Of course he was discovered. He had made no attempts to cover his scent or enter the pack while they all slept. That had not been his goal. He was here to see this queen and all her raw fury for himself. She, on the other hand, was good at sneaking and had been following him almost as soon as he had entered her domain. The wind had carried her scent away from him, allowing him to carry on in blissful unawareness for quite some time. She came upon him like a snake, slithering around him silently to stand before him in all her massive glory.

Halcyon couldn't help but let his ears fall as she towered over him. Thanks to his father and the fact he was born the runt of the litter, the russet wolf had never been blessed with size. He had to actually tilt his head up just to see her eyes! He would have laughed had the situation not been so dire. Her stance was clearly aggressive though she did not try to dominate him in the usual alpha fashion, and there was no doubt in his mind this wasn't the queen of Asteraia. His memory of her was faded, but he recognized her unique colors. She had taken him by surprise and he had momentarily forgotten himself as he gawked. Then, he managed to regain his composure as she began to speak.

'An interesting greeting,' he thought. Though he said, "We all have to die someday. Should my day be today, well, I guess we'll have to wait and see." His smile never reached his eyes. The tension only seemed to escalate as the queen exposed her teeth, the last of the sun's light glinting off their tarnished surface. Again, she spoke. A demand and then a threat. It was then a thought occurred to the male as he happened to gaze down at her belly (not that it was hard seeing as he was eye level with her underside). Her teats were swollen with milk, signs that she was a new mother. Perhaps he had miscalculated his timing. If being with Aster had taught him anything, it was to never piss off a new mom.

"I'm not here to threaten you or your pups, your highness. I am no longer seeking the throne of my father before me. I am merely here to observe. Times are changing and it would seem the peaceful days are coming to an end. I am a loner travelling to see which alphas lay on which side of the feud that is ever growing." He knew his words would do little to ease her, but perhaps they would prevent her from ripping his throat out for just a minute longer. He chose his next words carefully, knowing that they could very well they could put him at risk. "Surely you know of Blackthorne and the havoc his wolves have been causing upon the land. Tell me, what is your opinion of him? Should he take his wolves to battle, do you choose to follow him or face him?"

While he already had a feeling where her loyalties lay, he wanted to hear it from her. He wanted her to condemn herself. Aster had already shared some information with him, but her opinions could be… clouded by her emotions. Halcyon was here to pass his own judgement. To see with his own eyes who the pharaoh of Asteraia really was.