He had tried to be a good father to both his litters throughout the seasons while trying to make the lives of their mothers as restful as possible. He wanted both Tuari and Talien fully healed from their birthing before they got up and started doing things on their own again. Until then, he was more than happy to bring them food and keep them and the pups happy. He knew that most males didn't have this problem. They were smart enough to pick one female and if they were that kind that had more than one, then usually they didn't care enough about any of them to do anything like what he was doing. But he did care. Painfully so. He loved both females and those pups were his world. He would do anything for them. He didn't want anyone thinking he bred both of them just to be insidious.

He knew he deserved Zeltzin's wrath but he didn't know if that's what he was going to get. Months had passed since last winter and maybe Zeltzin was already over it but even so, he wanted to clear the air and somehow bring up the subject of how she feels about Eden. He came fully expecting her to go off on him but it seemed she wasn't in the mood for it anymore. He was frustrated about not telling them about each other but he was frustrated at himself, not at anyone else. When she laughed at him, he pinned his ears and tilted his head in confusion. It wasn't at all the reaction he was expecting.

She told him that she might have gotten it out before but now she was just jealous. He scowled, thinking of his own sister's bad luck in love and how maybe she would understand him a little bit more than anyone else he had talked to.

"You don't have to be jealous, sis. I'll always have time for you, too."

He smirked and leaned forward to nudge her shoulder with his nose. He knew that she had once been in love and happy but that male was gone now and she had tried to replace him with Eden and that didn't seem to work out either. He didn't know if Eden had broke her heart or if it was something mutual but maybe he would get her to open up a little to him and find out.

Instead she brought up what he had been dreading all along. Yes, of course they knew already. Both females were very intelligent and it was only a matter of time. He knew he wasn't the best at losing the scents between dens because he was always in a rush to get over and see his other family while dreading leaving the other. It was tiring work, both physically and mentally. He nodded and sighed.

"I've been almost hoping one of them would bring it up just so it can be out in the open instead of this big weight between us. But I dread talking about it because all of our moments together have been so happy, just spending time with each other and with the children. I don't want to ruin those moments."

He looked down for a minute.

"Do you think maybe we're not built for love, Zelly?"

He used his childhood nickname for her, his ears pricked forward to hear her answer while his tail thumped the ground.