The Tangle If you must die, remember your life

On she went for at least half an hour, splashing the earth and upraised rocks and ankle-breaking drops with urine so that Rusalka would know she was serious. She and Sagtannet would come for them to ensure their continued safety here in the taiga. To do any less would be a failure on their part. They'd moved from one mountain to a new, safer one, but they couldn't run from their problems forever. The children were older now, and the pack was larger. They had to defend what was theirs.

She wasn't prepared to see one of those growing children standing among the natural rubble when she turned as if to head for home, and the sight of him made her pause. Truth be told, Wylla never had held any love whatsoever for Astraeus, and still didn't. She wasn't a wolf equipped for adoption, and any idea she might once have entertained about raising him as her own had disappeared when his surly, ungrateful disposition made itself known. Now he was simply Sagtannet, no family to her. She hadn't noticed when he went missing, though in fairness to her, there was a lot going on at that time. Now there was scarring around his eye that hadn't been there before, and all she could think with a clear absence of concern was that he had probably asked for it with his shitty attitude.

Astraeus, she said in a level and cool voice, coming to a halt next to a scraggly, wind-scraped bush. What are you doing?