Tension hung heavy in the air, clinging to him like a vice. Until he figured out exactly what was going on, he wasn't sure he could relax. Where was his father? And the rest of his siblings? In any other scenario he would've leaned against Lillie, or turned and started a conversation with Sparrow, but this was different than most meetings. The uncomfortable pit that sat like a stone in his stomach only grew in discomfort as Vali cleared her throat and began to speak.
His father was leaving, and stepping down as alpha. Until Storm's pups were found. While he hadn't felt jealous before - or that was what he'd told himself - he suddenly felt wildly uncomfortable with the fact that Bass had chosen to follow after children that weren't even his own. Instead of to stay with Abaven, with his actual family and packmates. His lips twitched in a silent snarl, though he quickly forced the expression away. It wasn't Vali that he was mad at, not at all, but he felt his irritation well up suddenly and without warning. He felt dangerously like a body of water about to overflow, and it took most of his energy to stay silent. What the hell was his father thinking? Was Vali even qualified to be alpha? Truthfully he knew she would do a fine job, but it just didn't feel right. Nothing about this was right.
Surprisingly, even to himself, he was silent. Gritting his teeth and holding back whatever anger threatened to suddenly overflow. "You were right," he said, turning to Sparrow after a moment. She'd said she felt replaced, while he'd denied that feeling. But the truth was, they had been replaced, very clearly. And he hated it - hated it with every fiber of his being.
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