Bearclaw Valley And now it's hard to breathe

Why? The truth of the matter was that a big part of that why was answered in that she wanted what she could not have. He was taken and his mate had the position she so coveted. This had all started as nothing but a dumb game -- one she had played often, but never with pups to show for the outcome -- but now that she had lost the game Laurel could not just accept that. She dug for answers herself but it was difficult to place all of the feelings she had going on. Why? Well, she didn't know.

His question provided answers. "I do hate you. You drive me crazy and make me angry and say hurtful bullshit and don't seem to give two shits about me and hang 'round with her all day but —" after a short breath Laurel continued, words rushing out real fast and some possibly incomprehensible then, "— I also love you and want to be with you all the time and I don't even know or understand why so how could I ever explain it to you?"

Then, after a few seconds pause, Laurel decided that she might rather not want to hear his answers to all of that. It'd probably just be something hurtful. "I gotta go," Laurel said abruptly and she shouldered her way past Xan with a dark and angry frown on her face.