Phoenix Maplewood The Verdict

Spring's tone doesn't bode well, and when the woman begins, it's all Saena can do to hide a righteous smirk. Her goal was never to completely besmirch her ex-mate's name, and any reasonable creature would agree that he'd done a good job of ruining his own reputation all by himself, but it felt good to have her feelings validated. She listens keenly, experiencing twin flutters of anxiety when Spring mentions the pups and the suspect pack, but ultimately what she's hearing isn't satisfying. It's terrifying.

"How anyone can trust that man," she begins, but lets the words fall with a shake of her head. "You're right, of course." Reek doesn't deserve to meet his children, to influence them, or have any part of raising them. Choosing a wolf other than his (as far as anyone knows) devoted, pregnant mate is one thing. Settling a pack close enough to hear the howls of the Phoenix wolves is downright creepy and threatening in Saena's books, and her features darken. "I told him he could meet them, but... I'm not so sure that's a good idea." How is she supposed to stand there in his presence and let him speak to her children, claim he loves them, when he chose Tavi over her and them?

She has her answer nearly as quickly as she thinks it: she cannot. The thought of even being near Reek makes her stomach twist into knots. "If he comes near this pack," Saena tells Spring, "I'll take his life as payment for his misdeeds toward us all." She would never get the opportunity thanks to the quickly approaching birth of her cubs, but it's a vow she intends to keep for life.