The pheasant was shreds in seconds. Feathers and bits of bird bone littered the floor of the cave and splattered against the walls. Despoina’s dark fur was broken by a few of the feathers getting caught in her coarse hair and stuck out in odd directions. She turned her still snarling face back to Eleanor. Blood, bird juices, and saliva moistened her lips making her look vicious and incredibly unbecoming. Not that she would have ever cared.

Steel eyes blazing and feather filled fur bristling to its tips, Despoina circled Eleanor. She did not know if this woman would be able to give her answers, and she frankly did not care. All her life she had been left, abandoned, given no answers to anything in her life. Now something was driving her crazy and it was going to stop. It was going to stop now. This wolf in front of her was different from the others. Different from everyone. Sights, sounds, and body. All of it sparked something in Despoina, just as the smells of Neverland and Aurelia had. She was going to figure it out, or she was going to end it.

“Yes. You. Them.” Clearly she was struggling to organize her thoughts. “First that annoying white bitch, then Aurelia-” Her tongue ran over her lips, trying to wipe away the feelings of captivation she had felt for the young woman. “Now you.” She stepped forward. The challenging pose was born more of confusion and fear than it was a desire to actually hurt Eleanor, though it would not stop her from snapping her jaws. “Why, am I drawn to you? And why do I not want to rip you apart?”