He had not expected such a response. It had come from nowhere and yet, he ought to have expected it. He had never made his mother proud, not particularly, and he knew that she would only ever rise to take him with her or to cull the mate he had chosen. All his love for her could not negate that truth; she would have chewed him open sooner than she would have ever seen Denali as anything more than a foul blemish. Still, he had not seen it coming and so, she lunged for him with such a sudden fierceness. All he could do was brace himself against the onslaught that he was sure would follow; he pushed his weight downward, his shoulders forward and prepared to take her teeth. It was only when he could break away from those eyes that he saw the faintest crimson fringe that marked her as somebody else; he could feel how small she was now that she had come close. Small, savage. One of those things was not his mother.

Aithne's rumble forced him down more so, though his instincts demanded he rise up and take the threat more seriously. After all, he now had two wolves who threatened him - they did not trust him, they did not wish for him to remain safe in this place. They had him surrounded. Yet, he knew it to be Aithne and he knew that it was not his mother who faced him now.

His sister had been gone so long, he had been sure she had died too. She had vanished in the wind just as his mother had vanished from life and so, he had never seen a reason to look for her. He had been convinced that she had fallen into the bogs to be swallowed up. It had never made sense to him why she would leave otherwise; she was their mother's favorite, her beloved child. Now, however, he was faced with the truth: she was back. She had been alive this whole time. He had failed her in that - he should have looked. He should have done something. He had been so preoccupied in his own life that he had forgotten his commitment to the others he had been born alongside. He had believed himself alone and yet, he had not been.

Still, he felt threatened, though perhaps less by her in those moments as she dove for Aithne with a sudden aggression. He knew he could not allow her to land such anger on an alpha and so, he did what he had always done best. With a sudden lurch, he moved to intercept his sister, plowing through the reeds and mud and placing himself between the pair. He'd feel her teeth pinch his flesh and fur, her frenzied rage tearing the skin at his shoulder. Still, he wore it without issue; he had been made for this, after all. Instead, he watched Aithne's face with an unusual intensity, his eyes boring into hers. "Do not hurt her." His voice had come out like gravel, his body now pushed down to create a wall of sorts. Only when he was sure Aithne would not harm her would he step aside.

Yet, his sister had other plans it seemed; she had begun to rant once more, her words nonsensical to him as she turned to escape. He, too, turned to follow, though he had no idea how to go about such a thing; instead, it merely resulted in him bounding forward a stride before he paused, suddenly unsure. Why did she want to get away so badly? Had she not seen that he would protect her? Her intrusion was a misunderstanding, just like her attack had been. Aithne could not hurt her. He wouldn't allow it. Why? Why couldn't she see that?