WHAT HARVEY WANTS

When we reached Gate City, Harvey told me that the adults arranged for him to pick me up after I had left the training hall last night. He would send me home to join his family and mine for dinner together. After that, we can attend the meeting with Beta Lucas' and Gamma Harry's family. Gamma Endo, Nix's dad and his family would also be there.

It would be a large meeting, just to hear out what we, the second generation hoped for our pack's future, and how everyone felt about the pack merger. It would be a good time to merge now, the paperwork would just be the beginning, our school systems and medical facilities are already shared, but our security, warriors, finances, accounts will all need time. Plus the pack members too. Everyone would need to make adjustments, some more than others.

Harvey paused for a moment, I saw him steal a sidelong glance at me. Was I making a weird face? Sometimes I do when I'm thinking. I mentally checked, no, my face seemed normal. I looked at him.

He sighed and decided to continue.

While the majority of Morning Light would welcome the merger, there was a minority who might resist it.

There would be several options to deal with it.

All of which would take up a few to several years to iron out.

In which... Another pause and sidelong glance. A good beta always anticipated his Alpha's thoughts? At least that's what the textbooks said.

In which we also need to prepare for war.

Yet another pause and a sidelong glance. Then a question, was I aware of the perhaps-war?

The one that perhaps involved my mate, perhaps kills my parents, and I perhaps perform surgery on my other beta?

"Yeah? What about it?"

Beta continued rambling. His voice was very calm and there was always a little growly baseline in it.

Morning Light had signed an agreement many years ago, allowing them to benefit from Night Leaf's transport, medical, and educational facilities, and share in various programs such as the destitute houses' care.

In exchange, Morning Light was also bound by several conditions. One of which was to join and defend Night Leaf during unrest. An example being last night.

So the merger of our pack and the preparation for the perhaps-war in the future could start now, so that at handover to our generation's leadership, we wouldn't have to scramble to tie up the loose ends in the middle of war.

We had a runway of time to get there. By giving us those dreams, the Goddess was giving us time to prepare. And I supposed, also the adults' expertise to help us build the foundation and guide us.

I realized Harvey had gone quiet.

"What is it Beta?" I asked.

"If I can speak my mind, princess..." Harvey growled lowly.

What the hell were you speaking in the last twenty minutes Beta? "Yeah?"

"I want this merger Princess." Harvey told me, "The rogues have been constantly wrecking havoc on our side of the pack lands. We don't have enough warriors and will lose more simply due to our lack of numbers. I've had to patrol since I shifted. I fought my first rouge at 15! I was still a pup! After that I told myself that when I become Beta, I didn't want the pups in the front lines. Most of our casualties are the youngsters..."

He looked at me again, then back to the road, "Are you okay, Princess?"

He sounded a little sheepish.

"Okay from what?" I asked

"Last night." He said, his voice is tight, "The rogue attack?"

"Huh? Oh right, yeah. That was fun." I was a little confused by this shift in topic though.

Harvey looked like he wanted to ask more but changed his mind and just sighed, "Nevermind."

"What? You didn't have fun?" I laughed, "Well too bad, Beta. Until my other Beta grows up, you're stuck with me."

Harvey shook his head, he was smiling at the road now, "My pleasure, princess, always."

Good Beta, take the mood cue from the Alpha.

"Anyway, I was trying to say Princess, I want this merger to work. We will have more borderline patrol if we combine our warrior force and the kids won't have to fight anymore." Harvey concluded quickly, we were nearing home, well, my home anyway.

"Yeah okay." I told him, "Don't worry. I'll make it work."

Harvey opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it and shut it again.

I watched the familiar line of trees welcome me home. Dinner with Harvey's family... "Hey, is your sister coming? You said she was my age?"

For some reason, Harvey tensed, I saw the muscle in his jaw tighten, "Ah yeah, she will be at dinner."

"Yay! A girl my age! What's she like?" I didn't hide my excitement. Finally a girl the same year as me!

Harvey didn't answer straight away.

"Is she like you?" I asked. I looked at Harvey and tried to imagine him as a girl.

Harvey put one hand on my face to push it away, "Stop staring at me so hard, I know what you're thinking!"

His face was red again.

"I think you'd be a very pretty girl." I decided finally.

Harvey pretty much choked on that, "What? No way princess!"