Fairspell Meadow swarm the belly, swelling to a blaze

His 'if' was like a blow. Not that he'd intended to hurt her in the least, but it hurt all the same. He'd given up hope of finding his family alive; she knew something like that feeling and didn't wish it on anyone, especially a young wolf. His reasoning was sound, and Maegi thought he was very brave for going along. It would be easy to avoid the situation altogether. She wouldn't blame him if he had chosen differently.

Okay, she murmured, giving a brief nod. She inhaled slowly, deeply, through her nostrils, gaze moving toward Sobek's body. We'll leave in a few days. There are. . .things I need to deal with. Decisions I need to make.

Not the very least of which was the future of her pack. Should they stay or should they go? And if the latter. . .where on earth would they go? And who would follow?

Scarab, she thought, the faintest of smiles tugging at her lips. It means a lot to me that you want to stay with us, Maegi breathed, still looking at the corpse. Almost as if she were talking to Sobek and not Scarab. . .but it was Scarab whom she addressed, make no mistake. Even if her mind and heart wandered elsewhere. Thank you. It really does mean a lot.