objection!

It turned out for all the respect she felt for the elderly woman Samara had still underestimated her. She felt her wall immediately snap up at the question, it wasn't totally rude but Samara instinctively felt herself want to reject the notion. "I never said that." She muttered, more to herself than the other woman. That defensiveness rose up when Rythmn questioned her about it further.

Samara had to push down her aggression, swallowing the growl bubbling in her throat. "Is love worth anything without the possibility of pain?" Her words here a bit harsher than she meant. Samara took a breath before speaking again,  this time her tones were a bit more controlled. "I'm not a fool, I know what kind of man your son is. The kind of man to have multiple litters with multiple women, one of whom is his own cousin." She watched the elderly woman, surely if she was questioning her like this she had some feelings about her son's less than honorable behaviors. Samara had long moved on from those facts. Rhyme was getting older, yes, and he didn't exactly have a pristine track record, but then neither did she exactly, though she'd never born another man's children she was no maiden, she'd spent ample time warming the beds of men and women alike from a young age. But she'd never been so attached to another wolf outside her family before. And she'd yet to even lay with him.

"Despite all that I've decided to trust my own heart. I know the grave I've dug myself, I'll gladly jump in when it's time." Her tone had an edge to it. "Pardon my asking, but what exactly makes you so concerned for what may or may not happen to me, a total stranger to you, or what your grown adult son does? Especially for someone who's been so absent for so long?" It was partially a bluff and partially a challenge. She had no way of knowing if the woman had seen much of her son before things took a turn for the worse for him but she felt somewhat confident in her assessment. But more than she wanted to put the heat on the other woman, it made her uncomfortable to have to try and justify her choices, especially around Rhyme, she had been self-sufficient for years now and she bristled under the notion that she couldn't look after herself.

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