Once she'd joined him the shifter shuffled closer against Brenna's side, accepting her hand with a firm squeeze before slipping his arm around her to draw her in close and share his warmth.
"Mhmm. I think it'll do you some good," he murmured, quite unable to think of a polite way of telling his mate she needed to relax and give herself some time to recuperate. In his eyes Brenna was silently suffering, bearing a great burden of stress in recent weeks and pushing herself further than was necessary.
Chris stepped away from the narrow mouth of the cave to usher her along, carefully winding their way back through the pass. It was a short journey to reach his parent's den, only about an hour more.
Only Faline was there to greet them. She sensed her son's presence, moving to the entrance of their den to watch the figures approach from a distance and wave to them excitedly with one arm. She motioned for them to follow her inside, stepping into the warmth of their caves and rushing to gather her son up in a hug.
"So good to see you again, it's been too long," she murmured, eyeing Brenna affectionately for a moment over his shoulder before breaking away from Chris and pulling her into her arms instead. Something seemed different about her scent though, and she hesitated to draw out the hug for a few moments longer than was necessary.
Chris stepped back to watch, chuckling under his breath and thinking nothing of his mother's fondness. "Her pack- They're living close by now," he offered in explanation. "Was hoping we could stay the night and warm up a bit."
Faline stepped back, eyeing Brenna up and down with a fond smile as she rubbed encouragingly at the girl's shoulders. "You both are always welcome," she assured, glancing to her son with a happy chuckle though her attention drifted back to the wild girl. "Are you well?"