06-15-2009, 05:10 PM
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Her icy tone pushed the last of his hope at rebuilding with her down to the pit of his stomach. He knew she probably had some horrible picture painted of him in her mind, and the gods knew he probably deserved the karma being lumped back on him. Her callous statement need not have been said; Drey knew well that no pack took kindly to deserters. Then again, it also told the male that Alexey was keeping this a pack ordeal, and had no desire to discuss the two of them personally. It tore at him that she was being this cold, but what the hell could he do about it?[/html]
As he replied, he tried to keep the ice out of his own tone. He'd come back, hadn't he? The least she could do was hear him out before making a judgement. "Deserters rarely come back, am I right? I'm here, and I'm not simply assuming I'd be let back in. That should count for at least a start, I'd hope. I know how deeply I hurt you, and the gods know I would rather die than have been the cause of that, but I didn't leave of my own free will. I would never abandon Dahlia (or you...); it's the only home I've ever felt right in. Kol and I were taken, Lexey, we didn't just run off. And now she's fighting to recover quickly enough to save the pups she's carrying and I'm back here. I came back to you and Dahlia de Mai as soon as I knew Kol was going to be alright. I fought to get back, and I failed. I tried more than once to get word to anyone about what had happened, but I couldn't."
He bit back his tongue as he felt his blood heat with the unfairness of Alexey's judgment, but he reigned in his temper carefully. He didn't want a confrontation, it was the last thing on his mind. "It was my father who finally realized something was wrong when he hadn't heard anything from either of us for too long. Apparently, sometime last year, a fanatical Dawnrunner named Azrael managed to form something of a cult within a cult, hell-bent on weeding out the Stormbringer bloodline by force. Miskunn was the first to be taken; she simply vanished in the middle of the night. She was eventually found, and she was carrying the proof of Azrael's new ideals. The pups were born a few months ago. I assume he figured Kol would be a good target since we're so far from Solbjorg, but he had to take both of us. Kol's pregnant, but we don't know if it's from that demented son of a cur or if they're Elliott's. And honestly? I don't know how we'll find that out." The growl that emanated from his throat had grown throughout the explanation, and he took a deep breath to calm it before continuing. "We tried to escape Lexey, it nearly got both of us killed the last time. My first and only thought past keeping Kol alive and fighting was getting back home to Dahlia...and to you. Whether you believe me or not, I have never and will never lie to you about anything. If I could have come home, I would have."
His explanation was short and left out several details, but Lexey hadn't asked where the siblings had been or what had happened. He could only assume she really had come to not care about those details, and he could feel his heart hardening at the idea that the woman he loved more than anything could be so spiteful. Kol loved her like a sister, and Drey had originally thought the Acer's first question would be concerning her, not him. Fate seemed to be enjoying twisting things lately.