The Rise of Venus

Obsidian and Silver

"I think they'd let me keep it until he became old enough to take over," Mera admitted. Ducking her head, she steadied her breathing and I willed more of my motherly influence over her. Not one tear fell as she accepted my silent reassurances.

Putting aside the recent attack and talk of Rowena, I focused on the problem at hand and began to strategize.

Option One: Mera and Syrena were Mates.

Alright, not the first time this had happened. Same sex Mate's were common and not frowned upon. But, they were a cause for worry regarding Mera's special situation.

She was a member of the Court.

The Beta position could only be inherited by blood or by the Mate bond. The mantle couldn't be passed down any other way. If they chose the family path, any child Mera and Syrena adopted would be acknowledged as their heir. However, they would never be viable for the Beta position.

The power of the Beta's belonged to the Beta's just like the power of the Alpha's belonged to the Alpha's. And so on it went.

The only other way power could be shared was if one's Mate was of a lower rank. A Beta could Mate with an Omega and transform said Omega into a Beta with a bite. Then their strength and power would be equal and they'd be eligible to rule alongside the Court.

It's what Gamma Nicholos had to do after finding out his Mate was a Witch. Biting Gamma Fray not only gave her the strength of a Werewolf, but it bonded her to our Pack and people.

Option Two: Welcome an outsider or settle for a weaker Beta as her heir.

The inability to produce an heir meant looking elsewhere for someone to take over for her. That meant cousins, distant relatives, or anyone that had a strong claim to her chair. That process alone took years of proper vetting. Trying to settle on a candidate with the most strength, just morals, and dedication to the Court was no easy task.

Delta Snow and Delta Jared were still screening people for the open position. It'd been five years and there was still no hope in sight. If their search failed, then we'd have to ask someone from a neighboring Pack to take on the burden of Delta for us.

Which meant me, Mera, and Pride would have to accept an outsider into our fold after having grown up together.

Now, honestly speaking, Pride and I were never close. His personality was, unfortunately, very much like his name suggested him to be.

Too prideful.

Nonetheless, Pride was still my future Gamma and a damn good one at that. There was no one in the entire Pack who could do a job as well as he could and I admired him for his stubborn will. Hell, the only reason our loss of life wasn't in the double digits was because of his advanced hearing. He'd heard them coming miles away while on patrol and provided us with time to hide our young and prepare for a fight.

But back to the matter at hand, years wasted searching meant years of someone not learning. Which also meant years of an unfulfilled position and years of people looking at us as a weak Pack. And therein laid the biggest risk.

A Pack was only as strong as their Alpha and Luna. The Alpha and Luna were only as strong as their Court. If their Court was weak, then it reflected poorly on them.

For the past five years, with no Delta heir, our neighbors were quite vocal about our unbalanced Court. Mother and Father were doing well with the neighboring Packs that breached our lands. But, still. The vacancy of our Delta position didn't go unnoticed and it was a cause for concern.