Herbalists' Cache homecoming

i did not leave. i was never yours to keep. a grating snarl, bouncing about behind the bars of iron teeth.

but she does not care. she was already upon him, slamming into his side, sending him stumbling back a step. she was strong; stronger than the girl he remembered—not strong enough. the herculean male spits and makes to snap his teeth over the scruff she yields to him by seeking to bite at him. he towers above her, raised by height advantage. claws bite into the snow as he braced against her weight, her fury, her desperation to sink her teeth into him.

she wants to hurt him.

he does not let her.

his muscles coil, then spring—her weight used against her, his strength shoving back, twisting, seeking to send her sprawling. his snarl rumbles behind the cage of teeth stained by prey's and wolf's blood.

you fight me for what?

a snort, cruel, almost amused. he steps forward, looming, towering, the ghost of the boy she once knew swallowed beneath the weight of the man he has become. you seek my blood because i did not stay to play chase with you? that i did not abandon my ancestral duties? he scoffs.

bah! his gaze hardens, centering upon her snarling face, her trembling pale frame, past a scarred snout wearing the pride of his own battles. it has been many years, svalla. do not tempt fate. he holds no loyalty to her. he would kill her here, without consequence, should she not contain her battle rage.