Ouroboros Spine Looms but the Horror of the shade,

She agreed, and stepped away from him and to the ledge. The brown bear's feet did not stir. He watched her, his covetous gaze tracing the outline of her figure. While her back was turned she would not be privy to his wandering eyes and so he could linger on her. His thoughts churned. Here was a queen set upon her throne, all the freedoms a wolf could want laid at her feet. Kodiak's jaw shifted. She did not possess the slender curves of a traditionally attractive female, but the power of her position made her irresistible to him, he who wanted nothing more than to have those freedoms that status afforded. The choicest of meat with which to fill his belly, and the right to breed and see that he lived on in his offspring. Everything else was second to these two wants, like the gift of a high head and tail and the command to make the decisions that would see the pack strengthened under your reign.

Kodiak flicked his tail. There was much at stake, and he had been playing a passive game. It had been over a week since he found her and the Spine. His paws had caressed much of the territory, and he met whom he considered to be the more prominent pack members. He had showed that he could hunt, defend, and follow. He had much more to demonstrate. The brown bear took a few paces forward, and daringly, under the almost certain promise of his own blood, he reached out and nipped her flank.