Contralto

When Contralto stumbled upon Karli's clan, he wasn't sure he would fit in. It was a new clan, sure, but Karli had already surrounded herself with dragons she trusted. She had a General, a Healer, and a Lead Hunter. She didn't seem interested in letting anyone else into her inner circle at the moment and so he had to find another way to occupy himself. He decided to join the hunters, giving him a chance to leave the camp when he chose. The freedom it provided helped keep him busy.

Then Sansa arrived. And he couldn't get her out of his mind. She was sweet and gentle and it spoke to him. He didn't know how he was going to get her attention, but he was confident he could. He'd had a mate before in his previous clan, but due to extenuating circumstances he had left her and the clan behind. For him, Sansa was a chance at a fresh start.

At first it seemed like it was going to go his way. She received his advances happily enough and even had a nest with him. But she always seemed distracted, and he would often come back from a hunt to find her talking with Shade, Cerimi's mate. Cerimi didn't seem concerned, smiling understandingly at the two as she passed them. Contralto was jealous and angry all at the same time.

He threw himself into his work, taking down bigger and bigger prey, hoping that if he did this, Sansa would notice and appreciate him. He took to lurking in the shadows, listening when others didn't know, hoping he could pick up something that would help him gain Sansa's favor. But Sansa had nothing to hide and nothing to share. She was more a listener than anything else. As time went on his jealousy grew bigger.

By the time Sansa asked him to be released from their pairing, he was livid. His blood boiled every time he saw the court jester. He couldn't believe that she was more interested in a joker than him. He demanded to know what he had done to deserve this, why she didn't want to be with him. Her simple answer, "I'm not in love with you. I thought you knew that."

In his anger he backed Cerimi into a corner, demanding to know why she let her mate take his away. Cerimi shook her head, feeling sorry for him. "I don't dictate what my mate does or who he falls in love with. We are friends first and foremost and she makes him happy."

"And my feelings just don't matter, is that it?"

"Maybe it's not about you. Have you ever considered that? Maybe they connect on a level that we can't?"

Contralto stormed off. No one would understand his pain. No one would understand that all he wanted was to be happy and accepted and have a family. His first son, Magnum, had stayed in the clan, but he was closer to his mother than his father, even though they hunted together on a daily basis. Magnum had his mother's gentleness, something that Contralto couldn't understand. Even though he worked side by side with his son every day they barely talked.

Cerimi started taking an interest in him, something that boosted his pride if not mend his heart. He couldn't force Sansa to stay with him and she made her choice very clear. When Cerimi asked him to be her 2nd, he strutted around the camp that night feeling on top of the world. Karli may have her advisers but Cerimi trusted him enough to include him in her inner circle. When she asked if he would consider being her mate, he paused for only a moment. It wasn't Sansa and no dragon would ever be Sansa but Cerimi was strong and powerful. She was an adviser to the clan leader and a powerful dragon to have as a mate.

Contralto had started thinking about the clan dynamics. Karli was a strong leader. She had picked her advisers wisely. Her weaknesses weren't many, her main one being her first mate, who had joined the Tidelord and her need for children. One could almost say that her need for children was a distraction at times and the problem at the moment was that when she had a nest, she had no mate to run the clan for her. King had taken on those duties the last two nests, but he wasn't her mate and it was obvious that there was a glaring hole in the clan.

In his mind, he would make a better clan leader. He had a strong mate in Cerimi, her being the Lead Hunter. They could rule the clan together, displacing Karli fairly easily. He just had to figure out how many dragons were on his side. He started asking around, not being obvious, by asking how others felt about Karli as leader. He avoided Sansa, his son, and King's family. They were loyal to Karli to a fault. As he started asking around, he realized that most of the dragons in the clan were happy with their clan leader and loyal to her. They felt that she had the best for the clan in mind and that while her absences with her nests were inconvenient, she was trying to populate the clan. It hurt that none of her children had decided to stay as of yet, but it was understandable.

What he didn't notice was Tempest, keeping an eye on him, following him around the camp as he approached other dragons. Karli had brought Tempest to the camp as a baby, raised her as her own daughter, and employed her as her secret keeper, her whisperer. After watching him for several days, Tempest approached King with her concerns. "He wants to take over. He's gauging how many dragons would follow him and I think he's finding that none are interested. We need to nip this in the butt now." King agreed and pulled Contralto aside later that evening.

"Going against the clan leader would not be a good idea, my friend."

Contralto snorted. "Not a good idea? It seems to me that it would be pretty easy if I could get a big enough following."

King shook his head. "My guards would not follow you. My daughter's scouts would not follow you. Some of the younglings might but that's not a big number at all. My guards would defeat you easily."

"You're threatening me? To protect her?"

King nodded. "This is her clan. She started it. And she is running it. We are happy, we have plenty of food, plenty of space. There is no reason to have a change of leadership. You would find yourself greatly outnumbered. And if she were to find out that you were planning this, she would be forced to exile you from the clan. Do you really want that?"

Contralto stopped, that thought never having occurred to him before. He hadn't considered that his actions would cause Karli to exile him. He'd never see Cerimi again, even though she wasn't Sansa he did care for her. Speaking of Sansa, he'd never see her again, never see their son again. Just because they weren't close didn't mean he didn't care about him or his grandchildren. Were those sacrifices he was willing to make? King eyed him, watching as he processed the consequences. "I will keep this between us. But if you stop what you are doing now, go no further in this quest, I will keep it between us. I won't tell Cerimi or Karli of your betrayal. You better be on your best behavior from now on." Contralto agreed with gratitude, giving up the idea of leading the clan and deciding to be content with being Cerimi's second, for now at least.