Broken Boulder no, i never sold my soul

The truth, which Queenie assumed that Alarian was just too sheltered and inexperienced to understand, was that if any of the pups died, she'd be unremarkably indifferent. It was too harsh to say out loud, especially with Delight so near, but Queenie wouldn't have cared. She didn't have the capacity to care, but Alarian (who always had to see the good in everyone around him) would have thought that she was bluffing, because it was a sentiment so dark and twisted that even Queenie had trouble comprehending.

She wanted desperately to take both Eris and Alarian head on. She wanted to prove that she could win, and that when she did, she could force all of her packmates into submission. She wanted to show them how strong, how potent she really was, but it was too risky. Delight was right, anyway; Queenie's place was at the den tending to her children, despite everyone being so strung up on how poorly she seemed to be doing.

Queenie watched as he disappeared, spitting at his pawprints as he wandered off. It was then that she turned and started back, angrily approaching the whelping den.