rivalry.

Something Rogue had not expected about being an alpha was the sheer amount of walking she'd have to do. Of course, she'd known that alphas had to be the primary ones defending the pack's territory, but did it really have to involve hours of boring walking, circling the border? Apparently. She huffed, looking around. She was hungry, and there had to be some rabbits or some deer nearby. She put her nose to the ground, sniffing for any trails. She was rather unique, and most likely, the only female alpha in all of the southwestern US. She was rather proud of the fact, though honestly it didn't mean much. She led a minor pack of only seven, two females including herself, and five males. She didn't think any of the males were fit to be leading the pack, and she knew it well because they were all her brothers. The seven of them were born in a litter, and their mother raised them until she was killed when they were still young. Gangs and rivalries were common among werewolf packs, and her mother had been a victim of it. Her sister was smart, but timid and shy. A good healer, which was nice when her idiot brothers got into scrapes, which happened a lot. They were stupid boys, ignorant and full of testosterone. Rogue was the smallest of the litter, but she was scrappy and strong. When they'd needed to choose an alpha, of course the first born boy had been put up to the plate, but halfway through the winter they'd all nearly starved to death. Rogue fought her brothers and won the fights. By werewolf law, she was alpha.

Rogue perked up as she caught the scent of a hare, and she started following the path until her nose was suddenly filled with the scent of another werewolf - definitely not of her pack, and definitely fresh and in her territory. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end, and she forgot the hare, chasing after the scent of the werewolf until she saw the outline of a large wolf, leisurely wandering through. She growled menacingly, signalling that he was to get off her land immediately.

Matt lifted his head when he heard a growl, looking over. He'd wandered off some time ago, not sure how long it had been since he'd left, but it had been a while. His pack was having a shortage on food, and he'd needed to find a large animal to bring home. He hadn't realized that he'd just stepped on someone else's property. He didn't know there was another pack out here this far. He lowered his head, alert, and started walking towards the other wolf, until he had her in his vision. She was pretty, that was for sure, and she was small, like any female wolf would be, but for some reason, he felt a sense of dominance coming from her. Was she an alpha? There was no way. Female wolves were too small and too weak to be alphas. He began to circle around her, examining her. He moved behind her and briefly sniffed her butt before he moved back around and pressed his nose against her muzzle.

Who are you?

Rogue watched him, eyes narrowed, taking note of his every move. She was getting the sense he was an alpha too, and wasn't respecting her ground. Probably because she was female. She hoped she wouldn't have to fight him off, she was tired and hungry, and although she could probably do it, it wouldn't be fun. She stiffened and the hairs on the back of her neck raised as he pressed his nose against hers. My name is Rogue, and you need to get off my land. She let out another low growl. She rarely saw other wolves or packs in this area, but it was in the middle of nowhere and most packs liked to be close to civilization. He'd clearly had to wander quite a bit to get here. He couldn't want her property, could he?

Matt backed away from her and growled back. How come I've never seen you before? He looked her over before sitting down and lowering his head. My pack needs food. That's all I came for. I didn't come to take your land. Are you looking for a fight? He wouldn't mind fighting her if he had to, if that's what she wanted. He could easily defend himself and he could take her any day. It wasn't usually a thing for opposing gendered wolves to fight, but when they were alphas it was different.

Rogue relaxed slightly, but her guard was still up. She stayed standing, knowing if she sat, she'd be mimicking his behavior and he would be shown to be the dominant one. And he couldn't be on her land. I'm not looking for a fight. And you probably haven't seen me as you've never been on my land before. Isn't there enough food on your land? Ultimately, she was thankful he didn't want a fight. It was exhausting and she got the idea he was probably smarter than her brothers.

Matt shook his head slightly. No. We're a large pack. We're slowly running out of food. I thought I could find a deer or a bear and bring them home to my pack. I haven't been this far out before, but I've never heard of a pack being out this far from civilization with a female as alpha. It's very unusual. He really didn't like the idea of the alpha of a pack being a female. It just didn't make any sense and in the long run, it probably really wasn't a good idea.

Rogue stiffened slightly. That was a weak spot for her, as she was teased by her brothers for being alpha, despite the fact she'd beat all of them for the spot. She deserved her place as alpha, and she didn't know why the alpha "had" to be male. I'll have you know I fought out five males for this spot, some of them bigger than you. Okay, the biggest one was about the same size, so she was exaggerating a little. But she could feel he didn't totally respect her authority of the land, and she didn't like it. We're a small pack, we were brought up here. I suppose I can let you hunt here, but you have to solve the problem of your land, maybe give your prey a chance to repopulate. Or maybe, become a more active part of the human society. She knew she was being condescending, and as alpha he had or was already considering those options. But perhaps if she were irritating enough, he'd leave.

Matt had to roll his eyes at her. In his opinion, no matter what, no female was fit to be alpha. And he wasn't an misogynistic asshole, as much as it seemed like he was. It just wasn't traditional, and it wasn't safe. Females were known to make poor choices, especially of the wolf kind, so for a female to be alpha, just didn't make sense. Either way, he wasn't going to continue to sit here and antagonize her because he had other things to do. You think I haven't thought of those possibilities before? I won't be out here too much. I just need some food right now. You won't have to worry about seeing me much.

Rogue made her decision, judging the older and bigger alpha. Fine, get some food, but if I start to notice a shortage I'll find you and I'll make sure you stay out. She stared at him, waiting for him to go. She was the dominant one here, and she had to keep it up. She was getting hungry herself, and she needed to get herself some food.

Yeah, sure. Matt stood up, walking away from her and searching to find some food for his pack. He managed to find a good sized deer, killing it and dragging it all the way back to his home. When he got there, he called his mates to come eat, knowing they would enjoy the meal. He ate with them, thinking about the wolf he'd just met, and he wondered if he'd see her again.

Rogue sat on her bed at the pack's house, thinking hard. The other wolf she'd met that day was on her mind. She'd smelled the other pack once or twice at the edge of her land, but it hadn't connected when she was out there. They had to be a large pack if they were running out of food. Her pack had their own problem- they'd have to reproduce eventually unless they wanted to die out, and inbreeding wasn't an option to her. It was too dangerous. That was the problem with a pack made of siblings. Classically, males were alpha because of reproduction- the alpha would have one main mate, but had rights to the females in the pack and have litters with most of them. It kept genetic diversity, and if new wolves were brought in occasionally, or there was a new alpha it helped. It made sense for older times, but she felt it was archaic and worthless for this day and age. But it didn't help her pack.

She half wanted to merge with the other pack- both packs would have something the other wanted. They wanted food, she wanted genetic diversity. But she wanted to stay alpha. She enjoyed the power and responsibility. She knew the other male wouldn't just let her lead, she'd have to fight him for it, and even if she won, then the other pack probably wouldn't take her seriously. She rubbed her temples, sighing, looking up as her sister entered. "Ooh, food.." Rogue said. "Thanks. How are you?"

It was easy for Matt's pack to just go into town to get groceries and things, but when time for the full moon came, they couldn't just walk to their fridge and pull out a sandwich. They had to eat like the beasts they were, and there was no reproduction of wildlife where they resided anymore, which is why he had to go stock up on some animals. He preserved them until the full moon and then he and his pack dined on the animals. His pack consisted of himself, his four friends, all of their families, their mates, and all of their mates' families. They were probably one of the biggest packs, but Matt didn't mind. They were a close-knitted little colony and they were always there for each other. That was all he could ever ask for.

After talking with her sister, who was definitely itching for a mate, Rogue knew what she had to do. She had to go to the other pack and talk to the alpha. She got up, morphing and heading towards the other pack's land. It was a bit of a walk, but eventually the smell was strong, and she came to what could be a small village in the woods that smelled strongly of werewolf. She became human again, looking around until she was grabbed from behind, but she wheeled around and knocked the man on the head, pushing him back. "I want to speak to your Alpha."

Johnny grunted when he landed on the ground, looking up at her. "What the heck?" he grumbled, pulling himself up and dusting his pants off. "You shouldn't be here."

Rogue narrowed her eyes, looking the short man up and down. "I want to speak to your alpha." She said a little more firmly. "Now." She could see that he was starting to give in, she was the one in charge in this situation.

Johnny sighed. "Fine," he grumbled. "Follow me." He led her to where Matt was. He knew she was another wolf, he could smell her from a mile away, but he had no idea why she wanted to talk to Matt. He walked to Matt's home and knocked on the door, waiting for him to answer before he told him that this girl wanted to see him.

Rogue stood slightly behind Johnny, arms crossed. Soon a large man opened the door, and she could smell he was the same wolf who had come looking for food earlier that day.

Johnny walked away and Matt raised an eyebrow as he looked at the girl. "Can I help you?" he asked.

"Yes." Rogue said. "I want to talk about our packs." She could feel his suspicion, and she was sure he wouldn't take her seriously. He let her in and led her to what was clearly his main office. "I want to merge our packs. My pack is very small, only seven of us, and we are all siblings. We can't continue, for obvious reasons, and you need more food and land, which we have. I feel this could be beneficial for both of us."