Redhawk Caldera i may be crazy, don't mind me.

Fin hadn't taken more than a single step before her eldest shouted at her. She froze and turned her head back, her mouth dropping open in startled confusion. What was he freaking out about? Her hackles prickled in spite of herself. This was her son - her baby, her Jaybird. She regularly grew wistful for the days when he was just a cute little puppy in her arms, but now to see him acting like the screaming toddler that had nearly driven her to abandon her family completely was... highly unpleasant.

Much like she felt in those days, Finley was paralyzed with uncertainty. Frustration and anger rose in her chest, compelling her to reprimand him without regard to his feelings. But she was his mother, and what sort of mother could treat their child that way? Truth be told, Fin was exactly that sort of mother. She would never have hesitated with her twins, nor with the kids she'd inherited from Peregrine and Fox. It was only ever Eljay who'd had this awful hold on her. He was her gentle-hearted, sweet little miracle. He could go no wrong, and that belief kept the both of them so suffocatingly trapped.

The alpha took a shaking, steadying breath as she turned back to look at her eldest with calm, quiet, unflinching (mostly) authority. She stared at him, trying to keep the emotion from her eyes or her voice as she uttered two low, commanding words to him, "Stop. Now."