Syri ran his hands down the uniform specifically made for stable staff. A pair of overalls covered the zeta's abdomen and legs. They were of soft, brown leather with excellent seams and fit and were not of poor quality. A baker boy cap of the matching color of the overalls sat on the zeta's head while a light blue shirt lay beneath the leather overalls. A pair of matching brown boots clad the zeta's feet and came up to the lower portion of his shin.

A knock on the door sounded, which Syri promptly answered. "Ready?" Kip asked as he leaned against the frame of the door. The beta was dressed in the same outfit except his shirt was the color of light cream. Syri's brows furrowed as he looked at the beta's shirt and recalled Kip had worn a pale green shirt the day before.

"Do the colors mean something?" Syri inquired as he gestured to the two's shirts.

Kip gave a small chuckle as he bopped the lip of the zeta's cap with his thumb. "Naw, we use our own shirts. They gave you one since you came with just one set of clothes."

"Ah," Syri sounded in response. "That was kind of them."

"Mm," Kip sounded in agreement. "They take good care of us. This is one of the better places to work. The luna doesn't allow for us to be mistreated."

"The queen sounds like a good luna," Syri commented as he stepped out into the hallway.

"That she is. I've heard the one before her was a witch, and not the kind with magic," Kip said with a raise of his brows toward the end.

"I'm glad I was born in the current luna's reign."

"Me, too." Kip nodded his head in agreement before starting down the hallway. Some of the maids and castle workers on the morning shift were also leaving their rooms and making their way to begin their duties. "Ready to meet Ajax?" Kip asked as he turned his head to look at the zeta trailing behind him. "You will be a caretaker to the prince's vorst with Bevy and me. Calix and Ibbi are Tran's caretakers."

Syri nodded in response. It would not be his first time meeting Ajax, and Syri was grateful at that moment that Ajax could not physically speak. "How often does the prince go to the stables to ride Ajax?" Syri inquired of the beta as the two reached the outdoors.

"Hmm...I'd say he comes once every two weeks. He used to come more often, but he's become busier the past few weeks," Kip explained as he and Syri crossed the southern courtyard. Syri nodded in acknowledgment of the beta's words as the two reached the stables. A smile came to the beta's face as he saw the final member of the party. "Heyyy, Calix!" Kip greeted as he approached the man.

Calix turned and quietly smiled at the grey-eyed werewolf as Kip neared him. Calix was a tall man with dark brown hair that fell to the tops of his shoulders in layers. The beta had dark green eyes the color of a forest at dawn and had a calming aura. He had caramel skin and was dressed like the others with the exception of forgoing the cap. Calix accepted Kip's quick embrace in greeting with a slap on the back and smiled at the soft brown-haired before turning to look at the pink-haired who stood at a short distance. The green-eyed bowed at the zeta before walking to the small male.

Syri looked up at the man and immediately relaxed under the beta's tranquil presence.

"You must be Syri," Calix greeted the zeta. His voice was incredibly soft and gentle.

"I am," Syri answered with a small smile. "You must be Calix."

"That I am," Calix returned softly. His gaze was soft as he looked at the zeta for a moment more before turning to Kip who was quietly watching the two's interaction. "Shall we begin?" The beta inquired of the grey-eyed, who nodded his head and started toward the stables.

"Morning!" Bevy called with a wave of her hand as she passed the zeta and beta and walked toward the stables. Ibbi bowed at his mentor in greeting before following the alpha.

Syri also bowed to the beta before hurrying after his long-strided mentor. The zeta reached Kip's side as the grey-eyed entered the stable's awning. Calix soon followed to join the four in the entrance to the stables. The two betas were around the same height, Calix having the slightest advantage over the grey-eyed. Their slight height difference was splendidly displayed as the two males came to stand next to each other before turning to address their underlings. Ibbi, Bevy, and Syri stood silently as they waited for their mentors to give them orders.

"Kip and Bevy will lead the team; Ibbi and Syri will flank, and I will take the rear," Calix began before turning to the zeta. "Syri, link with Ibbi and follow his lead. He will take you step-by-step."

The zeta felt his throat tighten as he heard the beta's words. "Umm..." Syri began, catching the two betas' attention. The zeta swallowed before lowering his head ashamedly and explaining, "I can't link other wolves."

Kip's brows lifted in intrigued confusion as silence followed the zeta's revelation. "You've never linked another werewolf before?" Calix inquired of the zeta. The beta was not shaming the zeta, nor was his voice scornful.

"...Ae..." Syri hung his head in shame. "I am sorry. I do not wish to be a burden."

Calix was quiet for a moment before a soft smile came to his face. "This is no problem at all. Ibbi can give you a quick run down while Bevy, Kip, and I round them up. Ibbi loves to talk; this is will like a warm-up for him." The beta was gentle as he addressed the zeta before turning his gaze to the omega. "Right, Ibbi?"

"Of course!" Ibbi responded with an exaggerated nod. "It'll be a breeze! I'll get you all prepped and ready, Syri Inso!" The widest smile covered the omega's face as he walked over to Syri and motioned for the zeta to follow him.

Syri I-Inso? The zeta swallowed as he watched the omega exit the stables and stand to the side of the building. That was the first time Syri had been called 'Inso'. The zeta blinked his warm eyes several times as the smallest smile came to his face. Syri bowed to his mentors before promptly following the omega out of the stables. Kip and Calix watched the kind zeta follow after Ibbi before joining Bevy in rounding up the horses and two vorsts.

"Okay, so, it seems pretty straightforward, right?" Ibbi inquired of the zeta as he completed giving Syri a crash course on managing steeds from the flank position. Syri nodded his head in response as the steeds began to filter out of the stables. Bevy exited the stable with the last of the horses; Kip and Calix were the last to exit leading Ajax and Tran by the bridle.

The two betas led the vorsts to join the team of horses before shifting into their wolf forms. "You'll do just fine. Don't worry, I can tell you'll be really good with them, Inso," Ibbi told the zeta before shifting into his wolf form. Syri watched the cloudy blue wolf happily yip as he joined the two betas and alpha.

Breathe, Syri, breathe. Aska's voice relaxed the zeta. I'll be right here. Plus, don't forget that you can link the vorsts. Use that to your advantage.

You're right, Aska. Thank you. Syri was grateful for his wolf's support and encouragement. The zeta released a breath before shifting. The two betas paused in their tracks as they watched the last wolf trot toward them.

Wow, he's beautiful. Kip commented on the zeta's entrancing elegance as the pink wolf reached them.

Ae. Calix agreed with the grey-eyed as he gazed at the beautiful zeta. His mate will be one lucky wolf. The dark-brown wolf made sure the five were together before addressing the team. Let's go.

Kip nodded to the pink wolf to alert Syri that it was time to head out. Syri lowered his snout in gratitude for the beta's signal and promptly joined the four in surrounding the team of steeds. Once in position, Calix gave a short yip to spark movement in the steeds. Upon Calix's yip, Kip and Bevy began leading the twenty steeds away from the stables and toward the southern gate.

Several of the guards and workers going about the palace grounds stopped in their tracks and stared at the pink wolf. Whispers and gasps began to circulate as the stable team passed by. "That one is new." "It's so pretty!" "I didn't know there was such a beautiful omega." "Now we have a blue and pink one. And on the same team at that!" Syri silently prayed the whispers would not reach the prince as he heard the reactions from the guards and workers.

The zeta shook his head to get rid of the potential consequence of the whispers as they passed through the gate and carefully sped to a slow gallop. Syri lifted his snout to the sky as he felt the wind ripple through his shiny coat. The zeta had not shifted into his wolf form for quite some time, so he enjoyed the feeling of running through nature and his paws landing on the soft ground. The steeds were extremely well-behaved, so the five did not have much trouble herding them to the correct field.

The morning sun shone on the zeta alluringly as the pink wolf gracefully bounded next to the galloping horses. Kip let out a yip alerting the team it was time to cut the steeds loose to roam. With the signal from Kip, Syri banked away from the steeds and made a one-eighty turn to come up beside Calix. Ibbi did the same and came up on the other side of the beta. Kip and Bevy banked away from the steeds until the horses and vorsts had been released to go about their morning exercise.

The five werewolves changed back to their human forms as they gathered beneath a great oak tree positioned toward the entrance to the field and watched the steeds graze about.

"Ahhh," Ibbi let out a sigh as he stretched. "That was an easy one. They did really well today."

"Mm," Bevy sounded in agreement as she sat down on the soft grass. Syri joined the alpha on the ground while the two betas leaned against the wide tree. "They're usually pretty rowdy. I wonder if it's because Ajax and Tran are clearly exhausted," Bevy pondered as she gestured to the two vorsts who were lazily grazing. The vorsts were the first steeds to break away from the hyper team of horses and slow to a walk before nearly immediately beginning to graze.

"Could be. The vorsts do seem to affect the rest of the team," Ibbi commented as he observed the two grazing steeds. The five settled down and watched the sun rise into the sky as they continued to keep a watchful eye over the precious steeds.