The words that then came from Nina caught him a bit off guard. She'd told him of Secret Woodlands and its connection to Copper Rock Creek, but he realized as she made her offer that he'd failed to think about who the thicket pack's leader was. If Nina was to offer him a place among them, it surely meant that she was high-up enough in its ranks to have some say. He was generally a good judge when it came to others, but Nina was so kind and seemingly at peace that he wasn't sure what to make of her just yet. Either way, his instinct was clawing at him to take her up on it. What better a place for him to be than with her and those who were really not so different from him, who might even know him.



No doubt Nios wouldn't like his brother making a decision without him, but joining a pack wasn't really his intention when he'd set out in the dark from the spring only hours ago. If nothing else, he knew it would be better to ask for forgiveness than permission this time around, and Mirren was responsible enough not to ignore the ravaging ache of hunger that was tearing him apart from the inside out. When Nina reached out to give him a reassuring touch he couldn't help but to tense at first, but the warmth of her against his skin was a sensation he hadn't felt in weeks. It was soothing, and more soothing to think of her as a pack mate, leader or not. Her offer ultimately meant safety and interaction, and food, and he wasn't beyond accepting. "I'd like that, and I won't let you or your pack down. As long as Nios can stay, I pledge my loyalty to you and yours," he breathed with quiet resolution, looking over his shoulder into the shadows of night that seemed that much darker when he considered how lonely it was out there, before turning to lick her submissively and affectionately along the line of her jaw and chin.


In the morning he would find Nios or be found by him, but tonight, he was Nina's.