Ravensblood Forest we have both lived with lips more scar tissue than skin

He turned to her in some surprise, brows raising nearly to his ears. She had challenged Stigmata?! Then again, of all the brazen things Aure had done, at least this made sense to him. Better to take a chance on yourself than suffer under the leadership of one you couldn't follow.

Yeah, he knew that all too well. And he wasn't shocked she had lost -- but there was a small measure of pride in her within his glazed eyes as he nodded, accepting the explanation.

Then it was her turn to question him, and he grew somewhat annoyed, though not like before. I did think that, yeah, he grumbled. Once. I thought I might be able to change things there. Be a good leader. Turn a new leaf.

Vercingetorix cleared his throat and found himself suddenly paralyzed, as if standing near the border of Easthollow once more. Seeing the chaos, the carnage. . . I went with Blackhead on a raid to a pack that'd wronged her, he said slowly, choosing each word as carefully as one navigating a minefield. She had cause to hate them. But she -- she killed a kid --

He felt bile rise within him and retched, the fever swelling up like a wave. Dizzy, he lay back down, closing his eyes -- and then opening them when all he saw was that pup's broken, still body.

I explained what happened to the rest of the pack and they didn't believe me, he growled, his stomach churning. Pretty much made fucking excuses for her. So I took over -- and was challenged, and ousted. So again. . .fuck Rusalka, he spat, and then fell silent.

They both had made mistakes, errors in judgment. But they were, at their core, honorable wolves, and he saw that clearly now. He hoped that, with time and with healing, their children could, too.