Ravensblood Forest Falling too fast to prepare for this.

Nyx had isolated herself from her pack-mates in the time since their unexpected shift in leadership. She remained out of reach, lingering on the territory outskirts for days at a time and avoiding contact with any of her her remaining comrades - even Lycaon. She had seen him from a distance a couple of times, potentially looking for her, but she would steal away at the mere sight of him.

It was nothing personal, she longed to tell him. He was all that Nyx really had left and while part of her wished to keep him close, the last thing she wanted was to appear vulnerable. Truthfully, she felt Ingram's absence sorely, and she knew that Lycaon would recognise her yearning. Her friend's decision to follow his sister had pained her in ways she never thought possible, and in ways that she did not wish her remaining companion to see.

More than anything, however, the golden Ostrega wished to hide away as the tell-tale signs of her own betrayal began to show. Her flanks swelled with the promise of pregnancy, and she felt as though her size increased rapidly with every day that passed. It was something she remained loathe to admit, and it was a sign of her greatest shame.

Taking her leave of the shore as the sun rose over the sea, the agouti wolfess ventured from Grimnismal's territory and trailed further inland. She slipped into an unwelcoming forest, pausing to investigate the scent marks that littered its tree trunks. They were not fresh, suggesting that a pack had called it home until recently, and she stalled for only a few moments before pressing deeper among the evergreens.