•••

By the time the Alpha had finished off his rabbit carcass, the rest of the pack had eaten as well and were settling down for the evening. He didn't waste time padding up to his den, the light of the setting sun peaking through the cracks in the fallen tree. Before going in however, Spyros had been sure to check in with the packs healer, his brother, to see how everyone was farring physically from early that morning. Minor tears and a broken leg with one of the hunters, but nothing too major.... They had planned well it would seem. Sending Helios off with a short nod, the male made his way to the den he called home. The moss inside had been cleared out and replaced by the yearlings, so when he lowered himself to the ground he was met with a welcoming softness.

He didn't deserve this. He didn't. And he knew that — he was well aware. Tucking his front paws under him, Spyros curled tightly into himself, pausing for a good long moment — simply staring. Blood and fangs flashed through his mind and a blend of both a deep growl and a hushed high pitched whine left his throat. He curled tighter, into what an untrained eye might think was a ball of pure fur. His tail covered his eyes as he shut them, letting out a long, deep sigh. Maybe when he awoke things would be normal again... He could dream at least.

•••

No dreams. Quite the opposite. It wasn't pleasant and after being awoken by a startled Morgana in the middle of the night, he hadn't been able to get a good sleep in. So much for peaceful dreaming. He spent his time with his thoughts, or rather trying to block them out. When it got to the point of old brotherly memories the sun was just nearly peaking through the tops of the trees outside and Spyros decided on going for an outing to get his mind cleared.

•••

He got back to camp with a mouthful of two fat rabbits he had found near grazing near the stream. Now that the sun shone higher in the sky, pack members were slowly exiting their sleeping posts. Pups were first, of course, followed by a shushing mother and annoyed elders. The rest gradually started coming out to get in their breakfasts. As for the two rabbits in the males jowls, he paced quickly to his own den to drop the slimmer on down for later before padding down the slope once more and setting his sight on the far-set cave.

Sunlight poured into the cave from the large opening on the outside. Spyros awoke the sleeping guards, snapping at them quietly for slacking off before entering the den, head high, same as his tail. His eyes narrowed when he found the sleeping form on the female curled up in the furthest corner. The scent of another rabbit carcass filled his nostrils and he let out a displeased growl, dropping the fat rabbit he had in his jaws to the floor.

"You didn't eat."

He sat back on his haunches, dark eyes narrowed as he watched her intently. He should have known she wouldn't be inclined to consume anything by the pack that had slaughtered her own not a day ago. Still. His lips curled back slightly, his claws scraping against the stone earth, making a hideous noise.

"Its not poisoned for great wolves sake."

He stood, bending his neck to retrieve the rabbit once more and heading to the abandoned carcass to pick it up at well. He slowly made his way over to the she-wolf, quietly as though not to scare her before he gently placed the prey next to her head. He turned on his paws once more and sat merely a foot or two away.

"Eat."

His suggestion came out more of a command, harsher than he had meant with a hint of a growl in between the sound.

•••

Unfortunate.

However, her reaction had not surprised the male — he wouldn't be eating willingly either from the paws of those who disturbed his peace. That being said, his forehead his crease with a mixture of disappointment and thought when she snapped at him. His gaze hovered over her stiff form as he gagged her reaction further. He wouldn't speak until her... Huff was finished. With the guards outside the cave she had every right and a further succession chance at over powering him, at least for a while. If she ended up deciding she wished to wrestle with him, he'd be forced to push back with just as much power — as well as call in backup that could end up going after the female as well. His limbs were still sore from the fighting of the previous morning so he'd rather avoid that... But he couldn't stop her from making her own decisions. And that included when she wanted to eat apparently. If she were any other captive, he might be more inclined to shove the food down their throats even more than he was already thinking about it. Or simply just decide not to feel them at all.

She was important though. The last remaining leader of the Forest Grove pack. And whether or not he'd admit it to himself and others, Red still had a small vice over a part of him. A stupid childhood crush. Jealousy that just might have also been the reason for the previous battles. The reminder made his throat tighten as if a growl was carrying on through his mind. It never came though and after holding the she-wolf's gaze for a prolonged while, he blinked. He studied her momentarily before straightening. When he spoke this time, his words were cut clean, smooth but low and rumbling.

"You will eat the food I'm being so generous as to give to you. Really, I could be leaving you without it. To starve."

His lips curled up to hint at the sharp canines beneath them, he took a step forward, tail erect and frame tought as he continued.

"You will not waste the food my pack has hunted fresh. You will eat. And I'll be staying right here until you do so."

He sat smoothly onto his back legs, dark eyes challenging as his gaze fell down to hers. His tone lowered, confidence bordering if cockiness.

"Take your time, darling. Or don't. It'll just give me more time to admire my lovely catch."

SPYROS

•••

A weight off his chest.

Thats what watching Red eat the rabbits was to Spyros. He didn't know why, and really didn't want to dig deeper into that question so he put the thought into place that he simply didn't want his reason to continue on with his territory to go to waste. To die from the simple, fixable thing called starvation... That seemed like a decent enough excuse. Right? With her wary, observant glances over at him, the male sat quietly near the entrance, facing her with an eerily still observance.

He had gotten what he wanted and he was rising from his seated position to turn and head out of the cave, when her voice stopped him in his tracks. He froze, listened closely to the silence that came after the word.

Why.

It was a loaded question and based on that interpretation the silent contemplation of what to follow it up with was understandable from the she-wolf. It didn't take a long time before she continued, similarly to how it didnt take Spyros long to discover that the answer to that question was something he wanted to act as though he didn't know the answer to. He stood silently, back facing the female, shoulders tense. He knew. He knew the answer. And he knew that he wouldn't be sharing it to her. Of all wolves. Especially not her. Not now.

But he replied anyway, though he wasn't obligated under any circumstance to answer her. He answer with a low growl, a half turn in her direction, eyes focused on a spot on the earth beneath him as he spoke.

"He got in my way."

[A little short on my end, my apologies :') ]

SPYROS

•••

Silence was his only response to her sudden outburst. She appeared calmed herself, a bit at least, deciding on the likely safer option of not prodding further. Spyros was tired and in no mood for sharing further, deeper conversation about this any longer. He was grateful for her cut off in words, though his ears had pricked higher when her tone had risen. She knew something was up. Knew he wasn't sharing everything and she knew not to dig deeper. Not yet. And that fact resulted in the males want to leave the cave quicker.

He glanced back at the she-wolf before padding further towards the entrance of the cave, close enough that he could see the warrior guards out front. Pausing briefly, he half turned once more only to make her aware of a few more — completely unrelated from their last few words — details.

" A mean will be provided to you later tonight after everyone else has eaten. You'll have the choice to walk around, guarded of course, the territory later this evening as well. To stretch your legs."

A short pause,

"I'll be visiting once more to check in later tomorrow. Be good."

His last two words held a sarcastic sort of tone to them, the faint smirk in his voice subtly evident in his tone. And he left.

•••

The rest of the males day was full of patrols, questions about the new captive via the mouths of warriors and hunters, as well as a short hunting trip before Spyros made his way back to his den. Attempting to settle his mind, trying desperately and failing many times trying to stop it from going back to her.

SPYROS

•••

"Spyros?"

The sudden feminine voice had startled the wolf out of his slumber, jumping comically to his paws, hackles raised, teeth bared, ears pinned, eyes wild. Until he saw his sister. The cream colored female had reeled back in absolute shock- horror? At her brothers outburst. They stared at each other for a good minute before the Alphas ragged breathing had calmed and he came to fully realize what the situation was. He blinked, so did Morgana as she took a hesitant step back. Spyros shook himself, shaking his head to clear his mind as well as to reassure his sibling that she needn't leave.

"You startled me."

His voice was deeper than usual, normal for him after a nap, however his tone itself was rather gravelly- as if he was on the brink of annoyance. He watched as his sister visibily swallowed, blinking out of her daze before lowering her head in a subtly submissive, apologetic manner. Spyros relaxed, shifting back onto his hauches as he nodded for her to continue.

"My sincere apologies..."

A pause, as if she were gathering her words carefully.

"Enoch has returned with few rabbits for the warriors and pups... There wasn't much game out this afternoon."

Spyros's claws dug into the mossy earth beneath him, his eyes shutting tight before opening again and nodding, releasing a small sigh.

"That's fine. See to it that the rest of the deer is distributed evenly among the others. Prioritize the injured and get some for yourself."

He stretched, yawning widely enough to show all his teeth, his back cracking slightly from pent up tension before he straightened.

"I'll be heading out on a patrol. Alone. I'll see if I can run into anything on the way. Get something for myself and bring back anything extra."

•••

The doe hadn't put up much of a fight. Most likely from the recent birth of her fawn, who lie hiding somewhere in the tall grasses around Spyros and the carcass. The male had patrolled against the borners, strengthening scent markers and even chasing off a band of coyotes while he was at it. Now, in the middle of the forest clearing he kept a keen eye out for any patches of tall grass that may be big enough to hide the newborn ungulate. He had scent marked the mothers carcass, he'd send out a patrol the next morning to drag it back to camp. But for now...

Aha.

Though the fawn lay quietly, unmoving, without scent its survival mechanisms were no use to the males advances. A bite and swift shake, a crack was all it took for Spyros to tell that the fawns life had come to a stand still. Moments went by and the wolf rose onto his paws, tongue running over his muzzle and nose, licking away the blood before yawning once more. Looking to the trees, the sun was beginning its decent.

Wait.

There was a quickly paced padding of paws to his left. His eyes narrowed. Because of the wind direction, frustratingly enough, he couldn't smell who it was. But by the placements of their movements, it was a wolf. Nobody was meant to be outside of the packs camp... So who was this?

•••

The figure was facing the stream, head down as it seemed to observe the water beneath them. Spyros's hackles raised, his eyes sharpened as he crouched low enough to the earth that his stomach brushed lightly against it as he crept forward through the tall grasses. He would continue his ascent towards the trespasser a minute of so longer until he was close enough. They weren't leaving. And they had obviously been traveling through the territory for a while. His territory. His lips pulled back into a low growl and before he had full control over what he was doing, his frame was bulldozing towards the figure, fangs at the ready as he plowed into...

His jaws had already clamped down on the scruff of the wolf's neck - teeth digging in firmly into the skin - before he realized it was her.