Stone Circle I know in time we'll find this was no surprise

Set the morning following this

Steady hadn't returned to the den that night, nor did he even know if Keoni was returned. He didn't know how badly he had hurt Mirabelle, or if what she said was true. Something in him didn't want to believe her. Why had she been in his den in the first place? Why had she not called for he or Valette if she really felt Keoni was going to die? None of it made sense, and therefore he was reluctant to simply believe the Theta.

And then, there was Chaska. He had believe Mirabelle so easily over him, with no questions asked. Steady hadn't realized it then, but when the scene replayed over and over in his head in the hours following, he could remember Chaska questioning Steady's judgement. But, had Chaska seen Keoni choking? Had he seen the convulsions her body was going through? All Steady knew was that Keoni had been fine when he left her in the den. And, the next time he saw her, she was with Mirabelle, and not at all okay.

But, what he did believe was the fear in Keoni that he had caused. It was the first time a pup had looked at him that way, and it would be no surprise to him for it not to be the last. He questioned whether or not to go back at all. Valette would be a good caretaker for them, even if she doubted it herself. But, it felt it would unfair to simply abandon his part of the deal. They had gone into this together, and he worried she would feel let down if he backed out. But, what if Keoni didn't want to be around him? He would not force his presence on her. 

As he sat in the middle of the stone circle, he kept going over and over in his mind what he should do next. But, a clear answer simply didn't come.