Chapter Text
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It’s time to sleep. She knows that of course. Good pups sleep at night. It's an adult prerogative to sleep when they want, but good pups always sleep at night. Rhaenyra knows that well, and Mom told them to sleep. And she really tries to sleep. It’s always easy for her to fall asleep and she is tired from the day. Older wolves always tire them off more than ever when it's a full moon to give an outlet for energy, because a full moon gives werewolves a lot of energy and too much energy makes them wild and aggressive. Night run is a perfect energy release, but it’s not time for them to join the full moon run yet. They are too small for that. And she wants to grow up bigger and stronger to join a run and not to be just a pack pup but a pack’s omega-heiresses.
It’s time to sleep as every new day brings her closer to growing bigger, so she closes her eyes.
But sleep doesn’t come to her, even though her tummy is full of milk, and she is warm in the puppy pile, squashed between Laena and Laenor who are already asleep and snoring. Rhaenyra lies there between them, listening to their snoring. She is always almost the first one to fall asleep, so she starts to count sheeps. But first her mouth waters as she imagines their fat and soft bodies, and then she feels a tingling that starts inside her tummy and moves up and down her body. There is no way she is gonna sleep now, especially as she knows what it means.
It’s always with Alpha around.
And how could she sleep when he is back?
Rhaenyra needs to go and find him.
Other pups and her are snuggled in the bed, and she is glad that the bed it’s just a mattress on the floor, with a lot of blankets and pillows. So she wriggles between her friends, then jumps from the mattress and waddles from the room. Their room, pups room, is on the third floor, but on the night of the full moon they are always placed on the first floor, so it’s easy to escape the house, especially as the doors are open and everyone is outside. So Rhaenyra goes out of the house, but she stops on the porch and looks around.
Alpha's house is always guarded: four wolves guard the house around the perimeter. But well, they don’t do it perfectly as she slides down the stairs without them noticing her. She is small and has to slide carefully, and she is already dreaming about her being as big as other wolves because then she will be able to just overcome the stairs in one jump.
The beta guards continue to ignore her. It’s obvious they aren’t suited for their position as guards. The alpha will definitely scold them for being careless and remove them from their position as pups are left unattended. Not that they, pups , can left the room when Alpha ordered them to stay there and not wander around if they wake up. They only can leave the room if there is a danger. But Rhaenyra disobeyed the Alpha. Again.
Not that she thinks much about it as she waddles to the place she needs to be right now.
She knows where to go.
She always knows where to find Alpha .
It’s still early enough. Everyone had just gathered in the clearing waiting for the small opening ceremony before leaving the clearing and running into the woods. Alpha and Omega , leaders of the pack, her dad and mom, are the one who first greet the Full Moon with their howling. It’s more than howling actually, it's a werewolves song for their prosperous life in all senses.
Rhaenyra can’t see Alpha because wolves bodies are massive, but she knows he is there, somewhere close to Alpha and mom, so she hurries to the clearing. It's not that easy to do with her short legs and belly-heavy milk. But she hurries as quickly as possible, afraid that the ceremony will end suddenly until she reaches him. Rhaenyra also wants to listen to the song next to Alpha. Half times she falls asleep before they start singing, and half times she falls asleep while they sing. But today she plans to listen to the end. And maybe she will be allowed into the forest too. Who knows.
She squeezes between the large bodies of the wolves of her pack with clear determination. Rhaenyra doesn't really look back, and she really doesn’t care that she steps on wolves paws or tails, or that she pushes some of the wolves. Not that she pushes them hard, her little body isn’t able to push hard.
And Rhaenyra jumps and squeals happily when she sees Alpha. She rushes to him, not caring about anything in the world, but Alpha. She remembers the last time she rushed towards him. It isn't a pleasant memory as she got tangled in her own paws and fell, hitting her nose very painfully. But as soon as Alpha came up and licked her nose, the pain went away. So she rushes towards him, he, as well as Alpha and her mom are in the middle of the wolf's circle, but she moves slower than she wants.
Rhaenyra feels Alpha and mom look at her, but her world is focused on Alpha and she doesn’t stop until her small body crushes into his big one and she presses herself into his stomach.
“Rhaenyra,” Her father calls her in a displeased voice. “You shouldn't have left the room.”
And she probably should react, show that she is sorry and return back to the room. But she doesn’t want to, so she presses herself into Alpha's stomach even more, feeling her father's extremely dissatisfied look on her.
“ Did my princess miss me?” Daemon touches her back with his paw. And it seems that his entire paw is as big as her whole body. It probably almost is.
“Yes. And I hate it when you leave me.” Rhaenyra easily admits that she missed him and that she hates when he leaves. Because when he leaves, it makes her both sadder and meaner to everyone.
She isn’t that small not to understand pack dynamics. After all, Alpha already trains her, preparing for the leadership role. She may be omega by gender but when times comes, she will be the pack Alpha. And as a future pack Alpha she knows that Daemon better stay with them as he is Alpha’s brother. He should be Alpha’s second in command, as he is his blood, and he is one of the largest wolves in the pack. He is the best fighter and hunter. Well, they live as humans, and they go to the supermarkets to buy food, so hunting skills don't really matter as now wolves hunt only on the full moon and during the courtship period. But she thinks it’s important. And Daemon is smart and cunning. And he is her best playmate. Not that she will ever admit it to Laena, her best friend. Because Laena is always there with her, and Daemon…Well, he isn’t. And Rhaenyra really hates it when he leaves her. She doesn't understand why Alpha always sends him to other packs, to the town where he operates all werewolves ventures, away from himself, from her, from their pack.
“I hate to leave you too, sweetie,” he tells her.
She whines, pitiful, and Daemon licks the top of her head that makes her giggle. But she stops when she hears her mom telling:
“Rhaenyra, darling, you should sleep at night. Come home.”
She probably interferes with the ceremony, hinders it with her presence as it’s only for mature wolves and not pups. Not that pack has a lot of pups, it’s just Laena, Laenor and her. And Alicent , but Alicent and her dad, Otto, Alpha’s second in command, visit another pack.
Rhaenyra turns around. Her back is pressed to Daemon’s front, and she doesn’t move from him, feeling safe with his big body looming over her. She looks at mom and tells her stubbornly:
“I don’t want to. I want to stay with Daemon and listen to your song, and maybe run in the woods if you allow me.” Then she looks at mom with her best puppy eyes and pleads: “Will you allow me, mom, please?”
Other wolves wait patiently. As in the hierarchy she is above them all. She is their future Alpha and they know their places. Not that she believes everyone is that patient. She smells slight irritation in the air, someone is irritated by her behavior, but it’s hard to tell who. They all want to run, and she prevents them from doing so.
“No. You should return to the house right now, Rhaenyra.” It sounds like an order from her Alpha.
“I-,” she wants to protest. But mom nods and finds another way that satisfies Rhaenyra from the most part:
“Darling, you can stay and listen to the song and then I will take you to the house. It’s dangerous for you to run in the woods. You are still too young for that.”
She decides not to argue with her mom about this. Because she will get nothing, she will be sent home if she starts an argument. Therefore, she sighs with slight disappointment, and then says:
“Okay.” And giggles once again when Daemon licks her head again.
“We will talk about your behavior later,” father growls.
And Rhaenyra wants to huff, but stops herself from doing that. After all, Alpha still can order any wolf to take her home and stay there with her, so she decides to be on her best behavior right now. She just nods and Alpha starts his song, howling to the Moon and mom joins him. Then Daemon throws his head up and howls and Rhaenyra copies him, even her howl sounds way too high and more like a squeal than a real howl. But she is proud of herself. Laena and Laenor will definitely envy her when they find out tomorrow that she howled with everyone.
Her little body is full of happiness and she vibrates with excitement all the way the song is going.
The song doesn’t last long, the howls slow down eventually, too soon for her liking.
“ Hunt,” Alpha says and wolves around them start to move, running to the forest and disappearing there one by one.
The clearing empties pretty fast, and there they are: Alpha, Daemon, mom and her, still sitting pressed to Daemon. She knows that it’s time for her to return to the house. It doesn’t matter if she wants to hunt with other wolves. She is still way too small for that.
“I will bring her back to the house and stay with her. It seems you should change guards, because the guards you have are completely sh- mooron in their job.” Daemon tells Alpha and mom.
“Are you sure? You will miss today’s hunt.” Dad asks.
But Rhaenyra already looks up at Daemon. Him spending the night guarding her is far better than the hunt she wanted.
“I’m totally sure. Go and have fun,” and with that Daemon takes her with his teeth and lifts her into the air. She doesn't like being carried in the teeth like that. However Daemon doesn't put too much pressure on her neck, he holds her extremely delicately. But she still doesn’t like it at all, no matter how gentle and delicate it is. She especially hates when dad does it, because she dangles like a rag doll in his teeth. Mom and Daemon do it more gracefully.
“I could walk home by myself.” Rhaenyra grumbles.
“I know.” He huffs. “But I know you and your tendencies to wander into the forest when no one isn’t watching you.”
Rhaenyra scoffs at that. It happened just a few times. And not that she wandered into the forest without reason. She wandered to investigate, and last time she was hungry and saw a small hare so she wanted to catch it. But Daemon caught her first.
“But you are with me.” She protests, hoping that he will change his mind. He won’t. “ You are watching me.”
“Princess. You know rules. No pup is allowed into the forest alone or at night.” He isn't irritated, he mostly sounds tired. He is the one she always asks to go to the forest at night. And he always gives the same answer. Daemon steps inside the house and goes to the pups room on the first floor.
“You do not follow the rules.” She reminds him, and she sounds and it irritated right now, with him doing some things that irritate father, that's why he sends him away. Not that Rhaenyra knows what things Daemon does to irritate him.
“Fair point.” Daemon chuckles. “And that’s why your father always sends me away.” He puts her onto the bed near Laena.
But she doesn’t want to sleep near Laena when Daemon is there, as he lies next to the bed, putting just his head on soft bedding. Rhaenyra crawls to him and presses her nose into his nose:
“When I’m the pack leader, you will always be by my side always, Daemon.” She gives him a promise.
“I will remind you of this when you become the pack leader, princess.” He rubs his nose over her much smaller one.
“Deal,” she smiles.
“Now sleep,” he commands.
But Rhaenyra settles to sleep only when she moves to him to curl up at his side and fall asleep, listening to his slow deep breathing.
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