Blacktail Deer Plateau he seems like the gods’ equal, that man, who

Nieve beside her mumbled something that sounded like, "Yes, mama." Harps didn't even glance at her, nor really apprehend the relationship between the two, currently too swept up in her mental overload. I can't do this. Only when Erzulie spoke again, her voice direct but gentle, did the yearling glance upward, feeling a real bolt of fear as her reaction was questioned.

Should she swallow her own desires and just do what Erzulie asked? (Could she even manage that...?) Or should she be honest with the Beta? Harps's face looked decidedly stricken for several beats as she tried to decide. She looked over at Nieve, wishing she would speak up first, but eventually she knew she had to say something for herself.

"I'm sorry, I want to help the pack, I just didn't think I'd have to leave the plateau," Harps confessed in a rush, "I'll do what you ask but..." She hesitated, then decided honesty was the best policy. "No, I don't want to go." The young she-wolf cringed even as the words left her lips and she second-guessed her frankness. She crouched in preparation, conditioned to expect a rebuke no matter what she did or said, thanks to Spur.