Who Will Falter, Who Will Conquer

Relm remained quiet throughout his verbal strikes to her, which he had expected the fae to be. At least she was looking at him when he was talking to her, showing she was listening. Gods help her if Alastor had felt disrespected by her in this moment. When he finished, there was no pause nor hesitation in Relm's response, exclaiming that she was sorry for everything. Everything. That irked the irate brute even more. So Relm regretted everything they had done together, every effort and attempt he had tried to make for her. The longer Alastor stood in Relm’s den peering down at the pathetic wretch of a wolf laid out before him, the more his conflicted feelings continued to fester. He pitied her. He reviled her. He empathized with her. He hated her. He loved her. Never before had Alastor felt such a whirlwind of conflict, caught between wanting to harm her and to hold her. Relm said she hated herself; that was nothing new. Alastor hated himself too, but he had found a way to cope—a way to try to redeem his eternally damned soul. Relm, it seemed, had simply imploded and given up on herself. Then she hit him with the claim that even in another lifetime, they would never be together. That felt like a slap across the face to the dire brute. Even after all this time, all the wasted attempts he had made to make her feel loved, to make her feel special, to make her feel important... It had all been for nothing then. Relm would never be satisfied and he could never make a difference in her life to matter to her.

Alastor gave a low grunt of annoyance and turned his head away from Relm. He briefly considered walking out and leaving her alone then and there for the insult she'd levied against him—but the confession that came tumbling out of her lips next struck the wolf like a bolt of lightning straight through his brain. This wasn't the first time. Alastor's expression froze, eyes wide in furious realization as he turned slowly to look back at the young woman. He didn't need to ask her to explain herself to him; Relm began to freely give up that information as if she were absolving herself of sin by doing so. She had had another miscarriage earlier in the summer. Another litter of his children lost. And she hadn't breathed a fucking word of it to him. How many of his children had she lost and kept him in the dark?! The demon wolf's ebony lips twitched and curled back from pearly fangs as the rage within him began to bubble to the surface again. Glaring daggers at Relm wasn't enough anymore. He stared with loathing at the pink fae, strongly considering the ramifications of what killing the bitch right now would be. Alastor had always wanted to protect and love Relm, but right now in this moment, all he wanted to do was squeeze his paws around her throat until her flailing stopped just to get her to stop fucking talking.

"You lost another litter of my pups and you didn't tell me...?" Though it was phrased as a question, there was no questioning in Alastor's tone. He knew her words were true. Relm was not one to lie, especially not to him, and especially not about a topic as delicate to him as this one. Large paws thudded on the cave floor as the dark brute took two long strides closer to her, the malicious fire smoldering in his eyes a warning and a threat that Relm was in imminent danger. He stood over her, glaring and seething with a white hot rage. He had never felt so disrespected, so violated, so disgusted by another wolf's behavior as he did with Relm right now. After all he had fucking done for her... all he had risked for her... this was how she chose to show how much she "loved" him?! Alastor bared his fangs, snarling with barely contained fury. A black paw lifted, red stone claws extended, raised in preparation to strike her. It would have been justified. The bitch had buried two litters of his and hidden one. She would have hidden both from him. She would have strung him along continuing to pretend everything was fine when no matter what he did, it would never be enough for her.

Alastor snarled and brought his paw down—and froze before he could make contact with her. Something in the sane part of his mind screamed like an alarm. Focus began to return to his obsidian eyes. He saw Relm beneath him. He saw his paw raised, ready to strike her. And then he saw his father, standing over his mother, beating her senseless—just like how he was prepared to do now. Alastor's stomach churned and twisted. He was acting just like his father. Echoes of a manic laughter flooded his ears while he slammed his paw down into the ground, snarling again and turning away from Relm. She had gotten him to this point. She had broken him down to this level. But he would not succumb to his demons... not today. Turning his back on her, Alastor stormed back to the den's entrance, pausing in the entryway long enough to glance back at Relm with contempt in his cold gaze. "I tried so fucking hard for you, Relm. I risked everything and gave you all I could," he growled out beneath his breath, pain and anger lancing through his every word. "Glad to know it would never have been good enough for you... If you truly believe what you say, then stop living this fucking lie and leave me the fuck alone. I'm done trying for you." Alastor didn't wait to hear Relm's response. He needed to get the hell out of this place before he went completely mad. Turning away from the wolf he had once loved, the brute stomped back out of the cave. He was done here.

- exit Alastor unless stopped -

"Alastor"