Dead Empress Backwater i thought you'd always be mine

This is for Clover only.

Your toxic I'm slipping under

With a taste of your lips, I'm on a ride

Vayko had dwelled on it, attempting to hide all that had continued to bother him… years of crimes that had built up against him. He knew he should not have come back… even with the brief but temporary relief that Clover and their children had provided, he should not have come back. She was a siren’s call, meant to lure him and subdue him so the others could lash out and sink their teeth into him some more. It angered him… being such a joke, and such a disgrace.

The scent of Vana across the border set him over the edge, making it clear to him that one only had to pay for their perceived crimes if one was named Vayko… Vasco had not had to pay for attempting to murder him…Vanadis likely would not have to pay any crime because she was meant to be Viorel’s love.

He wanted to think Clover was better than the rest of them… sweet Clover, with pristine white fur that showcased how she was a light in the dark.

And yet… she had been a leader too… and Vasco had remained. Vasco, who had attempted to kill her mate.

If it had been him, his throat would have been removed and the entire pack would have known why.

It pushed his thoughts over the edge, a distant and angered venom in his eyes as he began to make his way towards the border unceremoniously, all signs of him scrubbed as best as he could from the pack den. Let them continue to spit on him, his name… he’d prove them wrong. He’d prove his greatness, his glory, elsewhere…

As soon as she realised Vanadis had returned to them Clover sought out Vayko. She wanted to give the other woman some time to breathe and readjust before bombarding her with yet another presence, as she was sure others would be asking her all sorts of questions. They would have plenty of time to reconnect, and for now she wanted to seek out her mate and rejoice together.

She crossed his scent near the border, picking up the pace with a bright smile on her face as she changed course. Her tail wagged happily behind her when she laid eyes upon his tawny pelt, waiting until she moved within reasonable earshot before calling out to him. "Did you hear the good news? Vanadis is back!" He hadn't failed and gotten her killed as he believed himself to have, which Clover had never agreed with in the first place. But now everyone had undeniable proof that he ahd at least {i}tried[i/] to keep her safe, which was all that mattered to Clover.

Your toxic I'm slipping under

With a taste of your lips, I'm on a ride

Clover spoke, finding him and seemingly happy and yet… he could not feel her joy. He could not understand how she could be like all of the others… how she could so easily welcome her back. A very small, logical part of his mind reminded him that she did not whisper about him when he first returned like everyone else did… but that part was vastly overweighed by the paranoia… by the anger that burned deep in his soul, causing his nose to twitch in immediate irritation.

“Yeah. I heard.” His tone fell flat. His words had a sharpness to them despite it all. “So now everyone can welcome her back like a hero, and they can continue to plot my death.” In the coming weeks, he had become more and more convinced that his cousin had been in cahoots with Vasco, and that it had all been intentional. That he had tried to murder him to rid him of him. Perhaps he wanted Clover… now with Vana back, perhaps he will want them both again.

There was a distant anger in his eyes that bordered on the eyes of a crazed man as he said it, and it would be undeniable to Clover that something was wrong.