Bramblepoint I won't stumble back

Wildfire sniffled, then looked upward and peered disconsolately into the forest. Her life had taken a turn for the worst in a big way. First, Sleeping Dragon had erupted, forcing the pack to relocate and lose a few key members on the way. Then her heat had come and her mate had forbade her from acting on her hormonal impulses. Who knew when or even if it would happen again? She had stolen away because she couldn't bear being around Thuringwethil after that particularly crushing blow. She had crawled home to the caldera in search of comfort, only to find out that both her parents were dead, leaving behind a litter of six newborns. She knew her family—including her prodigal sister, Raven—would take good care of them but Wildfire didn't dare visit and not just because she disliked the idea of crossing the borders. She was pretty sure she would crumble into a thousand pieces if she so much as looked at a puppy right now.

Feeling terribly alone and distraught, Wildfire lingered in the forest just north of Redhawk Caldera. She spent most of her time weeping over Peregrine and Fox and sobbing over the children she wouldn't be having anytime soon. She was a wreck and she knew it, though she didn't know what to do about any of it. Should she forget about her life in Drageda, about the Heda, and try to resettle in the caldera? Or should she go home and try to salvage her life, knowing that it would take a lot of work to untangle the mess of emotions between herself and her mate? She didn't know and so she did neither. She just squatted in Bramblepoint and wallowed in her misery.