<span style="font-family:Carme">Claire was her name and she was actually the alpha of the pack although she had yet to mention anything about it to Okomi as she guided him through the halls of the house that somehow managed to hold a whole wolf pack. Her pack certainly wasn’t the largest that could possibly exist, but it did tend to be more spread out. They had a few loners who had little houses or even caves within the territory itself and who rarely showed their faces at the central home; as long as they knew control, that was perfectly acceptable under Claire’s rule. She wasn’t the kind of alpha who liked to flaunt her power and she certainly didn’t think it was important for visitors to know she was the alpha. Actually, she found that she learned more about someone when they didn’t know her position because she could judge how they treated her without knowing. That tended to be a better indicator of character. <br/>
<br/>
Glancing Okomi over once they were inside, she looked at the way he held Holly and it caught her attention. <span class="fixed-color" style="color:lightsteelblue">“I don’t suppose there’s any chance you know her, is there?”</span> she asked him. <span class="fixed-color" style="color:lightsteelblue">“We’ve been struggling with her, actually. She was turned a little over a week ago and she wants nothing to do with any of us. There are times where it’s hard to even get her to eat anything.”</span> Claire seemed to have no problems with honesty as far as Holly’s situation was concerned and it was clear that she was being honest about that as she spoke. She was hopeful, too, because if by some random luck, Okomi did know her, that might make the whole process a heck of a lot easier to go through. <br/>
<br/>
She was doubtful, but it was worth asking. <br/>
<br/>
Regardless of what that answer was, she would lead them to the room where Holly had been staying. The room was actually set up kind of like a little hotel. There was a microwave and a little mini-fridge and a couch in the corner. There was a TV on one end and a single double sized bed as well. The pack was trying to make it feel like a home more than just a bedroom, but it wasn’t working too well. <br/>
<br/>
<span class="fixed-color" style="color:lightsteelblue">“This is where she’s been staying and you’re welcome to lay her down on the bed. I can show you to another room where you can stay if you’d like,”</span> Claire offered in addition to that showing. <br/>
<br/>
Her eyes caught sight of a single drop of blood dripping from Holly’s foot onto the floor and she shook her head a bit, correcting herself. <span class="fixed-color" style="color:lightsteelblue">“On second thought, if you could stay here with her for a few moments, I’m going to go grab a medical kit and then we can take care of that thorn in her foot. Then I can probably arrange to show you to a room.”</span> She didn’t wait to see if Okomi would agree with her plan or not; instead, she just headed off down the hall towards something that she supposedly knew how to find relatively easily. <br/>
<br/>
Meanwhile, Holly stirred a bit as they moved. She certainly wasn’t in any deep form of sleep based on the movements she occasionally made. Chances were that when they actually pulled the thorn out of her foot, that would be enough to wake her. <br/>
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<div style="text-align: center"><b>~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~</b>​</div><br/>
Closer to the edge of the territory, Tris and Griff were nearly at the border when Tris stopped them. A small hiss escaped through gritted teeth before he turned to glance at Griff, wondering if his companion smelled it too. He did. They could smell that there were other wolves not far from them and they were also close enough to the border to realize that they were now sharing the border with another pack when only a few days ago, the border had been theirs and theirs alone. <br/>
<br/>
A new pack neighboring them wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. As long as boundaries could be respected, it was quite possible for a situation like this one to be handled peacefully and without any conflict at all. The only thing that really had to change was a more frequent border patrol to make sure no one crossed into their territory. <span class="fixed-color" style="color:silver">“Should we continue on?”</span> Tris inquired through their linked minds. <br/>
<br/>
<span class="fixed-color" style="color:darkslategray"><b>“No. Claire wouldn’t want just two of us to get that close when this is a new development. No one has crossed yet.”</b></span> <br/>
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<span class="fixed-color" style="color:silver">“Do you smell it, though?”</span> <br/>
<br/>
<span class="fixed-color" style="color:darkslategray"><b>“What?”</b></span> <br/>
<br/>
<span class="fixed-color" style="color:silver">“It’s the scent that was left behind when we found Holly…”</span> Tristen explained. Then he remembered that Griff hadn’t been there. That would explain why he couldn’t smell it. The mere mention of it was enough for their link to serve a further use, though. Tris remembered what Holly had looked like - half her body mauled, snow bloodstained, her chest rising and falling so fast as he r body tried to keep itself a live - it hadn’t been a pretty sight, but he still shared it with Griff. Griff’s nose wrinkled and the two of them turned and headed back. <br/>
<br/>
This was something Claire had to know about sooner rather than later.</span>