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It was as if he were offering her a young, plump rabbit. He wanted her to take it. He needed her to take it-- his pride needed it, if nothing else. Perhaps he could continue on without her. ... But with her, what a pack he could have. And he knew this, she could tell. He knew that she was more than capable; she had defeated him, and males did seem to be so concerned over that kind of thing. If she had defeated him (and she could again, she reminded herself), then what chance did any other stand against her, to his logic? "What you offer me is a cheap victory," she told him, raising her head slightly. "What other in your pack is competition for me?"

How could any of those wolves hope to measure up to Ember's standards? They were complacent, content to remain in a pack, even if it was one as hard edged as Ralastor's. Even if it meant being subject to his temper. "The only other female in your pack is your own get," she said, and then amended herself. "The only female in your pack." Hmmn, what might he think of that? "Judging by your prior experience with that female, and by the fact that you have not replaced her... there is no other. Would you offer me something disguised as a challenge, something that is anything but that?"

Her tone was not insulting... she was simply stating a fact. "I have watched your pack for some time now. Your borders are not so distant from my own." If she wanted to be alpha, she could be. That was what he was saying. Did Ember want to be alpha? She certainly did not want to mate with an alpha to become one. No, Ember deserved the right. Ember was dominant. She would never submit. Never. But he was not offering her quite so easy a title as that. An empty victory might at least be more dignified than the usual way of things.

"Do you not think that I would have an advantage, there, being a strange female among males? There is your daughter, of course... but otherwise, there are only males in your pack. Do you not think that I can make them mind me?" If for no other reason than that she was female, they would mind her. "You have a different way of doing things, little wolf, but they do not. They are wolves. Wolves have been led by an alpha pair for as long as any wolf can remember. Longer. Their very instincts would be against them. And none of them, none of them will ever best me. Not while I yet draw breath." She refused. She absolutely, utterly refused to be bested by them.

Ember didn't need to defend herself to Ralastor, but she would speak her piece. "I am not afraid to use my teeth or my words. I am more than capable of making others mind me." Even him, when it came down to it. She had her ways. "Will they mind you when there is a female about? An unattached female, when they have none but your daughter?" she asked, watching him with those ice blue eyes. "Perhaps you might consider whether it is wise for you to pursue this course of action. I am unafraid. If you can rule a pack, I can."

If she could get him to listen to her, the others should not be so difficult. Part of it would simply be a matter of finding out weaknesses, and either exploiting them or seemingly providing something to abate those weaknesses. Something that was under her control. ... Assuming, of course, that they would not simply respond to her air of authority. It was natural for wolves to do so. Had he forgotten this?

Ember gave Ralastor a long look, her ears flicking forward as she considered his stance. "I think that you are unwilling to accept the possibility that they might not obey you," she said slowly, weighing her words as she spoke them. "And perhaps you are right not to question yourself. To be uncertain is to already be preparing yourself for loss. It is foolish, truly, to set oneself up for failure." But he would be wise to take precautions anyway, or at least to be prepared to face what might happen if he was wrong.

"Ahhh, there it is again. How is it that you lead your wolves? Of this I am curious, for I presume that if I am not alpha-- which you can assure yourself will never happen-- you will treat me in kind. Or at least you will attempt to treat me in kind." There was no way that Ember would allow it, if it involved what she thought it might.

He was not so wonderful as a fighter that she could not take him in a fight, if need be. ... And he would not like being bested where his pack could see it. ... Perhaps he would not make this a dominance game between them for that reason. Hmmn. If that was so, it was certainly smart of him. "Your daughter is not an outsider. A stranger. They say that familiarity breeds contempt. If nothing else, one is less likely to notice one that one has spent great lengths of time with."

Ahhh, so... he was a little unwilling to share his secrets with her. No matter. Ember would find out soon enough, one way or another. "You didn't really answer my question did you? Except to imply the sort of punishment you might deal out. Reality is... often different than one's imagination." In this case, Ember fully believed that there was something going on there that she was unaware of. Unless she watched him every moment of very day, there was no way to know, for certain, what it was that he did-- what methods that he used.

"You are quite right in that. If they are so weak as to be controlled by their urges, then they have no place in a strong pack... whether they listen to their alpha or not." Fools. But these males she had not met. She did not know whether they would be foolish. "It is good that you have decided this for yourself, early on... yet you have not truly told me what I might gain. Status, yes... but what advantage can you offer me beyond that?" For she knew what she could offer him.

It was true that with a pack she would not have to worry about her next meal. Not so much as she did alone. She would not have to be so guarded as she was while she slept, as well... though she probably would be, anyway. One never could tell with Ralastor. Hmmn. It was a reasonable offer, she supposed. Regular meals, protection, and power. It was that last that she liked the most. ... And, if she was not mistaken, he was offering himself as her mate. That bore thinking on. Was he what she wanted in a mate? He had proven that he had ambition. He had proven that he could rise through the ranks.

But was he what she wanted? Only time would tell, she supposed. Ember stood tall and proud, and looked over him in contemplation. There was some growing yet to be done in Ralastor, yes. He wanted a partner, or at least an ally, if nothing else. Whatever else he might be to her, could he be that? "You offer me much of what any pack could offer me," she told him. "But there is something that is different in your pack than in any other pack. Your vision is grand, broader than many of your fellows, if any of them do share it. I will have to think, little wolf. We will see what decision I come to in time."

With that, she trotted off into the darkness. She did not make her trail so easy to follow as she had the last time. No, this time Ember did everything, used every trick, that would make it hard for Ralastor to find her. In the end, she wanted the time to think, the time to ponder. Was what he wanted what she wanted? He certainly seemed to think so... or if he did not, he thought that their paths could intersect. And perhaps he was right. Perhaps he was right.