Crystal was asleep in the entrance to the Caretaker's den, where she slept now and again, when the Alphess's howl woke her. Rising to her feet, she padded out into the warm sunshine and stretched. Crystal then headed off towards the pack clearing. Arriving at the clearing, Crystal could see a number of wolves already. "Greetings my Alphess and Alpha." Crystal said bowing to Alphess Quinn and Alpha Fenris stood next to her. Slinking around the edge of the group, nodding at the two betas and Elite Nnlya, whom she also smiled at as she passed.

Crystal spotted a space next to Delta Rose, who was in conversation with another wolf, and sat in it. Turning to Rose, Crystal nodded to her and the wolf next to her and said "Morning Rose and to you too sir." She also spotted two more unfamiliar females sat on the other side of the male wolf and gave them both a friendly smile, before turning her gaze back to the Alphess. The caretaker wondered what was going on, when the Alphess began to speak. Her ears flicked back and forth as Quinn spoke, calling Jackle, Ember, Nnlya and Drogo to stand in front of her.

It turned out that Jackle and Ember were to become a mated couple, as were Drogo and Nnlya. Looking across at Nnlya, Crystal was positively delighted for her friend and for the other couple too. Crystal had first met Drogo and Nnlya not long after her old friend Aurora had had pups. They had come to visit her when Crystal had been there and she had been introduced to them. Looking over the four wolves, Crystal had a sudden thought. "Hmm, the Caretaker's Den could be busy soon." the gray female thought to herself as she flashed Nnlya a delighted grin.

This was it. The moment Drogo had been waiting for so desperately for some time now. He had never known he would dream of such a thing before he met Nnlya, but now it was all he could think about. His heart raced at a pace that was foreign to him. He had experienced a raised heart rate before, in the midst of battle, but this was different, it was racing, yet he could swear it was skipping beats every now and then. "I do." he said with a confident nod when he was prompted by the Alphess. He then leaned in towards Nnlya and nuzzled her gently before whispering in her ear, "Forever and always." The wolf that always held himself with such composure, the perfect soldier, never fooling around, never slacking off, following the rules to a tee, was simply glowing in this moment and wished for it never to end.

There was none but him. He was her whole world, her reason for existence. There was no crowd, no other pair being mated. In this forest she could only see one thing. And she saw him brighter and more clearly with each passing moment. The words of the Alphess barely filtered in. What did she ask? Did Drogo want to have her as his mate? This was the final moment in which he could back out. His last chance. She trusted him implicitly, but hearing the question asked sent doubt wriggling its way to form its own cavity in her mind. 'I do,' those two beautiful words set her mind forever at ease, releasing the breath she had unconsciously held. 'Forever and Always,' he added, only for her ears. She leaned into his gentle touch, so privileged to bear witness to this softer side of him. She pulled away to smile, her eyes of glacial blue seeking his flaming orbs. "I do," she whispered, not needing to say any more. For them, words weren't necessary. Their love was ineffable, unexplainable. His flames met her ice, melting it in a single gaze. Some people were worth melting for.