He nodded his head as she pointed out the closeness of Deathbelle’s den - it was why he had chosen to carve his den out of stone, instead of finding an easier material further afield from his Mistress’s home. She showed doubts at the idea of him protecting her from anyone else but a slave, and he leaned his muzzle against the floor of her alchive, surveying her for a moment before he spoke.
He was yet to come to terms with why he felt so protective of Zee, perhaps it was a part of his selfish nature. He did not care one ounce for a stranger, but as he grew attached to a wolf, he would fight tooth and claw to keep them at his side. “Deathbelle’s mention of wishing to keep you safe, and bringing disputes to her, gives me the authority to defend you. She intends for it, and by bringing disputes to her, she will be the authority that deals with it. Regardless, she has dangled the idea of Daimyo before me” he would add, trying not to let his lingering discomfort and confusion at that leak through.
“If I reached for it, then there would be very few wolves in Ashen that I could not defend you from. I don’t care if you are a slave, you are mine... and Deathbelles” did his intensity frighten her? To think he had gone from feeling mild disdain for her, to exasperation at her sass, to admiration for it. A friendship had come somewhere after that, and after the fear of almost losing her in their fight, something more had bloomed. Hearing that he could protect her shortly after that, was kindling to the fire, and he burned with his desire to protect what was his. Well, his and deathbelles. His Mistress’s claim to her was much greater than his own.
Bloodletter
