Tiphon

The only living pup of Fleetfoot the First, heir to the empire and hated traitor to the Wolves of the Beyond, Tiphon lived in a precarious state for a long time. Many wanted to kill her, simply for association, some because her blood would spell trouble if the empire found out, and some just because they needed some wolf to sink their fangs into and let out their fury. Thankfully for Tiphon, she had proven herself a prodigy early on and had become the best stalker her pack had seen in generations, and with the devastation Fleetfoot's attempted takeover had left on the hunting parties, the pack needed her for the upcoming winter now more than ever. However that did not spell the end of troubles.

Her mother Akila, had always been distant with her only biological offspring, much preferring to dote and tend to her adopted pup, Lumi. Tiphon eventually realized after Fleetfoot's execution the reason being Akila and Fleetfoot had never truly been a couple. Fleetfoot had outright used and scorned her mother, using them to build an image of himself to the pack, as his goal had always been their Alpha and claiming her as his mate. So Akila had never truly loved the pup she felt should have never been born, Tiphon. And after Fleetfoot's plans came to light, she had found the excuse to finally disown her pup and remove herself from her life entirely.

The damage this did to Tiphon's psyche was immense. She was left with no friends, no family. Just her thoughts. And considering she never did anything wrong, she found herself growing more bitter and hateful towards her "pack" and "mother". She found herself longing for someone who would appreciate her and validate her existence. Someone like…her father? What few memories she had of him interacting with her were…decent enough, and she found herself projecting the ideal father into him, even coming up with memories that never happened with her father who, in truth, didn't actually care about her either. She found herself idolizing him and the empire, especially given her realization that if her father was the true emperor, that made HER the next in line. She was unaware that females would never hold the thrown, there was no real "empress" other than a glorified figurehead for females to aspire to. If the Empire found her they were more likely to force her to have pups and discard her for any sons she may bear.

But her lack of knowledge spared her from this truth. But it only twisted her further. She would see this pack destroyed by the empire and her father's bloodline returned to glory even if she had to kill and deceive to do it. First though…she needed a safety net. A pup. But she found herself unable despite multiple attempts with the stud male. She was forced to compromise. Then she had an idea. As long as she claimed the pup was hers and no one could refute it, that would suffice. She could disappear for a time, claiming it to be to give birth, and return with the pup. She could not get it from the enclave, that risked knowledge of the pups true origins getting out. No she would have to find a fresh rogue mother. Then she would take care of her and take her remaining pups for herself. When she did find the ideal target, she realized a flaw in her plan. She had no milk. The pups would starve. They had to be weaned. But they would have memories of their real mother? Then a stroke of her father's genius hit her.

She would offer her assistance to the weak new mother and help her with the pups. The mother would trust her and with her assistance, raise her pups to be strong, while Tiphon would be present in the early memories of the cubs, allowing her to mold the memories her way once they were weaned.

Her plan worked. Almost as soon as they were weaned, Tiphon savagely murdered the unsuspecting she-wolf and buried her, taking the pups with her and insisting that "Auntie had gotten tired and wished to leave". She solidified herself to the pups as their mother, and absolutely no one could prove otherwise. She even tricked herself. She was that far gone. She was sure to twist the pups as well. The Empire would have its heir one way or another