Gently his nose pressed against my own, and my lids fell half shut over my eyes, listening to his words. He pledged himself to me, as I knew he always would, and a smile crept across my tired features as he withdrew. I gazed up at him, about to ask him to go seek out Niviaq, for perhaps she had not been able to carry her supplies on her own up the mountainside. It was then that Leonidas turned away from me, blocking my vision of the den’s entrance. But I didn’t need to see him to know he was there. In my state of exhaustion I had not felt him as he grew ever nearer. Now he was here, though, and his presence washed over me. While it put me at ease to know he was here, to know my painted healer would see me taken well care of, I also knew the implications it presented. Leo made them all too obvious.

Before I was even able to speak, my painted warrior turned on me lips raised and jealous snarls bubbling in his throat. My own lips pulled back to reveal teeth still tinted red with the blood of my opponent. I snarled, snapping my teeth at the one who I had only moments ago shared a caress with. Though I was tired, I would not be spoken to in such a way. But I would conceal the truth from him no longer. “Leonidas! Calm yourself! This is Meryl, and I asked him here. He is one of the most well trained healers in all of Moladion.” I paused, momentarily, but decided there was no time like the present. “He is my imprint, and you should do well to guard those teeth of yours, for so help me if you attempt to lay harm against him I will take you down myself.” Despite the pain, despite the exhaustion that racked my body, I would not allow Leo to harm Meryl. I loved them both, differently perhaps, but they each held a piece of me that I could never hope to take back from them. Meryl could take care of himself, but I would not let it come to that. Not in my den. Not in my pack. Not on my mountain.

It was then that a flash of brilliant white entered the den, and almost immediately the tension dissipated. My sister had a way of doing that to a gathering, making everything seem far happier than it possibly was. The words she directed at Leo were sharp, but no matter how hard she tried I did not think Ceal could possibly instill fear into another wolf. She was the sweetest girl I had ever known, and I thanked my mother’s spirit every day for taking her in all those years ago. Until our parents deaths, she was the only sister I had ever known. Orca was a large part of my life now, but Ceal and I had grown up together. I hoped that Leo would look to me again, for my gaze would plead with him to find the calmness that he so seldom displayed. I would not banish him from my den, for I knew it would help no one. But perhaps he could settle to simply sit beside me and watch over their work as Ceal and Meryl would attend to my wounds.

My sister jested with me, and I smiled at her. “My neck grows stiffer the longer I remain still. The wound on my tail aches, and I can’t lift it as I should,” I informed her, letting my words carry to Meryl as well. I knew they would take care of me, if only Leonidas would let them. Gritting my teeth, my nose wrinkled slightly as Ceal set to cleaning the wounds along the ruff and neck as well as my tail. Though the tears to my ruff were the deepest, the pain was most sensitive in my tail, and with Ceal’s words about my being a ‘big strong girl,’ I lost my sense of amusement with my sister as the pain intensified and I silently bared my teeth, though I made no move against her. I released a long held breath and looked to Leonidas and Meryl, hoping that I would not have to displace Ceal’s hard work to separate them.