Blacktail Deer Plateau It's wild like the river, it's warm like the sun

I blame "Shark Tank" for this post sucking so much in comparison to my previous ones. Watching people's dreams being crushed is distracting and fun. XD

A fleeting sense of panic raced through him as his brother figured it out, but it was quickly replaced by anger as Peregrine rambled on about a new life and happiness after having everything ripped away from him. Did he think he was the only one of them who had suffered, who had lost? He had lost his home, his family, his sister too. Crete had lost Osprey and their mother and the Falcons too. Did Peregrine for one second think he was special? Did he seriously expect Atticus to rejoice at having a girl he'd been interested in swiped right out from under him like this?

He wanted so badly to spit these words at Peregrine, to make his brother understand how he felt, even just a little bit. But he didn't have the balls to do it. He'd never been much for confrontation. He wasn't as brazen and fearless as Peregrine was. He was a chicken-shit. Maybe it was better that Perry and Hawkeye hook up. No Alpha wanted to be with a loser who couldn't even stand up to his brother.

"No!" he protested, shaking his head. Another fake smile. "No," he assured his brother, though his pale blue eyes were strained as he glanced at Perry. "It's okay. It's…it's fine. I haven't known her that long anyway." The more he thought about it, now, the less he could understand why he was so attracted to her to begin with. He really hadn't known her that long at all. He didn't realize that it was purely hormones driving him, not so much his heart. But it still stung, to be the loser before ever even having a chance. "She is hot though, isn't she?" He flashed another empty grin, trying to lighten the situation and take the pressure off of himself.