Phoenix Maplewood Grace under pressure

"Good," Saena rumbled good-naturedly, "because if you did I'd kick your ass to the moon." The last thing Saena wanted for their children was to go through life without a parent or two. She'd been there, and she knew it sucked. It would be irresponsible for her to bring lives into the world only to screw them with the same situation she'd grown up in. Pied's departure hadn't been by choice, but the others—Hawkeye, then Kisu, and then even Peregrine—had all had a choice, and their joint children hadn't factored in. Saena would live her life for her children, though. Most of her decisions would be made with them in mind, or so she told herself.

"I think Sart is the weird one," Saena said, assuming that Sart must be the one who wasn't dour and self-interested. The alpha female hadn't actually met her (and never would, as it turned out). "That other one, she seems just like her kind." Saena's intolerance was still very much alive. She felt no shame for it; to her, coyotes were a lesser breed whose only right to existence was their ability to slink around unseen. Wolves would've surely eradicated them if not for that advantage. But when Reek pressed his face into her fur and told her he had no plans to steal anymore children, she let the topic go. The coyotes were here now, and they would stay until they gave her a reason to doubt them.

Regipre would do that soon enough. Sart would slip away unnoticed. Neither disappearance would ever weigh on her conscience.

"How many would you like to have?" she asked, as if it was a choice they had. It definitely wasn't, but Saena had her preference, and was keen on hearing Reek's as well.