Swiftcurrent Creek If ever I could love, I think it could be with you.

They maintained an uncomfortable silence, and her gaze lingered solemnly on the hollow he'd brought her to. She had bore their litter there, welcomed to the world in the very den that she herself had been born into, and Durnehviir's jaw tightened as she fought to keep from faltering. Durnehviir's thoughts turned to happier times, when the pups had been so small and pure, before her paranoia had tarnished what had been a beautiful family.

His words drew her attention to him once more, and she blinked sadly in his direction to find his piercing gaze. While she hadn't expected a warm reception, the sharpness of him surprised her as he insisted that she sleep - suggesting that he couldn't wait to be out of her presence. Her ginger ears fell back and, with a slow nod, the dragoness limped forward toward the hollow's entrance.

"Thank you," she offered without looking over a shoulder, feathered tail limp between her hocks as she ventured into the cool darkness and be out of her former mate's sight.