Fox's Glade White Shadows

He's a little startled when Korei moves closer, tucking her head under his chin, but surprise quickly melts away into something far more foreign to him. There's a light, golden warmth blooming in his chest; a pleasant heat that reminds him of home and happy memories. He closes his eyes and takes a slow breath, leaning into the touch.
I love you, He murmurs, barely above a whisper. They're alone anyway, but these words are only for her — the bravest girl he's ever met, the only wolf to follow him into the fires of his self-destruction and come out relatively unscathed. Maybe there's something in their mutual sin, their shared story of abandonment; a companionship found only among wolves with the word run etched into their weary splintered souls.