He'd been brooding. A lot. He was still quite frustrated, not to mention a little shaken and confused. Knowing that, once again, a younger sister had jeopardised her place in the pack for the sake of a bit of fun was exasperating. He'd said his piece to Inna, of course, but he couldn't shake the bristling that would come when his brain gently prodded him and reminded him that, hey, your sister mucked up real bad. She might be happy to be carrying some male's spawn, but Aleksei … well, he certainly wanted to find the nasty vermin who had defiled his sibling so carelessly, so disrespectfully.
Idiots, both of them.

In a desperate attempt to distract himself from the constant self-goading, the Baranski took to the borders daily. He marked them well, made sure to reinforce that there was more than one male here, and this one was certainly territorial—they wouldn't be able to identify the scent as belonging to a subordinate, and that, in Aleksei's eyes, meant they'd be less keen on sniffing after his sisters lest they incur some leader's wrath.

Chattering caught his attention, and he lifted his head with ears perked; two voices, one vaguely familiar. He pursed his lips and racked his brains (who did that voice belong to?) before giving an exasperated huff, deciding he'd most likely recognise them by scent or sight. Trotting forward, it wasn't long before he spotted two dark furred males making their way towards the border. “'Lo there,” he greeted, coming forward so that he could meet them head on. His tail curled instinctively over his back as he slowed, though he remained neutral in tone—they seemed to be friendly. “What business do you have with Hearthwood River? Uh, wait.” Chartreuse eyes settled on the smaller of the two.

A name sprang to mind. He tested it, cautiously. “I remember you—Askan, wasn't it?” If it was him, Aleksei felt a pang of guilt at not being able to place face to voice immediately.

Thank God he'd been right! Relief swept through the River male, and a genuine smile crept onto his features. It was always nice to see a friendly face from beyond the borders. At the time of their first meeting, He had felt a prickle of irritation at Askan's choice of words, but, with the gift of hindsight, it was plain to see that the Rye wolf was doing his best to comfort an obviously upset Aleksei—were the roles reversed, it would most likely have played out exactly the same; awkward there theres and metaphorical pats on the back with good intentions but shitty delivery.

Aleksei gave a nod at the news, brows furrowing slightly—he had no clue as to who Percy was (no doubt thanks to his little crusade), but the fact that there was a wolf out there attacking other wolves was enough to cause concerned to settle in his gut. At the very least he could be relieved that the victim was safe, and perhaps a tad envious that Askan had found his missing person. “I'll be sure to pass the message on—glad she's been found.” Wish I had your god given luck. “And I'll keep an eye out for any suspicious sorts. Do you have any details about her attacker?” Snapping his jaws and charging at every shifty bastard he came across probably wouldn't be the best line of action.

Aleksei couldn't help but feel himself stiffen as Askan asked how things were with him, but he was thankfully given no chance to reply immediately as the Rye wolf introduced his companion and … and Aleksei found himself at a loss over the words that left Reyes' mouth. What kind of nonsense was that? Was … was he mocking him? Why the hell would he do that? Well, en-ta-da de blah-blah right back at him then!

Despite the fact that his nose had been very much put out of joint, Aleksei forced up a charming smile of his own in response. “Reyes,” he said, committing the gibberish speaking wolf's name to memory (like he'd be able to forget someone who'd given him that kind of surprise), “nice to meet you. Name's Aleksei. And things haven't been great in Hearthwood, Askan.” His gaze settled back on his acquaintance with a slight frown. “A stranger has helped my sister break pack law, and that's something I don't particularly want to let go unpunished.” The implication behind those words was very much I want to kick his arse. “Would either of you happen to know a male that's mentioned being in the company of Inna Baranski?”

Aleksei frowned as he listened, nodding his head once with a thoughtful “hm”. Of course, he hadn't meant to come across as accusing either of the swarthy men before him. Were he to recognise either of their scents as the one that clung to his sister there wouldn't have been a chance to exchange pleasantries. “I didn't think for a moment it could have been you.” Askan wasn't the type to do that, or so Aleksei liked to believe, and surely the man kept company with wolves of similar morals. 

Thankfully, the Rye Field's second was able to give reassurance than none of his fellow pack mates were the perpetrators of Inna's defiling. So, that took one pack out of the equation, and it left only the males of Whitestone Monadnock and White Fir Notch as suspects. Of course it could have been a loner, but targeting Hearthwood's neighbours first seemed like the logical thing to do. He need only visit their borders, after all. A wolf's scent did not change drastically—at least, not a male's.

“She hasn't given a name, no. Thankfully, I won't need one to track the bastard—she reeked of him, and I don't think I'll soon forget that kind of surprise.” Aleksei's nose almost wrinkled at the memory (walking into a wall of man stink had not been fun), and all he could do to prevent it from creasing his muzzle into a silent growl was give a sharp, frustrated huff and a shake of his pelt. This whole situation was growing rapidly out of hand, and Aleksei wasn't happy in the slightest. Every day without action could risk losing his only lead—a smell.

He had a plan though, one he couldn't see failing or turning up a dead end. Inna had come home from the north—that much was obvious. All it would take would be to catch her scent, follow it, and hope that it would lead him to his quarry.

After that, things got a little hazy in his mind.

“Whoever he is, he's not going to get away with it. He'll pay—sins like Inna's don't come in halves.” His brows knitted, a scowl marring his face. Aleksei was far from a saint, but a man who mated with a woman and left her to take the brunt of her idiocy alone was no man at all, just a liability. A lazy coward who lived to satiate his own needs and not take his part of the responsibility of forming new life. It was despicable.