Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Omega is just at the bottom of the totem pole--the wolf with the least athority. Beta is second in command to alpha. The bigger the pack, the more places there are in between, but since it's just you and me, we don't have a lot of dominance squabbling," she explained. He had completely missed the whole mating part. Was it just another piece of the birds-and-bees that he didn't understand or did he not want to be her mate?

"Mate is stronger than 'boyfriend,'" Katriel told him as she took his hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. "It's more like 'husband' or 'wife.' Wolves mate for life, and most werewolves do too."

Katriel blushed and looked away. "Nothing so formal. Pretty much we consummate the relationship and stay with each other forever. It's pretty simple. But it's not for everyone. We can stay a pack and never be mates. Mostly, being mates is about lineage and having puppies. There were a couple unmated young men in my old pack that enjoyed...sleeping around, but there were no single women in the pack, so no body said much. I have only ever been with my old mate--but then, I'm a female so the rules were a little different for me. Right now, since I'm unmated, I suppose I could sleep with whoever I wanted, and it wouldn't mean anything unless I wanted it to."

Katriel blushed brighter with the blown kiss and the questions. She was acting like a virgin! She was personally acquainted with the act of sex, so why was she being so silly and bashful now.

"I suppose we could...experiment," she agreed. "And the rules for females...well, it's really an unwritten law that whoever takes you as a mate defends you against all would-be romantic interlopers. So usually females don't have a chance to sleep around. They are mated as soon as they are of the age of consent and kept under the paw of their mate ever after. It's not as bad and chauvinistic as it sounds," she quickly clarified. "It's just that as the ones who can have pups, we're valued above all others in the pack with the only exception being our own pups. It's like...like the way humans protect pandas or elephants that are near extinction. Even though they could take care of themselves, procreation takes precedent over individual rights of expression for the sake of the survival of the species. Plus, werewolf males are extremely territorial, but that's just a genetic trait. All the women's rights protests in the world couldn't change that."

"You mean other partners besides a mate? Wild oats are usually sown before you make that sort of commitment. As Alpha, I would have a right to step in during extreme circumstances--for example if you were in an abusive relationship," she relied. "Although now that I think of it...as pack-less and mate-less as I am...I might have a few oats to sow, too. Leon has been trying for years--and with the exception of this afternoon, he's been a very loyal friend. Maybe..."

She was cut off as two very large t-bone steaks were laid in front of them. Some potatoes and seasonal veggies on the side were dwarfed by the sheer size of the meat.

"Thank you!" Katriel said to the waitress. Now maybe she could have a small reprieve from the awkward line of conversation. Still, these were things he needed to know.

"Don't growl at me for thinking of Leon," she teased kindly as she cut bite sized pieces of beef. "You brought up the wild oats, not me."

She hummed her appropriation of the meat with every bite. It had been so long since she had enjoyed a steak like this. Even taking her time and taking a sip of beer between each bite, the meat was gone in record time.

"We have history," Katriel reminded him. She could tell he was jealous and it made her smile. It had been a long time since any one had been jealous of her. "So, are you ready for dessert? They have fabulous cobbler here."