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

Valette began to groom the blood from his maw, which he had completely forgotten about. He started to pull back a few inches, unaccustomed to someone grooming him like this, but then he paused. It felt like forever since he had someone to share these intimate moments with, and if Valette felt comfortable enough for it, then he was going to gladly accept. He gave her a few returning licks as a quiet thank you. 

He hated that Keoni was sick, but he was glad that Valette was doing something to help their daughter. Is she back in our den? he asked. Chaska may have thought he was wrong, but Steady still had suspicions about Mirabelle's actions. It simply wasn't smart to take the Alpha pups, as they were now, out of the Alpha den, without so much as a brief howl to say so. 

Valette changed the subject, asking how he was. It wasn't often Steady thought about himself and his own well being, and he had to think a moment for a reply. He looked to Valette as she openly spoke her loyalty to him. He found comfort in the fact that he had never doubted it for a moment. I do know that, and I appreciate you pointing it out, he said, a soft smile forming on his maw. I don't really know how I am, he said honestly. I hated that I put that look on Keoni's face, that she feared me, but... I thought I had lost her. She was shaking all over and vomiting, and I... I honestly thought Mirabelle had killed her. He looked to Valette to gauge her reaction with nothing but honesty in his eyes.  I would not have attacked her if all the signs didn't point to that. Maybe he had read them too fast. Maybe he should have asked questions first. But, he had failed in protecting Althaia, and he thought, in that moment, that he failed to protect her daughter, too. 

Steady sighed as he looked out over the meadow. I don't know what everyone thinks of me, if they think I'm pure and right as their leader, or a hot-headed killer, but... He paused as he fought for the words. I'm not like Fitz. I am a Warrior at heart, and I don't have a problem killing a wolf it means my family will live. I don't have a problem running them out if they present a threat to us. I feel a duty, and an honor, to protect those that want to be a part of this family, and I don't apologize for the way I do that. His voice was steady and even as he spoke. He turned back to Valette, wondering if she understood that he would not apologize for what he had done to Mirabelle. She had taken Keoni, without permission, without a word, and that was not something that he would let go.