SSWM - 813
She had been warned, told to stick to home and stay away from Inferni and Dahlia de Mai. Anu had already been avoiding the flower pack, jumpy at the scent of a pack member lingering in the air. Alexey had even startled her, though her nature was as calm and soft as her own. They weren’t safe, far from it. Haku could swallow up Inferni if such a thing was fate, and then he would not stop. How the Dahlian alpha had kept him reigned in before was unknown to Anu, or perhaps the madness had now just come to a head and in the past he had been under some sort of control. If she came to realize that it was silence that kept his murderous ways unchecked then Anu would have come forth long ago. Tales untold, hidden behind lies. She had been frightened, ashamed even that she had fought Haku and hardly won her life and the life of Colibri. Her silence had led to this, even in its small insignificant way she was part of all of it. “Everyone needs know.” Anu concluded in a soft whisper, not looking at the Commander. The pack would need to be called, though it was an obvious thought that she was certain Savina had come to. Everyone would need to know, though did they need to know Colibri’s secret?
Anu nodded at the sound of Alexey’s name in Savina’s voice. She was glad as well, for it made clear that perhaps the entire pack had neither been smothered by the monster’s wrath. As the black furred woman spoke of Inferni Anu looked to her again. Yes, some were just as hostile as Haku was, but she could not believe that they were as monstrous in their intensions for domination. Savina spoke of Gabriel, though it seemed as if she knew one of his followers.
“He does. I know Gabriel,” She spoke. It would be a lie to say that she knew him well but,
“I trust him.” was as honest as Anu was gray. If he broke that trust, went against her core belief that he was more then what he even thought of himself, with memories of past blood shed hounding his conscious, she would not know how she could face Savina. But thoughts did not weigh on her mind, moving right to the idea that the war might bring wolves and coyotes seeking refuge.
She could do nothing but agree. Both packs held creatures that wanted nothing more then to live without the casualties of war. It warmed her heart to know that Savina wanted to bring anyone, no matter their alliance, into their home. It would be hard to turn any beast away, knowing that what they sought could be found among their members and under their roof. And Anu was sure that she couldn’t. But it was when Savina turned her gaze from her face that made Anu the most insecure. Guilt seeped into her heart, bleeding uncontrollably with the pain that Haku had brought her, the anger that he sparked inside her chest, the sadness that she delivered to her good friend and most horribly the anguish that Colibri had faced.
Where Savina could not look to her, Anu watched her face painfully. Her words made the silver tinted female’s ears fall to her head. Knowing whether or not she was needed among her pack mates was not a constant concern for the female. She understood that she was needed, she knew that Savina looked to her for support. The older woman hated feeling that she had disappointed her, and in a way she had been reckless in her emotions. Should she have come to her for help? But then everything would have been exposed and Anu could not be sure that she would have been able to make it in time to pull Coli out of the jaws of her father. All had happened the way it did, they could only be thankful that each were alive.
“I’m sorry.” She spoke with a sincerity that Anu could not fake. Green eyes returned to her face, far too intense with her feelings so close to their surface that Anu could barely keep her gaze on Savina’s face. In a way the Lt. General had weakened their defenses. In the fire that war could become Anu had turned their pack into tinder, dry as a bone and simply asking to be light flame. She had done that, and what was she to say in her own defense? Instead she nodded, thankful that Colibri could stay and that they both would not be kicked from the pack’s lands because of the risk that they brought. A lesser leader would have taken the loss and felt it in the best interest of the rest, but Savina’s heart was too large.