Inside the longhouse was warm and dim, the air thick with the scent of smoked meat and herbs. We sat at the central table with her two betas on either side. She poured me a cup of strong tea and pushed it across the wood.
"Thank you." I muttered.
"We lost three patrols to Vespera's people last year," she said. "They took children. They carved symbols into the ones they left alive. We heard what you did. The whole west heard."
I took the cup and drank. The tea was bitter and hot but I managed. "Yes Vespera was a bitch but she is dead now. Her mates are dead too. Their camp is ashes. We took their maps and their supplies. The threat from that direction is over."
The alpha leaned back in her chair. Her betas exchanged a glance. "And you came here alone to tell me this? Why is that?"
"I came to offer alliance," I said with a warm smile. "Shared patrols on the border. Trade of grain and herbs for timber and iron. If another threat rises, we face it together instead of alone."
