Blacktail Deer Plateau Amalfi

Osprey didn't pose any specific questions, instead asking Peregrine to tell her everything. "That's a tall order," he mumbled with a smile, lapsing into silence as he thought back to that day when she'd walked away from him and Atticus. A lot had happened since then. Where to start?

"Hawkeye and I broke up shortly after you left," he began. "At first, it was just because we fell out of love—rather, I fell out of love with her—but then I found out she cheated on me with that bonehead back there," he said, wincing slightly at his own epithet. "I wasn't on speaking terms with either one of them for a while but I've since forgiven them both. Before his accident, I was on good terms with Atti. He was my Beta and getting closer to Willow every day. As for Hawkeye, we continued raising the kids but we've barely spoken since. I'm indifferent toward her these days, really.

I broke my foot taking a fall off the plateau and Blue Willow stepped up beside me to help lead as Alpha female. Life was uneventful for a stretch. That's when I fell in love with Lasher... and I'd actually known Fox a long time but I began falling for her as well during this time. Of course, she was Alpha of another pack, so we didn't pursue anything.

Then Osprey Jr. went missing one day and everything went a little crazy for a few weeks. Blue Willow brought home remains. We all thought they were hers. We buried her and grieved. I don't like to think about those days. But somewhere in there, Fox showed up on my doorstep, obviously hurt inside and out. I took her in and helped her. When she went back to confront the pack she'd abandoned, she fought her Beta for the crown and lost. Many here think Fox just abandoned her pack to be with me but they're too swift to judge before they know the full story. Bazi rightfully won the crown and I took the opportunity to offer Fox a fresh start.

And the moment we came home to the plateau was when I discovered Junior was alive after all. And tthat's where we are now. Fox is my mate, Lasher is my lover and my daughter's back home. I'm... content. It's sort of like I was a two-dimensional version of myself not long ago, so fundamentally wolf. But I've discovered new facets to myself lately and there's so much more. I guess I just get better with age, like a fine wine," he quipped, glancing at Osprey.

"Of course, Atti's accident is a sad blight on the portrait of an otherwise happy life. Just the other day, Blue Willow gave her crown to Fox so that she could dedicate more time to looking after him. I do hope he comes out if it one day, I just try not to let myself hope too much. I hoped when Junior went missing and when she turned up dead—or so we thought at the time—it crushed me. I can't go through that again."