[sylvanSpider]

Ash sighed, moving her hands to her hips, shaking her head in disbelief. Finally, he was beginning to see. Pity that once again it took Nora to even get her point across. Even her proof wasn't good enough for him, it took Nora. It was frustrating to be disregarded that strongly, particularly when she was the one that was initially trying to help him. She couldn't help but smile, however, when her beloved scooped her up, claiming her as her own.

Audrey wanted to say that she had no intention of laying a paw (though she did appreciate the pun) on Ash, who she decided right then that she didn't like. Even this human seemed to put her in her place, which was fine with Nora. Not so much her weaker counterpart. She gulped, lifting her eyes when she added “without my permission.” The pair must have been in an open relationship, hence the presence of the two wolves. What an insane coincidence!

“The full moon thing?” the smaller of the wolves asked, half-grinning, “It's true in the sense that we all tend to go a bit...crazy, and our changes are involuntary on those nights...but as you just saw, it's not limited to full moons. Most of us can change at will, or will react to the other's scent as you saw in ah...in my case,” she shifted uncomfortably in her seat, thankful that once again she had control over herself. She gulped and continued her explanation, “Hal didn't because he was willfully ignorant of his condition, but generally, yes. They resemble human gangs to an extent, a staunch hierarchy put into play—different members from the different hierarchies each seeming to play a different game. For alphas it's all about territory and how many others they can get as followers. Betas will tend to hang out as seconds in command with the alphas. It's a safe place to be, and the stronger the alpha they follow, the better off they are. Betas are more likely to shift between packs for this reason. As for those like me? Well, the others tend to fight for us, and we tend to go with the winner—whether we want to or not. We aren't strong enough to fight back, but we are pretty fast. So if escape is an option, some will take it. Others will like the pack they are with and stick around, praying that a stronger alpha doesn't come along. We're ah...we're the most desired types to have in a pack...”

Audrey found a spot on the floor, focusing on it and hoping she didn't ask that fateful question of “why” they were the most desired and left it at that, at least for the moment. Her fingers laced and unlaced, laced and unlaced, before she looked back up at Hal for only a brief moment, looking again at Nora, “Alphas without a pack are seen as weak.”

Ash snorted, bursting out in a fit of laughter, “Hear that, Hal? Mister Lonewolf isn't as bad ass as he hoped!” She shook her head, beaming over at Nora, “You don't think he's charming in his own right? I detect some charm.”