the lonely mountain

Justice had scented him on the trail leading to the pack they were walking toward, but she did not know if that meant he was alpha, beta, or simply a high-ranking scout tasked with keeping the borders marked and secure. She had all the faith in the world that her cousin could and would be a great alpha. As they approached the pack, his scent grew stronger, and it wasn't because they were together. It was because the borders were marked with him, and she wondered at his rank. "It sure smells like you here," she said, almost naively, as she walked beside him.

She was glad that they had a few wolves looking to fill the position, though none carried the official title of healer quite yet. Kadezj might not like that to begin with, but if their treatment helped him, she was certain he would hold his tongue. However, what Mordecai asked of her next was something else entirely: how well Kadezj would keep his word. While she had mentioned he had challenged he alpha, she didn't mention that it had gone against his own oath sworn to that male, and based on her previous agreement with Kadezj, she wouldn't do that. Not yet, any way.

"He is a wolf of his word," she said carefully, weighting her words with honesty, taking her time to answer. This was not a task to take lightly, after all. "I have not known him to make promises he doesn't intend to keep. If he says he will serve you, he will." What more could she say about Kadezj? "I could bring him here to meet you, if you'd like. Then you can decide for yourself if he's trustworthy or not." In reality, Kadezj probably wasn't the most trustworthy wolf, but Justice knew that usually his intentions were pure. However, the means sometimes didn't justify the end result.