The man listened to what Nari had to say and finally moved his eyes so that he could see her from the corner of his eyes. Plenty of emotions flowed over her face, and it just reminded Ash again of how different they truly were. When he spoke of Yuka, Ash gave a subtle nod of his head, allowing the thought to stay in his mind. Yuka truly was ending up much like himself and the alpha did not like that. At the young Thorben's age, Ash had killed and become an assassin for his father, not that he would tell anyone that. But Yuka had a good support system within the pack and the Hervok hoped that it would be put to good use for the boy.

When Narimé began to speak again, Ash's head moved once again to look at her, his mossy green eyes narrowing slightly. The question was harmless but it still reminded Ash that he had obviously not tried hard enough to be what many woman needed. Sighing softly in defeat, the dark man's lips parted and his answer came quickly, "I have sired no children...but have taken many into my protection and guidance. The first was when I first joined Poison Path, Naira had disappeared and two of her children remained: Datura...and....Belladonna. I took care of them and in the end Datura left to be with his mother and Belladonna stayed, but weeks later she was no where to be found." He paused then, moving his head to look back out into the forest.

This was bringing up old memories that he had wanted to stay buried. The whole reason he had joined Poison Path and endured such pain was for Treena and even she had ended up leaving him in the long run. Breathing deeply, he continued on, "The next year, a man that Athena soon began to trust entered the pack, and by then I was alpha, because her former mate had, also, disappeared. Miss Moon ended up mating with the man, and before the children were born he left, and I was once again the one to take care of the children and watch after them. Their names were Elliot and Aphrodite...and you know the story behind that. Now, I keep an eye out for your two sons and my niece, along with little Rory now that Dziban is gone. Miss Moon needs a support system and I'm the best support she has right now. She has always trusted me with her children, and so I am once again the father head." He remained silent then, the Hervok looking out into the void. He might have been cold and hard on his pack mates, but one thing that never changed, was how loyal he was.

He watched her features carefully, which he didn't really have to do, because she displayed them to him on the tip of her heart. He almost cocked his head in amusement but remained still, not wanting to insult her character. His dark ears flickered towards her when she spoke, wanting to make sure that he knew what she was talking about. The man had not spoken to many other packs, so he didn't know how female's mates left them. He knew that Nina's first mate, Koda, had done so, but apparently he had returned, and in his wake, Nina's second mate, Hollow, had left. He felt bad for his sister, but found no other way to comfort her than to be her sibling. Sighing softly, he watched as Nari shifted closer, jarring Ash's thoughts of his answer. What was she doing? The alpha's breath hitched slightly, but he tried to remain calm, she probably just needed some comfort, a companion. She had, after all, denied herself the comfort in hopes that Sloane would return to her.

The thought made him uncomfortable, but he didn't say anything about it. He should have been the one to take care of her now, but he hadn't known her that well. He truly did get along better with her when it came to their partnership. They were much better at communicating with one another than he had been with Minka, but that was just because she let her thoughts run freely, which got on his nerves sometimes, but it needed to be done. Remembering that he needed to answer her, he cleared his throat so that he wouldn't choke on his words. Parting his jaws, he spoke, "I don't know why men are like that..but if it was me, I wouldn't leave my lover behind, because I care for her. Even in death I would still be there, watching over them from the stars." His gaze then drifted up to the sky, the only star clearly visible being the sun...silently he breathed, "Because they are always there watching over us, even when we cannot see them." Breaking himself from his trance, he looked back towards the gray woman, slightly embarrassed that she had heard the secret words that had tumbled out of his mouth.

The man remained silent, his mossy green gaze trained on the ground. He had hardly lost his mind since Athena had left the pack. Even Namara's disappearance had wounded him but he had remained sane, for the sake of what was remaining of the pack. The Hervok took a moment to remain sense of himself now that he had realized what he had done. When Nari spoke, his head and eyes lifted towards her, nodding his head in agreement. Somewhere up there, he hoped that Treena was watching over him, and happy for him. Because if she wasn't up in the stars, it meant that she had left him, knowing that he was there and knowing how deeply in love they were. She would always remain in his heart, no matter what happened, because she was his first true love. He knew he had needed to move on though and so he had, only to have his heart broken repeatedly. Often, he wondered if he should give up on love, but something within him wouldn't let him.

He watched his partner as she laid down in a comfortable position and she began to sing. The words that left her mouth were delicate and had a story of their own. She certainly had a beautiful voice, but he wouldn't let the words slip past his lips. As the woman's song faded away, so did her consciousness. And Ash stayed, his mossy green eyes watching her form, soft words escaping his mouth, knowing that she would never hear him, "I will never let another man harm you, dear one. You are under my protection now." He never left, or at least, he hadn't while she was sleeping. The Guardian remained and watched over her figure, but when she began to stir, he silently left like the Phantom he was, leaving nothing but his scent to indicate that he had stayed with her.