Redsand Canyon as the building continues to burn

“He did indeed.” So Donovan had talked up his fallen Saints to Renard as well. Thus Finley was drawn to another parallel conclusion: Renard, too, must have been lured to the pack by promises of strength. Though there was an unspoken question in the follow-up, of how much Donovan had “learned,” and this gave Finley pause. Had she known of the betrayal of his ex-mate, or that he had an ex at all, the subtext may have been clear. But circumstances be damned; Renard’s question of Donovan’s judgment was apparent, and Finley noted it with heightened interest.

To speak so questioningly of one’s leader, far out of earshot… more common sense, given the situation, or hearsay on principle?

Finley let the comment linger, just for this conversational turn, as Renard described finding the pack before joining. Smart. Very, very smart. But more curiously: he was aware of their… reputation, as it were, yet counted himself among the Saints’ backup regardless? Finley certainly liked to think she’d have done the same in his position. Absolutely. No doubt. Reserving judgment, assessing the area, taking her time, and not getting swept up in a speech that was sounding emptier by the day. Finley was not so susceptible.

No. Renard had made a reasonable decision, and she had done the same, and that was that.

Regardless, Renard returned the podium to Finley with a smile. She responded first with a nod, her fleeting but ever-memorable encounters with Nemisis still clear as if they’d occurred yesterday. And there was, still, the trouble of the Saints having been driven out in the first place. Finley had dismissed this as an unfair gang-up, several packs against a whole three, four wolves; now she wondered again if something much deeper had been at play.

“Just a few days ago I saw Nemisis at the border, confronting another pack’s ‘monarch.’” It wasn’t hearsay if she was simply stating facts. The final word, monarch, was hesitant; Finley hadn’t stuck around long enough to judge the nature of the traveling wolf’s then-unquestioned title. “Something about Donovan.” An open secret, considering the pack meeting. “Certainly a choice topic for that level of fuss.”