Eivind got what he needed to get out of the way and Stellan reaffirmed that he wouldn't strive to make anyone upset or get them caught up into trouble. It was the most that could be done in the situation but Eivind still had a hard time settling down fully, at least the way that he did with Blue and Sig on his own. Stellan was still unfamiliar to him but he was putting forth some effort not to run the other wolf off, accepting him into his home while his mate heated up leftovers for the two wayward wolves.<br/><br/>Blue pulled him aside after he set bowls and biscuits on the table, asking to go out. Eivind wasn't sure if it was the other wolf making him feel uneasy or if it was simply because they'd been in so much recently. For Eivind, it was the latter. They'd been making some progress in what Eivind could accomplish, strength returning to him not only by long bouts of lovemaking but also the games they played outside. Blue would always be incentive for him to push himself a little harder and putting that leg to use helped in the long run. He looked at the pair at the table, happily eating and wholly distracted by one another. It would probably be better to just leave them be rather than trying to be polite when Eivind was so inexplicably bad at it.<br/><br/>It was still easier for Eivind to cover ground in his wolf form even though he was bulkier with the weight distributed more evenly on four legs instead of two. He'd walk out with Blue, pick a spot to settle so that Blue would be able to get a good head start on him. They were close enough to the pack territory that Eivind felt they were safe to push the distances. He liked tracking Blue and he imagined it reaffirmed something with his lover each time he found him. Whereas they didn't go far from one another before now they both craved the challenge, Blue making it more and more difficult, testing Eivind's capabilities. He was still short in stride on the bad leg but able to trot along now with only minor discomfort.<br/><br/>Eivind found Blue's jeans strung over the branch of a tree, deliberate and telling as far as what sort of mood his mate was in. The trail had became a little confusing there, going two ways, Blue perhaps trying to make it more difficult for him. Eivind bounded off the direction instinct took him, eager and excited to catch his naughty lover.<br/><br/><br/>–<br/><br/><br/>Colten had spent time after Stellan left stewing over what he'd done. He'd nearly been able to forget about it but the wolf's return had drudged it all up. He wanted to talk to Jamsen but the old man was too disapproving. He wanted someone he respected with a more middle ground approach and the wolf he relied on for that was Stellan, though just as soon as he'd come he was gone again. Colten had enjoyed hunting with him but with Garlan around constantly he couldn't speak with him much more on the topic. Guilt ate at him with Jamsen's sour looks and Colten wanted a quick fix to assuage his feelings.<br/><br/>And so Colten left to go find Stellan which took him on a wild goose hunt, finally leading him out towards the nearby pack. He wasn't sure why he was so close into their territory but with the older pack member in the area he was feeling confident. He didn't expect to encounter the psychotic wolf that had chased him down, much less the human who he thought he'd helped get killed.<br/><br/>He'd known that scent though. It was so distinctly<i>not</i>wolf and it seemed very much alive. Sweat. Arousal. Excitement. Colten couldn't help but follow, not putting together<i>why</i>the other wolf had gone after him in the first place. Maybe this was why Stellan had come out this way. He'd found the little human. Colten could only imagine Sieger deciding he wanted to have exactly what Lofgren had, turning the human into the pack whore same as them. If someone as righteous as Sieger could do the same thing then he didn't feel so bad. Perhaps the boy even enjoyed it. He didn't smell stressed in any way so it seemed what Lofgren had said was true. He liked it. He wanted it. Meant to be a toy for those superior to play with, just perhaps not as rough as most of them had played. Colten missed that feeling of being superior to anything, such a rare thing in his day to day life.<br/><br/>Colten was conflicted in his approach. He wanted to rationalize that what he'd done wasn't all that wrong, yet at the same time Stellan had brought up conflicting points. He'd said they'd more than likely hurt him; that humans didn't respond to aggression the same way that wolves did. He did have enough sense to transition to his human form. He didn't want to seem a threat when he walked up to the human, wanted to put them on more even ground, though he still approached quickly, not wanting to let him get away.<br/><br/>The human looked good, healthy. Way better than he had when they had him, more filled out and wearing only a t-shirt, absent pants, unable to determine if he was even wearing underwear. Practically begging for it, smelling as enticing as he'd ever smelled him, yet that wasn't why Colten was there and he tried not to allow himself to be distracted. That wasn't how he'd smelled with any of them and it changed the second the human laid eyes on him. Colten had his hands out, trying to keep him calm, to let him<i>explain</i>.<br/><br/>“Oh my god, you<i>are</i>alive,” he said, almost sounding relieved as if that alone took a great weight off his shoulder. “Don't run. Don't, please.” He was anticipating his movements, rushing to block him off, determined to make him<i>stay</i>so that he could hear him out.<br/><br/>“I'm not going to do anything. I won't take you back. I'm happy you aren't dead. Just stay. I wasn't that bad, was I? I was one of the okay ones, tried to treat you alright. Didn't go out of my way to scare you like Lof.” Colten seemed as if he was trying to convince himself just as much as the human in front of him, somewhere between trying to rationalize his actions to actually admitting guilt. “Stellan said it wasn't okay, that you couldn't understand. You're alive though and I'm so sorry.”