Redhawk Caldera Sequestration

He woke before dawn and his single eye immediately went to his mate's belly. It was still flat, her teats still small and furred. Silently, Peregrine climbed to his feet. He began to walk, a bit mechanically at first, then more swiftly and fluidly as he moved downhill toward the borderlands. He thought back to earlier this year, during Fox's first pregnancy. He even went as far back as Hawkeye's. They had shown symptoms as early as week two or three. What did it mean that Fox's body didn't appear to be going through any kind of change whatsoever?

The dark Alpha began to lope along the invisible boundary line, head turning to and fro as he swept the terrain. He tried to ignore the creeping feeling of dread that seemed to crawl up from the pit of his stomach and pool in his chest like cold water. He was almost done with his patrol by the time he was ready to face the fact that his mate almost certainly wasn't pregnant after all.

But why? What did this mean for them if it hadn't taken? Or had it taken...? Perhaps her body had absorbed it for one reason or another. It could be due to the time of year. But why would she have gone into heat in the first place then? All of these questions whirled around his brain, torturing him. He could see his dreams of the next batch of Firebirds circling the drain and the feeling it bred in him was akin to mourning.

Finally, Peregrine finished the patrol. Heartlessly, he began to climb back up toward his wife, hoping that she would be magically sporting a baby bump when he got there. But when he arrived at the rendezvous site right around sunrise, she was still fast asleep, her sides flat and her womb empty. Biting his lip, the Alpha male turned and trotted away, telling himself he should hunt. There would be no pregnant mate nor litter but there was still a pack that needed his provisions.

Hours passed without success when Peregrine finally began to close in on a young badger he had been stalking through a small glade near the caldera's foot. Before he could move in for the kill, a howl rose into the air. The Alpha remained motionless, save for his ears, which flicked toward the source of the call. When he realized it was Wildfire announcing her imminent departure from the caldera, Peregrine suddenly stood, staring off into the distance in astonishment.

He had not only lost the newer Firebirds, he had lost one of the originals now too? He had known it might be coming but that didn't make it any easier, especially not with her impeccable timing. "Fuck," he whispered under his breath, unsure of what to do with himself. His concentration was shot, so he abandoned the badger's scent trail and began to mechanically climb toward the rendezvous site. Fox was no longer there but he passed a puzzled looking Raven and arrived to see his son sprawled on the leaf-littered ground, looking disgruntled.

Peregrine padded over to him. "I know how you feel," he remarked, sitting with a sigh. He figured Nightjar was just as sad about Wildfire's departure, unaware of his son's hand in it.