Morningside Cuesta and maybe i talk too much but there's so much to say

Though the words did not seem to be meant in contention, the fur along Grayday's spine still stood on-end. I don't need your permission, he wanted to say, but he bit back the words; Maybe he did. Maybe, from now on, he'd have to curry favor with this woman in order to be a father to his children. Maybe he would never see them without her permission. Maybe, she would hold them out of his reach like a carrot on a stick, and he would never live another day of freedom or carelessness.

A spark of hate burned low in his belly, but he quickly stamped it out. It took him a moment to reign in the rest of his emotions, so that when he stood and edged his front half through the entrance, there was only poorly veiled suspicion on his face.

Like the night before, he began to feel caged and agitated. The male took a half-step back the way he'd come, uncertainty replacing suspicion as his dominant emotion.

"Maybe I better wait 'til you need a break," he said softly, though his eyes darted longingly toward the three cubs nestled against their mother.