Thankfully, nothing Jamsen told him was much different from what Colten had already said. Eivind, once setting eyes on Blue and realizing the boy was his mate, must have lost it when Alden tried to interfere with him taking the human away. Though Stellan didn't have an instinctual mate of his own, the process of recognition had been explained to him before as overwhelming. Numerous wolves had described to him how they had been consumed by a deep and irrepressible need to claim their lovers upon first setting eyes upon them. Colten had said something about Blue being too skinny, being ravaged by Garlan and sewn up by Alden, a wolf with zero medical training. Whatever sorry state Eivind found the boy in, it couldn't have been good.<br/><br/>“Nah, he's never been quite right in the head from what I hear,” Stellan replied, absentmindedly stroking his beard.<i>If they knew why, they'd understand. And they might come for both of them.</i>“Best for the boy that Sieger put 'im out of his misery. Poor thing must have wanted to die.” Despite Stellan's habit of sharing everything with Jamsen, the wolf felt that keeping Blue's existence a secret was paramount. Jamsen, of all wolves, wouldn't betray his confidence, but mentioning anything was simply too risky, especially with Colten still pouting about.<br/><br/>“I'm just passing through. I can't stay.”<i>I have to get back to Sig. </i>“But I'll be here for the night. They feeding you enough?” Doubtful Jamsen was able to hunt anymore, but some of the wolves took mercy on the old dog and was giving him strips of meat after the young ones had taken all the juicy bits. Stellan spent the evening hunting down a couple of fat rabbits for Jamsen to enjoy after he'd left, his maw covered in bright red blood once he settled down for the night to keep his longtime friend company. He regretted leaving Jamsen there come morning. The old man needed proper care and it wasn't doing him any good to stay out in the forest with the young wolves.<br/><br/>“I'll come back soon. Set you up somewhere. I don't like you being out here like this.” Stellan wasn't sure what he would do, but he could figure something out. Maybe Sieger would be willing to let the old wolf have a small bit of property in his territory. A cabin set up with everything he'd need. Sieger's pack maintained sustainable gardens and shared their meat more freely with one another; Jamsen wouldn't need to live off of scraps.<br/><br/>Stellan attempted to sneak off the next morning but Lofgren was waiting, insisting he come back and help with the hunt. Knowing outright refusal wasn't going to end well, Stellan relented, taking down a buck and a handful of rabbits, dragging the meat back to Lofgren's preferred lurking spot. Two more days of this passed before Lofgren had decided Stellan had done enough, allowing him to leave again under the condition that his absence not last as long this time.<br/><br/>The trip back to Sieger's territory seemed short as he rode back, wind whipping at his body as his motorcycle smoothly weaved down the back roads. He wanted to go after Sig first. His mind had been unable to think of much else other than the small, attractive wolf while he was being forced to hunt down meat he would never eat. He was relieved Lofgren hadn't asked any more questions about Sig once the smell had been covered up by blood.<br/><br/>Blue and Eivind were sitting on the porch when Stellan's bike rolled up in front of the cabin. The human was cleaning the gaping wound on Eivind's leg, using cotton balls dipped in saline to wipe at the healing flesh. Blue had never been one to flinch from grotesque wounds, often finding a strange, almost attractive morbidity in it. Growing up, he had always been the one to ask to see when another child was hurt and bleeding. When one of his old high school acquaintances had broken her leg in a snow boarding accident, Blue had asked to see pictures of her swollen limb after it had been stapled back together. Eivind's wound, while unpleasant, didn't bother him, and Eivind was much more agreeable to having Blue touch him than anyone else. Alaric had eventually just shoved all of the supplies in Blue's hands and told him how to clean and wrap after Eivind had snapped at him one too many times.<br/><br/>He stopped what he was doing when Stellan pulled up, fresh gauze in hand and just waiting to be wrapped around his lover's thigh. He wore only a pair of loose-fitting pajama bottoms that hung off of his narrow hips, exposing the mangled and scarred flesh of his upper body.<br/><br/>“What are you doing here?” Blue asked, not intending to sound rude, just surprised. He placed a hand on his mate's chest to settle him, silently letting him know that it was okay. “Where's Sig?”<br/><br/>“He decided he wanted to stay by the river,” Stellan called out, slowly stepping off from his bike and setting his removed helmet on the seat. He kept his body loose and respectful, inviting, though he didn't step forward toward the porch. After their last encounter, Stellan had come to an understanding about Eivind, and any anger toward his previous bout of disrespect had faded.<br/><br/>“I didn't want him coming home with me, anyway. Little wolves aren't treated very well in Lofgren's pack. If he'd wanted to come with I would have told him to stay away, but he's too smart for that.”<br/><br/>Blue heaved a sigh of relief. Eivind's worries had only exacerbated his own, but knowing that Sig hadn't stepped foot anywhere near Lofgren's territory was good news. Chances were high that he was still lounging out by that river.<br/><br/>“Look...” he paused, eyes scraping over Blue's damaged body. His chest felt tight as he stared at the broken boy. His beauty was tarnished by the excessive scarring that marred his otherwise milky skin. Wolves were used to scars and battle wounds, but even Stellan had never seen anything quite like Blue. “I know what they did. My pack. I heard it from Jamsen, the old wolf who told Sieger about you.”<br/><br/>Blue's neutral expression had fallen, a frown taking hold of his face. He dropped the gauze into the med kit he had brought out onto the porch and stood, his body shaking. “You told them about me?! Why the fuck would you do that?!”<br/><br/>“No, no!” Stellan said, holding up his hands, a mild plea for forgiveness. “I didn't, I promise you. I wouldn't. I just asked them where Alden was and heard everything. No one knows I was here with you. Everyone thinks you're dead. I let them keep thinking that.<br/><br/>“I just... I wanted to say that I'm sorry for what they did to you. It was wrong. I never would have... had I been there...” What<i>would</i>he have done had he been there? Stellan wasn't quite sure. He would have tried something. Maybe done what Jamsen had. Maybe something else. It didn't matter now.<br/><br/>“I understand why you reacted the way you did,” he explained, directing his attention to Eivind. “If I were in your situation I don't know that I would have been able to keep it together. I get that you don't trust me, but I want you to know that I wouldn't hurt your boy. And I wouldn't hurt Sig.”