“So you've finally shown up.”

Aleksei's breath felt hot in his lungs, it seared the back of his mouth. That scent—he had recognised it the moment he had arrived on the scene. To find it crossing into the territory was infuriating, it was the trigger that sent a bullet flying into Aleksei's reason, his logic, his sensibility. How Kisla had not caught it was concerning (had she simply chosen to ignore it?), but he was in a position to worry himself over such things. Ha! as if he could, even if he wanted to; anger was a blind motivator. If Kisla had forgiven this man, then Aleksei's temper was not born from her genes. He was his mother's son in many ways, but he was not his mother. He simply couldn't ignore it. The moment it clicked in his head, he was thundering through Hearthwood; for some reason, perhaps blind stupidity or arrogance, the man who had stolen Inna's innocence was now wandering through the pack, into the pack.

And, after what felt like an eternity of chasing his scent, it wasn't long before Aleksei was staring right at him.

His lip curled to flash yellowed teeth, tail curling above his back. It was a reflex to show dominance—not just because this wolf was new, but because of his crimes against the pack, against Aleksei's own family. It was a whirlwind of a realisation, and now he was looking at the second half of Inna's sin down the barrel of his gun. He felt nothing but anger and disgust, felt racked with regret that he couldn't have gotten there sooner, that he couldn't stop Kisla from even considering him.

Inna might be happy to see their newest recruit, but Aleksei was more than a little bit pissed. His anger was personal, and that made it all the more difficult to control. It engulfed him, ate at his heart, burned reason to the ground.

He spat when he spoke, voice cold yet burning hot at the same time; white embers rolling from his tongue. “Have you no shame? Not an ounce of it?” Why are you rubbing salt in the wound? Tredding this pack—this family—into the dirt? Why are you here? Why?! “Did you think it would be funny to disgrace my sister, to bring pain to my mother, only to waltz in like you have done nothing wrong?” His jaws snapped at the air as a rumble erupted from within, thunder crashing in his soul. “You vile bastard.”

The man dropped to a submissive posture. Good. That meant he at least knew where he stood. Truthfully, and it felt somewhat wrong to admit it to himself, Aleksei couldn't help but feel a shot of pride race through him, spurring him on to stand taller, to square his shoulders, to be the leader, just for one moment. This kind of power felt good, but it also felt tainted. He was abusing it for his own gain, and deep down he knew it. What would his mother think if she saw him like this? What would his father say if he were still around? Was this need for revenge, for justice, against any who did his family wrong what they wanted for him? No. No, it couldn't be, and it left the question of where did it go wrong?

But then the stranger spoke, and the River's second laughed bitterly, the ribbon of guilt he felt slipping away. The sound didn't match his snarling expression, nor his stature; it was disjointed, a sharp “ha” that cut through the noises around them. Who did this guy think he was kidding? “Do you think I'm stupid? I think you must, because you wouldn't be talking such shit if you didn't. Inna hadn't even tried to mask your scent before she came back; I couldn't miss it even if I wanted to. You say you've done nothing wrong? Don't lie to me.” It was a taunt more than anything else—Aleksei wanted him to fess up.

He paused a moment and then lowered his head, teeth exposed in a sneer as he took a single step forward. He may not know the whole truth of Inna's courtship, her weeks away from home, but there was enough evidence for him to fill in the gaps. She disappeared. She came home, reeking of a man, a stranger. And now a wolf was in Hearthwood River; a wolf that carried the scent of whoever had rubbed himself all over Aleksei's younger sister. Now, Aleksei could be hot headed, perhaps even jump to conclusions, but he wasn't a fool. “Lies fit a snake, and it doesn't look like you've got scales to me.”

“Why have you come here?”

Aleksei watched as the stranger's lips flapped on and on, his eyes narrowing at the jabbing words. Saying that Hearthwood's second, it's “heir”, had jumped to conclusions might have been the arrow that hit the bullseye, but his thick skin certainly helped to prevent any pain that he might have felt had he been any younger. It was not the words that ruffled his feathers; instead, it was the body language. He saw the flicking tail, the flash of teeth, the silent challenge (which was rewarded with a snort, a sort of warning to watch it) and found himself thoroughly unimpressed and unintimidated. Feeling a bit defensive, are we?

Put frankly, Aleksei wasn't buying any of it—as a cynic by nature, he found little promise in words, especially when the speaker already had a tarnished name. If Inna were to have simply gotten nice and cosy with this wolf in the mountains, why did she not smell of any other male on return? They had escaped the “bad weather”, so rain would not have washed away anything, and it would not have been snuffed out by a single wolf on a single night. It also ruled out Inna meeting another male on the way home, because that scent would most certainly be fresher.

But he mentioned Lachesis, and the larger male dropped his snarl, muzzle smoothing out, if only for a moment. The white medic had always been a good judge of character, and Aleksei's trust lay with him. Chartreuse eyes narrowed once more. “Lachesis is the only man left in my life who has always been there for me,” he started, “so if I find out you're lying, then you're not only lying to me; you're lying to him too, and I won't stand for it. So this is your last chance to come clean, because honesty is the only thing that will get you anywhere in Hearthwood. You're the father of Inna's children, aren't you?”

The final response was given.

The newcomer continued to deny everything.

Aleksei said nothing for a moment, though his expression did not shift from narrow-eyed suspicion. He had always trusted his gut, had faith in his instincts, and that wouldn't change now. He was certain that the agouti male before him, despite his lies and tall tales, was the father of his sister's children. He was also certain that there would come a time when the lie would fall flat and fail them; truths never stayed hidden for long. If Inna and her not quite lover wanted to keep playing their little game of kiss-and-never-tell, Aleksei would let them—they couldn't keep it up forever, and it would be both their ruin in the end.

The punishment they would receive would come crashing down twice as hard, too. How could the wolves of Kingsfall trust liars to protect and defend the territory, when they had spent months only protecting themselves?

As far as Aleksei was concerned, there was no need to plant the seed of worry in his mother, or even in Lachesis. Not yet. They were smart, surely they could figure this out themselves. Instead, he would keep his suspicions to himself, and an eye on both guilty parties. Well, guilty to him, at least. “Fine,” was all he said in response, fighting to smooth his hackles, to cover his fangs, to smother his anger (though his scowl remained). “I apologise.” But not really. Tee hee! Oh Aleksei, you little rascal! “But, you'll understand if I forbid you from getting near any of the cubs once they are born, won't you?” His brow quirked, questioning silently. He would be watching and guarding all litters closely. “You've defended your innocence, but I still can't trust you. Not yet.”

Perhaps that was simply being too petty.

“Now, I can keep calling you newcomer,” or liar, if he preferred, “forever, or you can give me your name.” A small olive branch was extended, or at least a fake one that would be yanked away the moment the truth was out with a loud ha ha, I told you so! “I am Aleksei.”