Firefly Glen We'll be alright if you don't ask me to stay

A lot of things happened fast. Speedy moved closer to him at his command, though she seemed the only one to obey him at first. As Hydra told him to control himself, a feral snarl broke from his throat, for he would not be controlled by anyone -- least of all his own offspring. Hydra had always been his favourite, his prized daughter. The head of the Cerberus, and it was no surprise to any of Moonspear when he handpicked her to be his Beta when she came of age, just like he had handpicked himself when he grew up. He even vividly remembered the conversation he had shared with Amekaze, where he contemplated if it may be better for Hydra's growth to step out of their shadow, for them to give her the space she needed to grow.

But he hadn't quite envisioned it like this.

Dirge was completely ignored as Hydra spat words back at Charon. The howl broke the discussion they were having.

It was perhaps the way he referred to them as, or perhaps they simply did not feel like any of this right now, but Revui and Arcturus each left. At least there were still some of his family that listened to his commands. They went, like he commanded, and in the heat of the moment and the foul words brought forth by Hydra Charon did not even see the looks they shot him. He'd certainly not expected either of them to stand by his side; no part of Charon actually expected a physical confrontation at this point. He'd never needed that with his own family, and he didn't intend to start on it now.

Instead his body language spoke volumes of this; it screamed that he would assert the dominance that he owned if he were to be thwarted. Her words meant little to him in his current state. It wasn't even that he was intending to do anything with Speedy. It was just that he needed this little bit of control. His home was taken during this time because Hydra was in heat. She had meanwhile taken a mate, which meant she doubtlessly was breeding without even trying to seek him out in whatever way to ask for his blessing. She wanted this now, but he knew for sure it was already too late. He knew how heat worked, and it didn't make you want to wait for daddy to say he liked your guy.

So when Hydra said they would all escort her back, Charon shook his head. No. This changes nothing. I will make sure she is safe through this and bring her home with me after, when all of this madness is gone. And you will return home to inform your mother that it is taken care of. He spoke calmly this time, though his body was still tense and his tail flagged dominantly over his back. Now go, before you make any decisions you will regret later. Charon himself was about ready to go, but he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to turn his back on his daughter and the man he had just insulted in front of her just yet. They would sort all of this out later. Right now it was crystal clear in Charon's mind: He needed to retain control and this was the way to do it. Whether it would prove to be a smart decision he would think of later -- but he felt he could work through this, he could control himself, because it was way different than any of the other times things had gone wrong. Right now, all he knew was that he needed this win when everything else in his life was rapidly rolling downhill along with his youth, and so he stuck to the plan.

Charon took a tentative step backwards, keeping eye contact with Hydra. He just hoped that she understood she still needed to head his command. All the rest they could sort out later. All the rest they'd work out. But he was still her father and Alpha, for now, however hard she was pressing right now to do exactly that which Charon had always wanted her to do (but was kind of disappointing now that he got to it) -- step out from under his shadow.