"I don't know. Family, I guess." Kaleeth answered with a rather uncertain tone. "That is the only reason I stay: you. And the others. I love you more than I hate myself. It...it keeps me from leaving, but it doesn't make me happy. I'm not like you, I'm not a wolf. No one here is like me, and none of them had the same problems. The way Meesei talks about it, werewolves won't hurt their own pack. It isn't...instinct. But I'm not like that. Every time I turn, I have to fight not to hurt you; I have to just...convince myself that I want to hurt something else even more. When I was...eating those bodies, the beast would have tried to kill you if you got too close. It would have killed you, eaten you, and it would have been proud of it."

There were a few moments of silence before Kaleeth suddenly leaned over and hugged Janius tightly. "I'll do the best I can, Janius, but please promise me you won't let me hurt anyone. Kill me if you have to, but please don't let me hurt anyone else, especially not you."

---

Meesei was still tending to wounded when the lieutenants all arrived, and she showed no indication of stopping. The matters they needed to discuss were rather important, but they did not have the luxury of time. "My apologies for bringing you all away from your duties, but I do not believe I can delay these matters. First and foremost, Harriet seems to be gone. I have Lorag searching for tracks outside the cave, though I do not have too much hope for that approach. I do not know what her exact intentions are, given the issue of the collar around her neck. It will kill her if she attempts to remove it, as I designed the enchantment, and only I know the proper method to disarm it. As well, it can be tracked just as I did with Galsek, but I need the corresponding ring. Unfortunately, it is buried in the snow with the rest of the warband's equipment. I need to have that ring recovered, but I cannot afford to leave this infirmary right now. I do not doubt the competence of the clan's healers, but the fact remains that I am still among the most skilled restorationists in the clan. I would rather allow Harriet to escape than to let anyone in this room die unnecessarily. I was hoping one of you could send a group to recover it as soon as possible, unless you do not believe it to be worthwhile to pursue her. Justice has not been delivered, but she is no longer a threat to us."

Without wasting a moment, Meesei quickly brought up her second point as well. "And of course, there is also the matter of succession. This may not be the ideal time and place, but we have discussed it long enough. One of you needs to be selected to take on the responsibilities of the Alpha of this clan. I know you do not wish to have the title, Darahil, but I still value your input on the matter."

---

"I know you were scared for me, and that's the problem." Ahnasha responded, though it was considerably more calmly than before. She sat down on the side of his bed and started to rock Rhazii in her arms in an attempt to coax him back to sleep. "You got scared, so you stopped thinking. You wanted to get to us so intensely that you couldn't think about what it would mean for you. Throwing away caution like that could even get one of us hurt, in the wrong situation. You will have to accept that I am going to be in danger in the future, Fendros. I'm going to get threatened, and I'm probably going to get hurt, but I'm not a kitten, Fendros. I can handle myself, and you're going to have to be able to trust me."