Blacktail Deer Plateau st ashlar [m]

Without even realizing it, Peregrine drowsed again, his sleep light and rather restless. Perhaps half an hour passed before he stirred again. He found himself curled against Lasher's body, not unlike a child clings to its mother for security and comfort. The other male was brushing his tongue lightly over the Alpha's muzzle. Somehow, despite the agony residing in his breast like a sharp stone, this triggered a sensation deep in the pit of the male's belly.

"Come," he said quietly, rising slowly onto all fours. He gazed at Osprey's grave for a solid minute, then skimmed his nose against Lasher's shoulder and motioned for the ocher subordinate to follow him into the nearby trees. Once they were in the cover of the forest—and out of sight of his daughter's moonlit grave—he turned to Lasher and begged in a quiet, husky voice, "Can you help me forget, Taltos? Just for a few minutes."