FLASHBACK (Willow's age 4)
"Papa, what you doin'?"
Little Willow looked skeptical at his father's painting as she pouted and bend her head sideways. Mason laughed heartily at her daughter's antics.
"Oh, papa you got paint on your face," She said with big eyes pointing her little forefinger on her face where her papa was smeared with paint. She looked at her mama over her shoulder and whispered low. "Mama's gonna be angry."
Mason boomed in laughter again as he scooped her little daughter in his arms and showed her his painting. It was a messy painting of a wolf, a scarlet wolf with white hollow eyes.
"That is mama's wolf sweetheart. Look, is she as beautiful as mama?"
Mason is the alpha of the Storm Forest Pack of the north. A peaceful living pack near the mountains. His wife, Lily, and her little Willow are his most precious treasure in the world.
He could only hope that the rumored war against the royals is nothing but a bluff. He and his pack are a strong alliance of alpha Caden, the reigning king of wolves. Her lovely wife is a royalty herself, a far relative of the royal family.
"Pretty papa." She smiled at her father. “Will I be like mama?"
"Of course, you will sweetheart." He kissed her forehead. If things come to worst, he wouldn't let anything happen to his family.
He whispered at her playfully. "Now, who wants to play hide and seek."
At hearing his papa's word, she beamed and ran onto her mama. "Mama, mama, papa said we play hide and seek."
Lily smiled at her daughter. She just finished unpacking their afternoon snack from the woven basket. The wind blew and she reached the ends of the picnic cloth to stop it from flying but her scarlet hair messed up with the wind. Mason came and kissed her on the forehead, love visible in their eyes as they stared at each other.
arm. "Come on
daughter which the latter enthusiastically nod and pulled her arm once
come and
Little Willow hum around,"
joined the singing while Willow
"Twisting toes,
Swirling fun,"
"In count of one,
Let's take a run,"
on the tree trunk, ready to count up 'til ten after
"The wind whispered three"
hands on her own, giving her daughter an
hushes more
Willow giggled once more.
make
sprinted at the forest just as Mason started counting ten. They were laughing as they entered the forest but were
large midnight wolf covered them both from view in a protective stance. It growled furiously at
at least
take Willow away. I can handle
wolf and carried a crying Willow on
against what Lily distinguished as Darkwood Pack, one of the
pack
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