Sleepy Fox Hollow And to know me as hardly golden is to know me all wrong

He didn't make her wait very long, and so she would offer him the same courtesy. She almost lost her nerve with him standing all stoic and silent in front of her, his gaze cutting into her like he saw past her mask. He still had so much of a hold on her, and she hated it. But she needed to do this. I'm leaving, she said, keeping her voice even to hide just how much it hurt to say those words to him. It was not a decision she had come to easily. She had been tortured by it for a while, especially now that Stag wasn't leaving with her. Leaving her son here felt like she was ripping her own heart from her chest. During her time away, she had changed her mind again and again. Doubt had preyed on her weakness over her son and made her consider returning to the hollow for good; she could deal with being miserable if it meant not letting Stag down. She had even turned and started to head back a few times but like every time before, as she drew closer to Diaspora, dread would start to build in her chest, only abating when she put space between herself and the valley once more. Aside from all of that, she had a duty to her family, one she had been ignoring long enough. They needed her more than anything right now, and she was determined to give them a safe place to call home now that her sister had taken over and was making their lives miserable. That was what eventually pushed her into finally making the decision to leave without Stag. I was never meant to be anyone's second, she explained—in her pack or in love. It had taken her a long time to see that again. And as hurt as she still felt over everything and with so much resentment still boiling in her chest, she wasn't here to hurt Mahler. But she needed to go.