Save your tears

As soon as the "trial" had ended, Emersyn wasted no time in heading off on her own. She couldn't be around the band right now; her frustration and disappointment was too great. She'd reassured Segin that she was just going for a walk to clear her head since he had become fiercely protective of her since the band's breakdown and then made for the coast. She wanted to distance herself from everyone, to detach from what she'd thought was going to be her new lease on life. Now it just felt like petty politics and backstabbing for personal gain—at least from one wolf. But when that wolf was being sheltered and protected by their leader, it was hard not to feel jilted or disfavored when it was their safety being put on the line. Em felt like she'd been lied to, conned by the man that had brought her here.

Disillusioned by Indigo, she stormed through the woods until the sound of the ocean reached her ears and her paws hit the sand. Emersyn had always loved the beach, stemming from her childhood on that temperate peninsula surrounded by the sea. She came here to think, to clear her mind and reflect on her life, and to be alone. Large paws carried her across the squishy sand until she was standing right at the edge of the lapping surf, occasionally feeling the tickle of cold, foamy water wash over her toes. She drew in a deep breath of air tinged with the scent of salt and seaweed and listened to the cries of gulls while she stared out over the sparkling water. She wondered where in the world she was in relation to her childhood home, how far was she now from where she started. She wondered what would happen if she tried to return there now as an adult. Would she be scorned, driven away, chased out? Would her family still be there—would they even recognize her? Or would she be permitted to live back within those alabaster walls by a golden sea, safe in marble halls and gilded rooms? Her frown deepened on her face. Would she even want that? Was that even the type of wolf she was anymore?

Emersyn sighed and shook her head, strolling slowly down the coast, alternating between looking at the sea and staring down at her paws as they trudged through the sand. She didn't really want to return home, not earnestly. Too many doubts and bad memories hung around that place. But she also didn't know if she could stay with the band. Indigo had cut her deep, broken her trust. He'd saved her life, begged and pleaded for her to stay with him, promised to protect her and keep her safe, romanced and seduced his way between her legs twice. And now, with their safety genuinely in danger from Duchess, he seemed more preoccupied with protecting the scandal children than the welfare of the wolves he'd deceived into following him. Em huffed under her breath, subconsciously starting to pace back and forth, wondering if she'd have been safer out on her own all along instead of letting herself get trapped in this mess. At least with the bounty hunters she knew what to expect and could fight back. Indigo and Duchess had become a potentially slow, painful death.

"Emersyn"