Fox and Palo’s First Year

Fox’s arrival at the Red Fang Packhouse was nothing short of welcoming. The halls were alive with celebration, wolves gathered to honor the future Luna. Palo stood at the center of it all, his midnight black hair tucked behind his ears and curling at the nape of his neck, his smile warm and proud as he introduced her to his pack. When the marking and mating came, it was tender—Palo’s touch reverent, his voice low and soothing as he guided her through each step, ensuring she felt safe and cherished. Fox had never known intimacy before, and Palo’s patience turned what could have been overwhelming into something beautiful, something that felt like trust.

Her first heat came weeks later, and though they hoped for a pup, none was conceived. Fox tried to hid her disappointment behind bright smiles, but Palo never let her feel less than whole. He encouraged her to finish high school, to pursue any education she wished, promising her that her dreams mattered as much as his. To everyone watching, Fox seemed truly happy—her laughter ringing through the halls, her bond with Palo deepening with every passing day.

But Mia noticed what others didn’t. Raul’s visits. Once a month, without fail, her father appeared at the Red Fang Packhouse. He would stay for 2-3 days at each visit. Expressing interest in Fox’s life as a Luna and asking how their packs could work together, even going so far as to offer shared patrols of the boarder. It was unusual for any father to visit so often, but for Raul—who hadn’t even known Fox’s full name, Foxglove Carly Garcia, until her Luna ceremony—it was more than unusual. Outside of Mia, her mom and her sisters, everyone called Fox, Carly. So Raul had assumed Fox was a nickname due to her being the smallest in size. His attention to her now, and his interest in her new pack were suspicious, not just to Sarah, Mia but to Palo, and his leadership team as well. Raul never did anything without purpose, and Mia’s instincts screamed that these visits were tied to something darker. Palo played nice and tried his best to show that Raul was welcome in the packhouse. However, Palo was smarter than Raul planned on. He would send Raul on patrol routes that were never actually a path his warriors ran. He would purposefully provide Raul with false information on dates he had plans to travel to other packs. He even went as far as to disguise who the Baeta’s and Gamma’s heirs are with the help of scent masking. Palo had learned this from his time spent with a werewitch his mother was friends with when he was a child. Although he hated doing it, Palo would also Alpha command his pack about not correcting Raul if he repeated untruthful information he had been given Palo. When Raul mentioned to an Omega serving him breakfast that he learned that Palo was taking Fox on 5-day trip to tour nearby colleges, they just smiled and offered more food. And that’s how it went. When Raul showed up unannounced during that specific week, offering “his warriors help” to protect the pack while the new Alpha and Luna were away, this only reaffirmed to Palo that something was wrong and Raul couldn’t be trusted. 

As for Fox and Palo, their moments together were full of warmth and passion. Palo, once known as a charmer with she-wolves vying for his attention, seemed transformed. His devotion to Fox was absolute, his affection tender yet fierce. He treated her not as a conquest, but as a queen—his equal, his partner, his packs new Luna. 

Over the course of the next year Mia and her mom traveled to nearby packhouses in the Blood Moon region under the guise of performing Luna duties and future Luna training. Mia and Luna Sarah spent time talking with elders of the packs about what they knew about nearby Covens, careful to speak to the elders who they knew didn’t respect Raul, and wouldn’t report their questions. When traveling Mia used this opportunity to secretly spar with the best warriors on her father’s team, learn about patrol routes along their boarders, gain access to private files her dad kept in each office he maintained in every packhouse. She read every file she could. He had one on every pack member, what pack they originated from, if their bloodline fought against a takeover or if they surrendered.