Stone Circle Instincts Lead Me Home

News of Althaia's demise had reached even Day's reclusive ears, by then, and when he'd first heard word, the blinding male had felt something he hadn't felt since the fires that'd attacked him and his family in the days of his youth.

Fear.

He'd been scared since then, of course. When one lived in the wild as wolves did, it was only natural to be worried, or anxious, or uneasy at times. He'd been scared to disappoint Steady when he first joined the Silvertip Pack. He'd been afraid he would starve during his winter alone. He'd been frightened of rejection when he'd gone to Adeline to apologize for hurting her feelings, for being rude to her. But none of it had been the bone-chilling, mind-numbing, all-encompassing fear that'd sung through his veins right then.

A woman, a mother had been murdered. Her head had been ripped away from her body. Her children had been left to orphan in an unfamiliar pack - one of them was gone without a trace. It was the sort of horrific deed that Day had only ever heard stories about. He'd never thought that it could actually happen. He'd never imagined that a wolf would have reason to harm another in cold blood.

Nobody knew what'd gone on that day, but Day knew enough. He knew enough to worry that the ones he loved might be next - it could be Adeline or Amber, or worse (and that it would be worse could only be admitted in the private space of his own mind), the children that grew within her.

Day was terrified that one of them would be next. And though he wished that he could keep them both together and watch over them in this way, Day knew that his first duty had to be to the woman. To his mate. Adeline had her own guardians, and it was time that Day washed his hands of her. The reality of the situation pained him beyond all belief, but his preocupation with her would help no one, least of all himself.

So Day had taken to trailing Amber wherever she went, even when he felt that he might not be welcome. The woman needed to be protected, and it was Day's job to do so. Most of the time, he tried to do this without disrupting her day too much, not wanting to crowd her in this new environment. They spent time together - the nights, most notably - but rarely did he disturb her when she did not ask for him. Today's behavior, however, seemed to warrent a comment on Day's part.

"What are you looking for?" Day wondered aloud as he approached, privately very amused by her single-minded search. He'd already felt fondly toward her when they'd parted ways on that mountain, but their time spent together only seemed to further endear her to the grayscale male.