Ouroboros Spine Yeah, we fancy like Applebee’s on a date night.

What the fuck? were the only three words Towhee could think, as Rodyn explained their disappearance into the ocean. What the fuck? she thought again when Orca’s lookalike stepped forward, inviting her to partake in food and fellowship. It took her a few beats to realize he and Arrluk were one and the same; he was the new Alpha here. What the fuck?

She was appalled. She knew Kukutux had been suffering but Towhee never once would’ve believed her capable of such a thing. And she’d taken her mate with her too, doubling the loss for those left behind. It was cowardly and selfish. And she didn’t understand, because that didn’t fit her image of “moon woman” at all.

A breath shuddered through her as the stricken Towhee finally caught Arrluk’s eye. Was he angry? Towhee had never known her parents—they’d died before she was born, really—and sometimes she’d felt angry with them anyway. She couldn’t begin to imagine what an emotional minefield he was navigating now, knowing his parents had chosen each other and the easy way out, rather than grow old here with him and die of natural causes.

She swallowed thickly, finally remembering to nod at the poor man. Towhee didn’t say anything. It wasn’t that she couldn’t speak, just that she was afraid of what terrible things might come out of her mouth if she did. Neither Arrluk nor Rodyn deserved to hear those sorts of things right now.