiritual, but she knew now that she was. She could never doubt that about herself again. She even now had a plump rabbit she had caught just in the nick of time, stopping it before it dove into a warren, clamped between her jaws though this was for her own sake, settling down just outside the pack den where she had seldom made an appearance since Aleister’s death. It was hers to eat, knowing she needed to keep up her strength.