The call sends a shiver of delight up my spine as I lift my head from drinking at the shallow stream to listen in, midnight ears pricked forward as my tail gives a gentle flick of anticipation. What's this? A caller for Queens? Who dares call the alphess herself to the borders without a damn good reason? It couldn't be another challenger so soon, right? A growl forms in my throat as I take off at a silent run through the forest, weaving and whipping over fallen trees as if they were mere twigs. My paws cup the ground as I move, leaving nothing but echoes of the birds overhead in my wake, nothing to tell the stranger that I'm coming. A life as an assassin can do things to you. It can make you cold and heartless or it can leave you on the edge of sanity. I chose to be somewhere in the middle. There are times where you might catch me talking to myself or laughing for no reason but otherwise I'm the same ruthless male I was five years ago, still young and rebellious.
Life as a pack wolf, now that will do things to you as well. I've learned a few things since joining the Malignant Felicity pack. Some of those dreaded feelings have started coming back, but only for one wolf, of course. Queens is the only wolf who has ever dared to be alone with me in a dark place and get away in one piece, mostly. She has her scars from the encounter just as I do my own but it was more scars of pleasure than violence, though it was a beautiful mixture of both. If ever a wolf has claimed my loyalty, it is she. I wouldn't go so far to say she has claimed my heart or anything so corny, but I do have a soft side for my queen that no other wolf would dare try for. But I know that she has her wild sides and she likes her males and who would I be to take that away from her? No better than the other scoundrel who have dared to tell her they love her and then up and leave her like a week old suit.
I have seen Queens at her best, which is most of the time, and her worst, the part she only shows to those who she considers worthy. I'm not much of a comforting type, but I have tried my best to wipe away the tears when they come. The most I have done for her is to show her that even through all the others who leave her, I have remained. I am here for her and that is how I intend it to be. I may never be the Alpha at her side, but I don't ask for that power. The power I have as Beta and just knowing that she confides in me is enough. Even without a rank, I am hers and hers alone. Even without the power of rank, I would still be my overbearing self, the kind who wants to lunge before talking, just to prove your worth. The kind who will egg on a confident stranger just to get the provocation I need to kill them. I am an artist and my easel is the forest floor I tread on. My favorite color to paint with? You shoudn't even have to ask.
Finally the wolf comes into sight but instead of announcing myself outright, I stick to the shadows, trusting in the wind to stay downwind of me so the wolf never even knows I'm here. The only thing to betray me would be my bright golden eyes and even them I keep hidden between thickly nettled branches of a bush before me. This way I can watch for when Queens arrives and see what this wolf wants for myself. If she needs backup, I'm right here, aren't I? Ebony lips draw back into a nasty grin, tail giving a gentle flick behind me. Now let the fun begin.
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