Redtail Rise It's better like this.

What Wynter said, Saena wasn't expecting. She'd expected to be a shoulder for Wynter to lean on, for the woman to talk to her about her recent problems, even if Saena was the cause of some of those problems. She'd expected to be a friend even if her gut was twisting nervously. But instead, Wynter came out with a confession that she was leaving, and for a moment, Saena was stunned into silence.

The rest made sense, but she wasn't sure she appreciated the guilt trip that came with it, so that was what she focused on when she was able to process it. "I haven't been avoiding anyone," Saena urged a little indignantly. She'd been busy, sure, and she'd been off with Reek a bit, but actively avoiding someone, well, that was beneath her now. It's not like she wanted to run into Wynter while sleeping with her ex-mate, but she didn't think she'd been avoiding her.

"But if you have to," she said in a resigned voice, "then I won't stop you. I've been there." Maybe not the part about having and losing a mate, losing her chance at puppies, and all that other stuff... but similarly, Saena felt like she wasn't right for a pack once before. She'd been right about it. "You can stay here until you're ready, and if things don't work out for you, then you're always welcome to come home whether you have friends here or not." Saena would never forget Wynter as a founding member of her pack, after all.