Blacktail Deer Plateau Brothers under the sun

Neither one of his brothers seemed at all ready or willing to take him at his word. Although this bothered Peregrine, he also understood it. He looked at them in turn, seeing the uncertainty on Crete's face, though—if he was reading his brother's body language correctly—he seemed to be giving Peregrine the benefit of the doubt, at least. This gave the Alpha both relief and hope. All was not lost. Perhaps he could have his cake and eat it too...

Then Atticus lashed out at him and it wasn't even about Hawkeye, which he had expected. Peregrine had also anticipated some resentment and concern about his ascension, just not this level of bitter harshness. Every word stung him, hurting him and also angering him, yet he let Atticus finish without interrupting. Admittedly, part of Peregrine wanted to lash out in return, to rebuke his dark brother for disrespecting him so badly... yet he knew that even the least show of defense would be taken the wrong way and would turn his brothers away from him, possibly for good. Although this wasn't fair—the sins of the elder brother were now his in a way he hadn't fully realized 'til now—Peregrine beat his anger into submission before it could manifest. His brothers mattered more to him than his pride right now.

"I'm not... dumb," Peregrine argued weakly, his tone flat. "And I understand your anger and your skepticism. I know I'm guilty until proven innocent. I wish you would give me the benefit of the doubt, Atti, but... I get it." Strangely, the new Alpha suddenly found himself fighting tears. He managed to hold them back, though his dusky eyes shimmered strangely. "Give me a chance and I will show you. I'm not Tyrannus," he finished quietly, wanting to reach out and touch them but suddenly afraid to make a move.

In fact, the only move Peregrine could think to make was one of absolute supplication. Meeting Crete's eyes, then Atticus's, he let out a long, slow breath, then dropped to his haunches, slid forward onto his belly, then rolled onto his side. He showed his belly to his brothers in a show of total trust and submission, because it was the only thing he could think to do to show them that he truly meant everything he'd said. "If I break this promise to you," Peregrine murmured as he lay there on the ground, prostrate, "kill me."