The Sentinels the veil

She pressed in to him – comforting him, and he stilled, his muzzle brushing downward with a thoughtful graze. Their relationship seemed so fragile and delicate, built upon a mutual attraction and pull that neither could seem to fully comprehend. But what would she say when she learned more of his past? What was her own past?
 
Swallowing, a light frown darkened his features as he considered what to say – how to word it. "I was born in a pack called Blacktail Deer Plateau, near us in the forest now. My parents were the beta pair of the pack, though they rose to alpha. I departed when I was much younger – I wanted to see the world, and my parents accepted this. I don’t know the reasons why or even when, but they moved the pack here. When I returned home, this is where I found them – but my mother was missing and had been for some time. My father lead these wolves, but there was something.. different about it here, compared to the plateau. My brother had also left, joining another pack in the area. My sister remained, and worked towards becoming a healer.. and I came home to two younger sisters. Emaleth, and Deirdre.” He paused, feeling his chest tighten at just mentioning @Deirdre in the hollows of the land she had once made beautiful with her presence alone.
 
“Aria was my father’s beta. We didn’t get off to a great start – she was withdrawn about something. But we soon became friends. But then my father died – a famine hit the Wilds and he succumbed to it. Aria became the alpha, and she took me as her beta. Emaleth disappeared in her grief, and Eilidh, my littermate, grew distant. Aria felt as if she was only a placeholder in her position – holding the spot for a Mayfair to truly step up, though I don’t think anyone else in the pack felt that way. When Deirdre made it known she wished to step in to leadership when she was older, Aria seemed to pull away even more.. and Deirdre overstepped her boundaries far too often.” He paused, his frown deepening as he began to pull away from his fiery companion, leading them to a slow walk as he took in the ruins before him.
 
“A she-wolf in the ranks, very shortly after my father died.. She claimed she was pregnant with his pups. It was the first I had heard of him taking a lover or mate aside from my missing mother, and it felt.. opportunistic.” He considered this for a moment, his tail giving an idle flick in the cool, musted air. “I felt torn – a part of me felt the honourable thing to do would be to step in and help her raise her litter. But in the end, Aria and I felt it best we take her to my brother’s pack instead to see if they would accept her. She hadn’t gained permission to breed from Aria – and we didn’t know if what she said was true. She was understandably upset with the decision.. as was my brother and Deirdre, who believed her. I don’t think Deirdre fully forgave me for that – and it ruined my relationship with my brother.” Would he have done things differently? Perhaps. But at the time, it had felt to be the right decision for the pack to move forward.
 
“Deirdre was a gentle soul – a full healer. She believed in magic, and thought herself a witch, as my father also encouraged her to believe.” He made no comment as to whether or not he believed such things himself – he hadn’t truly decided. “She was very naïve, though. We had some trouble prior with some neighbours, and Aria and I felt it best that the pack train for defense if it were ever needed. Deirdre overrode us – she said we dishonoured Lasher’s memory, and in turn.. I think Aria gave up then. But shortly after, Deirdre went behind our back to forge an alliance with another pack that set up right next to our borders.. They were to provide us with protection, and we were to provide them with plants, medicines and healing, should it ever be required. She also insisted they be allowed in and out of our territory at will.” He had despised it – had even despised the man, Skellige, who had struck a deal with a pup, rather than the pack’s alphas.
 
“Deirdre and I.. I loved her. More than anything. I would have given my life for her – she was such an important part of my life. I would have given my life for any of my sisters. I wanted her to succeed at what she desired in life – she had a vision or Donnelaith, and it was her home in far more ways than it had ever been mine. I was not born in these woods. So Aria and I thought we would leave – relinquish the pack to Dee and we would settle a pack close by. Emaleth had returned in time, and the two took over the pack. It was the last I’ve seen of either of them.” He grew quiet then, his eyes drifting to study Durnehviir, considering what she thought of this – if she considered him leaving his sisters an act of abandonment when they had needed him the most. They hadn’t been ready.