Since she had been brought here, quite practically dragged by Kershov’s teeth despite her desire to face her foe and save the pups being tortured by the intruder, Nimueh had kept to herself. It was not that she was sulking – she was too prideful to be so morose. Instead, she had spent the time focusing on herself and her pups – the three that remained anyway. Nabirye was certainly not forgotten, but the dead were gone, and there was no point in focusing on that which she could not fix. And given that she had always been considered odd and had never before in her previous places of inhabitance been allowed to spend much time around the pups… it felt unique and special. Without having the responsibility of a pack, of dealing with alliances… she could just pretend that she was a mother, and nothing else. It was a small enough litter that Nimueh had thus far been able to live off of small meals and still provide them an adequate amount of nutrition, and so while she would go hunting every day to try to catch something, it was not the end all if she did not. It had been so wonderful to have no other cares… and it had also allowed her to avoid the Ice King. She was grateful to the fact that he had saved her and her pups – but he had gone about it the wrong way. Had he truly wanted the alliance between them, he could have killed her enemy… but that would not have sat right with Nimueh either. He could have given her the option… but Nimueh would have been too stubborn to follow him. In the heat of the moment she still would have gone down to face the beast… only then she would likely be dead, her pups orphaned… and only possibly adopted by their father.

How odd it was to think of Kershov as the father of her pups. She had slept with him to manipulate him, not because of any particular desire to be with him. He was attractive to be sure, in a dangerous bad boy sort of way… but really when it came to all of the brutes that she had had intimacies with, was there any other sort? Nimueh used whatever she could to her adventure, and most commonly that meant her mind and her body – and most brutes were far more interested in her body than in her mind. A pity really, considering the things she knew how to do with herbs – heal, entice, kill. Quite useful…. But apparently the titans of the world were far more interested in ’instant gratification’, their thoughts on the present instead of on the future. She had thought Kershov the same – but she had been wrong. Not only had he gone on to find out exactly who she was and were she lived, but he had discovered her pups belonged to him and had come to take them away. All of that… before that fateful night. How had he known about the brute who was going to invade her pack? Had he been an accomplice, using it as a scare tactic? Or perhaps simply did not care about the other wolves in her pack? Did he care whether Nimueh herself actually lived or died? She thought perhaps not… but their progeny – now that was something useful to him, it was his legacy, what he would leave behind in the world.

And so though she thought about spitting on him by ignoring his call, she finally decided to respond. Her pups were big enough to trot at her side, and really, were too big for her to carry without tiring given her delicate condition. Nimueh took her time, knowing she would either be the last to arrive or one of the last to arrive. A smug look planted upon her face that she barely hid as she addressed her pups. “Now you all must remember Kershov – he is the stranger who came in the middle of the night and grabbed you and carried you here. He is your father as I have told you time and time again, but he is also the alpha of this pack that we have…. Taken haven in. Whether or not your relation to him will grant you any special privileges, I do not know, so tread carefully for now my little darlings.” Koios Khur looked up to her with big, large eyes – he had wanted to be like his father for so long now, had wanted to meet him, to be his protégé, that he could not contain the excited yip that fell out of his maw.

‘Mommy he is an alpha like you? Does he like us? Can we spend time with him too?’

Nimueh chuckled and shook her head – they were so innocent and naïve.. at least they had been able to keep that during these years as opposed to what Nimueh herself had gone through. “I am no longer an alpha – our pack was stolen from us. He does not… know any of you well. So he cannot have an opinion one way or the other. You may ask him if you can spend time with him should you wish.” Koios smiled wide at her – fully intending to do exactly that – before stopping short – they had reached the pack meeting… and Nimueh raised her brows as she watched Kershov take a chunk out of himself, ramble on about sexually assaulting a female… then watched another female stand up for him… against himself… and then a female strode forward, supposedly with his pups. Nimueh started a slow laugh and tilted her head to the side.

“Is it supposed to be a rare thing to have Kershov pups? I have some too… so to me it seems rather… common place. Now as for you, child, where did you learn your healing skills?” Her eyes glanced toward Grey Wind, looking for Macaria, but then realized why she was not here – it was day time after all. “Ah, Kershov, what have you gotten yourself into now?”