Leaving Diveen had been… harder than expected. Zephyr knew he was not welcome there nor would he ever belong amongst their ranks. It was dangerous, but not for him. No, every time he entered the badlands he risked her safety. Blackthorne had proved time and time again he was not above taking that which was not his. He had done it to Zharko's old imprint. What was stopping him from doing it to Pascal? Unlike his brown-nosing brother, however, the white wolf would not stop himself from snapping. There was no love for his king and any excuse to draw blood from that dark abomination was welcome. Of course, off of this could be avoided if he could simply stay away from Diveen. But, as Fate would have it, that was impossible. Pascal needed him just as much as he needed her. Together, they held each other firmly to the ground.

The afternoon sun did little to warm up the frozen world as Zephyr trotted through the field. Last night's snow fall and completely covered the area in a blanket of pure white, allowing him to blend almost perfectly into the background. He like winter for this very reason. There was a sense of calm when you were hidden from the world. However, unlike him, there were some who seemed to stand out in the snow like a sore paw. The matte black figured that moved all alone some distance away was one of these poor creatures. He spotted her, perhaps, before she spotted him and jade eyes watched her like a hawk as he skidded to a halt.

The wind had changed directions, sending her awful scent his way. It infiltrated his nose and sent his hackles rising at once. So, she was still alive after all. Why couldn't Pine and those others finish their sloppy work? For a moment, the boy thought about leaving her to her own devises. Why should he care about her? She certainly had cared about him or his siblings at all! And suddenly the dam was broken. Emotions long thought buried emerged and suddenly he was running towards her.

There were no words, only a single, deep growl that rumbled in his chest as he moved to stand in front of her. Chest puffed out, hackles on end, tail standing high above his back, he was the very definition of aggressive. Lips parted to show fresh, white teeth that marked him as a wolf still in his youth. Come spring, Zephyr would be considered an adult though he was already at his full size, a little more with the added fluff of his winter coat. At some point in his short life, he had grown bigger than her, which only made his sinister smile widen as he licked his lips. "Hello, Mother."