"How are things with the girls." Lucas entered Kaleb's quarters uninvited.
"Not much to comment on." Kaleb muttered pulling a white t-shirt over his head.
"Nothing at all?" Lucas probed further. Kaleb frowned slightly avoiding eye contact, the itching and the ache was getting worse, he tried his best to give nothing away.
"I dunno, umm Hebe is popular, Torah less so…she doesn't seem to be sitting well with most of the juves, well the females particularly, she's fine with Kit…hasn't really made much effort with anyone."
"I heard you two raced together"
"Had to prove a point after she pulled my arm out of its socket."
"I also heard you didn't beat her by much." Lucas smiled hoping it would evoke some emotion from Kaleb who was currently far too guarded.
"She's good." He said curtly looking up to see his alpha strolling towards him and then taking boy's face in his hands. It was a tender act that Lucas knew the juve wouldn't have had appreciated in public but perhaps it was what he needed in private. Reluctantly Kaleb leaned into his alpha's left palm.
"Maybe I've put too much on your shoulders." Lucas frowned.
"No." Kaleb quickly interjected pulling away, holding his alpha's steady gaze for a few long moments before he was forced to look away. Clenching his jaw he cursed and turned away, there was little you could hide from Lucas and what you couldn't hide from him you would definitely never get past Sascha.
"Sascha is worried about you."
"She been spying on me?" He said exasperated.
"She said it was hard to ignore. Want to tell me what's going on?"
"I would if I knew." Lucas stayed silent observing the boy's room, that was practically bare, only the essentials; he'd always been a minimalist and a compulsive cleaner. "My leopard isn't happy and I've been trying everything."
"By everything I assume you mean Bonnie." Lucas gave him a side glance with a slight grin on his face "Bonnie's not very good at keeping her stories to herself." He saw Kaleb give a worried look "Don't worry it's all very good things." Lucas added but Kaleb didn't look any more relieved. "Do you need to get away from the den."
"That's a wolf thing, cats don't go lone" Kaleb moved away from his window and sat on his plush immaculately made bed. Lucas stayed put but after a seconds thought went to join him, it was a rare occasion when Kaleb's cracks were showing when his vulnerabilities were almost laid bare, he wanted to handle the situation with the care it required.
"It's not common but it happens." Lucas gazed at the blank wall in front of him.
Sighing Kaleb flung himself backwards gazing up at the ceiling. "I don't want to leave the den."
"It might just be a passing phase. Tell me more about the girls"
"As I said before they don't seem troublesome In themselves but Hebe seems popular with the males and rivalry might pick up once she drops Leo for good" Kaleb struggled to believe it was taking her this long.
"Leo?" Lucas was surprised "How about Torah."
"If she keeps being…herself we may have a problem with some of the more feisty girls. She asserts dominance where she should have none and if anything comes across arrogant and a bit of a bitch."
"Sascha adores her."
"Sascha adores everybody." Lucas knew the boy was right but his mate also felt the very essence of people and from what she'd told him Torah was nothing but good hearted.
"I think she just needs to settle, she's scared, hurt."
"Or she's just a brat."
"Maybe, I don't know if you're aware of this but the girls have also been significantly demoted since they became part of Dark River, they used to be Captains, so she's bound to be more dominant."
"But then why isn't Hebe?" Kaleb sat back up.
"I don't know" Lucas hadn't thought about it until now, but sometimes Torah's dominance outreached that of a Captain whilst Hebe's did not. It was probably rather frustrating for the girl for the dominance she gained in IceChaser held no ground in DarkRiver, it may fool some of the younger members of the pack but it didn't the older that kind of position and influence had to be earned.
Lucas got up to leave but turned around when at the door. "Kaleb don't be an ass, you have talk to me when you get rattled or to someone. We're a pack for a reason." He pulled the door open when he felt the need to add "Oh and if you go after Hebe, break up with Bonnie in the nicest way possible I don't need maternal females up my ass about how you treat the girls." The thought of the maternal females gave him a headache. Kaleb sat dumbfounded it was really impossible to keep anything from the DarkRiver alpha.

"Torah!" Hebe screamed entering her friend's room.
"Jesus what?" Torah poked her head from around the bathroom door. Turning to face the girl who usually held all of her affections but at this moment in time was the focus of her frustrations.
"I had a little chat with Cary."
"Oh Christ." Torah rolled her eyes and closed the bathroom door on Hebe's face, avoiding the imminent discussion whilst wrapping a towel around her wet hair.
"Open the door." Hebe regained some control and her anger was a finely tuned blade. After a moments silence Torah realised it would probably be better to appease the other snowleopard rather than further frustrate her.
"Look, she started it."
"That's not what I heard."
"What did she say?" Torah stepped out in nothing but a towel.
"That you threatened her"
"And her stuck up friends."
"It's not something to be proud of!"
"Did she explain why I said what I said? Or do you think I just randomly walk up to people and talk smack to them?"
"Wouldn't put it past you."
"Oh shut up." She hissed.
"Well?" Hebe placed her hands on her hips.
"They were laughing at Wyatt." Torah said solemnly.
"Weird Wyatt?" Hebe couldn't help but look confused, which seemed to aggravate Torah.
"Don't call him that!" Torah looked disgusted "He has Asperger's for crying out loud!" Hebe's eyes widened and she raised her hands in defence.
"Hey sorry, Christ" Torah seemed to relax.
"He's actually really sweet if anyone would give him a chance." Wyatt was 14 and had Asperger's as a result even in the pack environment struggled to make friends and was often a source of entertainment for some of the juves. "The adults do fuck all about the way he's treated."
"That's not true." Hebe defended them, there was only so much they could do, what happened behind closed doors happened. She sighed and realised perhaps Torah hadn't been in the wrong but she could have none the less handled the situation with more finesse, Torah begged to differ. "You always took in the strays."
"what do you mean?"
"You've always been nice to people who needed help or were outsiders, an absolute bitch to everyone else"
"Not everyone." Torah defended herself, she liked to think she was merely a good judge of character.
"We work so well because I'm secretly a bitch and you are secretly a nice person." Hebe smiled. "Either way, lay low for a bit, Cary isn't happy and to be frank I'm tired of defending you to them."
"Then don't defend me to them, I don't care!" Torah was beginning to see red as she turned to face the Caramel haired girl holding her gaze.
"Don't put me in a position where I need to choose" Hebe had a spine of steel and gritted her teeth at Torah who was blatantly trying to intimidate her.
"The fact you would clearly have trouble choosing…" Torah struggled to finish the sentence ending it in a snarl.
"This is a new life, Torah one I don't want to miss out on or pass me by, there are good people here, people who are welcoming us and making a home for us if you would just pull your head out of your ass maybe you'd realise that. Stop comparing it to IceChaser because it's not but it's better than going rogue, is that what you want?"
"Of course I don't want to go rogue, I'm friends with who I want to be unlike you I don't feel the need to lick everyone's ass."
"By licking everyone's ass do you mean be mildly pleasant and courteous?" Hebe felt her cheeks warm with not embarrassment but with anger, snarling back at Torah she stared her down-unblinking. Hebe's dominance was no match for Torah's however, and she was forced to look away.
"That's what I thought." Torah muttered turning away "Go hang out with Cary; I'm sick of having to explain myself to you." Dominance had never been a factor in their relationship, Torah never used it in arguments or in daily life until now, her last thing to fall back on, and it showed how bad things had become. Admitting the current situation wasn't going to be remedied any time soon Hebe bowed her head not in defeat or submission but in upset that their friendship had come to this, displays of dominance.
"I really hope you find someone soon, Torah." The comment was heartfelt, Torah was breaking and needed a kind of support Hebe couldn't provide and until she found it their relationship wouldn't work.

Hey yay for character development chapter…stuff's actually going to happen in the next one (GOT A FEW BIG SURPRISE S IN STORE :D If you guys want the story faster paced let me know, I have a habit of writing as if it were a novel :P

T x