Deepwood Weald solenne

No. They weren’t his kids, really, and they’d be better without him. The pack didn’t need a Hælend who could not do the job, and they certainly didn’t need a father who had never been there. He didn’t think they were even aware. Avicus would have had no need to share this.

No one had seen her the way he did, and no one had ever understood him like her. Avicus had built the pack she needed; Ashlar had lived in it, but he’d never truly belonged outside of the space she’d created for him specifically. They were strong; they’d be fine.

Thanks, anyway. If there was something he could hold onto he couldn’t summon it now. But he had stopped, and somewhere in him he still had to want to try.