His tone might have actually been too harsh on his tongue, but it was, nevertheless, appropriate. Never mind for now that El had chosen to . Someone had come to Willow Ridge not long ago - Rook - asking for help. He was a Cut Rock River wolf, she divulged (which made the fur along his spine stand up on end), but why he had come was news to the estranged Lyall. The immediate mention of Jaysysek made his heart drop. Obviously, something had happened, but why had the enemy in the north-west picked up on her name? Had she attempted to return to Grizzly Hollow? Was she alone and why had she gone back to the Cedarwood? If she had, what was going on with her family - the nephews he had escorted to the north, the daughters she had taken with her in following his trail... Borden, whom he had last known to be traveling to the east in search of Taima?
Speaking of his brother, his name came next to tumble from her tongue. Borden was the one who had needed aid. Angier's heart had fallen into the pit of his stomach; and, he noticed now just how carefully Elettra was unfolding the scenario before him. His time in Renegades Reach had been short - a few days at most - and Rook and his sister Bishop had been born long after his departure. By the time they had come to draw their first breaths, their uncle Angier was already making his way up Willow Ridge's ranks. This "Rook" fellow and why and how the Attaya sisters had come to trust him enough to follow him was a matter that could be discovered later; at the moment, the most pressing concern was his step-son who had apparently lured them all - his age-mates, his mother, him, and whoever else within the pack... - into some sort of sordid game. His use of rather possessive terms in the mentioning of Quil and Cinder, he knew was an internal cry for attention and a need to establish himself as someone powerful. Long ago, he, too, had used such vocabulary. Everything that Angier Lyall, the little second-born lord of Bertram Valley, had spoken of until his first birthday was in the expression of me, my, mine, and the usually aggressive not yours. Like Sköll, he had wits and the size but not enough brawn; and, where Angier had purely lacked the initiative to overtake his brother, Sköll lacked the mindset that regarded the formalities of his mother's reign.
Had Angier not heard of what Sköll had done to the unfortunate leader who was presumed to have taken Deacon away, he would have been surprised to hear such words: screaming at Elettra to kill another... No; these days it was absolutely predictable.
The low thundering in his chest and throat had subsided into a silence that hinted at the clarity he was experiencing then and there. Now he had to choose where he stood, make sense of it all, and somehow help his mate through the bewilderment of it all. The frown that had settled on his face did not let up. "He was jus' doing his job, El'," he murmured, one of his large ears swiveling to the side. "Sköll acts on 'is instincts an' wits. We both know this." His head whipped to the left as his attention was drawn over his shoulder, staring blindly into the fog-covered night. It seemed a breeze was making its way along the forest floor, yet the boughs above and around them did not rustle and dance in sync. His eyes darted from shadow the shadow, falling first on all the darkest places between the trees. Then, with turning back to his beloved, he drew closer to where she sat, standing to face her so that their temples touched and his nose and lips were nestled at the base of her ear. From a distance it would seem that they were merely embracing one another. He would not let danger come to him if it chose to rear its dark and ugly head. Never... so long as he was with Elettra, at her side, he would see her that she felt safe and secure and without worry.
"I will admit it now," he whispered, his words merely formed by moving air than vibrating vocal chords. "When we sent Sköll out in search of Deacon, I told 'im to do whatever was necessary to bring 'is brother back. I've encouraged this; he needed th'direction an' guidance an' I gave it to 'im. He found power within that simple instruction an' it's escalated into this. But, 'e knows about Cut Rock River, he knows what it takes to protect what is his - his fam'ly or otherwise. He felt he had to take out that other Leader to eliminate th' problem of missing cubs, so 'e did it. He prob'ly wanted Cinder an' Quil fer his own, a future mate. To him, they were of value, regardless whether they liked 'im or not... an' ya let them go."
"I've been where Sköll presently is in 'is adolescence. It's dark where 'e is an' he's covered 'imself with many masks, layers... he's put up walls, hidden his true sense of self deep within him where poss'bly no one can reach. This is what makes him so pow'rful," Angier's chin had begun to quiver and he had to take a moment to piece together his next sentence, "The sooner we apprehend 'im th'better, 'fore someone gets hurt again or killed."
Again, that soft crunch of dried grass underfoot made Angier turn his head, he moved to press his shoulder to Elettra's shoulder blade as he stood at her back, the adrenaline spiking through his veins. He circled around her once more then breathed into her other ear, "Listen: in order to get 'im, we will 'ave to play 'is game then ambush him when 'e believes he's won. He's testing us, that's it, nothin' else."
He caressed his nose to her cheek, "I know you wouldn't help Borden; but, I know ya would've helped Jaysyek if ya could. Whatever bus'ness this... Rook 'as with Cut Rock River is none of our bus'ness though. He'll 'ave to watch 'is back an' play along too if 'e wants to survive. We'll need to keep an eye on ev'ryone an' make them aware of what's 'appened; have 'em avoid Sköll at all costs. Maybe Renier was right in 'is instincts to help Quil interrupt 'im."
Sex: Male
