Ruger’s gaze never left Evanescence, not even as she glanced back and spoke to their son. When she looked to him again, taking a bold step forward, Ruger tossed his head and lashed out a front leg to paw aggressively at the ground. The beast in him was blood thirsty, but the loving stallion that he was kept himself from touching her. Lurching forward, he moved as if to attack the mare. But just as he was about to touch her, he pulled up just a hair short, raising up in a rear as he flung his head in a harsh shake of defiance.


As Ruger’s hooves came crashing back down on the rocky ground, his body quivered all over. The salt of the water upon his flesh beginning to mix with sweat despite the chill of the air. The stallion bobbed his head, his teeth snapping with each movement as if it was all he could do not to bite her. For any onlooker, it would seem the stallion had completely lost his mind. And perhaps he had, but there was enough of Ruger left, that he hadn’t touched her despite the beast’s display.


But then, slowly, Ruger brushed his dark nose against her roan flesh. Drinking in her perfume, his ears rose from his matted mane for the first time since her departure. He still quivered and his eyes still flashed with the violent chaos lingering in his mind, but he no longer acted as if he was about to tear her apart. Instead, he leaned into her, his eyes closing briefly. “Help me” he breathed out against her, the first plea he had made since losing himself to the darkness.