Dominance

Ondrea had made the trip to Azorat to finish up her rather light Christmas shopping. She wasn't getting anything large for anyone. Trinkets and practical items, mostly. Just something to let those she cared about know she was thinking of them.

The girl was walking across the square when she froze. Another one. She'd been followed practically every time she left Montgomery House for the past week, always by a werewolf, but never the same one twice. Now, yet another wolf awaited her in the middle of the square.

This one made her hackles raise.

Posture erect and perhaps a bit too stiff, Ondrea approached the stranger, medium-brown eyes focusing unerringly on his eyebrows. He was older than her, more dominant, but that didn't mean she was about to cower before him. It was a bit foolhardy, perhaps, but the submissive child she had once been had died when she was changed. Even if she wanted to, her wolf was too proud to let her lower her head in the presence of this stranger.

"What do you want with me?" Ondrea asked. There was really not much else to be said.

Standing with his hands shoved casually into his pockets, his spine straight, Brock Cox simply waited. Ondrea Montgomery had been under observation for a little less than two months, openly only for about a week. He had not bothered trying to summon her. What would be the point?

She would be here.

His eyes were busy with the crowd, searching each person's expression, judging the way they walked, his heart lifting hopefully whenever he saw a head of blond hair... but this was business. This was-

His eyes locked on the distant figure long before she was even fully in his view, staring her down the closer she got. The urge to search the crowd was strong, but he pushed it down. He needed to control himself. For now.

She had spunk. He liked that about her.

"Come now, Ondrea, no need to be so obtuse." He grinned at her, rolling his eyes at her focus. "I know you can smell me, you know I can smell you. That's one hurdle right there." Shrugging his shoulders, the man smiled again. "You're the sharpest I've called, I'll have you know. Usually the new recruits don't catch on so quickly. It's something that can't exactly be taught. Thank you." Running a hand through his hair, he grinned again, his eyes darting through the crowd without his permission. "Besides, by now you've noticed it already. You probably noticed it when you stepped into the square. Your wolf did, at least." He shrugged. "I am what I am- simply an Alpha."

He looked back at her, and raised an eyebrow. "Surely a smart girl like you has put all this together and seen where it was going. You're packless. You're welcome with us." He hummed in thought, rubbing his chin before shrugging again. "I do need a protege. You'd make a good Alpha."

"Ought to be instinctual, shouldn't it?" she responded, elevating a brow. She allowed her gaze to directly meet his for a fleeting moment before darting away, directed over his shoulder, instead. "I noticed." It had just taken a while for her to put a word to what her wolf had known without prompting.

"I'm not-" Ondrea had began before he had finished speaking. Not interested in being bottom of the totem pole, was what she was going to say. The girl shot him a sharp glance, narrowed eyes meeting his for far longer, this time.

"Males don't generally appreciate dominance in females," she pointed out, tone matter-of-fact.

Brock raised an eyebrow at the young werewolf, his brown eyes sparkling mischievously as he noted her rebellion. That was good. Grinning boyishly, the man shrugged. "Males don't generally appreciate dominance in anything but themselves. You will - or would, I suppose - be a leader whether they like it or not, and it is not their decision anyway, it is mine." He shrugged lightly. "Unless, of course, you decline, in which case, I will simply find someone else."

Ondrea gave an appreciative snort. "At least you know," she said. She focused on the ground as she thought, teeth worrying her bottom lip.

"Do you really think... I mean - I haven't been around others. I mean, there are a couple at school, and the ones you've had tracking me all over Europe for a month, but I've never spent much time with any of them, except Ty. He's... a friend." The girl grimaced a bit at the thought of Ty. She adored the man, in a way, and felt fiercely protective of him, but there was always that guilt. His part in her life was solely because she had screwed up.

And this alpha probably knew about it.

"Just because I am male doesn't mean I'm completely useless." He teased lightly. "Trust me on this, though you may not fit in initially, you will become one of us. Technically you already are." His eyes became distant, and the tone of his voice changed slightly, becoming the voice of the man he was supposed to be, the strong Alpha wolf. "My pack is a family." He said, gazing directly at the girl. "We take everyone, and anyone. The best and the worst. You just happen to be born for greatness."

"Ah, yes. Tyler. He's already joined." He offered an apologetic smile. "We were going to invite you first but... considering his age...." He shrugged lightly. "He was a much larger hazard, you understand. Less used to the lifestyle."

Belonging.

It had always been at the back of Ondrea's mind, since the time she was young girl. That burning need and nameless obsession that followed her ever since Owen had told her why she looked different from the rest of their family. Ondrea had thought she'd outgrown that. She was fine on her own, taking care of herself.

Wasn't she?

An irrational growl started at the back of her throat before she broke it off. Tyler was hers. Ondrea swallowed the surge of protective possessiveness back. The man was right, after all. Tyler needed greater guidance than she had been able to offer him being away at school most of the year.

"Thank you," she said, truly meaning it. The girl gazed back at the man a long moment. "Say I accept. What all would that entail?"

"Entail?" Brock rubbed his stubble, gazing back at her. "Well, a pack life. I don't really know how to explain it. We're a family. You get to learn to control your inner wolf. You'd get leadership training. Life skills. Basic and Advanced combat..." He frowned. "It is quite difficult to explain. But you also get instant access to all the Pack houses and safe houses that you would need, along my personal, and the pack's protection." He shrugged. "There is much more, but you can't expect me to lay out all the secrets and insights to my pack to someone who isn't even sure if they'll join, can you?" He grinned boyishly, his eyes sweeping the crowd. His ears picked up a hint of Finnish, and he nearly turned toward it, though the voice was wrong and the dialect was slightly off...

He kept his eyes trained on the girl he was attempting to recruit, rather than the Finnish woman walking away from him. He knew it wasn't her, but the urge to look, to make sure, was nearly...

From over Ondrea's shoulder, a wolf in civilian clothing shook his head minutely, and Brock was calm again. So it really wasn't her.

Ondrea nodded her understanding, internalizing the information. "I like what you have told me," she said frankly. "It's... it sounds like an incredible opportunity. I don't wish to rush into a decision.

"I mean no disrespect, I just would like a bit of time to consider this new option. It is not one I had anticipated coming along. ... books would have it that werewolves are still in the dark ages of male and female inequality." Ondrea gave a wry grin.

"Is there anyway I might meet you, or even send you an owl indicating my acceptance or refusal tomorrow?" the girl asked. "I would feel better about any decision I made if I had the chance to sleep on it."