A rabbit burst through a clutch of ferns, hotly pursued by the white-and-red predator that was Saena Redtail.

Her bobbed tail swung in tight circles as she kept pace with the lapine. Her ears were pitched forward in sharp lines and her face was tight with concentration. The rabbit hooked left and Saena slammed her paws into the ground and swung with it, keeping close behind. Loam flung out behind her as she chased with her tongue flapping by her jowls.

In the end, clever hunter though she was, the rabbit outsmarted Saena. It darted until the undergrowth and wheeled tightly, throwing the larger animal for a loop. By the time she managed to turn, it was gone, the only sign of its passing a distant rustle of leaves. The alpha female panted heavily and scuffed a paw pad over the dirt, silently cursing her failure.

Apart from the awkward encounter with Luke, the discovery of the maplewood had spurned a pleasant turn of events. No longer did the displaced wolves of Redtail Rise have to wander or worry. The maplewood provided a sufficient claim and Reek finally allowed himself to relax and enjoy the mid-summer day.  

Sprawled out under one of the forest's eponymous maple trees, Reek let his mind wander to this and that, but every once in a while the encounter with Luke would rear it's ugly head. At least one good thing had come from it. Saena had given their relationship a title; mates. While mateship had been Reek's intention all along, a proposal of that nature wasn't what he had planned. As a man of grand gestures, Reek couldn't help but feel disappointed that he didn't have the opportunity to go all out and make a big show of it. But, maybe it was better the way it happened. The ends always are better than the means to achieve them.

There was a break in the contemplative silence and Reek's ears perked up to listen.  A rabbit streaked though the clearing and was followed closely by Saena, nipping at it's heels. Eventually the little bugger gave Saena the slip to her much obvious disappointment. Rising from the spot, Reek walked to his mate's side.  "Smooth moves Snowball," he taunted with a goofy smirk. "You know— You're cute when you're disappointed." Dipping his head, Reek reached out to land a playful nip on her backside.

With a swivel of her head, the panting hunter greeted Reek with a saucy, not-quite-real pout. Wolves won and wolves lost when it came to the hunt. More often than not it was the latter. Reek knew that better than anyone, so Saena knew his jab was in jest. Still, she feigned a pout just for him, in hopes of entertaining him or at least giving their time together a lighter feel than their most recent, in which she'd been found beneath another man, however innocent that actually was.

Reek's teeth grazed her hindquarters and she turned smoothly to press her chest against his side in an attempt to pin him against a nearby tree. For a moment she looked truly furious, but there was a mischievous glint in her eye that revealed the charade. She was only playing with him. "How rude to watch a lady fail and comment on it!" she said, again with that pout, but it fell away into a simper that was more than a little lascivious.

Ah, who was she kidding? She and Reek hadn't really got it on since the fire and she was feeling particularly frisky now that they were named mates. She had no idea he didn't approve of her method; Saena wasn't much of a romantic, it seemed, so it never occurred to her that the grandeur of the occasion was swept under the rug by her practical approach. Nevertheless in the failure of her hunt she sought another kind of exhilaration, another rush to celebrate a joyous day, as evidenced by the provocative nips she placed without hesitation against the side of his neck.

Thankfully, Saena's eyes gave away her intent or else Reek would have misinterpreted the situation as always. However, that mischievous glint in her eyes was unmistakably familiar and Reek's silly grin stayed plastered on his face through her pseudo-pout, that is— until he felt himself thrust sidelong into a tree. Landing with a cough and definitive "oof", his head whipped around and Reek began to laugh in surprise.  If she wanted things rough... he could do rough.

Without notice, she made her way to his throat in the most sultry of manners, attemting to get Reek all hot 'n bothered.  Attept successful.  "How rude of me," he continued teasingly.  "Did I say cute?  I meant to say 'incredibly sexy.'"

Wriggling himself free from the vicegrip that was Saena and the tree, Reek though about returning the ministrations ten-fold... but that would be boring.  He pulled back— then he charged, throwing his bony body over his mate to topple her over so he could literally shower her in affection.

"That's better," Saena murmured against the curve of Reek's earlobe. They both knew that disappointment was hardly sexy but that didn't stop her from appreciating it. The alpha female spent another moment or two nibbling at her mate's neck before he began to wriggle and then gave her the slip.

Her chest collided softly with the tree as Reek slipped out of her grasp. She turned around, grinning an positively brimming with anticipation, but the expected return of her affection never came. She expected to feel his arms around her and to be tugged back into his embrace, but instead, Reek flung himself over her.

Saena let herself fall beneath his weight, giggling lightly. Her short tail swept to and fro as she wriggled under her mate, feverishly passing her tongue over the fur on his breast in a renewed effort to arouse him.

She crumpled under Reek's meager weight and soon sprawled out, sunnyside up underneath his playful embrace. Saena's preening motions sent familiar shivers down Reek's spine and were all that he needed to get his show on the road. It had been far too long since the two had done the do. With fervent energy, he pushed himself back on her body and worked his way down, tongue tracing the outline of her curves as he went. Her sweet taste collected on the tip of his tongue as he drank in her scent, ensnaring every bit of his attention.  By the time he was done, he shook with tremors of anticipation.

Begrudgingly, he pulled himself away in-order to allow her to reposition herself. "Let's do it," he murmured breathlessly.  "Right here; right now.  I don't care who sees."  Shooting his mate a mischievous smirk, he waited for her to assume to position.

Saena responded to Reek's touch eagerly, with rumbles of encouragement and need. This had become the norm for them prior to the fire and if they were going to make this wood their home, then they would need to return to normalcy too. It would never feel right if they didn't. Maybe one day the two would calm down, but together they were all raging hormones and rushing blood, so that wasn't likely to happen for a little while yet. Likely not until Saena's first heat, when they would be more frenzied than ever, had come and gone.

He pulled away from her and she followed closely, pulling herself to her feet to better accommodate him. After all, she was an animal and didn't think about things like positions and alternatives, so there was really only one way this worked in her mind, once she'd realized that only men could be on top. She drew herself along his side, pressing her flank to his and letting their fur melt together, and when she reached his hindquarters she gently nipped his hip.

She shimmied her hips for a moment, taunting him, and then whirled around to playfully say, "if you want it, you gotta take it." Their sessions up until now had been pretty normal, but Saena wanted to drive Reek wild with desire now, to make him the dominant wolf he ought to be by making him so frantic that he took her in his arms without any hesitation whatsoever... and this was the way to do it, she thought.

Whatever remaining ounce of control Reek had retained though Saena's goading touch had all but faded away. She had him climbing up the walls; frantic and needing in his approach. Letting a wanting whine pass his lips, he shut his eyes and leaned against his mate while his knees buckled and bent with desire. He needed her.  He needed her now.

"You dirty girl," he whispered, prowling from her flank to her backside. She was going to make him work for it... but the chase was half the fun.  As fast as he could, Reek wrapped his forelegs around her and pulled his mate in close with a rough tug, expelling heavy breath on the back of her neck. Unlike their tryst in the Emberwood, the awkward fumbling that generally ensued was a thing of the past. In their brief time together, experience had taken hold.  Reek knew what he wanted, and he took freely.

He found his rhythm fast and hard as he pushed the upper half of his lovers body lower and into the ground.  Gripping the scruff of her neck tightly in his jaws, a low and possessive growl rumbled in the back of Reek's throat. A growl that meant only one thing; she was his, and his alone.

Saena smirked at him when he breathed out two words, her bobbed tail switching eagerly back and forth. Her manner was sly as she made to take a step forward, but her wanting mate was far too quick for her. Before she could dance out of reach, Reek had locked his arms around her waist and pulled her back. She protested by pretending to struggle away, but that did nothing to deter the man, who found his mark easily in spite of her playful squirming.

Well, the squirming stopped as soon as he did. The speed and force of it momentarily took her breath away, but then he was leaning his weight forward, testing her strong limbs, which were anything but strong in that moment. They were jelly-like as familiar fire began to grow in her lower belly and in time they gave out so her front half practically collapsed under his strength. From here, the alpha male clutched her nape and growled, and for some reason that was so hot to Saena that she couldn't contain a loud, half-moaned gasp.

In fact, she couldn't contain much of anything after that. She'd never been shy about vocalizing how she felt during these encounters, but now she was louder than ever as she struggled to keep her hind feet from slipping on the loam. Her lover wasn't helping; his eager motion was ever-so-slowly shoving her forward so that total collapse was imminent. It was now a question of what would happen first: Reek's climax (maybe her own if she was lucky) or her falling over.

Far to caught up in the motion, Reek hardly noticed his mate's grip on the dirt slowly slipping away. With continued fervor, Reek did not relent in his pace. Responding only to Saena's moans as they guided him though his motions, he plodded on rougher than ever. A dominant force like the alpha male he was— is. Obviously he was doing something right, so why stop a good thing?

Not until Reek felt a familiar tightness in his loins did he slow his frenzied rhythm in the hopes that it would delay the inevitable. Perhaps he had gotten too worked up by Saena's teasing plan. Think of something gross, was the thought that echoed on repeat in his mind in a last ditch effort to hold on. Thankfully, the imagined smell of rotting meat did just the trick, providing just enough distraction to focus on his mate once more.

And then, looking down mid-stroke, Reek noticed as she struggled to keep her footing. He loosened his tight grip on Saena's neck and repositioned himself, allowing her to rise up beneath him to attain stable footing before before going right back into frenzied lover mode. If she didn't finish before him, then he sure-as-shit wasn't trying hard enough.

Reek didn't let up and Saena didn't want him to. Unlike some of their first sessions, he had mastery over his movements now, and unlike some previous times, he'd lost himself to it. His base nature was taking over. Saena loved that, even if she didn't necessarily recognize it. She panted and groaned and dug her elbows into the ground to try to stabilize herself, and all the while a wildfire burned through her veins.

Just when she thought she was going to lose her footing, Reek's rhythm slowed, but not in the characteristic way that signalled he was finished. Instead he hoisted his weight back, giving Saena room and the opportunity to stand straighter, and from there he picked up the pace again. The wildfire burned hotter, and then suddenly it grew and consumed her and every muscle in her body grew taut.

She didn't know if she moaned loudly or said his name or growled or what—her mind seemed to blank out for just a moment as the most wonderful feeling washed over her. It made her weak in the knees, so much so that she swooned on the spot and nearly fell right over.

Struggling to keep his mate upright as she faltered with climax, Reek continued his break-neck rhythm with no holds barred, eventually losing himself in the motion. His frenzied state would not be stopped until he was sated— until he had gotten his. Moments after Saena's release, Reek's subsequently followed.  Body going rigid, Reek's tongue lolled from his mouth and his face contorted all derp-like with pleasure. With a impassioned groan, Reek slowed to a stop on top of his mate and rested himself on her body as he tried to catch his breath and slow his rapidly beating heart.

As a general rule, each time the two had gotten together, the sex had gotten better. But this time— this time, it was mind-blowing.  Still connected at the hip, Reek wondered for a moment if he could even move... Perhaps he had lost all of his fine motor-functions in their frenzy.  Managing to lazily slink off her back, Reek crumpled into the dirt, loose and limp like a rag doll with sides heaving.

"I love you," he muttered with his face buried in the dirt, mind swimming in a post coital haze.  What they had just shared was grand enough to let the L-word fly, and truthfully, Reek felt it was passed time to finally say it.

Not until Reek slid off her back did Saena allow herself to truly relax. She dropped to the ground in a heap with delicious waves still crashing through her body. She coiled her limbs in, a visible demonstration that she wasn't done yet, but when the warmth finally relented, it was in time to hear her mate mutter "I love you" to her.

Her heart squeezed with an equal mix of glee, panic and uncertainty. Of course Saena didn't love Reek yet. It was too soon. The young woman hadn't even tasted love in her short life. She lusted for him, she liked him a great deal, but she didn't think it was love yet. But he was so earnest she couldn't help but to smile, to know that one day she might be able to reciprocate with conviction.

"Love you too," she murmured, for although she didn't feel yet that it was at that point, she didn't want her mate's admission to go without recognition. She'd taken him as her mate, a manner of saying "I love you" all on its own, and a promise that she would. That was enough for her, but to say it aloud would surely make him feel good. She was willing to do that, even if she wasn't sure it was true just yet.

She shifted on the ground, splaying her forelimbs out and curling her hind limbs further in so that she was in a relaxed half-twist, facing him. "I want to talk about Arion," she said quietly. It was perhaps a strange topic to bring up in the aftermath of bliss, but she thought it was high time they discuss him—his attitude problem, his qualifications, and all that. Saena felt certain that Reek would understand why she was bringing him up. After all, it was the alpha male who had seen the worst of it firsthand.

Though her reciprocation lacked conviction, Reek in his current state hardly noticed. With his mind practically swimming in endorphins from their romp, he took her words at face value. Perhaps if it had been another time, he would have called Saena on it— but instead, Reek only grinned like an idiot as he rolled over to face his mate. She was his mate anyway... these sort of things were to be assumed.

But, Reek's smile soon faltered when Saena diverted course of their conversation to their most troublesome subordinate... Arion. Once a shoo-in for the beta position, Arion's attitude problem had wiped his slate of accomplishments clean. His most recent and unprecedented blow up had left Reek bitter toward his old bestie and had served to make Reek question the nature of their friendship.

"I haven't talked to him," panted Reek, still in an exhausted stupor. "Well... not since the fire. I don't know what crawled up his ass and died, but he isn't ready for leadership." Which was greatly disappointing. Having his right hand man at his side would have been favorable... too bad the Greek had mucked it all up. "Is he still being a dick?" He asked, chuckling.

Reek seemed to have the same doubtful thoughts about Arion and his suitability. Saena was glad they were on the same page but, like her mate, she regretted feeling that way as well. The Arion of before would've made a great beta, but no matter how much he denied it, the warrior was different now. He was volatile. He was unruly. All the things that a beta could not be, because a beta represented the pack and often served as its voice, as Reek had for so long.

"You'd think," she muttered, ever conscious that their subordinate might sneak up and hear them talking about him, "that he lost everything he ever held dear." Maybe that was exaggerating a little, but the still youthful Saena often did that, as she would one day learn. "I don't really know but I agree he isn't right for it right now, especially since he threatened to just up and leave that one time," she'd probably told him about that, but maybe she'd overlooked it. Either way, in response to whether he was still being a dick, Saena explained, "Before the storm when I asked him to help make sure everyone had shelter, he sort of implied it wasn't his job." He hadn't said so many words, but what was important to her was his tone, not so much what he'd actually said.

"I asked what his problem was. He denied having one, then said something about the poppy." She frowned. "Is it really that addictive?" she wondered aloud, then shook her head and refocused and went on. "Anyway, I pointed out his attitude lately and he got all pissy, said if we weren't so busy we'd know what was wrong and something about being in his feet. The one time I asked what was wrong he told me he couldn't say. I think he thinks we can read his mind." That or Arion had just gone so far off the deep end that he was going insane and held his friends, his family, accountable for all the bad things he felt.

No, she didn't think Arion would do that, however much sense it made. He wasn't crazy.

Whatever the bee in Arion's bonnet was Reek hadnt a clue, nor had he taken the time to properly ask after his blow up. Instead Reek made assumptions as to why the Greek had been such a prick. Most theories hinged on two things; Smash and poppy.  While Smash's departure served to add to the collective personal shit-storm that Reek faced months back in the rise, her affect on Arion had been largely a mystery.  Other than that, there was no reason for him to spiral into a deep depression.  

But then there was poppy. Initially Reek had thought getting him off the smack for good would help his friend in the long run, at least after withdrawals wore off. But, it was far passed that time, so Arion could no longer use that as an excuse for his asshattery. Getting clean hadn't helped him out of his slump... perhaps he was better off slowly killing himself.

Most of what Saena told him, he had already heard or seen with his own eyes.  However, he still shook his head and snorted with disapproval accordingly. "You know, I thought giving him the chance to become our beta would straighten him out... I think it's only made him worse," Reek thought aloud. Thinking back to beginning of the Rise when the two had been given temporary leadership, Arion had relished in the chance to be in charge.  Why he was lashing out now when presented with a permanent opportunity was beyond the ragged alpha.

Maybe, things would go back to normal if Reek go him on the poppy train once again.  "Very addictive.  In the right paws, it can be extremely usefull, but he doesn't know what he's playing with. A plant like that is not a toy," responded Reek to Saena's inquiry.  "But— I liked him better when he was sedated." Perhaps poppy could be used to keep him under control.

"I agree," Saena said quietly, though she wasn't even sure if Arion knew they were planning to promote him. He acted haughty, which suggested he did, but if he was aware, then he was doing a pretty poor job of proving he deserved it. Rather, Arion was securing his future as a subordinate. At present, either of the two Amazons that helped the Redtail Rise wolves pick up after the tragic loss of their home were more suitable candidates, and they were still little better than strangers.

Reek seemed to be considering another possibility, one that Saena hadn't thought of. Even when Arion mentioned the poppy, it never occurred to her to put him back on it. She thought of it as destructive. Reek himself had said it would kill Arion if he persisted in its use. Yet now her mate was suggesting it might be best for him, and them, if he was given over to it. "Wouldn't it kill him?" she wondered. Surely that hadn't changed?

Maybe it was only the amount he had taken that would kill him. Maybe long-term use of small quantities was acceptable. If it was, it seemed the best option with Arion for controlling his volatility. Under its influence, he might make an okay beta male. "I guess if he wants to go on it, we can put him on it. He was a much better person then."

The idea was rough at best. But, with Saena's go ahead, Reek was prepared to flesh out the details and create a proper plan to wrangle their most headstrong subordinate into a state of complacent control.  Following Arion's most recent blow-up and subsequent attitude problem, the Greek had proven himself to not only be a poor candidate for leadership, but an emerging threat that begged to be dealt with. Unfortunately, the only card up Reek's sleeve was a ticking time bomb.

But, it was time to play or fold.  "It could," he said slowly, pondering the implications. Death wasn't ideal... fortunately, time heals all wounds. However, to avoid the worst of all outcomes, Arion would have to act though a middle-man. Leaving him to his own devises had been in a disaster, leading to overdose after overdose. "We'd have to monitor him heavily— but, uh, this could be good for him in the long run."  

"We can worry about that— and him later," rumbled Reek after a brief pause. Lazily, he dragged his body closer to his mate and pressed his head against her side. "It's a beautiful day, let's enjoy it."

Reek's response wasn't what Saena wanted to hear, but she conceded that it was the only way. Arion would become a problem if he was left to continue down the path he'd chosen. He already openly defied their leadership; what was stopping him from trying to usurp them? Maybe he would one day fancy himself a better alpha and would make a move. She didn't want to be there to see it if it ever happened.

"You're right," she said with a quiet sigh. She angled her head to nibble at his cheek, then asked, "wanna go swimming? We can try to find a decent watering hole here. I'm sure there's gotta be one." A forest didn't get so lush and full of life without a healthy amount of water. In fact, now that she mentioned water, Saena felt rather thirsty, so even if Reek didn't want to go swimming, she would shift under him with the intent of going to find something—even if it was just a measly stream.

With an excited huff of agreement, Reek sprang to his feet in a less-than-gracefull manner. His legs still wobbled weakly from their most recent encounter, but eventually he shook himself stable and found proper footing in the loam. "I found a creek that passes through the eastern end of the wood," he suggested before playfully prodding his mate to rise as if he were a child who was promised a trip to Disneyland.

"From what I've seen, it's pretty shallow— but I haven't followed it up yet. So who knows?" It was worth a shot anyway. With the constant patrols and marking, Reek had spent little time getting acquainted with the interior of the Maplewood and it was about time he changed that. With one last playful nip to his mate's backside, Reek loped off into the woods— beckoning for his mate to follow.

Reek had an idea of where to go, coaxing a broad grin from his mate. All the better, then! She hadn't explored enough to know where the best swimming spots were. Even if the creek turned out to be too small to even splash in, they would be getting something done and that appealed to Saena, who was always mindful of being productive. She had her moments where she was lazy and did little of anything, but frequently that wasn't the case. Exploring while enjoying time with Reek ticked all her boxes.

She whipped her head around to try to box him with her muzzle as he nipped her, but Reek was well out of range before she could connect. Grinning slyly, she scrambled to her feet and head off after him, ready to nip at his hindquarters until he too was running toward the creek he had mentioned.