Porcupine Ridge authentic battle damage

Though she suspected that Taggarik wanted to be alone, Diane eventually couldn't help herself from seeking him out. She had limped her own way initially, tired and eager to curl into herself, but worry ate at her subconscious, pulling her in the Alpha male's direction before she even knew where she was going. Suddenly she wasn't heading for her hole-in-the-ground, but was instead traveling with her superior's distinctive trail winding beneath her, leading her deep into the Ridge's heart.

Drifting slowly in and out of the shadow of the firs, she found him lying beneath one, finally tending to a wound that had bled and staled overnight. Diane frowned, approaching him at an angle that allowed him to see her, even as he continued licking his marred shoulder. She sat down a few feet from him, much as he had the first time they had met, and she gazed at him—Aztec eyes low and concerned. She didn't say anything for a while, listening instead to the curious rasping noise his tongue made as he drew it again and again over his wound.

Then at last: "Do you still want to be alone?"