a moment of your time

Cru was pleased to see her, which mostly dispelled the thought that she might have managed to get crossways with one of Solstice's laws by mistake but did nothing to silence the other warning bells ringing. By the time he'd finished speaking the alarms had quieted simply because well... she no longer needed warning. It was obviously what she'd been thinking would happen. For a long moment she gazed serenely, thoughtfully at the horizon over his shoulder, but inwardly she was a ball of mixed feelings.

She'd just gotten out of this situation in Regium. Roman had made her beta under similar circumstances, then later co-alpha, and look what had happened there. She wasn't leader material, she was a follower and always had been. She wasn't happy without being one among the pack. Yet she'd still been that in Regium despite her rank, hadn't she? Gossy and Ritsuka had still been like family to her, and she'd been the one most qualified to act in their best interests.

Her thoughts drifted to her children. Miksa, and Shtiya. The boys could have such a good, happy start here. If she could give them a better future by taking the rank she was being offered, if she could help give the whole of Solstice a better future, was that not the best she could hope to give in these last years of her life? She'd noticed herself how few Solstice members stirred themselves since she'd been here... just like Tortuga, before.

She turned her blue gaze back to his.

"I will accept your offer," she told him slowly, her low voice not halting despite her reluctance. She'd made up her mind, after all, and there was no point in further hesitation. "I hope you do not think me ungrateful for not answering immediately - it is quite a surprise, after all. I will do my best for you, and for Solstice." She took a deep breath and squared herself. "What is it you wish me to do?"





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