She snarled at whoever was nudging her awake with a paw, and sleepily opened her eyes to see that she'd fallen asleep on the far end of the territory again, then lifted her gold eyes to Jovan, who was kicking her with a front paw, his muzzle streaked with blood. ~Stop that.~ She linked to him, making him huff a laugh at her.

Jovan, one of the males of her Arctic pack, looked down at her, wolf formed and growling low. ~Then get up, little bitch. Damek doesn't like you being gone all night.~

She grumbled but slowly rose to her feet. Jovan cuffed her ear, and growled to hurry her up, and she jumped to her feet, rubbing her ear with her paw annoyedly. She followed his fast lope back to the valley the pack made bed, and let him pad off in a different direction once they'd arrived. She made her way down to the stream for a drink, passing Aren, who was licking blood off his flank from some scuffle the poor omega had probably gotten forced into, and Erika, nuzzling Brittta comfortingly, who was curled in on herself miserably. The smell of sex lingered in the air, and Katty winced for Britta, wondering who'd claimed her, or if they'd shared her. She didn't go over; while Erika was nice to her, Britta would only lash out. No wonder she'd been so piqued as of lately, she must have known what was coming. Katty shivered, and upped her pace to the stream, keeping her head low.

She hesitated when she arrived, seeing Kole there with Alexi already. She hadn't seen Damek yet today, and it worried her. She liked to keep tabs on the big alpha. Kole was nice enough, and Alexi left her alone because she wasn't ever willing to get drawn into a fight, so she pressed forward, straying to the far side of the stream, keeping her fur flat and her movement casual, but her eyes were ready to catch the slightest bit of movement, her ears pricked to pick up the sounds of them coming closer. She nodded politely to them, and lowered her head to drink. She'd only been drinking a few seconds when her ears picked up, too late, a third arrival, and Jovan leapt forward to land on her shoulders, forcing her head under water. He pinned her there for a few long moments, then bounded away to Alexi's side, where they both collapsed in laughter. She yanked her head out of the water, gasping for breath, wanting to hurt him for that, but unwilling to suffer the fight that she'd undoubtedly lose. So she settled for glaring at him darkly as she tried to control her frantic panting at the almost drowning.

She'd had enough water for the moment, and turned to return to the rest of the pack. She stiffened as she felt Kole come up alongside her.

~Hey, Katerina.~ The usually kind male greeted.

She licked his shoulder in greeting, wondering what he wanted. He walked idly with her back in the direction of the pack as he linked with her, asking if she was ok after Jovan's prank, making small talk about game and hunts. She listened, nodded when it was needed, making small sounds to indicate she was listening, but she didn't speak. Kole was nice, but even the nicest of their pack could turn on a dime, 180 into ferocity and take it out on whoever was nearest.

He shook out his fur awkwardly. ~So... time's coming up, isn't it?~

There is was. This would be her first season as an adult female in their pack. The first season someone would be able to fight for her, to claim her. The thought made her stomach churn. She knew there were other packs out there where females were thought of as special and to be coveted... if only the females in her pack were so lucky. ~How's Britta?~ She asked, changing the subject to exactly why she wasn't eager to attempt to mate with any of the males.

Kole had the decency to look uncomfortable. ~She mated to Jovan.~

~And how many males did it take to find that out?~ Katty asked caustically, making Kole wince.

~A few.~

She couldn't help the bristling of fur down her neck and shoulders. Poor Britta would probably stay curled in that pathetic little ball she'd been in for the next few days, long enough to help her block out the pain and humiliation of being passed around to the males, to help brace herself for having to belong to volatile Jovan. Katty didn't want that to be her. But better Jovan than Alexi, or even worse, Damek.

~Katerina!~ Damek's deep timbre rang in her and Kole's minds, making Kole lower his head and skitter back a few paces as Damek approached them. Katty didn't lower her head, but her eyes dropped to the ground on their own account.

~Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you. I can't have you running off, little one. Who knows what sort of creatures are out there, just waiting for a little slip like you.~ He scolded, and Katty resisted the urge to point out she was more at risk being around him and his volatile anger and sex drive than anything she could encounter in the wild. He continued, letting her know her thoughts hadn't written themselves across her face.

He looked down at her, the edges of his lips curling into an almost snarl despite himself. The expression was simply his normal one, he barely realized he did it anymore. ~I'd hate to lose one of my own. With your parents gone, Katerina, I'm the closest thing left to you as a father figure.~

A father figure that'd just as soon mate to me as anything, she thought darkly, but again, held her tongue and simply nodded. ~I'm sorry Damek. It won't happen again.~

Damek took a long moment, watching her with unreadable eyes., but then nodded his big head. ~See that it doesn't.~ He snarled quickly at Kole, who crept off in a different direction, and Damek stepped closer to her. ~I'll be needing to see you tomorrow night, Katerina. It's time you took your rightful place at my side.~ He said before turning to pad off, leaving Katerina with ice in her veins.