Ghost Lion Crag darling remember, when you come to me

At first, Dragomir nearly scoffed. Luckily, he was a decent enough thinker to know that Arcturus hadn't just unravelled the entire mountain for the sake of one wolf—a halfwit who trespassed right into the heart of their claim, at that. He had a lot he could say on the subject of Wraen and her meddling in their affairs, but this wasn't about her, and Dragomir had no interest in her, so he kept his trap shut and listened all the way to the end.

His gut twisted tighter the longer Arcturus spoke of his past. Dragomir's unique experiences in life made it easy to see Arcturus' perspective. He disliked the way Isilmë came and went, living on the fringes of society, if at all. It would've been a massive blow to his budding ego if she returned and was recognized as a leader over him. Only for Revui to leave again, in the end—Dragomir could appreciate exactly how that would feel. Arcturus, undervalued in spite of his worth. A terrible thing, that.

Likewise, he could understand Arcturus' desire to maintain control of a situation where he was the most qualified to do so, and he could understand how the man lost his temper at being told what to do by someone who left him again and again. Dragomir tried to imagine if he would take a command from Isilmë, if the situation was fraught as it was between Arcturus and Revui, and realized he would have done the same thing. Assumed the same things. Maybe not fought her, but refused to let her be the boss of him. Again he felt a flicker of disdain—the arrogance of Moonspear reared its head again and again, and it was difficult even for Dragomir to ignore the sheer amount that it took for a leaver to challenge a devoted Beta of the pack.

The stark absence of Hydra, in the aftermath of their fight. Dragomir wasn't intentionally building a platform against the Alpha female—he was certain she had her reasons and he would hear them in time—but it went hand in hand with the rest of the story. We looked for you, she'd said. No we didn't, he'd thought, and wondered if telling Arcturus as much would be helpful or harmful. Made sense why Arcturus would attempt to force Revui to fight after being challenged directly. It was a coward's way to pick a fight and then hide when the fight came to you. Even Dragomir, young as he was, wouldn't have stood for it.

Charon had chosen a leaver to lead over Arcturus. Hydra had defended an outsider over her second in command. If that wasn't enough to make a man snap, Dragomir wasn't sure what was. To work hard and devote one's life and be overlooked? Like Arcturus, Dragomir didn't think it was a good look for a leader to be that inattentive. Pack first, always. That was the trouble with Moonspear, though, wasn't it? It wasn't about the pack. It was about the queen. Queen first, pack second. That was why protecting Osiris was a higher priority than Arcturus and Praimfaya going missing, even though Osiris was safe within the territory and Arcturus' disappearance should've been the highest priority of all.

Arcturus finished his story with a few lines that struck Dragomir right to his core. I would've stood by you if you hadn't just turned and walked away! he snapped. Not because he necessarily thought that Hydra needed to be replaced, but because he often felt like Hydra saw him as a cog in her machine, while Arcturus saw him as an individual. His loyalty to the Beta was deeper than his loyalty to the Alpha for that reason alone. Was. Of course, one gangling yearling wasn't much support. It would've been futile, but it would've felt better than witnessing Arcturus turning his back on them all with an oath.

We never looked for you, he revealed. She said we did, but we didn't. Maybe she did by herself. I don't know. She never called to the pack or sent anyone out to find you or I'd probably know about it. Praimfaya's missing, too, and we never looked for her, either. In short, not every Moonspear wolf was equal in the eyes of their queen. He didn't know whether this news would make things better or worse, but it came out of him like a gust of wind, unstoppable.

What are you going to do now? That edge was still there, that sharp bite of mistrust that said, you just ruined everything for me. How could he go back to Moonspear knowing all that? He would, of course. He would if only to hear what Hydra had to make of everything. But how could he be as devoted as he was, knowing that devotion was worth so little? Arcturus, the most devoted of them all, forever second best. What did Arcturus intend to do? And what would it mean for Dragomir?

(Because, selfishly, he was making it about himself more than he should.)