Redtail Rise All the way up

Both wolves now had made it clear Reek's presence in Redtail Rise -- his former home -- was not welcome to him. Though the aggressive display of Gavriel's teeth caused a nervous flutter to stir within Reek, he held fast. His feet remained firmly planted in the ashes of his old claim. He moved not even a hairs breadth; his gaze, locked firmly on Wildfire as he waited for the answers he so desperately needed.

Instead, all Reek recieved was an attack on his own character. His eyes narrowed. Nowadays, it seemed everyone knew of Reek's mistake -- the dynamic had quickly shifted to Reek vs. the world. His eyes narrowed. "I never abandoned them," he shouted in frustration. "I made a mistake and I was kicked out because of it— but I would never leave them. That's why I settled in the grotto; so if something went wrong with the pregnancy, I could be there. If Saena needed me, I could be there. If the maplewood needed to be protected, I could fucking be there." Though he had never been called, he had failed in the last instance. He could not protect the maplewood, and now they were surely slaughtered because of Reek's blunder. "Not that it fucking matters anymore."

He had wronged both Saena and his unborn children, but he had not gone so far as to kill them or run them from their home. It was apples to oranges, thought Reek, but in his anger he was unable to articulate such an argument. "Do you not fucking think this is hard on me too?" His shouting became muddled with the sound of sobbing. A tear streamed down his face. Without Tavi around to ease the pain, the memory of Reek's broken mateship returned in full force. "I broke the heart of the woman I love and I have to live with that every fucking day. I deserve to be punished. But, the pack you destroyed—" Reek shook his head and painfully bit his lip, "they were innocent, Wildfire."