Sleepy Fox Hollow To the house in the pines where the road ends

Finding a kill sounded reasonable enough, but it wasn't in Wylla's blood not to be a challenging nuisance to other women. There wasn't a woman she'd ever met that she got along with besides her mother and her daughter, and both of those relationships were questionably tame at best. She loved them but also fought fiercely with them when the occasion arose. Besides them, there were few females with whom Wylla could get along ... few unrelated males, too, which made Mahler an exceptionally rare specimen.

Case in point: she had always respected Constantine more than Durnehviir, even though it was the latter who permitted her to keep her child. That aside, Wylla had once housed the seed of a plan to oust the woman from her place in the pack; she had left before it could manifest, and partly due to knowing the trouble it would cause her daughter. She was therefore amused to hear Mahler had harsh words for the woman, because it was neither he nor Durnehviir who had driven Wylla to return home, but her own discontent, in the end.

A brief flare of her hackles as she said, it would have been her funeral if she tried. Durnehviir had granted Wylla leave to keep her pup and would have not hesitated to kill the fire-kissed woman if she reneged on that once Tiercel was born. On the subject of Chusi, Wylla had naught to say. She had never and would never have any love for her late brother's girlfriend and the fate of her children meant little to Wylla, who unlike Mahler, could sympathize a little with Durnehviir's feelings regarding children who weren't her own.

But she would never kill them! She cared too much in her heart of hearts for young lives. It was one of her (few, she believed) weaknesses. Or real strengths, depending who you asked.

I will make the effort to be more respectful than necessary, said Wylla, even though she knew it wasn't likely. She would make an effort, but no promises. He asked what she aspired to and she paused on the cold trail, letting her breath plume out in front of them, before truthfully saying, second. But though she had much ambition, she was in no hurry to seize it. Tiercel beckoned, and who could say if Wylla would even be around long enough to reach that high? Perhaps she would have a reason to stay that long ... or perhaps not.

As for Mahler, she had no designs on his rank whatsoever. She had led him once and failed; she was not worthy to do so again.