The words had been a surprise for the male lead to her, for sure. His brow raised, his mouth falling agape slightly. How could she say that? There was no competition for food, there were no rivals; it was a tranquil territory. But Alisa liked to display her skills, liked competition. That place, the pack with the lazy king, was more of a holiday to her.

She had been a picaro since her departure from Apple Orchard. Of course, she had inspected other packs along the way but they too did not offer her the things she wanted, so she turned away from their borders. Once again, she ran, traversing the wilderness of rural Canada and living off the occasional hare that she decided to snatch up or the corpses of dead, larger game that had fallen of natural occurrences and clumsy accidents. It had been enough but she wished to feel the thrill of bringing something down that was larger than her with others. Alisa simply wanted to feel overwhelming adrenaline, animal instinct and, most importantly, fresh flesh.

After pushing through a field of red flora that brushed against her in the gentle breeze, the silvery girl had come across a forest of willows. Strange. She had never seen such a large cluster of trees like these before. She’d seen willows dotted around lakes and ponds, in vast forests of evergreen trees but a cluster of them alone? It was intriguing. Even more interesting than that, however, was the smell of borders. She glanced in the direction it came from, gazing into the woodland with her blank, icy stare. It was autumn, wasn’t it? There was a small chill in the air and the yearling knew that winter could—and would—be harsh.

She raised her head, mouth parting as a call escaped her throat. Her dark lips formed a small ‘o’ as her summoning call died out. Lowering her head she stood, rigid and stiff, as she waited for a representative to appear from between the trunks of the trembling willows.

Usually, she was not one to bow or curl her tail like a coward, but she wanted to paint herself in a good light, wanted this woman to see her as a valuable asset. If she found herself in this pack’s ranks, she’d definitely need a little convincing that they were strong individuals who deserved her respect before any outward signs of submission were shown, at least in the form of physically bending and lowering herself. Call it arrogance if you want, but she saw it more as judgement for her to make the right decision that would entirely affect her future.

“Alisa Leonhardt,” she began, her response as blunt as the Willow Ridge Scout’s words, “I seek a pack to call my own.” Was Willow Ridge lucky to have had her stumble across her borders, or was she lucky to have found it? Despite her age, she had a lot to bring to the table. How many members did this pack have? What were their work ethics? Just how high could she ascend the ranks when she turned two? “What can you tell me about Willow Ridge?”

Yet, she would be graced by another powerful presence, it seemed, and the footfalls of their approach announced their arrival. The silver yearling dared to glance up briefly, brilliant eyes momentarily falling upon a woman. She held her regal head high and her tail was raised, declaring dominance upon her arrival and a request—no, a demand—for respect. It was glaringly obvious to the Leonhardt youngster that this rather spectacular example of woman, much like Narcissa, was the leader of this pack. Yes, the yearling intended to find a home for winter but should Willow Ridge prove itself suitable to her, she would have no qualms with settling long term.

The leader briefly mentioned wolves who were once within her pack’s hierarchy now having packs of their own, dotted throughout the Lore, which she presumed to be the name of this vast region. Well, a promise of learning and power was certainly a delectable snippet of information.

“I seek a home. I see now that one within your borders would fit me well, should you have me.” What could Alisa Leonhardt, child of Arlene Leonhardt and the tyrant king Eren Reiss, offer the pack she stood before today? Well … “I can run your borders and I can carry messages to distant packs. I can hunt and I can fight. I can be all you need me to be; all you would need to do is ask.” As long as their requests were within reason, she would do her best to prove herself to Willow Ridge.