Tinker’s ears went back and she cowered when Warren changed into something that wasn’t human or entirely animal, but she recognized a protective posture when she saw it. Warren was standing down his friends for her. She resumed her regal posture and would have stretched up on hind legs to give him a lick, but he was hovering over her. Then the older man came out.<br/><br/>Tinker cocked her head, looking at him. There was something about him that seemed familiar although she knew she had never seen this human before. His bearing was that of a leader. He moved with assurance, not batting an eye at Warren’s display of power. He was looking at her while addressing Warren and his look was not unkind. Something of him drew her in, made her want to trust him.<br/><br/>In pack speak, she said,<br/><br/>“I am Tinker of the Southern Pack, we call ourselves Lupus Pack. My father, Tanner, was the Alpha.” She paused remembering the enormous gray wolf with the black tips on the ends of his fur with blue eyes like hers. “He and my mother, Nora, were mated for many years and successfully guided our pack, but now they are gone. Warren found me by the road when I was running from the new Alpha. They had put me out because of my black fur. They said, I was a hunting hazard.”<br/><br/>She sat calmly as she recited the litany of her story, feeling Warren’s heat at her back, reassuring in his presence. “Warren says you are a good pack and that you are shifters like he is but a wolf like I am. I think my father was a shifter once but never did since I can remember and my mother was fully a wolf.  I think I can shift too but I don’t know how. Warren isn’t my mate, although I am his pack. He has healed me, fed me and protected me. Sleeping next to him, he shares his warmth at night and makes the nights safe. Warren is my everything.”<br/><br/>Tinker could have had a bit more discretion but she had so many thoughts rolling around in her head and this leader inspired such a profound sense of safety, that she found herself saying way too much. Warren nudged her with his toe and she abruptly stopped, looking at the man and her Alpha with beautiful, clear blue eyes that held no guile.<br/><br/>The older man sent the scouts on ahead to prepare the camp for their arrival. Tinker waited for Warren to show her what to do next.