He couldn't be more happy that Malleah was getting her strength back. Now he just had to get her mentally back to full strength. He knew they had connected in a new way when she told him that she had done bad things. He didn't ask her to explain what they were. He didn't want her for her past. He wanted her for her present and the wolf he knew she could be in the future. He wanted her heart and he was willing to fight for it for as long as it took. He could see that she was back and forth on how to treat Lucia and he wondered if it had anything to do with the stories he heard, stories of Aranck's mate that had litters and then abandoned them, pushed them away. He didn't want to believe Malleah was capable of that but he would never ask. As heartless as it may sound, they weren't his problem.

He saw that she was trying to be a good mother to Lucia and that's all that mattered to him. She was their child and she was innocent and fun loving and everything a child should be and he loved her more than he could imagine. He knew that Malleah loved her too. But he tried every time that he was alone with Malleah to show her that he loved her for more than just the gift of life she'd brought to the world for them. He loved her for HER. He wanted her to know that more than anything. She wasn't just a game piece to him, a pawn to push around on the board. No, he wanted her forever. She was his world.

When she woke in the middle of the night, he could tell something was wrong. There was something off in her eyes, a sort of grief that he didn't know how to fix or soothe. His only guess was something to do with her imprint, to have woken her from sleep like that, but he didn't even know she had one so he didn't know where to begin. She wouldn't let him in on this and kept clamping up every time he brought it up so he just stopped asking. He just gave her his shoulder to lean on if she needed and tried to comfort her all that she would allow. He remembered well that she liked her own space at times so he tried to give her that.

He was coming back from another successful hunt, two hares hanging from his jaws as he trotted back to the den. He heard Malleah and Lucia as he got closer, his ears pricking to hear what they were saying. He couldn't help but smile around the corpses when Lucia told her mother to stop being silly. She was a spirited one. Chuckling, he finally walked into the den and dropped the rabbits at his feet before going to Malleah first. He embraced her, wrapping his neck around hers as he nuzzled her and inhaled her sweet scent. He could never get enough of that. He touched his nose to her forehead in affection as he pulled back, giving her a smile before he turned to Lucia.

"And who's this Aeon boy I keep hearing so much about? Is he your new friend?"

Exodus_male_10 years_41in_195#_loved by Malleah_unable to imprint_father of Lucia_loner