"I know not who you are, Shadow. I know nothing of you. That may be what you wish, but for cooperation to be held, for a pack to have faith in a leader, trust must be a factor in the family."
Family. His heart lurched at the thought-yes he had a heart-thoughts of his brother Flame, or Arcadius as he liked to tease his younger brother with. His little sister Ice or Aelia with the pelt as white as snow and yellow as eyes bright as the sun. His family he thought sadly before a familiar crimson healer with bright copper eyes leapt into the photo containing his siblings. His coniunx was now part of the few wolves he considered his blood family.
His features remained cold, eyes icy as he swallowed the last bit of rabbit. Nothing betrayed his internal turmoil. He had a family here in the pack, Flash, Crëyr, Farkas, Tiberius, Paarthurnax, Enya, Leila. Those that he trusted, that never left his side, -yes he trusted the slave-for she had performed her duties well and did what he said without protest. But Adair had questioned him, tried to correct his ways, disrespected him in the eyes of the Roman and he hated himself for still caring-however faint it was-for the old brute. Vector was new and he did not trust his new slave at all when he hadn't even demonstrated anything for him to begin trusting the dark autumn touched wolf.
His blood family he knew would soon expand, soon it would not only contain his siblings and his wife but his other family, the family not bound by blood, the wolves he considered his brothers, sisters, sons, daughters were a lot. And most of his packmates he considered his family. No matter how harsh he might be to them, he still loved them in different ways and he always cared for them no matter what they thought, for he would always be harsher, crueler to outsiders and strangers. What he did always had a purpose.
But as a Roman, his pride kept him from admitting things like this, he didn't like getting too sentimental. He liked to appear strong, warrior-like, a leader. He knew he appeared a sly, arrogant liar in front of Scimitar and Bazi and some other wolves, and he did that often, smirking because it was something that he learnt when he was a child. Only the wolves he trusted could see a bit of the real him, (only Paarthurnax and his siblings had ever known and seen all of the real him).
"She has a companion? Another has joined her chains?" he resisted the urge to smirk again, instead remained indifferent. "Yes, a barbarian named Vector. But she will not have a companion slave for long for I might be freeing her soon." he said softly, bright silver orbs soughting out Adair's amber ones. The maniatic glint in his eyes slowly dying down.
His silver eyes narrowed in suspicion-an act for he was actually rather amused at the thought. "Adair, are you becoming close to my slave, Enya? Friends? Lovers?" the indifferent look on his face remained the same without twitching a slightest bit.