Zelda laughed bitterly. "After that, any hope, any joy that the Alphas hadn't squeezed out of me was destroyed. I spent a few years wandering the forest, trying to hide my identity, my history. I was done with it. I was no longer the weak, frightened pup that watched her mother and father be mauled to death. I was Zelda, a wolf to be feared and reckoned with. No one would ever hurt me again, no one would have to know my past, no one would know that I was once weak. I turned into a cold, unfeeling rock. I thought I would never love again, never care again. That is, until I had my little pups." A look of joy and light appeared on Zelda's face for a second, just a flash. "They were my hope. And I would do anything to protect them." And, just like that, her face darkened again. "That wolf of your pack appeared, close to the den. I was certain that he'd find it. I'd managed to keep the pups hidden away, stealing meat from your pack to feed myself. That wolf was up to no good. If he found the den, he'd kill my pups, and I was never going to let my pups become an orphan and experience what I'd experienced. So I killed him." Zelda looked up at the Alphas and yawned. "Well, it was nice chatting, but I best get going."
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