Firestone Hot Springs The door to December

She fully expected him to disembark just then. Instead, Kisu looked her right in the eye and moved closer. This triggered an entirely instinctive response from the young Alpha. Her ears slipped a few notches backward and her head lifted, though she kept her snout lowered over her throat. Her tail lifted and the fur along her back stiffened into a silvery ridge.

"Stand down," she warned him. She took several steps backward to put some distance between them but, otherwise, Koontz stood her ground. "Don't you know that when you look me in the eye like that—and get so close—that you present yourself as a threat?" she asked, a hiss of agitation in her otherwise soft voice. She'd given him the benefit of the doubt so far, but she really didn't appreciate this. Clearly, he was a loner, but surely he hadn't entirely forgotten the ways of the wolf?

He hunkered down then, a picture of misery. Although Koontz did feel sympathy for him—she had provided him with food, after all—she consciously hardened her heart against his plight. The unfortunate truth was that she just didn't have the time or space for Kisu. She had her hands full with a sizeable pack already and she did not have any energy to spare on a weak loner who did not even mind his manners.

"My borders are easy enough to distinguish; my pack claims the plateau," she said, trying to smooth the stiffness from her voice now that Kisu seemed properly chagrined. "And we don't mark them clearly for no reason," she added with a switch of her tail. "I wish you the best, Kisu, but I've done everything I can do for you."

Koontz felt an urge to apologize, though she had nothing to apologize for, she reminded herself. With that said, her pale eyes looked upon him with concern, even pity, for a lingering moment. The Alpha then turned, secure in the knowledge that she'd handled this in the best way possible, even if it was unfortunate that she would have to turn her back on a wolf in need. You can't save them all, her inner voice hissed as she walked away, and at least you gave him a meal before you closed the door in his face. Koontz sighed lightly, then disappeared up the path to the plateau.