Meadow’s p.o.v. Okay, Makay may be an ass when it comes to females and fighting, but he is easy to talk to. Not really what I had expected from him, but it makes up for a few of his flaws. We have a good laugh at the names of his family members, but we stay away from the subject of my leaving the territory. Makay seems to understand that I am not ready to discuss this with him and maybe I will never be ready to discuss this with him. “Okay, I have been wondering about this ever since I was informed of your arrival. Why did you disobey a direct order from your Alpha?” I ask Makay. “It wasn’t a direct order, he just gave me a warning.” Makay answers and I roll my eyes at him. “Tomayto-tomahto.” I respond. “It was clear that it was an order to stop with your stupid comments, because Alpha Lincoln told you it was your last warning.” I respond. He looks at me as if he can’t believe that I just talked back to him, too bad for him that he doesn’t understand that as a team leader and a Beta’s Daughter I don’t respond well to idiocy. “Makay, I want you to think about this hypothesis carefully before you answer me. A Pack-member is constantly late for training, interrupting training every time he gets to the training grounds. No matter what anyone says, he keeps showing up late and it is starting to cause trouble between him and other Pack-members. What do you say to this person?” I look at him after I am finished with my hypothetical situation. I am hoping that Makay can understand where I am going with this, but only his answer can tell me that for sure. “It is affecting everyone around him, so we have to put a stop to his behavior.” Makay says, at least he understands that this kind of behavior can’t be tolerated. “I would tell him that he is warned and if he shows up late again that he will be on night patrol for a period of time, if he hates night patrol or another type of duty that he doesn’t like.” Makay finally says. I smile at his answer, because it is technically a warning, just like Alpha Lincoln had done with him. Let’s see if he can appreciate the rest of my hypothesis. “Okay, next morning he shows up late again. What is your next course of action?” I ask. I am so hoping that he will treat his warning as an order, just to see the look on his face when he realizes his own misinterpretation. “Send him on night patrol, after all he disobeyed my order by not being there on time.” Makay responds and I laugh at his answer, he just said it himself; his order. “Why? You only gave him a warning, so he didn’t disobey an order.” I look at Makay as I reply to his answer and slowly reality sinks in. “Yes, Makay. A warning is also an order, just a bit more gentle than an actual order.” I say.To most people, an order or a warning isn’t always considered the same thing, but for a High-ranking pack member, they are usually the same. Only those that refuse to understand that their behavior will become their downfall, will try to make it look as if an order and a warning are two completely different things. It is one of the first things Captain Miles taught me after becoming a team leader, those that are willing to learn from their mistakes, that want to change their bad behavior, will consider a warning an order. Makay finally seems to realize that I basically tricked him with my question, he never considered that Alpha Lincoln’s warning was a hidden order and he screwed up monumentally. “Meadow, that was a sneaky thing to do. You knew I would screw up and consider my warning an order. I am glad though that you were able to point out that I was in the wrong, that Alpha Lincoln did warn me to change my behavior, and I am sorry that you got stuck in the middle.” Makay says.“You probably would have understood it eventually, but it might have been too late by that time.” I respond. “What do you mean?” Makay asks. It sounds like he never thought about the consequences of his behavior, not for himself and not for the Pack. “What if I had been unable to teach you the difference or the similarity between a warning and an order, and it would have caused Alpha Lincoln to rethink your future position?” I answer Makay with a question. His eyes widen the moment my words sink in, it may not change his behavior, but I think it is finally clear to him that as the future Beta he needs to put the interest of the Pack first and not his personal opinion. I have no idea what Alpha Lincoln’s plans are for Gold Moon territory, but he will need a new leadership somewhere down the line, and if he were planning on handing it over to his second born Son, then Makay, would be the next Beta. Makay would share that position with his twin Brother Myka and that is where their next problem lies. It is my understanding that Myka will accept any Mate the Goddess pairs him with, but Myka won’t be the only one that has to accept her. I know from Maryan that Makay is hell bent on rejecting his fated Mate if she turns out to be like one of us, a strong female that can fight her own battles and won't hide away in a safe room just to please her Mate and that is the total opposite of Myka’s thoughts on the subject. Don’t get me wrong, I do understand a part of Makay’s concerns. I just don’t believe that that should be reason to either reject your fated Mate or to agree with women that don't want to train to be able to defend themselves. My mind wanders back to a discussion I once witnessed in school, a hand on my arm startles me and pulls me out of that memory.