Frostfire Ridge half a life to rewrite

Tuwawi looked into the mist with a soft expression when Tyrr agreed that there was little the world could throw at Frostfire that they hadn't seen – the ember’s mind too jaded by the past. She let out a breath, reflecting on how her experience could best suit the pack as her comrade made the promise of protection. I'll keep you safe, he mused. Tuwawi shot him an impish grin with narrowed eyes. Oh how the tables had turned. For so long it had been her responsibility to protect the pack and her family, but now she would be the one to seek sanctuary beneath the new king’s omnipotent rule. Yet, she could not deny the small flutter in her breast upon his admission, unaccustomed to someone declaring such an oath in her honor.

An easy silence fell between them in the dawn, but Tyrr was the first to break it. One red ear turned when the amazon drew in a sharp breath as if he was about to speak. Suddenly, there was a new energy about him. She noticed an uncertainty to his gaze and changed expressions. Her brows pinched, a bit worried as he began to speak with a tentative lilt. Something I should know? Tuwawi thought to herself. At that moment Tyrr could have said any number of things – and she braced herself for the worst. Instead, he touched on a far more personal topic.

She listened closely, taking in every word and nuance upon his face as Tyrr confessed his true feelings. Tuwawi’s chest thrummed madly, her skin turning a bright shade of pink beneath unkempt fur. There was no denying that she had picked up some of chemistry between them, but her denial ran so deep that it had set her heart on lockdown. Tuwawi had long believed no one could harbor strong emotions for her — as if it were not biologically possible. She had lost the privilege of love by so badly screwing it up the first time around. She wasn’t allowed to have such nice things. They weren’t meant for her.

Right?

A stabbing, pavlovian guilt curbed the new, enamored sensation almost immediately. When she had pushed Njal away a piece of her had gone with him, as it had with each of her children. Was there anything else left for Tuwawi to give? Baby steps, she reminded herself – trying not to put the horse before the cart and crush the small, fragile romance while it was still blooming. Her stormy eyes traced Tyrr’s face, reading his uncertain expression. It would be easy to end it now. If she did, nothing would be risked — not their hearts or minds. But Tuwawi didn’t want to live a half-life alone and bitter, even though it was the only thing she thought she deserved.

She looked away, biting her lip. Her lids fluttered briefly trying to think of what to tell him. How do I let him down easy? she thought, her fight response beginning to succumb to flight. Escaping the conversation was the answer. Wasn’t it? Her baggage was unbearably heavy in that moment, but when she looked back to Tyrr his pale blue eyes and expectant face practically melted her.

The ember silently leaned into him and rested her ruddy crown upon his broad shoulder, muzzle pressing into his dense summer coat. The gesture made it clear she reciprocated his feelings even thought it would be a challenging fight to overcome the instinct to stave her affection… but like she had thought before — baby steps.