He worked out some of his negative energy by resuming his patrol and making not one but
two rounds around the caldera. He stopped only when night fell and thirst drove him upslope in search of water. Peregrine reached the rim and trotted down to the lake, gulping thirstily. The icy water felt heavy in his stomach as he sighed and dropped wearily to his haunches.
He still couldn't believe Dante's gall. What worried Peregrine most was Junior's condition. He hadn't found out what had happened to her or what her prognosis was. The only thing that stopped Peregrine from disregarding Dante's wishes and marching over to the plateau was the knowledge that she was in Blue Willow's care. She truly couldn't be in better hands. Another thing gave him pause too: Junior purportedly didn't
want him to come see her.
He sighed again, bitterly. Peregrine then rose and began making his way toward the den he shared with
@Fox. He needed to tell her about the tense conversation with Dante at the borders. He had no idea how his mate would feel about the plateau's—well, its
Alpha's—decision to refuse their offer of sisterhood. Fox likely never intended to go near the plateau again, so it wouldn't affect her the way it would impact him. In any event, Peregrine hoped he could draw some comfort from his mate's company.
Because, if Dante really upheld this asinine ruling, she was all he had now and they were entirely on their own out here. The plateau was not their sister pack, which defaulted their statuses to rivals in Peregrine's opinion. Who knew how it would play out in his relationships with his best friend, previous lover, sister and children over time? Perhaps it didn't even matter, now that winter was closing in on them and travel was unlikely anyway. They would become isolated planets, their spheres no longer touching.
With the chill—no, freeze—that had crept over the landscape, Fox found herself quite glad that they had found their den sooner rather than later. All at once, things had gone from sweater weather to parka weather (not that she knew what either of those things were). Perhaps it would not have bothered her so much if it hadn't been for the gash that was still healing across her face. Whenever she felt a gust of wind, it made the wound sting bitterly. She would wince and carry on, but she spent more time in the den than she normally would have because of it. Thankfully, Peregrine did not seem to mind, and considering he was back and wardening, Fox didn't fear for the caldera's safety as she might have if he'd still been away.
Even though she relished the warmth of their cozy den, she still needed to escape it for food, water, and to take a piss from time to time. She was doing the latter now, squeezing out the last drops, when an intake of air alerted her to Peregrine's presence. Standing up from her squat, she trotted over to him, gave him a lick on the nose, and asked, “What’s up?” Little did she know that was a loaded question that was opening a can of worms.
He interrupted her in the middle of a bathroom break and Peregrine might have found this funny if not for his dour mood. He managed a smile when Fox pranced over to him and greeted him with a lick. He took a moment to nose her face, careful to avoid direct contact with the gash. Somehow, touching his mate grounded him.
"Dante just came by to tell me to go fuck myself, right after telling me my daughter's been injured," he replied. "It's Junior. I don't even know what happened; he never said. He was too busy telling me I'm not welcome anywhere near the pack I ruled for nearly a year, all without any real explanation. That fucking jack wagon doesn't deserve his station," he seethed, knowing it was all right to let loose in front of her.
"He's barring me from visiting my kids, my sister, my best friend... oh, not to mention her pups when they're born. He said Junior doesn't want to see me, which doesn't really surprise me, but why come here and tell me my kid's injured and no, fuck you, you can't even see her... or anyone else, while we're at it? He not only rejected the idea of an alliance, he basically declared us enemies. And it all came out of fucking nowhere!"
Peregrine discovered he was breathing hard. He stopped and tried to calm himself. It was difficult, though. The only comfort he could find in this moment was his wife's steady silver gaze. Soon, they would be expecting and they would have a litter to rear with the rest of the pack. They were his only family now, which was a painful realization, and Peregrine would forever despise Dante for doing this to him, and so unnecessarily.
Of all the things Fox had expected to hear from Peregrine, this was not one of them. Fox strained to listen, trying to pick up as many details as possible. Peregrine was talking so quickly that she could barely keep up, but she managed to get the gist of it. Dante had decided that the plateau would not be a sister pack in any capacity. Instead, he had made them enemies by upsetting and distressing Peregrine (and the caldera in the process). As much as she knew remaining calm would probably help, her feathers ruffled and a growl tickled the back of her throat.
She had nothing to say on the matter. Unlike Peregrine, Fox had no personal ties to Blacktail Deer Plateau. Aside from Finley, which brought up a question. "Is Finley coming back? Are they going to hold her hostage?" That was the kind of thing that enemies did, and Fox would rip right through the plateau and slaughter them all if they thought they could get away with that.
It was funny how Fox had been the first to reject the notion of sister packs. And yet, through Peregrine, she had allowed it. So long as they had been accompanied, preferably by a leader, the plateau wolves were welcome to visit, catch up, and hang out. Dante had revoked that offer, and Fox knew it would hurt her lover in the process.
Peregrine shook his head. "I don't think Dante's capable of that kind of treachery, though I'm not sure about him anymore. I know Blue Willow wouldn't stand for that, though. She might have stepped aside for the world's hugest douche bag but I still trust her. She'll make sure Finley's better, then sent back to us." He paused and took a breath. "If she fails to come back to us good as new, I will go there personally and kill the wolf or wolves responsible for any harm-doing." That was a lot easier said than done but Dante had drawn the lines in the sand for both of them and shoved Peregrine firmly onto the caldera's side.
"I just don't understand, Fox," he continued, his voice less angry now and more hurt. "I know that leaving upset a bunch of them but I was already back on good terms with everybody except my girls. And I was going to give that time, then make it right too. Why did Dante do this? What harm would an alliance have done? What good comes out of ostracizing the caldera and the plateau? Seriously, fuck that guy."
Fox narrowed her eyes, suddenly unsure of how she felt about Finley being there at all. She should have come back right away, and it was making her nervous knowing that she was now in the claws of an enemy. "What if Dante won't let her come back? Blue Willow is only the beta there, after all." At least, that was where Blue had stood when they left. Perhaps she had taken a place beside Dante in the aftermath... but Fox didn't suspect it, especially with the way Perry was talking. Fox didn't understand it either. She had never been keen on having sister packs, but the terms Peregrine had laid out were reasonable enough. Now Dante was just taking a shit on what used to be his friend.
She frowned when he asked more questions without answers, but she did not feel she could fix anything. In fact, Fox was fairly certain that her normal reactions to such an atrocity would be to piss on the plateau's borders and rip their members to shreds if she caught any of them near the caldera—and that included the neutral lands around them. But now that she was nearing her second year, she was more careful. Her children would not benefit from such things, she knew, and Fox would not dare endanger their lives. The news of what had gone down only solidified her feelings of the plateau. It had never truly been her home.
"I will kill him," Peregrine answered, repeating his earlier words albeit with a bit more specificity and malice. His jaw clenched. He had once considered Dante a friend. Hadn't he chosen him for Beta over his own lover as well? He wished he could go back in time and choose Lasher instead. The dynamic between the packs would be so different.
"I told Dante I would never close my borders off to my loved ones, that they would always be welcome." His eyes had fallen to his paws but now they lifted, meeting Fox's. "I don't want to punish them because they have a moron for an Alpha." Peregrine swallowed. He might be able to keep his doors open, yet would anyone even feel comfortable coming by anymore? He felt cut off from the plateau and it was Dante who wielded the bloodied knife.
"That bastard has left me with no choice but to be estranged from my family. But... I have you. And the rest of the pack here. I don't like that Dante's forced my hand and gone about it this way but at least this means I'll stick closer to the caldera. It'll mean a lot less fraternizing outside of the pack. We'll probably be stronger for it," he mused, then sighed, bumping his head against his mate's neck.
Fox shook her head, still astonished that Dante would ever consider doing such a thing. It was even more strange that the plateau wolves hadn't revolted against such a thing. Perhaps they hadn't gotten a chance to, or Dante hadn't told them what he was planning to do yet. Fox couldn't imagine Blue standing for such nonsense, and she didn't think Lasher would be a-ok with such a proclamation. Things between Lasher and Peregrine were... tense, to say the least, but Fox didn't see him as the type to hold such a grudge.
“We’ll be strong no matter what,” she replied, pressing herself closer to him. Even if the plateau hated the both of them, they had each other, and Redhawk Caldera was where they would do things the right way. Nobody could get between them, taint their children with cruel stories, or do other terrible things. No, their life here—while Fox didn't expect it to be perfect—would be much better than if they had stayed at the plateau.
He made no reply. Peregrine stood there, his warm breath ruffling the fur on his mate's neck, and momentarily stared into space. When he snapped back into focus, he nuzzled her again and nodded belatedly, agreeing with her statement.
"I just hope Junior's okay. I know Willow will look after her and everything... but it's difficult, knowing I can't see her, that she doesn't want to see me." Yes, she was nearly grown and they had unfortunately grown apart, yet that didn't mean he loved or cared for her any less. He was worried about her. He was convinced that Blue Willow would disregard Dante's wishes and come to the caldera to tell him if she took a turn for the worst, at least.
"I just want to curl up and go to sleep. Tomorrow will be a new day and life will go on," he said a bit hollowly. "Come with?"
“Of course,” Fox replied, bumping her head against his shoulder. Fox knew little of Junior, but Perry's daughter had no love for her. Actually, Junior seemed to straight-up hate her. Fox still didn't understand why, and she probably never would, but both Saena and Junior bled hatred for her and constantly tried to get a rise out of her. It was horrendous, but Fox didn't give two shits about how they felt about her. She did, however, know that Peregrine felt responsible for them, and he would not give up so easily.
Redhawk Caldera was growing strong, Fox knew, and she had no doubts that they would make it through the winter without a hitch. Soon, they would have children to fill the caldera's ranks as well. Fox wasn't sure if they would stay, and she honestly did not expect them to, but they would at least be around for a little while. Fox looked forward to those months ahead. She wriggled into the den behind Peregrine, and snuggled close to him. No words would be appropriate now, and she could offer him companionable comfort with her body against his, her chest soon rising and falling as she slept.
Before long, they were tucked in their den, their bodies curled around each other, heating up one another and their little space. Peregrine's ears flicked as he listened to his mate's breathing, as it deepened and slowed. Her leaned over her, touching his nose to her head, and breathed in her scent. He tried to relax and clear his head, though it proved difficult... no, impossible. Although comfy and cozy, it would be hours before he finally captured the sandman. In the meantime, he kept reliving the moment when Dante had approached the caldera and daydreaming other outcomes for the confrontation.