Knives & Pens

It didn't take long for her to speak her side of the story. All the while he kept his gaze neutral despite the turmoil of feelings and thoughts he had. On one hand, Shaye had turned out to be a faithful friend and someone he had wanted in his life. On the other...he wasn't sure. He held some resentment after she interfered with his business. But at the same time...she was the alpha, and he wasn't quite yet. She told him that Tana had tried to kill her children, and his head jerked back and his eyes narrowed. He refrained from saying anything though, and instead let Shaye continue with what she had to say. She told him about why she thought Tana had done what she did. Tried to leave. Abandoned her children because of what was going on between Rhyme and Shaye. The time Verse had made it to the battlefield on her own. How she thought Tana had something to do with it. Tana had told him the same thing, but she didn't know Verse had gone. What struck him as odd, however, was how Shaye thought Tana had something to do with it. Tana didn't strike him as someone who would purposefully drop her pup off at the battlefield, or anywhere near it. She was terrified of confrontation. He saw it in Ruina, and saw how she acted around Abaven during meetings and the like. Even when they stumbled upon one another for the first time in Abaven, she had cowered because she thought she wasn't safe with him. He highly doubted she had gone to the battlefield that day when there were so many wolves around who might try to take advantage of her.

Then...Shaye admitted that she felt she had failed Tana. His gaze found the ground and took a deep breath as he continued to listen. It was a lot to process. And he suddenly felt older than he was. Tana had told him one thing. Shaye was telling him another. Though he also knew Shaye was being honest. Admitting she had made mistakes concerning Tana. Tana, on the other hand, genuinely felt like she was in danger. She was afraid. Indeed, he knew her life had been plagued with everything but kindness, and love, and understanding. Rhyme had shown her that for a short time...and then it just...stopped. Shaye and Rhyme had also loved each other...or still did, he didn't know. He had known love for a short time, too...he had loved her so, so much...but she had been ripped away from him much too soon. Now, she lived on in his memory. But with Shaye, and Tana, and Rhyme? It was a vicious love triangle that shouldn't have happened, especially considering that two in that triangle were related. But he knew things happened sometimes, and while he still didn't like the idea of anything that had to do with incest, there was nothing that could be done about it. It was done and past.

"Don't make the same mistakes I did Ace, find a way to help her. " Again, he took in a deep breath and sighed as he looked at her again. "Shaye, nobody is perfect. We're all prone to mistakes no matter how old we get or how wise we think we are. We don't always have the right answers, and we try to learn from our mistakes..." He wanted to rekindle his friendship with her. But he wasn't sure how to get over some of the things he was feeling. Perhaps...this would be the chance to do that. Perhaps not. He wasn't sure. "Despite your mistakes...the dishonesty between what happened with you and Rhyme...I recognize you've been doing what you can to keep this pack going. And while I'm still upset with you for interfering with the business between my nephew and I...I realize you had to be an alpha, and not a friend. Our views are different, and that's okay. I'm aware that sometimes it's necessary."  He tilted his head up slightly as he thought for a moment. "You might have already heard through the grapevine, or maybe from Rhyme...or it's probably been obvious, but...I plan on starting my own pack soon. And...I've offered Tana a place there." There was more he wanted to say. Some of it about Tana and her future. The future of her pups. The future of his pack. Of their friendship... But they'd get to the rest of that soon enough.