She hadn’t felt this sort of warmth since the last time they had met... and just like last time, he offered help. But what was she to do? Ash would thwart any attempt to challenge up - even though the female ranks were none of his damn concern, and Athena had blatantly told her to make sure it didn’t happen again... but she would make sure it did. On very different terms. One day - they would clash. It was long overdue.

"I’m going to build another pack." There was no question in her voice. It was a certainty. She would make it happen. "I will get my children back..." her voice trailed off, gaining a much colder tone as a small twisted smile crossed her face, "and I will watch Poison Path fall." She was not the wolf she had been, she held no secret love for the wolves of the Lake any longer - no. All that was left was a twisted desire to see them suffer, as she had suffered, and to watch the remnants of what had once been a promising pack crawl past her on their bellies like the dogs that they were.

Her demeanor softened again to have such dark thoughts out in the open. It was only a matter of time. Whether she found Rhysis or not, she would find a male to lead at her side. She would be far more discerning about who joined her ranks this time, and any who showed her the slightest hint of disrespect would be thrown out on their arses. There would be no room for insubordination or treachery. She would take a leaf from her grandmother’s book. Being kind got you nowhere but dead. In this world, this life - it was survival of the fittest, and she was not about to roll over for one as self absorbed, and wrapped in her own depression as Athena Everfall.