Redhawk Caldera Oh, darling

Re-post.

He knew, deep in his gut, that something horrible must have happened.

Peregrine slowed to a stop, abandoning his late morning patrol and padding slowly toward a bent pine near the caldera's foot. He sat, holding a sigh in his chest before letting it out in a long, low whoosh. His chest still felt tight afterward. His single working eye swept the horizon, yet he had long since given up hope of seeing a white speck in the distance: Pan coming home.

It had been weeks. Considering that their last rendezvous had gone so well, the Alpha couldn't imagine Pan would just ghost him like this. That left the less favorable of two possible outcomes: somewhere, somehow, his lover was either hurt or dead. And with winter upon them, there was no way Peregrine could spare the manpower to conduct a search.

An ache bloomed in his chest. Peregrine slid forward onto his belly, feeling suddenly boneless with grief. He closed his eyes, thinking back on their last hours together. They had been happy for the first time in a long time. Everything had been looking up. In time, he would be grateful for this final, pleasant memory, yet presently it created a poignant ache, reminding him that there was no way the Gamma would have left willingly.

Oh, Pan... the Alpha male thought painstakingly, warm tears oozing between his eyelids as other memories of their five months together played out in his mind's eye. What happened to you?