Nova Peak If you must weep, do it right here in my bed as I sleep

It was so much more than that, but how to begin explaining to Star without besmirching Mahler? Wylla was tired of the tension that existed between them and she was hopeful for the future, but to wholly describe Phaedra's affliction would be to admit every part of it—hers and his. And Wylla was no fool. Sagtannet's wolves were loyal to Mahler first and foremost, and she was lucky if she could claim a single wolf's loyalty to herself. Star had always been an agreeable and comforting presence, but she'd be stupid to assume the Klinge would appreciate it if she started making accusations about the pack's primary leader.

And she wanted to move past it all, aside, because when she thought of all she'd lost, did it really matter that he had kids with another woman on a technicality alone? An elusive woman, at that, whose interactions with the pack were almost nonexistent? Nyx could pose no threat to her while living on the fringes. Her anger over all that no longer felt worth it, and all Wylla could do now was regret the price her daughter had to pay while her mother burned herself to ash on a self-righteous war path.

I'm not sure if it'd help or hurt her further, she decided to say. It's a lot more complicated than it seems on the surface. But maybe I could talk to Gracious about it. The last time she'd interacted with Gracious wasn't exactly a good memory; she'd made an idiot of herself, not that she would ever outright admit that. She disagreed that Phaedra befriending prey was anything but a bad sign, but already the subject was beginning to choke her, so she swallowed thickly and redirected the conversation: Your son is going to grow to be a very large man, I think. Does he get that from his father? Calcifer was, well, gigantic for his age. And Wylla had never seen Howl, so it seemed a logical conclusion to draw.

For a little while longer, the pair walked and talked, but eventually Star had to return to her young kids and Wylla to her duties.