Blackfeather Woods tied in deep

There it was again. That heat beneath her cheeks as he stumbled, glancing bashfully from her face and to the ground. Malila's body shook with a silent giggle, her tail thumping. She reached out snuck her muzzle under his jaw, giving his chin a gentle bump upwards. "I do only if you do, too."

She listened to how he described each of the packs. "One of them was very nice too. But I just didn't quite fit. One day a stranger appeared out of nowhere, in the heart of the territory." She recalled. "I froze. I was so shocked and scared I didn't know what to do. After the leaders drove him off, I realized how useless I was." Rivenwood had had more than one coward. Malila didn't even try to drive that wolf away, even though he did not try to harm her.

"The other one...it was so strict. They taught me things, which I appreciate. But the only way I could stay long term was to be a warrior or to get married. Those were my only choices. It...wasn't fair, I felt and I wasn't going to turn into something I'm not just to satisfy someone else's rules." She took a breath. "That's the pack in the canyon I mentioned. They're called Mereo."