Ouroboros Spine winds of change

Iqniq spoke, and the brown bear was quiet as he searched his packmate's face. Raised as he had been, to fight for everything he wanted to have and to be ever in competition with other members of his gender, he could not help but distrust Iqniq. Even when he could find no trace of deceit in the other's expression or in his words, still he felt unsure. But even though Tonravik's scent clung to his nose and his mind was fogbound by it, he knew the red male was right.

She was not receptive, and to crowd her would end in injury. Kodiak was prepared to be injured or worse, but it was senseless to invite it upon himself now when there was nothing to be gained. If he was hurt now, another male could move in when the time was right. His inexperienced hormones and powerful instincts failed him this time, they did not a rational thinker make.

He stepped away from Iqniq, shaking his head, breathing deep of fresh air, collecting himself. "Wait until she settles down," he said and paused, turning to face Iqniq once more. But now that he had stifled some of his hormones and was thinking at least a bit clearer, he sported a fiendish grin, however slight. "Where's the fun in that? I thought it was sport to try to sleep with a rattlesnake."