Phoenix Maplewood All the times that you rain on my parade

The scoop of hollowness against her stomach prolonged her sobbing, but eventually, Saena manged to calm herself down. Frequently she succumbed to her emotions, often heated ones, and it got her into trouble frequently. It simply wouldn't do for her wolves to catch her crying on the borders, and yet, she felt they would understand. She'd been gone far too long for it to be coincidence, and when they found out about her broken rib, she believed any witness would be understanding of her meltdown.

Not all wolves in the pack were familiar with her, though. As she sniffled and tried to clear her eyes, a loud crackling of parting branches and the thump of paws on the earth caused her to snap her head around. Her hackles bristled instantaneously when she spotted Kael, who was as unfamiliar to her as she was to him.

He caught the rabbit he was chasing easily enough. It wasn't much of a meal, but Saena's immediate instinct was to go on the defensive. That's my food, she mentally protested as she forced herself with great effort to her sore feet. Her side strained but she grit her teeth, ground them together to ward off the feeling of light-headedness, and squared off her stance. She swooned on the spot, unable to truly mask her weakness, but that didn't mean the returning alpha didn't try.

"Who are you?" she asked across the distance when Kael caught sight of her and made a sound around the rabbit in his mouth. He was either a new member or a trespasser. She wasn't in the state to deal with either, but a new member would be a hundred times better than a trespasser she couldn't chase, so she hoped for that.