My feeble walls are closing in

Bellamy didn’t want to expect the worst of Acere, that he might turn on her like one of those wolves from her nightmares, and honestly she was relieved when he didn’t. She was quiet, listening with an ear cocked in his direction as the man spoke of his past. It flicked a switch in her, reminding her of things in Lyenne, and made her stomach churn. It seemed that evil lurked everywhere. Hearing just what was demanded of him, at under a year old no less, made her feel sick.

“I’m glad you refused -- that alone speaks volumes of your morals versus the twisted man that you once called alpha.” The female breathed out, nostrils flaring with frustration. Just because a female wanted to fight… he would punish her for being good at it? “That is not something someone so young should be forced to do… to their own sibling.” If her siblings had survived, if she had been asked to force anything on them, Bells knew she would have never been able to do it either.

“You know…” She took a breath.

“I met a man a little while ago… Sparhawk was his name.” She still remembered that night, clinging to him as a mess, and truthfully still was one, but he had taught her something.

“Just because we do bad things does not mean we are bad wolves. That is the past, and now, I guess to claim our futures we’ve got to battle our minds…” The female couldn’t remember much from that night but she did remember that. She looked at Acere, her fiery gaze softening just a bit.

“So I think you are a good king, a damned good one. Pasts don’t define who we are, nor what we want to be. Fuck what others think; we make the rules.”

The female stood and turned towards Acere now, taking a breath.

“I won’t lie… I still get scared, no, terrified when I think of what fates might befall me. But…” Her gaze softened.

“I want to get better… strong… so I can face the things that scare me.” She flicked her ears back.

“Acere…” She looked him in the eyes.

“I know it’s odd but… I want to request that we figure out… some form of punishment or something.” Bellamy frowned. “I want to push myself... and if that means I have to be forced to do so for the sake of the pack that showed me kindness then I’m fine with that. I want to grow now that I’m free… not be restricted by shackles of fear of what may happen…”