Pine’s eyes locked onto Zelda. As much as she loved the other wolfess, this was clearly a place where they disagreed. It was true, death was never wanted. Even the blood that flowed from Aranck’s throat had stained Iromar’s ground still darker and had stolen a part of Pine’s youthful innocence. However, the small Imp would not let these things go unpunished. As this experience proved, sometimes mercy led to more destruction. There were some in the world not bound by logic or the rules of thought. To some there was no sense of right or wrong or the value of a life. Some in the world would take the light from the eyes of others never knowing what it meant to have those lights shine on the world. She looked at Zelda, eyes narrowed in thought. There is never only one outcome. She said bitterly. As pissed off as I am. I will not kill someone without a good reason. If she can give me a good reason not to rip her throat, like she did Eleanor... The words hung in the air, clear in their meaning.

As Zelda spoke Pine got more frustrated. She knew wolves had connections, bonds and influences on others. There was no one who walked the world who did not have a story behind them. The same was true for her packmate who had fallen. The lives left behind had not been considered when Eleanor’s had been taken. What if the woman had also been someone’s Imprint and yet another unknown wolf was suffering the loss. Pine’s teeth bared. Her connection to Cenna pounded and was his grounding that kept her somewhat calm. She was torn. From Zelda’s words it was as if Pine herself were no better than a murderer. But it was imprisonment that had allowed a true murderer to kill again. Her ears flattened against her neck. Until another wolf approached.

She swiftly took him in with flicks of her attentive eyes. He seemed solid enough, though no one could be known at first glance. As frustrated as she was with her friend, she continued to trust Zelda and the wolves she had at her side. The trust extended to this male. He was an innocent in all this, and Pine knew she would do what she could to protect him from whatever harm he did not deserve. It was not his fault the stars had chosen this path for him, and she would hope that he would not suffer through her. However, that did not mean someone else would not be held accountable for their own actions. Arace was not Starfall’s innocence. She was just as much his torturer as she was his soulbond.

Before Zelda could answer her own wolf, Pine nodded in a quiet, but tense, and respectful greeting. I am Pine, Alphess of Iromar. One of my wolves was murdered and Arace’s scent was found. She glanced at Zelda, hoping forgiveness for possibly overstepping her bounds, but her frustration also making her impatient and not really care about manners or formality. Her wolf was killed, a family abandoned, and no one but her seemed to really care. Zelda says you are her Imprint. Maybe you can give us any insight into her before I go question Diveen.