Luke had meant the biting words he had slung at Reek's retreating backside; the black wolf would simply not know that the white wolf's claim over Saena, the maplewood and the pups was not yet official. But he intended that at least part of that was about to change. His first line of business after chasing off Reek was this, and to inform Saena that her ex mate had come calling. Perhaps she had heard, but was unable to leave her pups unattended.
So, with a slash across his cheek and several scored across his muzzle, and both his and Reek's blood fresh on his fur, he made his way back to the den, drawing to a stop just one wolf length from it. But before he called out to Saena, he inclined his snout to the sky and called out to the entire pack. His howl was long, loud, and commanding. It stated simply that
he was now the
alpha male. If he was to defend and protect Saena and this pack, he would do so at her side, and he did not doubt her support. Yet his reasoning was selfish too; he would not bow his head to anyone. Control had to be his. He knew this. His days of being a mere follower were over. Will that he could, he was incapable of returning entirely to his old self, and so, he would forge a new path ahead, starting here and now.
Saena is asleep when Reek's commanding howl goes out over the maple wood, and though the force of his voice rouses her, she is too drowsy to recognize the meaning. She shifts, for the umpteenth time forgetting about the pups sprawled at her side—this time it's Indra who feels the weight of Saena's leg before she catches herself—and pulls herself to the den's entrance. The pups are now large enough to spend a little time unattended before a chill would settle over them, and the den is warm with her breath and the heat of spring. She worries not for them as she pulls her shoulders free of the den.
But she doesn't go any further than this, tethered by maternal instinct and temporary blindness as the sun through the canopy dazzles her. "Mmm," she murmurs quietly as she locates Luke through a severe squint that blurs almost everything else. He's exactly as she remembers. White fur, blue nose, expressive silver eyes, huge red gashes... wait, what?
Blinking rapidly, the alpha female pulled the rest of her body free of the den's entrance and takes the two steps toward Luke, bristling with worry and fear alike. "What happened?" she breathes, wasting no time in sweeping her tongue soothingly over her friend's bloodied muzzle.
"Reek came by," he murmured, his eyes closing as her tongue soothes the wounds on his face. Only now does he feel their sting, but it is a sting accompanied by the comfort of her caress and so he does not mind. "He ran off." The fight is implied; he does not need to tell her it happened for her to know. The evidence is boldly red upon his coat and cut into his flesh. "There was a female there talking to him when I got there, she stepped in to assist me." Unlike the other two females that had went against him at the other border confrontation. He faulted the child less than he did the pack's Gamma.
She narrowly avoids biting her own tongue when Luke utters her ex-mate's name, so quickly does she clench her jaw. She had at one point promised to call for Reek to meet his children, but much has changed since then, and she has no intention of keeping that promise now. She's unsure how he came to know of their birth and assumes that he simply knew it was passed time for them to arrive, but the fact that he dared to show up on her borders at all causes her blood to run cold.
"No, please no" she breathes, terrified that her ex-mate continues to haunt her even now she's taken steps to rid herself of him. She's glad to know that someone aided Luke in driving Reek away, and she's glad to know they were successful in it, but she's frightened of the possibility that it won't end there, and doubly so to know Reek caused Luke's wounds. That thought is all it takes for her figure to sag under the weight of mounting stresses, from the stress of childbirth and rearing to possibility of war with the Dragons and the threat of Reek ever present and now confirmed, and quietly and mournfully she says, "we need to leave this place, it's nothing but danger." For her cubs, for herself, and possibly for her entire pack, including Luke.
Luke was taken aback, and stood dumbfounded for a few moments, uttering no more than a drawn out uhhh before he spoke. "Right... now?" he questioned. She had just given birth; it was possible, but dangerous, to move such young cubs that still depended on the den and the warmth of their mother. But there was something he did not question: his resolve to be with her, whether it was here in the maplewood or wherever she felt they would be safe.
"If you want to go, I'm with you." He said, dipping his head to brush the top of his muzzle across her jaw before nuzzling into her neck in tender affection and reassurance both. "I will stand by your side as your alpha male, and protect you, your pups, and this pack with everything I got."
In before someone asks if he can protect them from himself, lol...
Luke is right, and he doesn't even have to say anything except those two words. Much as Saena wants to pack up and be out of the woods and out of the taiga by next nightfall, the pups are yet too small. She doesn't even feel it's the right time to let them out of the den yet, let alone bring them on a journey. "No," she sullenly sighs, "but as soon as possible."
Luke's declaration is easily accepted by Saena. Not only is it the way of wolves in the wild to challenge and ascend the hierarchy, but it's Saena's firm belief that the Alpha pair are partners. Not just work partners, but life partners. While she isn't ready to move into such a commitment with Luke now, she knows from her willingness to allow him to mount her once before and how she'd been on the cusp of leaving the woods for him that he may well stand with her as a life partner someday. There are no more suitable wolves in the pack—Esaro is far from ready and Casmir is a relative who would make a good Beta, perhaps, but not co-Alpha. Luke is the one destined for it and the only eligible male in the pack for the position.
"I don't want to fight these Dragons to the north anymore," she tells him, "and that Reek would do this to you... on our own borders..." She doesn't dare to voice the thought that he could return and do more damage, but it remains a looming threat in the back of Saena's mind. More than anything, she wants that vile wolf out of her life and wants to start over, away from Reek and his influence. She can no longer trust that that's possible in her beloved maple wood.
"Yeah, but you should see what I did to him," he quipped, his lips curling in a brief smirk, and his humor laced with an indescribable quality born of his own satisfaction. Satisfaction he knew was misplaced and twisted, born of the pleasure of being in power, in control. "Don't worry, he won't get anywhere near you or the pups. But when we go..." he trailed off, leaning forward to nip her ear playfully. "Do you think we can settle nearer to some water? The maplewood is nice and all... just not a lot of fish around here, heh," he half-shrugged, and he felt his heart sink momentarily as he thought of the hollow. His ears fell.
"I mean it doesn't matter... I'd live on a rock with you," he murmured as he allowed himself to slide lazily to the ground, reaching up to gently touch a paw to her nose.
Saena does want to see what damage Luke wrought upon her ex-mate, if only to soothe the wounds Reek dug into her own heart and mentality when she saw him atop Tavi. But she knows she never can, not without doling out similar punishment, or spontaneously combusting herself. There's just no easy way, and her emotions have become increasingly fragile and strained. She can no longer entertain even the thought of coming face-to-face with Reek again without an intense wave of anxiety.
Like so many times before, Saena misses the change in Luke's demeanour now, though it should be clear as day. She's blinded herself to it as surely as Luke hides it. She turns her head to retaliate with a fond rap of her nose against his cheek, and his request for a home near water is met with a thoughtful, "hmm." Ideally, she would find a wood as beautiful and vast, if not more, as her current home, but it likely wasn't possible. Even if it was, if it wouldn't be home to Luke too, then it simply wouldn't do.
"Shouldn't be hard to find a good place," she agrees, not realizing just how splendid a water feature Luke had once lived beside. Wherever they end up will be hard-pressed to be as nice as either of their former homes, but she's determined to choose somewhere safe, somewhere very far, unspeakably far, from her ex and the Dragons alike. She pulls back her ears and with a light growl nips at Luke's toes when they brush her nose. "As long as it's way the hell away from here."