I'm a damsel. I'm in distress. I can handle this.

Sericea’s voice cut through the silence, searching for guidance in the larger males. Technically, Ludo was the oldest of them all, defaulting him into the role of lead protector. But Zagan didn’t care. He was the child of the Sultan, the Saxe prodigy who would rule over The Syndicate. Absinth and Aresenn’s children were meant to be his pawns.

Ludo’s voice came next, instructing Seri to stay close. The doe was still hyper-fixated on the pair, but its fawn was watching him- backing up to its mother’s rump as Zagan stalked forward. Ludo was trying to give Zagan a signal, but he ignored it- a streak of defiance rushing through him, as he suddenly shot forward on his own accord. He shoved his way past the fawn, knocking it down, lunging at the doe’s right hind leg with his open jaws. He sank his needle-like teeth into its hock.

"Speech"