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While Cyprian hadn't <i>intentionally </i>meant to insult her... he had a certain way with words that turned a consolation into a sharp jab. However, the dam of emotions that had flooded through through the talk of Angie seemed to close off to Natalia's blunt accusation. His lips thinned to a narrow line as his expression and eyes both hardened. As if she'd found a chink in his armor, a way to get to him. Regardless of her acting like she wanted to save the girl from him, she was still a weakness nevertheless. "She's a part of my pack," he said bluntly, as if his care was for them as a whole and he wasn't singling Angie out, though his reaction spoke differently. When the girl had lost her father, and her mother had struggled after the loss of her husband, it had been Cyprian to be the glue that held them together. He'd picked up the pieces of their broken home, took them into his own and nurtured their grief while facing his own for a lost brother. Not all of his family were wolves. <br/>
<br/>
The remarks toward his manhood were merely shrugged off that point, relentless in his confidence in that area. It was, quite literally a low blow, shot out in anger. Recognizing it as a reach to hurt him, he didn't give her the satisfaction. Instead, he only responded by an audible snort that was almost condescending, his head tilting as if he had a far different opinion. "The average human? You mean... <i>besides </i>the men and women caged in prisons for murder?" He shook his head slowly, though you'd think she'd directly stroked his ego as she called them killing machines. They were a strong, resilient force to be reckoned with, he couldn't speak against his own to deny it. "Not all wolves are out to spill the blood of humans," he told her, simply and matter-of-fact. "But I suppose preaching so, I'd have better luck with beating my skull against a brick wall." <br/>
<br/>
The blow she managed to land on him had surely staggered him, but hadn't knocked him on his ass. Her remark was short-lived as he'd caught her and brought her down, but it was clear that he was reaching the end of his patience. Particularly when she continued on about Angie, and it brought a particular curl to his lips. An extension of his primal nature bleeding out into his human form, the effortless rumble of a growl that vibrated up his vocal cords and resonated in his chest. "<i>We </i>aren't the ones seeking to hurt her," he spat, eyes narrowed and matching the sharper gaze of hers. The talk of laws had him staring down at her with an intensity, and he turned his head to eye her. "You speak so ill of my family, when yours would sooner see you dead than accepting you as you are." As tempting as finishing the job was, he knew it was a fruitless effort. "Why? To end your suffering? To prove I'm the monster you claim me to be with your last breaths?" He scoffed, shaking his head. "What good would that do?" <br/>
<br/>
His fuck up tossed back in his face, he scowled. The truth of the matter in it being a fuck up was clear, yet, he hadn't expected her to live in the first place. A matter of underestimating her, sorely, at that. The time that had past unknowing she'd made it, only to be caught by surprise in front of his entire entourage. All he could do was glare down at her until the sharp impact of her knee to the side of his head, dazing him temporarily with the blow to the temple that made his vision go awry. He let out a defensive snarl that deepened when he found his body weight turned against him, his body twisting under her whim until she caught the Alpha on his back. He tensed and bared his teeth, eyes flickering with a surge of anger to have a lesser, in his opinion, getting him in such a position. However, he maintained his composure to not tear her apart piece by piece, staring up at her as she kept him down with her elbow. "Touch any of them, and death will be the last bit of peace you'll find in this world," he hissed. <br/>
<br/>
Nearly nose to nose as the tension grew between them, his hands flexing at his sides as he fought to contain himself. He saw no barrier, no break between him and his wolf. He <i>was </i>the wolf, with no separation between them. The wolf was him, as he was the animal. A wolf encased in sheep's clothing, hiding among the flock behind smooth, tan flesh and chiseled features exempt from fur, dull teeth. He said nothing as she hit him with her speech, those nearly unblinking, distrustful eyes staring up at her. With wolves, he expected rules, codes, some code of honor between them. With her as a hunter... he didn't trust her not to use any trick up her sleeve, even if it was dirty. Even with the sharper press of her elbow into his chest, his jaw shifted but he stubbornly refused to give her the benefit of hearing a sound from him. Not until he'd calmed the roiling storm in his chest, his eyes. Like the waves of the ocean ebbing back into the sea, he seemed to visibly calm. The tension of his muscles growing lax as he lowered his head back to rest against the sand. His brooding expression never ceased, but it returned to it's easy scowl. "No," he murmured. "You've done your best to provoke me, and I'll admit you had me there for a moment. If you want to see the end of me, you'll have to wait," he told her, staring up at her. He looked her over, watching the shape of her mouth, the set of her eyes. The hardened anger like a shell around her softness, refusing to give. He was quiet for a moment before he lifted his chin just the slightest. "Stay, Natalia. Watch, learn. It'll be the only chance you'll ever have to see first hand the inner workings of our world," he told her. "You refuse to see things from our side. You blindly charge without a care of who or what you're tearing apart. You may come to find we're more similar than you think, or... you'll find your opening to end me," he finalized, watching her with the barest hint of a change. <i>Tired. </i>"That is my counter. You can try to kill me now, and fail." While it sounded arrogant, it was only fact. "I could try to kill you now, needlessly. If by the end of it all you still want to see me finished, we can stand one on one and see who makes it out alive," he murmured. "Who knows, perhaps in such time, I may see things from your perspective..." He didn't seem all that sure about it, though. "Or we'll just end up tearing each other's throat out," he snickered. "... But I can assure you, this will be the only chance you'll receive, and I won't make such an offer again." </span></span>