Bran growled in pain, but had been expecting it, and he didn't want to hurt Alek so instead of fighting back he let Alek pin him to the ground then latched his claws into Alek's sides and used his powers to start draining his energy, hoping that could stop him at least for now.<br/>Meztli frantically watched Sinka climb up the trees, not knowing how she could help without hurting her daughter or her daughter's mate. She looked back at her own mate, the smell of his blood was killing her, as was the sight of it darkening his grey fur.<br/><br/>"Exactly," Æsc said with a nod and a smile. The truth in those words were proven every minute of their life together so far. Every time he saw her smile it seemed to spread joy through his whole being, there was nothing he wanted more than to see her happy. But every time she'd gotten upset in the slightest it upset him because he hated seeing her unhappy even in the slightest and he knew she felt the same by how she smiled at him and how upset she'd been when he was hurting after he thought Eztli had died. He knew she would always do what she could to make him happy, both for his sake and hers, and he would do the exact same.