Bearclaw Valley dancing with the devil

Maybe this was what his caution was warning him against. He'd been fully aware that Merrick was a snake - coiled and ready. Too pretty. Was Evien too pretty for anything? He'd never been called that before. 

          He'd also never been called a bitch before. Had called his mother one, sure, but he'd never been called that, himself. 

          Evien liked to pride himself on his self-control, but his temper was fiery and he couldn't restrain it forever. Not when he was being tested like this. He snarled when Merrick lunged in again, a wince when the black coywolf's teeth sliced into the flesh of a foot not quick enough to move. But Evie handled pain well - the chronic ache in his leg where it hadn't developed properly was a constant undercurrent throughout his day. 

         "I don't really give a shit what you did to your mom," he snapped, fur bristling as he stepped back, green eyes fixated on the young leader. His heart pounded - adrenaline, excitement, fury. "I'm not pretty. I will not scream." Fear was not one of the reasons his pulse was racing. He just needed one more push, and then he'd be ready to fight. If that's what Merrick truly wanted. "You don't know me at all. Yet." There was a challenge there - a type of come and get me that Evien didn't know he was capable of. This influx of emotions that he wasn't used to was invigorating.