The ebony leader was beginning to grow restless in his own territory – he knew there was nothing stopping him from going on day trips outside of Neverwinter, but the hybrid felt as though he should keep a watchful eye on the newest members of his crew. He was still struggling with remembering all their names and figured that he should be more acquainted with the canines who called him their Captain. The encounters where they had been accepted into the pack had been brief and to the point, but Styx knew there was much more to learn about the individuals that made up his growing pack.

While Styx was a typical, hot-headed male he was not at all stupid. He often seemed as though he were, as either he would say something stupid or not say anything at all, he was far from it. And for this strange-eyed female before him to assume he was stupid and lie to him was an insult. He was the Captain – he could easily send her running with her tail curled up between her legs, and she thought it was a brilliant idea to lie to him? His upper lip curled as she spoke, brows narrowed as he pressed his tongue to the roof of his mouth in order to calm himself down. Surely there was a completely logical reason that she was lying to him – Styx Constantin prayed that she wasn’t a complete moron. He would not tolerate idiocy in his pack.

There were many aspects of his life that had changed (dramatically) after agreeing to start up a pack with the silver-eyed Kat. His former nomad life was abandoned, and now he was embracing this new one where he was surrounded by others – something that the coywolf had never experienced. During puppyhood, he had grown with only his mother and two siblings present; there had never been more than the four of them. Once his mother sent him and his siblings way, the yearling had remained on his own and, until meeting Kat, had wanted to continue doing so.

Her reaction was precisely what the long-limbed Alpha had been hoping to achieve – her body was nearly squished against the earth, apologetic words dripping off her tongue as she declared her loyalty to him. It was strange for the mutt to have others submitting to him – their stomachs brushing the ground and ears flattened to their skull – but it was something that he was slowly getting used to. The pack was still fresh so there was going to be a few hiccups in the weeks after Neverwinter’s formation – especially with an inexperienced pair like himself and Kat. However, the hybrid was determined to succeed – and with Kat’s help he knew that they would.

He comment caused a frown to reappear across his maw – what did she mean by that? Like them? Frustrated, the lanky hybrid curled his tail, bright gaze focused on her pale coat as he carefully selected his next choice of words. The comment had not been necessary, especially they had just gotten over another hurdle. A pointed ear flicked in annoyance as he shifted his weight, claws digging into the soft dirt beneath them. “I can assure you I am nothing like your parents,” he started, speaking through his teeth as his gaze did not waver from the pale female. “I don’t ask for much, just respect and for rules to be followed. Just as any Alpha would.” Styx Constantin didn’t understand how he, a gypsy by blood, could resemble anything remotely similar to strict.

She was confusing – the hybrid found it difficult to decipher whether she was insulting him or praising him, which left him feeling like a buffoon. With the initial conflict at the start of their conversation Styx had taken her comment the wrong way, but he also had been unsure of what she had meant by it. He had been under the assumption that she had felt negatively about how strict her parents had been, which was why the youth had thought she was insulting him. A frown creased his maw as she spoke; now he wasn’t sure how to respond. Her final comment sounded like an insult, but the youth did not want to assume and snap back at her with vinegar dripping off his words. As a loner he made sure that those he crossed paths with did not like him, but now that he was a leader of a pack – and wanted it to thrive – he needed to have his crew like and respect him. If they didn’t he knew that Neverwinter would fail, and Styx certainly did not want that to happen. “Sorry for the miscommunication,” he responded after a long pause, his seafoam eyes focused on the female’s pale figure as he spoke. “If they were great alpha’s why did you leave?” He was curious, but was also desperate for a change of topic as he wanted to avoid any more miscommunication.