For the majority of the way home, Wraith was stonily silent. His fury radiated off him in waves while he considered his options. In truth, it didn't sit well with him the ultimatum he was given. As leaders, the decision on Mittani's punishment should have been his and Piety's to make, not @Lachesis. And the pair of them very well would have come to the same conclusion on their own; that Mittani was unfit to remain in the pack. He would have hoped for the Hearthwood Alpha to extend the same benefit of the doubt to them that he would have for his own packmates and trust him to handle it without the need for forcing his claws.

"He cannot stay," Wraith finally rumbled to Piety as the Monadnock came up. Though he looked to his mate to affirm that she agreed, he refused to allow the disintegration of an ally bond due to some idiot's actions. And he would make damn well sure that it would never happen again. An example would be made of the haughty Morelli. Wraith knew already he was unsuited for his Second, but out of respect, he had not made an issue of it. With this done, Roosemooth would ascend as Second and sit in the proper position within the pack.

Without preamble, Wraith scaled the Monadnock with sure paws and bellowed out a demand for his Second to come now. The volume of his call was loud enough that it left the Kael man wondering if even it could be heard in Hearthwood River. "Morelli!" Wraith's sides heaved with barely restrained rage as he waited. It was a wonder he didn't have smoke and fire billowing from past his teeth while he seethed.

Wraith had never placed much stock in angels. His mother had regaled tales to him and his siblings as pups about great winged creatures from the heavens that carried out divine will of the gods, whomever they may be. If his mother could see him now, she would liken Wraith to one of the Fallen; broken winged and black as night with eyes burning with hellfire. The black male's tail was lifted straight up in the air, a position it never reached before since it was as rare for Wraith to pull rank as it was for a fish to fly.

He was not fooled by the pitiful attempt to play meek. It wasn't in the Morelli to act submissive. Wraith had seen that from Day 1. He wouldn't cow down to Craw and Wraith had never given him reason to do it before. For all Mittani knew, it was just smoke without the fire. But today, he would learn. The Kael wolf was benevolent, but his wrath was vicious and long reaching for those who had betrayed his trust.

So Wraith ignored this game Mittani played. The role of submissive, poor, pitiful Mittani only served to enrage the male further. He was sick of games, and surely the white male had thought it a game when he attacked their allies. Without a warning, the black brute charged forward and grabbed the Morelli man by the back of his neck and forcibly tossed him onto the ground with a strength that matched his intimidating size.

The Whitestone leader dipped his face down close to Mittani's where his hot breath ruffled the man's fur. "Don't," he warned with sudden deadly calm, "Pretend like you are innocent." And so ended the calm portion of his tirade. "What possessed your idiotic bastard of a self to attack our ally?! And a pregnant one at that?! You're lucky I don't let Lachesis up here himself to tear you into shreds for not only attacking his mate, but threatening the livelihood of his children!" Wraith snapped out at his Second's muzzle, teeth digging in sharply as he partially dragged the wolf a few inches along the ground by it before letting go to snarl at him again.

"If that was Piety? You'd be dead, Mittani. Dead! I'd fucking toss you off this goddamn Monadnock before you could fucking blink! Whatever games you've been playing since Craw left? They are over."

Any argument Wraith had for the number of reasons why Mittani's excuses were complete and utter bullshit died on his lips the very moment the Morelli man threatened his mate. Grateful, he should be, hm? Grateful. The black behemoth straightened and stared down at the male with ice as the fire died away. It was the stare of one looking death in the face.

As if he was watching it from the body of another like Roosemooth—he'd spotted his advisor arrive out of the corner of his eye—Wraith saw himself bend down with impossible speed and grab the white male around the throat. He could hear him yelping and screaming as he dragged him with exaggerated slowness towards the edge of the Monadnock and took great pleasure in the way the male's claws scrambled for purchase along stone without success. And Wraith saw himself turn his head back just enough to throw Mittani's body airborne without any hope of clawing at the sides of the cliff face for salvation. For one like Mittani, one who would threaten the very beat of his heart and the lives she carried, he deserved none.

But Wraith also saw the male's broken body at the bottom of the Monadnock. And he saw the uncomfortable fear in his packmate's eyes for knowing what he'd done. And he saw Piety looking at him with pity and a secret look that wondered if he'd gone too far.

It was this vision, this premonition, which stayed the male's jaws. When he reached down to grab Mittani's neck, it was only to slam him down against hard stone once more in a final act. Panting hard with the difficulty of his restraint, Wraith glared down at the dishonorable piece of filth at his paws. Exile was not nearly enough for the injustices. But it was best the brute not compromise himself by becoming an executioner. That would have been something Craw would have done in his stead. As much as he loved his brother, he would not become him.

Gone was the usual warmth of the Whitestone Alpha's voice. His tone was more frigid than the snowy lowlands around them. "Get. Out."