Silvertip Mountain Your face-saving promises, whispered like prayers

His tell of affection was not returned, but that didn't bother Steady, as long as Mason knew he did have family on his side. Steady understood he was feeling a little left out because of all the big changes, but he hoped his nephew would see in time that it would all work out. Heartache did not last forever.

Steady couldn't hold back a chuckle at how Mason had asked what differences there were. "No, I don't even know how she would have parented because she didn't want to parent at all," he confessed, turning somber. "She didn't even want anything to do with the pups in the pack, let alone have her own," he said. It had hurt, to have someone he was falling in love with tell him she didn't want to build a family with him. They had discontinued their relationship at that point, though they remained in the same pack. They had been cordial, friendly even, but things were never the same.