Ravensblood Forest the bigger they are, the harder they fall

Especially because he'd worked so hard to redeem himself lately, the idea of responsibility for the ridge falling to her jarred Pied. If anything happened to Akhlut, the fate of the pack would indeed fall upon her young, dappled shoulders, as she was first in line after him. The thought left her mouth rather dry, though she reminded herself that Kisu would be there by her side, which alleviated some of the initial prickliness of the idea. And, anyway, hopefully Akhlut would be around for a long time to come.

"I will," Pied replied when Jinx gave her well wishes for her mate and their future progeny. "Thanks, Jinx," she thought to add after a beat, the words sounding odd but certainly not false to her own ears. "Goodbye," she said when the Kesuk didn't speak the word herself.

Before Jinx could disappear into the shadows, the Kesuk stopped and gave voice to a thought that had evidently only just occurred to her. Pied listened, remaining motionless as the message bounced around her brain. She forgot to acknowledge it right away and by the time her lips began to move, Jinx was already gone.

Standing there, Pied experienced a feeling she couldn't name; it felt a little like regret, with a sense of unfinished business. She swallowed, then with Jinx's message from Atka still fresh in her mind, she began the arduous trek back home to her lair.