Ayres stepped forward, his massive, bare shoulders adding a layer of undeniable physical weight to Tolief's words.
"The pale one speaks the truth." Ayres rumbled, his voice deep as a mountain tremor. "Among the Bear tribe, we respect the strength of a female's spirit. If one of my fellow brothers spoke of a leader's mate with such filth, he wouldn't just be choked. He would be cast out. Let him go, Weijie. He isn't worth the blood on your hands."
Weijie's chest heaved, his muscles rippling under his sun-bronzed skin. He looked back at Hezhi, whose eyes were rolling back in his head.
With a snarl of pure loathing, Weijie opened his hand. Hezhi slumped to the dirt in a heap, gasping and clutching his bruised throat.
Tolief didn't offer a hand to help. Instead, he adjusted his gaze toward the lower dip of the settlement where the fragrance of Ningning's cooking was reaching a crescendo.
