Phoenix Maplewood the thrill

It wasn't fair. None of it was, really. Sequoia could have resisted. She could have begged Kiwi for forgiveness, but she would not. No longer would she let others in that close. Not after what Crow had done to her.

Kiwi turned, and Sequoia watched as she walked away. Anger and hurt boiled in her chest. It boiled for Crow. It boiled for Colt. It boiled for Kiwi. Whatever once was between them had shattered, and both of them were far too proud to pick up the pieces to mend it.

Sequoia flicked her tail, noting the sun's position in the sky. She would return to the cracked stone empty-handed this time, but there would be plenty of opportunities to find worthy men recruits.

"Kiwi would only have been a distraction," she told herself. "And she probably would have stolen any viable men away."