Arrow Lake for the only true Queen is the Night Queen

as nyx deferred to her mate, stigmata's focus obliged, noting that the male did not simply grovel in appreciation, which he had half expected given how desperately the deal had been made. as things stood, however, the titan inkwell seemed to have a much more reserved approach to the entire orchestration; a tactic that stigmata understood, but could not condone in this moment. it was the meloniis who were willing to bend their prides in order to have children - not he. what kind of trick would this be, if it were one?

he glanced at nyx as damien explained what he understood their terms to be, but remained quiet as the would-be patriarch walked daintily around the point of what he wanted to discuss. as the male reclined, casual for someone with mistrust souring his every word, stigmata stiffened slightly and did not try to hide his dissatisfaction. the iron liege was not yet inclined to hostility, but he had little reason to feel polite either; not when his gaze was being met and no deference came from any wolf standing before him. were they not here to accept? they need not all be here if they had only come to reject the offer, he thought in annoyance.

"i told your mate that as long as she was pulling her weight, she could raise her children with us, yes." the wolf drawled, skin twitching. "she did not lie to you, and i made the offer sincerely. diaspora needs the able bodies, and children are good for morale. curious or not, you clearly see the value in accepting, so what is it you are paranoid about, exactly?" he asked point blank, because if they only saw positives, then what was with the hesitation? reservations? well nyx had none, so it stood to reason that her mate would need to be on the opposite spectrum if they were to make it as a couple, but she obviously hadn't done a good job of convincing him this would benefit them. did he even love her?

it would be the second time that he thought not, but his opinions were based in misogyny so he was consistently wrong when it came to relationships.