Custom Concern

Deteste was silent, oddly silent, and as soon as she had moved against him, seeking his comfort, he was gone, untangling himself from her and causing the babe to freeze, more uncertain than before. Her wide-eyed stare shifted between her mate -- the one she would most certainly die without -- and this female who looked on with ice in her stare, a female who was larger and stronger and healthier than her. Better than her. Her ears pulled back against that pallid skull, and her wary expression went from one of suspicion to worry, her brows furrowing, unable to comprehend her mate's silence. He looked detached -- perhaps angry -- and she remained on edge, cautious and uncertain, her muscles bristling with a nervous nature as the ravaged woman expressed the tension coursing through her body. When at last the male spoke, it was mocking, cold, harsh and unwelcoming, and it was almost enough to send Laxago running for cover; seeing none, she instead lowered herself towards the earth, her lean body crouching towards the cool ground and a shudder running down his spine. Who was this man, and where had his kindness gone? He spoke again, and it was no more friendly than before -- it was cold, blank, and without any indication of his love for her. He was upset, she realized, but with good reason. She had never done anything to help them, her chaotic mental state making her nothing more than a burden, and no one that a pack would want among their ranks, for she was little more than useless -- less help to them than a child would be. She accepted her fault in this, and slowly, that pale green stare shifted towards the one dubbed Jupter, the one he had called their alpha, the one who had remained silent all this time that an equally silent war seemed to be raging between the two would-be lovers. She had broken many things, Laxago realized -- she had destroyed their family, had destroyed herself and her mate, and had been a useless soul, a mindless burden to Deteste, and somewhere in that crazed mind of hers, comprehension dawned. As uncertain and unsteady as a child, the babe rose from her crouched position, though still remained hunched as though in shame, her wide wild eyes snapping once to Deteste when he whispered an apology, but her attention was elsewhere now, and she ignored his broken posture, her body slinking closer to the woman who was to be their queen. She had known humility once (and she had known pride, a long time ago), and she drudged it up again now, pausing a few strides from the watchful female and meeting her stare for a long few moments before her eyes dropped, her body following suit in a stiff, awkward bow. It was not pretty, and it was reluctant, but one could not say she hadn't tried, and she puffed a breath from her lips as though to rid herself of the uncomfortable sensation before she shuffled away just as stiffly as she had approached, leaning back on her haunches and glancing furtively towards Deteste, who she steadfastly refused to return to, leaving a gap between them that enticed her to shiver in the odd feeling of momentary freedom.