Greatwater Lake some women are lost in the fire, some women are built from it

The pup tries to move towards the thief once more, and Damien watches helplessly. He grunts, realizing that she would much rather stay away from him, and looks up at the female to hear her claim Xivilai belongs to her. Conflict kicks in. He growls to warn her off, but knows she can't do anything against him, not if she valued her life at all. For all he knew, the thief could have been speaking the truth, Kove had simply showed up one day with the child, with no explanation as to where he got it from, and decided he wanted to keep it. Perhaps Xivilai was in fact the daughter of riverbone.

But that train of thought was crashed by another, large and muscular, much like Damien himself. His own snarl joined what became a chorus that professed death, and the fur of his nape bristles in anticipation. The weakly thief was one thing, easy to handle, but this brute alone was a strong match to Damien. The question goes unanswered, but the shadow monarch holds his ground. And as though it hadn't been enough, another male one comes to join the thief and her beast. The odds are against Damien, and for as much as he wants to bring the pup back home, the looming possibility that Damien was the actual thief made everything all the less worthy.

He takes two steps back, releasing the pup from his shadow and exposing her to the brute. He never looked away from the wraith, holding on to his pride, but he knew better than to engage in a battle he had no chance to win.