Heat swirled around us, seeming to grow closer with each passing second. For that moment, when our eyes met, I thought that he would turn away from me, as he had so many times before. Instead, he leaned forward and allowed me to take the pup from his grasp. It had been some time since I had carried such precious cargo, but the duty was one a mother never forgot. The corded muscles in my neck bulged with the effort, but I swung around back in the direction I’d come for with ease. Tithe moved in front of me, and for a second instinct bade me push to take the lead, as I felt that I knew best where we were going. But then his hip was there, and my shoulder pressed lightly against him to provide guidance, and we were working together to get all three of us to safety. Working together as we once had, as pack mates, in a life that seemed so far separated from the here and now.

The crackle of fire filling my ears kept me in the present, however, mahogany eyes narrowed against the smoke to best see and guide Tithe’s movements. Together, we finally reached whatever semblance of a safe haven the river could provide, the dampness of the water a welcome relief from the dry ground we had raced across to escape the wildfire. Tithe took the true lead then, leading them across the unusually shallow channel and up onto an island that seemed to be out of reach of the fire that danced across the land. Only once all four of my paws were on dry land once more did I lower my head, depositing the boy and getting a good look at him for the first time. For the briefest of moments I looked into the eyes of the man who had betrayed me, but so filled with youthful innocence that it made my breath catch in my throat. But then Tithe moved to ensure he was unharmed and to clean the soot from his pelt and I stepped away. Lowering my head, I rubbed my face against the insides of my legs, clearing my eyes and nose as best I could, and then moving to take a drink from the river.

Lifting my head, I looked back towards the father and son, and found them both watching me. I looked first to the son, glad to find him seemingly uninjured, then to the father, for whom a mix of emotions welled within me. Tithe’s thanks earned a nod from me, words left unspoken. At one point, I would have said with utmost certainty that he would have done the same for me – but the wolf sick with power that had come for my blood that fated day had made me second guess that. Maybe I had never known him at all. The child stepped forward then, and I looked down to watch as he sniffed at my paws. Could he possibly know that these paws had once gouged the earth beneath the bloodied forms of his father and me? Children’s innocence is precious and pure, and in this moment I was grateful for such a reminder. Darkened ears pricked forward to catch Tithe’s words, though my eyes lingered upon the boy for a moment longer, offering him a quiet smile before my attention was given to his father.

But that smile did not keep when I met his eyes. Once more I nodded, agreeing that a conversation was to be had between us. Perhaps one long overdue, one that should have been had long ago on the borders of Diveen. But there was no need for ‘what ifs’ here. There was only now; what had happened could not be undone. So I heard him out, listened to what he had to say. As his speech went on I felt the fur across my back prickle unbidden, my hackles rising instinctually. But I did not interrupt; I did not fly into a rage or bare my teeth at his words. I listened.

And when he had finished, I spoke. ”The alliances were not shaken, they were shattered, Tithe. That is the way of these lands – usurpers come to Moladion and take things they do not understand, and that is why Roman failed as a leader. And then you - you came to Diveen, the very place that I told the pack that I would go to recover from my injuries, mere hours after my defeat and called for a party. You did not call upon me, the Alpha who had been your leader not a day prior; you left no message or questions of my well being, you came and laid bare an invitation and left without a second thought for me. None of them! None of you!” Finally the truth of my angers, my deep seated hurts, surfaced, and I clenched my jaw to keep the emotions that I had kept hidden for so long at bay. Not a single wolf of the pack had followed me when I had fallen. Though many had left the mountain, unwilling to serve under a foreign usurper who had no rights to the mountains or understanding of her people, no one outside of my immediate family had come to Diveen to support me in my darkest days. Not even one.

I swallowed and continued, my voice returning to a more calm and reserved tone. ”When I returned for what is mine, you answered my challenge with bloodlust in your eyes – I could see it, that you wanted me dead then and there. Power transformed you into someone I could barely recognize. You could have made the choice to come forward and explain yourself then – maybe I could have understood why you did what you did! You could have answered my challenge with words rather than fangs. You could have stepped aside to your once Queen, taken a place as my Justiciar – Hand even - and helped me to rule the mountains. But you came for my life in a fight that was meant for the mountain. No Tithe, perhaps I am not guiltless in how things turned out, but you turned your back on me long before you walked away from the mountains that day.” There was a fire in my eyes that would give the blazes that ate up the fields a run for their money, but there was a long concealed hurt there as well.