They had been gone much longer than expected. His lips were carved into a dark frown as he paced the forest, his tail curved high over his back. Reyes had shared an overwhelming amount of information with the ghost during their encounter at Edge Stone, and the pale leader was still trying to process it. He was going to get a different side of the story, he knew that, but XIX did not know what the duo would share with him. Despite the lack of relationship established between himself and Reyes, Lachesis believed everything the ebony wolf had shared. Why wouldn’t he? The scarred male had given him no reason to doubt him and in an act of word vomit, he had shared more than what Lachesis had asked for. There was no reason for him to lie—not when relations were still (sort of) good between the packs. The ghost had also come to Reyes’ aid before and delivered herbs for Jessie’s birthing; he had given Reyes no reason to distrust him.

He was fuming.

The ghost did not care that Inna had not shared the identity of Oksana’s father with him—her mother hadn’t. It was none of his business and he did not want to pry, in case the topic was sensitive. But, after Lorcán had joined the pack, and spent a considerable amount of time with both the raven and her daughter, the Baranski continued to keep his true identity a secret. Were they ever going to come forward? He thought grimly to himself, his tail lashing out behind him. If they were willing to keep that a secret for so long what else were they hiding from him? With Inna’s bold actions at the Rye border and telling Jessie how to do her job (as told by Reyes) Lachesis began to wonder if it was the throne the raven was after.

The Fields pack was important to Hearthwood. Although the Stark had been skeptical of their presence in the beginning, for he feared they would spell trouble for the established pack (and his mind had been clouded by Craw’s opinions), he was know valuing their presence. It was important for the northern packs to get along with each other. Lachesis had no desire of severing ties with their western neighbours and now he was would have to visit them and issue Jessie a proper apology. That was not Inna’s call to make. Regardless of how Reyes and Askan were acting (which the former had admitted to pestering her and apologized) it did not warrant the raven’s brash behaviour. Although he missed the little Tainn he did not worry about her being in the Fields. The little girl was grieving—she had witnessed something terrible and was no doubt scarred by the incident. As long as she was safe he did not worry that she was spending some time at Wild Rye. He knew she was in no danger with their neighbours and that she would be returned when she was ready.

His head turned as he caught scent of the two scouts. They had returned. Quickly he trotted back toward his den, his brows narrowed darkly as he dreaded the conversation that was about to happen.

He approached quietly, spotting the two wolves at the entrance of his den. He frowned as he stopped, his tail still arched high as his toes dug into the soft ground. “Tell me what you two know and I’ll tell you what I know,” he greeted, his expression level as he waited for them to explain their lengthy absence.

He was not sure if he was more mad or more disappointed in the pair. They were both highly respected members of the pack, even if Lorcán had disappeared briefly due to poor weather conditions. His intentions had been good—to seek food for the growing pack—and he had returned, even after the time that had passed. Inna had always been there for Lachesis, his right-hand (-paw), and was often the first—or second—on the scene when there were wolves at the border. She was the only Baranski child to remain in Hearthwood. Which worried the ghost, for he wondered if it fuelled her entitlement.

They looked surprised—almost fearful—once they realized that Lachesis was aware of the situation. Good. He was glad he had the upper paw, for he did not know how honest they were going to be with him.

As expected, the raven spoke up immediately, quick to apologize to the willowy leader. She made it sound like Risaela was a prisoner in Wild Rye, which he knew wasn’t true. Reyes would not have told him that she was staying with them if that was the case. If it had not been for the scarred Lachesis would have believed that was the case—that little Risaela was being held against her will. And he would have stormed over to Wild Rye himself to retrieve her, only to discover that she was there by choice. Although he would like to see her back in Hearthwood the Stark understood why she had sought refuge elsewhere. The Kingswood was tainted to her, after seeing her mother mauled by a mountain lion. It was a scene too horrific for the toddler to comprehend; therefore, the only thing she knew how to do was run and get as far away from the bloodied scene as possible. He could not scold her for her actions, even if her absence prolonged. He, too, had wanted to run.

“She is fine. And she is there by choice,” he snapped  back quickly, his eyes narrowing. “I let them know that as long as she is not burdening them she is allowed to stay there. To recover. They are not harming her. She will be returned when she is ready. Not by force,” he added with a growl, his eyes quickly turning to Lorcán. “I am comfortable with her staying there.” The pair had been sniffing around the borders of Wild Rye—obviously Jessie and her subordinates would be cautious about their presence as well as returning the little Tainn to them.

“You realize that she is your family, right? Your mother’s family.” He could only imagine how Kisla would have reacted to discovering that her daughter had lipped off her aunt. Telling her how to alpha… Inna was lucky she returned with both her ears and tail firmly attached. “I understand you are worried about Risaela but that does not warrant severing an alliance with them. Do you know how fucking hard I’ve worked at preserving a relationship with them? For you to try and throw it away—over what?! Aleksei sharing with them that your” he flicked his nose to Lorcán, his words dripping off his tongue like venom “Oksana’s father? Once you discovered Risaela was there—and safe—you should have returned immediately. So I could deal with it. Because I’m the alpha.”

As he spoke Inna shrunk closer to the ground, her tall ears flattening against the back of her skull. For a fleeting moment he felt bad for disciplining her but he knew it had to be done. He also knew that Kisla would not be okay with her actions either, for she had ensured the river wolves had a good relationship with their western neighbours as well. He knew that she was distraught about the loss of her mother as well but that did not warrant reckless behaviour in the presence of allies. Not when Risaela’s safety was at risk. The Rye wolves could refuse to allow the little Tainn to return home based on the raven’s actions.

His brows narrowed as she spoke, voice small and hushed, and he dismissed her words with a sharp lash of his tail. It was none of his business who the father was. What bothered him was that the father had been under his nose all along and the pair continued to hide it from the rest of the pack, pretending as though nothing had happened between them. Now it made sense why the raven had been sneaking out so often before the arrival of spring…

When he opened his mouth to speak the tawny healer interjected, his voice just as quiet as Inna’s had been. He frowned, his eyes narrowing as Lorcán announced that it had been the Rye wolves who had started the confrontation, which he already knew. Reyes had confirmed that he had opened his fat mouth and said some things he shouldn’t have. “So that means you have to stoop to their level? I know who started it—I know they were rude. They have since apologized and been punished for their actions. I’m sure Jessie is just as embarrassed for how they acted as I am about your reactions.” His shoulders remained raise, upper lip curled. “I trusted you both. I still do. But I expected better of you. This situation could have been handled much better. Now I have to go apologize to Jessie for what happened and assure her that the alliance has not been severed.” He growled with annoyance, his eyes flitting between the two.

He did not know what to do with them or what was a suitable punishment for them. His frown deepened, his toes curled tight into the dirt. “You two are on babysitting duty,” he announced after a lengthy pause, taking a page out of Jessie’s book. Demoting them to lowest seemed too severe, nor did he feel like they deserved it. “There’s no patrols, no border visits. Not until I say otherwise.” He sighed, his forehead still creased. He was surprised he hadn’t started losing fur yet. All this stress was weighing heavily on his shoulders, giving him an almost constant migraine. “I am not defending their actions. I do not tolerate rudeness to my subordinates. But reacting so aggressively, threatening to end an alliance, is not acceptable. You are the best two scouts Hearthwood has and I would have expected you to be more level-headed about the situation, even if emotions are high.” Another sigh. He could not help but wonder what Kisla would do if she was reprimanding them… or what the pair thought about their punishment. They did not seem like they understood why Lachesis was so angry, or that he seemed upset about the actions of both Reyes and Askan. He was not happy about how his subordinates had been treated, but he knew that Jessie had already punished them for their careless words. Now it was his turn.