He could see the young alphess was starting to relax and he was glad he could lure her into such safe thinking. He didn't mean her any harm, at least not on this day, so he simply smirked in amusement and waited to see what would happen next. It was easy to see trust was going to be a long road for them but as long as she stuck around, that shouldn't be a problem. Cuirass wasn't planning on going anywhere. She's right to think his loyalty questionable because he wasn't really loyal to anyone but himself except where his heart was involved and so far that included Belhara, whether he would admit it out loud or not. He could be bought for a prize but so far this was his chosen home so he would make the most of it and work his way up the ranks to get what he wanted. She seemed to think something was really funny, cracking up laughing before admitting that at least one of the traitors he was sent looking for would have been her. He smirked and raised a brow.

"Then I guess in a way I was successful. Unfortunate that I can't tell him about it."

He said it in a sarcastic way, not at all sad for the wolf's death. He didn't know Aranck well enough to even know his name at the time, let alone grieve his loss. He shook his head when she said that he might have mentioned her.

"I think he was far too out of his own mind to know any names, only that there were wolves after him."

He would have dragged her to Aranck by the scruff of her neck had he found her when the male wolf was still in charge. Funny how things worked out. Now he would be working for the very wolf who took his life. But that's how things work in the predator world. One wolf dies and another takes over. He didn't care so long as he was welcome here and could see Belhara every day if he wanted to. He was sure she would never forget that he had once been told to find wolves like her. Maybe she would use it for her own gain some day when she needed it or maybe she would just be more cautious with him, thinking he might turn on her at any moment. It wasn't too farfetched of an idea. He was defnitely built for the hunt. He was born and raised to take out his own kind for their blood and their meat. It's all he knew. He was certainly bigger than her but he was no threat for now. When the alphess started to say what she needed to say, he could sense that she was almost reluctant to say it, like she was bored by it. Interesting.

The first words she told him were obvious as she said. Protect the pack. He nodded in acknowledgement. Yeah, he could do that. She told him that he could keep his secret as he wanted but that she wanted him to thrive. He smirked a little. He liked hearing that. Then she told him to do what he had already planned on doing. Climb the ranks. That was already near the top of the to-do list. She wanted him to find others like him and bring them here. He raised a brow. She wanted other questionable killers in her pack? What an enjoyable twist. Then she added that if he didn't trust the wolf, kill them. She was very open with her opinions. He liked that too.

"Easy enough. I think I can handle that."

He wagged his tail, watching as she suddenly grabbed a reed up out of the ground with a wicked grin. What was she playing at? He tilted his head and eyed him suspiciously. That was right before she decided to whip the reed right across his face. His eyes widened in shock at first, brows rising as his mouth parted but he caught on quick, barking playfully as she set herself up before him defensefully and told him to show her what he's got.

"With pleasure."

He growled as he went to tackle her straight into the den behind her. If she dodged, he would pivot and chase after her, not a fan of backing off to give another space. He was a full up front confrontational fighting and he would adapt his fighting style to match hers on the flip of a coin. He didn't like backing off because that left time for the opponent to recover and that was a risk he wasn't going to take. He tried to leap on her back end to take it out from under her with his weight and he would even try to grab her by the scruff of her neck with his teeth and angle his head to pull her to the ground in submission. She may be his alpha but she had asked him to show her and opened up an invitation for a spar. He wouldn't try to kill her or maim her but he was certainly going to achieve something. He would let her know the kind of fighter she had on her team if nothing else.