Redtail Rise Restraint

Masque shifted her weight, resisting the urge to shake her head at Redd’s apology. Instead, she offered a rueful smile. Her sister had no idea what was going on in her head and she preferred it that way. She’d unloaded enough on poor Mulherin, who was her closest confidante in any case.

The tension returned when she wasn’t given a choice. Redd asked a question and it could only be about New Snow. Masque would not evade it, though it turned out her urge to correct the assumption overruled everything else.

No, that wasn’t my intent at all. It was like a reflex. Her scent triggered me. I was just trying to assert my—your—our right to breed before her, she explained carefully, in the heat of the moment. But…

Masque still wasn’t sure how she felt about New Snow bearing a litter before her superiors. Once again, she wondered if Redd knew she and Mountain Boulder were preparing to whelp somewhere other than the rise. But she bit her tongue. It was Redd’s turn to speak.