Each movement the other wolf made, Despoina seemed to counter. Eleanor raised her tail and body in dominance and defiance, so did Despoina. She would not have backed down from a challenge and she would not bow her head to anyone who did not clearly earn or deserve her submission. If she needed to fight for her right to stand tall in front of this stranger, she would. Everything about the situation she was creating was only making them both more confused and threatening.

As she circled to face and step towards Eleanor, her lips peeled back in threats and all off her fur on end, the words the other woman spoke took her so off guard she stopped in her tracks. For a moment even her growls hesitated. Lips dropped over her fangs. Her face looked like an obsidian statue she was so stunned. “No.” She growled at last, the viciousness had been lost. Her haunches dropped with an audible thud on the cave floor. ‘Crush’ had been a word she was only just aware of, and the real meaning behind it was mostly still a mystery to her. From her understanding it was a fantastical story, where girls followed their dream boys into bliss and beyond. The world was nothing but sunshine, butterflies, happiness and joy. Togetherness, unity, and a bond that they dreamed would run deep. They were dreams and concepts Despoina could not grasp, even in the wildest depths of her imagination. Being abandoned over and over again, traded to and fro. No bond to one wolf or one place could possibly have been established. Beyond that, she had just become an ‘adult’. A crush was a story for children and had nothing to do with the strange fluttering sensation she felt in her chest when those girls passed so close to her. Besides, crushes were for boys and girls. This was obviously different.

Her eyes narrowed at Eleanor, and she was tempted to raise her fangs again. Just to bite that ‘know it all’ tone from her voice. The tone Despoina was projecting into the other’s voice. “Well, Eleanor. You’re wrong. That obviously isn’t what is going on. Just like Imprints are males to females, same with crushes. It was something else. What is it about you and them?” Her voice shook slightly, but she covered it with a growl. It wasn’t true. It couldn’t be true. It was impossible.