Noctisardor Bypass What would I ever do with a rose?

She considered confronting her sister about her involvement with Anselm and his paternity. That wasn’t the right word though, she decided as she strode out of the den and sprawled in a pool of sunshine. She folded one foreleg over the other, offering a nod to the selfsame man across the clearing. She wanted Heda to know she knew but that she neither cared nor judged. But Druid hesitated, sensing there was some reason Heda hadn’t told her herself. Besides, she wasn’t even here right now.

Presently, the Den Mother shifted her attention to the half a dozen puppies milling about the area. They were getting big, she noted, eyes following her son for a moment. Soon, they would all move to Sequoia’s Spot, where they would become the responsibility of the entire pack rather than just the Den Mothers’. Druid could safely say she loved her kids now, though the thought of everyone’s expanding freedom—particularly her own—made her heart skip a beat.