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For some reason I enjoy writing angst-y scenes like this. 
/ WC: 628
Slade's initial reaction to Deirdre's response was anger. How could she be asking him what had been going on? He wanted to know how she had been doing, why she had gone and changed herself... he knew that there were two ways for a canine to become a Luperci and Deirdre was not the type of wolf who jumped into fights last time he had seen her. Things may have changed but she didn't seem to be at all aggressive, not when he had seen her from behind and not now while he spoke to her. There was only one way that she could have been transformed like this... and he didn't like it. It didn't help what was going through his mind, which was already whirling at the speed of a hurricane.
How have I been? he thought. How have I been?! I'll tell you how I've been; I've been captured and used as a slave, so how do you think I've been? He fought back the urge to yell. Common sense reminded him that there was no reason to be furious. If anything, she had the right to be angry with him, for simply vanishing like that. It hadn't been his fault, but still... there had been no warning, no sign. Did she think that I abandoned her? Guilt washed over him, and all the mixed feelings that he had been trying to express were pulled back into his mind, leaving nothing but a dry mouth and a terrible feeling of shame. Slade still wasn't meeting her eyes but he managed to sputter a few words. “I-It wasn't on purpose... I didn't want to leave....”
He fell silent again. He wanted to ask her so many things and he had so much to say, but he couldn't manage anything but the simple words he had muttered up until now. What was she thinking about after the wolverine attack? What does she think about me, for vanishing like that? How does she think of me now? Does she even care to hear what I've been doing or is she just saying that because we used to be friends...? His thoughts abruptly stopped when they came to that one. No... no, she doesn't hate me, she can't hate me... not after all we'd done!
Desperation sent him above the sea of shame and he tried to look up at Deirdre's gray eyes, but as soon as he met her gaze he had to look away again. He wasn't used to looking up at her. It didn't feel right. He just wanted things to be the way they were....The words came tumbling out of his mouth like a waterfall and he couldn't stop them even if he had tried. “I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry! I shouldn't have disappeared like that, and if I could have controlled things I would have been around all these months! I just feel like my life is passing too quickly and I'm not aware of a damn thing... I've missed so much....” He faltered. I've missed my home, I've missed my pack, and I've missed seeing you, Deirdre. But I'm not saying a thing until my thoughts are straightened out.
A deep sigh escaped his mouth. Trying to gather the nerves that he didn't have, Slade looked up at the wolf and tried to lock his eyes on hers. “You don't hate me for this, do you?” He spoke quietly. It was a pathetic question after he had nearly suffered a complete breakdown and he wouldn't blame her in the least if the answer was “yes”. He just wanted to see if there was at least one thing that had stayed the same since the day he had left this life behind.