Otatso Wetlands There once was a bittersweet man

His eyes briefly widen, then narrow, at Leonore’s exclamation. She's dead wrong about claiming a territory on his own -- Vermouth has no doubt he could establish himself -- but that's not what earns an impatient growl that cuts right into her description of the nearby packs.

"No," says Vermouth.

He gives that a moment to register, then shakes his head. She's much too naive to be on her own but, again, that's none of Vermouth's business. He wonders what her parents think. Did they sanction this departure?

"Go home, Leonore," he advises, aware she's unlikely to heed him because, well, he's a stranger. "And learn some good sense about the world. Or, at the very least, don't offer to live with strange men you only just met."