Lucia lifted her head to her full height and wagged her tail slightly at his words, giving her a very hopeful expression. She ran over to join him as he scratched his ear, and Steel was bounding in the grass behind her, trying to catch up. As he turned toward the fresh kill, Lucia's nose filled with the sweet but pungent scent of the dead animal, and she wondered why she hadn't noticed before.<br/><br/>"You have our deepest gratitude as well as our respect, Alpha," Lucia said. She allowed her tongue to loll out as well as the scent made her mouth water.<br/><br/>As Steel followed, he tripped over one of his paws and fell on his face. He stood up, shook himself, and continued leaping over the grass toward his mother and the stranger.