Right now, Violet was offering me a single lifeline. I owed him everything. The least I could do was accept his offer.
“All right,” I conceded.
Violet grinned and petted my fur. It felt nice. I leaned into his touch, letting his warmth flow over my back, enjoying it for as long as possible before reality forced me back to face it.
“Don’t worry, Poppy, we’ll figure this out together,” he promised.
His confidence was a ray of warmth shining on my ice-addled heart. Maybe his hope was enough to overcome my despair.
Violet marched ahead without a care in the world. But the closer we got to the clan grounds, the harder anxiety gnawed at my heart. It chipped away at me piece by piece. I had never seen Konrad interact with a stranger before, but I doubted he’d be welcoming.
As we stepped into clan territory, Violet wrinkled his nose. “What is that smell?”
“Um... polar bear urine. It’s the boundary marker,” I explained.
“Great,” Viol muttered. Noticing my distress, he grinned. “Hey, chin up.”
I flashed him the weakest smile ever, which made him chuckle.
“C’mon, I know you can do better than—”
A deep, booming roar split the air. Seconds later, a massive polar bear charged towards us. It was Konrad—and he was not happy.
Instinctively, I flattened to the ground. My body was already trembling.
But Violet didn’t move. He stood firm, not budging an inch even when Konrad barrelled towards him like a stampede. Viol’s only motion was to step in front of me in a smooth, subtle gesture so that I cowered behind his legs.
What is he doing?I thought, suddenly terrified.If he gets hurt because of me...!
Konrad ground to a halt. Each angry breath came out in a grunt. Spittle dripped from his lips. He bared his teeth at Violet, who stood motionless, facing off against the bear without a hint of fear.
“Who goes there?” Konrad snarled. “Who are you, outsider, and why do you have possession ofmyomega?”
I couldn’t see Violet’s face from my angle, but I saw the way his body stiffened.
“Youromega?” Violet said, low and unimpressed.
“Yes, mine,” Konrad snapped. “He belongs to my clan. Therefore, he belongs to me.”
Every hair on my pelt shook. This was a terrible idea. I should’ve known Konrad would react poorly. Were they going to fight? Gods, I hoped I didn’t get Violet into trouble...
But then Violet laughed. “Okay, big guy. You can believe whatever you want, but Poppy ain’t yours. Got that?”
I raised my head, shocked.
Violet was standing up for me?
My chest swirled like I was being sucked into a whirlpool. Violet’s kind words were a direct challenge to Konrad—andnobodyever dared to challenge him.
Konrad thrust his boxy muzzle closer to Violet’s face and growled, “Who are you, intruder? Give me one good reason I shouldn’t smack the head off your shoulders.”
By now, the whole clan was alerted to the commotion. They edged closer, drawn by morbid curiosity. I shivered in fear beneath their myriad gazes. This felt all too similar to my humiliating experience last week, except this time I’d put Violet in danger. If he got hurt, I’d never forgive myself.
Violet let out a smug laugh. “You can try it, buddy. Just know it won’t end well for you.”
I heard the clan’s audible gasp. Konrad was so utterly shocked by Violet’s comment that he didn’t react. Nobody had ever spoken to him that way.
Violet seized the silence to keep talking. “But I’m not here to fight you. I’m here for Poppy’s sake, to patch things up.”
