an alpha's disgrace -- ! [KUMA]

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This was disgraceful, embarrassing. Trapped. He was trapped. He was the strong, impervious alpha of the Vashti pack and yet some measly little tree had him pinned down like a pup. Darius let out a growl, one of many he'd unleashed since the damned thing fell on him. One flimsy little tree shouldn't have held him back like this. But, it had fallen in such a way that it had been wedged under another and he didn't have enough strength to force his way out.

It didn't help that he'd taken a nasty gash to the shoulder from other falling debris. Had he not dodged in time he would have been rendered unconscious. But this... Taken down by some stupid little tree. Darius tried once again to square his paws and pushed up with all his strength. What little space he did manage to create wasn't enough for his large body and, ultimately, he ended up collapsing under the weight and having himself a coughing fit. Ash was still thick in the air from the angry volcanos, breathing near impossible. Coupled with his other injuries, well, quite frankly the Dire male should have been thankful he was alive.

Instead he was royally pissed off.

"When I get the fuck outta here someone's got a lotta explain' to do." His gruff voice carried surprisingly well, though it probably would not reach the dens. When tremors overtook the lands he had done his best to send his pack mates running to safety. They were his responsibility, each and every one of them. It was his job to protect them, even if it cost him his life. And, should any of them lose their lives he fully believed it was all his fault. The wrath of nature was a dark demoness. But, Darius viewed himself nothing short of a god, unstoppable on all fronts. Too bad he couldn't so much as protect his family from some measly little earthquake and now he had himself trapped to boot. As soon as he made it back to his pack, someone would be feeling the extent of his wrath.

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This world was turning into a damned screwed up place. Nothing would be changing Kuma's opinion on that right now. Everything had been normal, the same way it had been for years now, not just that but generations as well. The sudden hell fire raining from the sky had been enough of an unpleasant greeting for the female, now her own orbs were fooling her once more. They had to be. For a moment the femme stood a rather unsafe distance from the lava that danced across the water, her mind fixated as it gradually hardened. 'It goes somewhere,' for a moment the female nearly wanted to go attempt to explore. However, she was not that ignorant. Lord Darius would not be pleased if she happened to wander off, especially not in such an urgent situation. 'He needs to know,' she could not shake the truth from her mind. So with an exhausted sigh, the femme turned herself back towards the pack lands and began her venture to safety.

At least the others seemed to have vacated prior to her, as her gentle run was performed alone. There was no litter of dead bodies across the terrain, some blood and matted fur - but there was no guarantee that was not her own. She was quite beaten up from the earthquakes that had shaken the world beneath her very paws. That royally pissed her off, the earth thinking it could shake her to her rump like a child. She was not a pup to be pushed around by anyone, the only ones who could boss her around were Darius and Maglor. For the most part anyway. Everyone else needed to stay out of her way, especially this stupid trembling planet garbage. Kuma was half-intrigued by the bridge, but mostly angered by her own lack of footing. Never before had the femme suffered from any sort of coordination issues.

Not only was the female angry, but she was dirty too. The rain of ash had not done wonders for her already ashen pelt, and it was no where near as soothing as water falling from the sky. It simply made her wheeze as if her lungs were about to fall inward upon themselves. "I hate you," she snarled to the sky in a tone of pure loathing. Paws risked her figure as they picked up speed, hoping not to be shaken by another tremor of the world. They remained lucky as the forest passed around her in a significantly faster pace. She had her mind set on finding the pack, that was certainly where she could find Darius. 'Maybe he will grace me with a few minutes alone, so I can explain what I saw,' the thought brought a different sort of warmth to her features. It was quickly shrugged off as a new sound hit her auds. The words certainly sounded like her alpha's. Not wasting a moment, the female rounded a corner.

"My lord!" she called out her typical summoning for the alpha out of habit, not even considering to call him by his real name. Her lips were rarely deserving of speaking it. It seemed that instantly she was at his side, using the force of her back and shoulder blades to attempt and push the tree off of the alpha's back. Not a moment's thought otherwise crossed her mind. Kuma was always protective over the other's within Vashti - especially the alpha. Nothing would be bringing him down if she could help it, and Kuma did not care what needed to be done in order to ensure his safety.

After a few moments of mutual struggling, it seemed the tree had given up. With a shuddering crack, it rolled off of the brute granting him the freedom that he so desired. Panting slightly, Kuma instantly dropped her head low between her shoulder blades. She shrunk significantly in stance, although not to the groveling point - Darius had not specifically inquired that of her. The huntress would never admit her secret adoration with being bossed around by the alpha, as long as he found her the best. Her main fear was not being seen as fit, or the best female. She could be the best piece of dirt and that would make the femme smile every night when she lay to sleep.

Orbs that matched the hell raining from above glanced over the alpha, studying his body. She not only was looking for wounds but secretly admiring his strong build and handsome features. Without speaking the femme dared herself nearer to the alpha, risking punishment but she could not resist. The wound upon his shoulder looked quite wide, certainly it would not heal right without proper care. 'Mel will be able to help - whenever we find her,' the femme's mind reeled in an attempt to care for her Alpha. Gently she began to lick the wound free of debris, giving it a careful cleaning. The taste of iron within her mouth was sweet, erotic, welcome; but the femme moved away from him once more. "I'm sorry, my lord." Her apology was directed at not being able to protect him from the falling tree.

In a way the female blamed herself for the brute being trapped, even though there was no way she was to have known. No emotions dripped from her stoic features, she merely held herself still - and slightly proud compared to most others. The events racing around them created a whirlwind of confusion within the female, the innermost part of her wished to curl up next to Darius and hide for a moment. The Dire femme would never admit to such foolishness, it would do nothing but show her weakness. She was powerful, it had been a struggle but she had managed to aid Darius in moving the tree. Even within her own mind she donated credit to the alpha rather than claiming it herself. If it was possible, the femme always gave him the opportunity to claim her accomplishments as his own. Without him, she certainly could not have done them.

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This being stuck thing was getting old fast. Unfortunately, Darius couldn't decided if he wanted someone to show their ugly face or not. On the one hand, another wolf meant he could finally get out from under this blasted tree. But if it was a pack mate? Oh no, the last thing he needed was to show this kind of weakness in front of one of his pack. He would never live it down. Which meant... Maybe some ignorant loner would wander up to him. The trespasser could help set him free. Then, in one swift move mister saivour would be dead for wandering like a fool into Vashti territory. There, problem solved. No one would be any the wiser to his unfortunate predicament.

No one except, "Kuma!" Her name was growled out between clenched teeth, disgust plain in his voice. Of all his pack that could have found him, why did it have to be Kuma? She was the last wolf he wanted to see him like this. For one thing, she was a stupid female and he didn't want to admit that she might actually be useful right now. For another, there was nothing impressive about being pinned beneath an unhappy tree. It was humiliating, shameful, and the last thing he wanted this particular bitch to think about him were such unmanly things.

Struggling against the tree again, he tried to break himself free before she could get close enough to help. Maybe if he could impress her with his strength she would forget all about the sorry state she'd just found him in. Wait... why would he want to impress her? Oh never mind. He had more important things to worry about than some stupid female's opinion. "Get this fuckin' thing offa me." It was an order he didn't really need to give, but it made him feel a little better to think she was helping because he told her too. At least that way it didn't seem like she was swooping out of nowhere to come rescue him.

Claws digging into the ravaged earth, Darius again pushed up with all his remaining strength. With Kuma's help he finally had the leverage he needed and the sound of splitting bark was like music to his ears. The tree gave way and he pulled himself free, shaking his pelt out and having a stretch now that he could finally move again. Damn was it good to out from under that blasted tree. In fact, to show his superiority over the blasted thing he took a few steps towards it and lifted a back leg, releasing a stream of hot, yellow piss onto his former prison cell. "Humph. If you tell anyone about this, Kuma, I will slit your throat myself."

Darius settled down a little after that. Relief was easing his muscles though adrenaline still dampened some of the pain. He'd all but forgotten the gash to his shoulder until Kuma's tongue decided to touch it. When had she managed to get so close to him? Now that he was no longer trapped he had been taking the time to survey the rest of nature's fury. Kuma, it seemed, had other ideas, ones that he was not quite willing to reject... There was something sensual in the way she dared to bathe his shoulder, her boldness arousing. Few femmes would have so much nerve as to touch him so tenderly. They knew better; Kuma should have known better. And yet the brute indulged in the sweet caress, hormones and the surrealness of the situation clouding his mind.

And then she pulled back, apologizing, and his brain snapped back to earth and all the frustration he'd been feeling. Dire wolves were known for their incredibly quick tempers and Darius was no exception. The world was crumbling at his paws, he didn't know if his pack was safe or even still alive and together, that god damned tree had taken his precious time, and now he'd stupidly picked the wrong moment to indulge in something he shouldn't have.

"So this is all your fault!" he practically roared, turning on her with a snarl. Green eyes flashed with with a burning disgust, paws carrying him forward, fangs bared and face in her's. "What did you do, bitch? What did you do to bring the fires of hell upon us? Stupid, useless, bitch. I should have known this was all your fault!" It was always Kuma's fault. She was an easy scapegoat, ever since they had been children. There was something about her that let her so easily get under his skin and because of that, she was his favorite target. When in doubt, blame Kuma. It was certainly easier than admitting he might genuinely like her.

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Adrenaline still flowed rapidly throughout the female's veins, her flaming orbs focusing upon the Alpha's chest. She dare not have enough pride to glare straight into such strong features; it was not her desire to challenge Darius. Her place was as a huntress, it was better than being complete dirt - although she knew that many of the other males viewed all the bitches as the same. Within her own mind it was better, she was better than the rest of them. A few panting breaths escaped her muzzle as her mind struggled to steady itself. Something about Darius calling out her name, followed by a stern order, had made a rush of warmth cascade throughout her. For a reason unknown to her, she felt exceptionally proud of rescuing the Alpha. Without her, who knew how long it would be until another canine stumbled across him? 'I could never leave him like that,' her mind throbbed lightly.

Her muscles felt energized and ready for action, the female felt youth flowing through her bones. There was something rather unexplainable going on, that was for sure. Kuma wasn't sure if she particularly liked it, not only the flaming rain but her comfort with locating Darius. She had never been one to find comfort with another's company, let alone to wish to hide herself beneath them. Her father had raised her to be strong; yet, he put the femme in her place frequently. His persistent reminders of her own worthlessness still rang out within her mind to this day. 'Why now,' for a moment her gaze grew cold and drifted from the Alpha's figurine to the terrain beneath his paws. A part of her despised the brute for the flush of comfort that she had found within his presence. There was no reason for her to crave his company, she could handle herself.

A twinge of guilt reminded the Lead Huntress just who she was. Kuma did need the males, without them what would she be? Without their guidance, intelligence and direction all of the bitches would be wandering whores. 'Darius especially,' yes the Alpha was highly valued and extremely needed among Vashti. She knew that she was not the only one who would eagerly sacrifice themself in order to save him. The thought nearly brought a smirk to her stoic features, it was shoved back into the closet next to the mutant that wished for cuddling reassurance.

The resonating dominance of the Alpha's words bit her auds sharply, "Should I not tell the others of how my Lord rescued my worthless ass from near death?" Perhaps she had screwed up by allowing herself to speak in such a way towards the alpha; however, it was her way of telling Darius that her lips were sealed. It had not really been her saving him, but he had saved her useless silhouette from near death. The strong and glorious Alpha had saved a tramp. Her head bowed low to the ground before the large brute before her, giving him more submission than she had in quite some time. Winter was now in full swing, and for the past several weeks she had been pushing herself to ensure that the entire pack had food. Especially with it being mating season, certainly Darius was attempting to bring an heir into the world. The thought nearly caused the Dire femme to snarl.

Jealousy was quite a cruel thing, but the ashy pelted huntress could not avoid it. Her entire life had been spent trying to prove all the males wrong - especially Darius. Even when she was young the brute had been picking on her. He would not get the satisfaction of her proving to be useless. Despite what all the other females may be, she was better than them. Her mind would not let anything prevent her from reaching the top; although, the femme never really knew why she was struggling to prove the Alpha wrong. It had simply been something that she had done since childhood, by now it was natural. And necessary. The thought of disappointing him drove a stake through her heart.

It may have been unwise of her to bathe his wound; yet, the action could not have been prevented. Being so near the alpha stirred her hormones, but the femme knew better than to speak anything of it. That would merely make her appear foolish, Darius had his pick of the bitches. It was like Christmas tree shopping, he could simply walk throughout the land and take whatever pleased him at the moment. Kuma secretly loathed his ability to do this, but was slightly curious as to why he had yet to procreate. The concept of family was crushed by her brain instantly; she was nearing heat. The female could feel it, but that was no reason to begin contorting her thoughts.

Silently, she was thankful at the brute's harsh words. The femme shrunk her frame slightly lower at hearing his words, she would not permit a whimper to escape her lips. Unless he was beating her, which she probably would have enjoyed, the female would not let a single complaint pass through her. "My lord," her voice was quiet, "The hell fire, it made a bridge of sorts across the sea." She dared a glance up at his features for only a moment, attempting to read the expression upon it before they retreated their sight to the ground. Her tail twitched a few times between her hind legs, the femme was nervous. "I could show you, My Lord, whatever is on the other side - it did this to us." A protective growl escaped her lips when she spoke 'us,' not only did that encompass Darius and herself, but the entire pack. The Huntress was not going to let anything harm any member of Vashti, that was evident enough to all within the pack. She had grown up to value every single one of them, although there was one that she had grown quite fond of.

The way she was persistently blamed; however, she was always overjoyed to give him credit for everything. It was a bitter sweet taste upon her tongue, a bit of a bite with a sugary aftertaste to it. Silently the femme stood more upright slightly, turning herself towards the direction of the bridge. Gaze grew distant, "I am sorry I could not stop it," the femme was ashamed of herself. Whatever had caused such terror to the lands of Tas'alea should have been stopped. If only her strength had been mighty enough to do it. 'Then Darius would have saved us all,' the thought did not disturb the femme in the slightest - that she would give the alpha such credit.

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Though he did not want to listen, Kuma's words caught his attention. Darius actually had to catch himself before he did something ridiculous like praise her for such a good idea. Yes, yes, telling the others it was her worthless ass that had needed saving and not his own would work nicely. The brute was not one to leave his pack members behind, even those he thought to be most insufferable. Besides, Kuma was his lead huntress. The fact that she was allowed to hold rank showed she held some importance in his heart, as did Melethiel and the other's he'd favored with a higher rank. They would not expect him to let Kuma die, and now he had something else to relentlessly tease her about.

A devilish smirk turned up his lips. "I suppose you're worth keeping around a little longer." Just a little. The expression in his eyes was hard to decipher. Dominant was his fiery temper always bubbling beneath the surface. But beyond that there was hunger, a hunger for her triggered by more than just the approaching mating season. Kuma was his preferred scape goat for a reason. Though he was accustomed to femmes falling at his feet, hoping for any sort of favor, Kuma had proven her use to him time and time again. The abuse she let him get away with was downright cruel, but without her to constantly make him look strong and stroke his ego he would not have half the confidence he usually held. His power over her was addicting and, though he would never dare to utter such words, she had always been his favorite.

And such favoritism was hard to surpress when she was getting away with such an intimate action. If it had been anyone else, anyone at all, there would have been physical retribution. Though Kuma would meet with unfair treatment, it was not quite for the actions she'd done that had incurred his wrath. It was for what she couldn't control. Nature was a reason to yell at her, a meager excuse to do what he should have done the moment her tongue touched his flesh. Instead Darius had indulged in the tender action and, to save face, he was grasping at straws. Straws the female seemed equally eager to have.

Darius let his temper recede as quickly as it had come. Once again the dire bitch had just proven her usefulness. She had information he needed. A low growl rumbled in his throat, dismissing the apology he did not want to hear. Right now there were more important things to attend to. "Show me." The command was gruff, simple, a demand. And as he moved forward he made sure to purposely shove into Kuma. Cruel as the action was, it was still and excuse to touch her.

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The thought of giving Darius another reason to taunt her had hardly crossed the Dire femme's mind. By now offering up her own ideas as the Alpha's was natural. It came instantaneously in her mind and for a strange reason she did not feel ill about it. Had any other canine attempted to snag her pride and glory they would have been quite miserable, as Kuma greatly disliked to share the spotlight. Any accomplishment that the femme performed was her own, unless of course she could make Darius' resonating light even brighter. There was something about the brute before her that made her weak in the knees, as well as royally pissed off at times. She would rarely expose the short-tempered side of herself in front of the Alpha, unless of course she was defending him or Vashti. A tingling sensation shivered its' way throughout her muscular figure, 'I must be tired.' Kuma tossed the emotional warmth from her mind mentally, denying its' existence in totality.

The femme turned her crania away from the brute, casting her blazing gaze away from him. It may have appeared to be her merely observing the terrain around them; however, there were deeper meanings behind it. Darius spoke of her being worth keeping around for even a little while longer, the thought nearly brought an immediate upward turn of the female's lips. 'I will not show him such weakness,' she could not resist scoffing at herself. It was foolish for her to smile, especially in front of this brute and in such a genuinely happy mannerism. The huntress was nearly enraged at herself for letting the brute's words so close to her heart, but it had happened swiftly. This was her initial reaction, the true view on how she felt - even if the female wished to deny it left and right.

Her movements were being calculated carefully as she rose in stance before the brute, enough to which she could comfortable trek back towards the bridge. "Of course my Lord," her words were soft, nearly inaudible as she carefully padded her way in front of the brute. There was a slight wag in her tail as she passed by the other Dire, enough of one that she permitted it to grace him underneath the muzzle. It was as if the femme was attempting to lure the brute into following her despite his command to be taken. Kuma had performed such an action half-willingly. She was not sure what demon had buried itself within her grey matter that had made the action seem nearly natural. It almost felt as if she had actually wanted to be close to the Alpha. The concept nearly made the female snort with laughter, but that too was hidden within her inner closet. Since birth the femme had practiced shielding away such unsightly characteristics as feminine emotion and true happiness - especially the thought of love. As far as Kuma knew, she had burned all of them into the ashes that had fallen upon the terrain beneath.

Her paws moved soundlessly as they propelled her silhouette further. The femme was thoroughly loathing the ash that was littered across not only herself but everything surrounding the two canines. Her home now looked like such a disaster and she could only imagine how unsightly she appeared to Darius - not like that mattered to her. She had found herself enjoying his company more every passing day and had noticed that her time around him had been increasing. It seemed to be a nearly subconscious decision that she would report to the brute more, allow him to claim that he had located the prey and merely sent them out. Kuma had hardly acknowledged that anything she had that Darius wanted to claim - he could. The entirety of her being secretly craved his approval, would nearly die to see that glimmer within his optics.

The femme flicked her auds a few times, ensuring that she was still aware of her surroundings enough to have not missed any speech of the Dire brute. Several minutes of silence had consumed them; however, it was not one of awkwardness. The femme felt strangely comfortable despite the lack of conversation, something that typically drove her insane. 'What realm has this flame storm brought us too,' an angered gaze averted itself to the hazy sky above. The thought of comfort merely brought about relaxation which would turn to laziness, the femme picked up her pace a bit. Her mind was forced upon the task at hand, no longer did it hold the reigns to wander on its own.

"Here it is," she bowed her head at the brute as the femme brought herself dangerously close to the newly formed bridge before stopping. A warm gaze passed across his muscular body, enjoying the way the Alpha looked. He certainly did have an air of ultimate authority about him, a rather impressive characteristic. The glance iced over as it distanced itself from the opposing canine and focused out over the smoking ocean. She would not be admitting that she was glad to have Darius beside her, there was something eerie about the bridge. Almost as if aliens or some other species was going to come rushing across and slaughter them. All but Darius anyway, he was unstoppable. The air felt as if it had dropped several degrees but Kuma realized it could just be the slight fear etching its way into her mind. 'He will protect us.'

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Darius missed her smile, though it was probably for the best. The last thing he needed was this worthless wench taking pleasure in something he said. The compliment had not been intended as such. Kuma wasn't supposed to know he'd been complimenting her. And to know that she had understood him. The brute's own gaze turned away as her's did, thoughts far too complicated for this mess. He wasn't supposed to be praising Kuma or hinting that he might generally approve of her. He had better things to do with his time. He had a pack to keep from falling apart.

And then her tail tickled his chin and he almost lost it. A heat bubbled through him that wasn't the usual rage. He had been dancing on a very fine line ever since the bitch had dared to lick his wound. And now she'd had the nerve to flaunt her backside in his face. If Kuma was trying to turn him on, it was working. Lust coursed through his veins, eyes fixated on that sweetfully sinful spot hidden just beneath her tail. It would be so easy for him to take her if he wanted to. He was the alpha and she was his bitch. It was his right to mate with her. But, it was Kuma.

It took a great deal of self-control to not shove his nose in her rear. Just staring he felt like he could practically taste her, mind wandering to what it would be like between them. Explosive, surely, as fiery as their relationship tended to be. It would be damn good that was for sure, perhaps even the best. But no. This was Kuma. Kuma was off limits for his own sanity. She did too well a job of getting under his skin without sex being thrown into the mix. Shaking his head rather forcefully, Darius pushed forward until he was walking shoulder to shoulder with her, no longer allowing himself such and enticing view. Thank god she wasn't already in heat; the more time he spent alone with her the less he would be able to control himself.

"This doesn't bode well." Now that the land bridge was in full view, it was much easier for the male to undo his tunnel vision. His eyes were pulled from the female completely as he surveyed the lands. No longer where they quite in Vashti territory though they hadn't strayed too far from the borders. Like the rest of the land, everything here was coated in sickly brown ash, the sky a choked grey in color. There was more though. From the ocean seemed to snake new land, molten brown and soft underfoot where the water had finally cooled it. Darius dared to take a few steps out, testing his weight on this strange new land and gazing out across the sea. There sat the coast of even more land, much larger than Tas'alea.

Several long minutes lapsed as he took in the land, thinking, calculating, wondering. This bridge meant many things for Vashti. It was a vast wilderness of unknown opportunity, perhaps even better pack lands. But... it could also mean invasion. If the bridge truly did link the two islands together, there was nothing in place to stop strangers from wanding into their sacred home. "We have to find the others. Round up the warriors. Vashti is to be under strict guard at all times until I can figure out where the hell we are." He turned his eyes back to Kuma, looking surprisingly weathered and showing his age. Darius was getting to old for all this nonsense. "Let's go home."

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The huntress hardly knew if her Alpha had intended to compliment her or if there was some crazed ulterior motive within his brain. Either way, she was still devoured by the warmth it had brought to her frozen soul. It did please her that Darius had not spoken of her smile, if he even noticed it. At least that would be one secret she could hold from the brute; the Dire femme had never been skilled at holding back information from Darius. Anything that he wished to know, she would tell him. The same went for any task he put her up to or claimed that she was not skilled enough for - the female was hellbent on proving she was not the same as all of the others. After all, the lead huntress position had not been passed down throughout her mother's lineage for no reason. There had been obvious reasons why they had been in charge of the pack's survival. Every canine needed to be fed after all, even the ones that Kuma absolutely wished to devour herself.

Her turmoil continued churning as the brute followed behind her for a moment prior to walking alongside her. For a moment she had wished to stop in front of him, she had nearly craved him to dominate her. His quickened pace to no longer remain behind her did send a wave of thankfulness into her marrow. At least she knew his attention was not on the same topic that hers kept drifting back to. The increased hormones were driving we absolutely wild, for him. The female had hardly even noticed that it was mating season, until this stupid brute stood so eloquently before her. Anger raged within her towards him, why did he have to do this to her? This must have been some subliminal torture method in order to remind her that he was always in control.

Eyes began narrowing upon the brute's paws as he took a few calculated steps across the still moistened bridge. It had certainly began to look more like land than when she had first stumbled across it. Kuma hardly knew how long she had stood there with her maw agape and orbs opened wide when she had discovered the new pathway. It felt as if their perfect dimension had been violated and she could do nothing to stop it. No amount of barking or growling would intimidate the flowing lava, it had made its' decision to come to Tas'Alea. Nothing would deter the aggression it had shown to further prove its point. Whatever land lay across the sea was both a new opportunity and a total threat all mushed into one troublesome issue. 'What will the others think?' the thought had hardly crossed her mind until now. If they tried to blame her then there would be issues, only Darius received such a high honor.

The femme hardly knew what to say when Darius first spoke, her head was still drowning within itself. A few pieces of ash were still whispering their way onto the ground beneath the two canines. Their world needed to recover from this disaster, nothing this severe had happened to them. If there really were gods than they were certainly displeased with someone, somewhere - most likely she had done something wrong. Kuma had adjusted to instantly accusing herself when the Alpha was present, it made her feel as if she had some sort of weird purpose. Even though at times in the past his attitude had driven her into a fit of rage. Now, she had grown wiser and older. This was her role within the pack, and she was a damn lucky bitch to have it.

"Your hunters could aid with border patrol," her head lowered slightly as she spoke to him; however, there was no quavering within her tone. "I am positive those bitches can catch smaller prey to feed the pack while they do it. It would aid in the pack's protection and food could still be available." She was not certain that the brute would be pleased to hear her words, but it was the most she could offer him. Except for herself that is, which the brute already knew she was readily accepting to be his slave. On multiple occasions the word 'master' had nearly escaped her maw. Kuma had not quite established how the brute would react to such a title or if he would make all the other females call him the same. A sting of jealousy stroked the femme, nearly causing a few hairs to erect themselves in frustration.

Darius' expression showed the stress he was experiencing, his obviously much more severe than all the pack members' combined. After all, he was the ruler of these lands and valued the protection of the pack as much as she did. The warm ray of her vision scanned over the brute once more, attempting to search out any other wounds he may have had. The tired look in his orbs made it almost impossible for Kuma to remain where she was. The desire to rush to the Alpha and comfort him was strong within her. "Thank you for sparing me," the femme knew that without Darius all of them would have certainly died. Without his guidance Vashti would be only a fragment in history, not the almighty pack that they were. He had drove them to survival even when trapped beneath a tree, the pack had been trained well. Few held such power of their family as the Dire brute, Kuma could not resist secretly admiring him. Her head cleverly disguised it as checking for wounds.

Bits of ash had settled themselves into his open shoulder once more, her optics tried to drive them out without her actually moving. As if taunting her they waited within his torn flesh, encouraging her to care for the Alpha. No one was here to see after all, none could mock her for what punishment would eventually fall upon her. It would come one day, that she was sure of. Every time this season rolled around and Darius elegantly looked past her. He had not been granted an heir yet, 'those whores weren't good enough.' The anger in her mind startled her slightly, the seasonal punishment had been endured for years now without acknowledgment. It was the ultimate punishment that neither of them realized was occurring.

Quietly she padded closer to the alpha, her nose gently nuzzling some of the ash from his gash. Tongue caressed his shoulder once more before she quickly lowered her head to the brute. "You saved us all master," he words were near silent, the affection she so longed to project still sheltered itself. Even in such a traumatic situation the female could not break herself enough to show her worry and concern. Whatever else this nonsense was would be ignored. It was as worthless as herself and need not be shared.

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Him do this to her? What about what she was doing to him? He was the alpha, damnit! He was supposed to be above such irrational, base urges. He had a good, strong head on his shoulders and for years had been able to keep himself from jumping every half-rate bitch that went into heat. When he allowed himself to indulge in mating it was because he was trying to sire an heir, not because some stupid female had his hormones spiraling out of control. He was always in control. Except when he was around Kuma. She always put his mind at war with his instincts.

At least her words were enough to pull him away from his lustier thoughts for now. In fact, her suggestion was downright enraging. Darius could feel his temper building again, frustrated growl seeping out between clenched teeth. Let the hunters do border patrols his ass. "That's provided I have any hunters left! Why don't you think before speakin' for once, idiot? I don't have time to listen to every idiotic idea that comes outta your worthless mouth!"

The accusation actually showed quite a bit more about his character than his words let on. Darius was worried, extremely worried, about the wellbeing of his pack mates. Sure he had his favorites and the ones he absolutely couldn't stand, but they were his family. They were the wolves he would protect with his life. And, every fallen body, female or not, would count as a death by his own paws. He was the alpha. He should have protected them. He should have been able to keep them alive. But now... now he wasn't so sure how many of his pack were still alive, let alone if he would have enough to put together a hunting party or a proper border patrol. Before he started giving out orders he needed to know who was okay. The brute wasn't even sure he still had a fully trained medic.

He heaved another sigh, the anger and frustration coming in waves. Mostly it was stress. The stress of being faced with a situation his pack had never seen the likes of before. Enemies were one thing. He could fight other predators, defeat other predators, protect his pack from sentient, physical beings. But nature... How do you fight an uncontrollable force? The death count would be like nothing he could have imagined. Broken hearts would abound. And, he didn't know how he was supposed to deal with any of it. He wasn't a shrink well versed in the department of feelings. Whatever state of mind his pack was in, overcoming that would be hardest of all. Darius wasn't sure he knew how to help.

Kuma's thanks went ignored. It was a stupid thing to thank someone for but he didn't have the heart to reprimand her now. It hadn't been his choice who got to live or die; the corpses had been chosen randomly. Had he been able to spare anyone, he would have saved them all. And for this bitch to have the nerve to insinuate that he willingly let anyone in his pack die? The brute growled, the sound long, drawn out, frustrated. At this point he didn't know who to be angry with anymore: nature, Kuma, himself.

The rumble didn't drop until she was touching him again. This time Darius let himself indulge, if only for a minute. His head lowered as he pressed his face against her neck, enjoying the comfort he so rarely indulged in. Though alpha, he was not the emotionless robot (with an awful temper) he tried to present himself as. His heart felt the full spectrum and his body craved the simple pleasures of normal wolves. Physical contact was one of them. And in this moment, it was not the alpha and his worthless lead huntress. It was a brute and a femme, pack mates who deep down did love each other dearly. They were family. It wasn't often that Darius let himself feel his age but right now he did. And when finally he did pull away, the alpha mask was back in place, not a word about what had just transpired passing through his lips as he turned to head towards the dens. "Keep up, Kuma. I'm not waitin' for your pathetic ass."

[Deleted]

Pain began to nip at her legs with functioning nerve endings, not like the others knew of her everlasting wound. That hunting accident so long ago had been enough of an embarrassment, let alone if Darius should know of her nerve damage. It would simply give the Alpha more reason to doubt her. The other limbs were rather tender, growing more so by the second, apparently she had suffered from some injury. 'Probably stumbled over my own worthless paws,' red glare was cast upon the muddy feet. Her adrenaline rush must have got the best of her. The huntress prayed to whatever gods existed that these were temporary wounds. If they ended up prolonging their stay within her joints then hunting would be quite difficult. Now the pack would need her skills more than ever, muscles tightened at the thought.

She lowered her stance once more at the brute's harsh words, it was a good point though. Neither of them had stumbled across any of the hunters, or anyone else for that matter, was that not certainly something to worry about. 'I hope we aren't the only ones,' the thought made her figure tense even more. Vashti would be completely disabled, crippled for a seeming eternity. Darius was more than capable of rebuilding a pack, but Kuma did not know if she would be included in it or not. With his evident distaste for her, it was rather likely that he would shoo her off. The thought of him killing her crossed the femme's mind for a moment before it fled. 'He may be cruel, but he loves his family - even the fuck ups in it,' optics rolled sarcastically at her own thought as she silently began to follow the alpha. One day he would realize she did have worth.

The brute's growl rapidly seemed to stop as he enjoyed her touch. A warm sensation flooded within Kuma's veins as he pressed himself against her for a moment. A foreign fluttery feeling found itself within her; yet, she knew that this could never be. Darius would never pick her, 'I'm going crazy, I must be dreaming this.' By now the brute had already picked over the females he preferred, she had been overlooked every time. Even as a pup she had worked her tail off to show the brute how beneficial she could be; however, he had always been blinded to it. Another female would stand within the light whilst her pale ashy pelt faded into the background. Often, Kuma had found herself rather frustrated - but she would show him! The Alpha would see her use one day, she hoped.

His gait certainly did ease the mind, warm optics focused upon the brute as he headed back towards the dens. It was best for him to attempt to assemble the pack, to see if there were any survivors. 'Mel,' the other female's name nearly stung the Dire canine. The shaman was essentially Kuma's singular friend. They were the only two femmes with a rank, it was somewhat natural that they would be fairly close. For a moment the female nearly fainted at the thought of her friend's death, but she pressed forward. There was no proof that any of them had died, most likely they were all hiding upon the SS Rilon - where they belonged.

OoC| This sucks, but it was the best ending post I could do >>