Lion Head Mesa friends can break your heart too

Serein tensed when the man moved forward, but the attack she expected never came. After a moment she dared another glance up, shifting slightly to bring herself to a crouching position. She studied him more boldly now, but remained poised to leap away if he decided to choose violence after all.

A pack, he said. His pack. She let her gaze drift past him for a moment, half-expecting to see others. But no one came. Just a traveler, she murmured, letting her dark eyes settle on him again. My name is Serein. I was... looking for somewhere safe. She wasn't sure she knew what that meant anymore — but she searched for it all the same.