Redhawk Caldera Sledgehammer

"'Rude' is an understatement," Peregrine muttered under his breath. He fell silent, listening to Somnia's voice of reason. She was already a fantastic Caretaker in the making but was she an aspiring Counselor too? If she wasn't, she should be.

"I don't think I left anything to the imagination. She would have to be really daft not to realize that blatantly shitting on my word would bother me," he pointed out in a heated but level voice. "Like, seriously, what the fuck is she thinking?"

The Alpha male fell quiet, taking in a few deep, steadying breaths. He gazed out over the nearby lake, then eventually looked back at Somnia and said, "I seriously have never felt so goddamn disrespected in my life. Fox is welcome to question my demands, of course, but she's not allowed to just completely overrule me. If she wants to run the show that way, then maybe I should just fucking leave her to it. Obviously she doesn't think I'm an equal to her."

What made matters worse was that it was reminiscent of the way Hawkeye had once treated him. She had also made Peregrine feel like he was some sort of secondary Alpha, when all he hoped to do was empower his mate and share the power with her. It tapped deep down into his past and cracked something inside him, letting a metaphorical black bile leak into his bloodstream.

"I think I need to get out of here for a few days. I don't even want to look at her right now," he admitted, his face and voice suddenly strained. How had things gone to shit so abruptly? He had been a happily mated Alpha male an hour ago; now he felt like neither applied. "I don't want to walk out on her or any of you guys. I just need some space, you know? Plus," he finished darkly, "if I see Magpie's face anytime soon, I don't know what I'll do."