Swiftcurrent Creek On melancholy hill

Rysk listened in silence while Wylla spoke. He could see a lot of himself in her and that surprised him. He too had felt unwanted and out of place in his own pack, one that he was meant to lead. He wanted to say something meaningful to her, tell her that he knew how she felt and that he didn't think their alphas were the kind to act on past grudges, but how well did he even know them? Instead he just said I understand. It felt like they were just meaningless words. He couldn't possibly understand how she felt, but he connected with her story.

Rysk hesitated for a moment. I can imagine how you feel - I mean… I just meant to say that I've been through something similar, he continued and his voice lost all its arrogance. Not long ago I was going to be the leader of my own pack, but they didn't want me, they wanted my half-brother. You see, while we shared the same father, my mother was an outsider and I was a bastard he said bitterly, But that wasn't even the worst part. The worst part was that once my brother became the alpha, he told me to go, a knot formed is his throat, He wasn't just my brother, he was my best friend. And now I have no one and nowhere to go, he said and smiled in a way someone smiles when they realize that their life is one big, miserable joke.