As Grayson approached, looking even angrier than the last time she'd seen him step out of the darkness, Sonora couldn't keep herself from backing up as he crowded her. Her heart began to pound, and she fisted her hands at her sides, her fingernails digging into her palms as he snarled and growled at her. Flicking a glance up at him, she quickly looked away again, her throat working hard. Usually when someone got this close to her it didn't end prettily for them, but with Grayson...well, with him it was different. It had to be. Flinching as he jabbed at her with one claw--she would marvel at his ability to control his shifting later--Sonora forced herself to stop cowering.<br/><br/>Straightening her shoulders, she lifted her chin, swallowed again, licked her lips, and finally met his angry gaze. "I know what you told me, Grayson," she said, her voice pitched low, and trembling slightly despite her attempt at controlling it, "and believe me, I had every intention to follow them to the letter. I shifted and ran all the way to the river, but I didn't cross it. That was where Ryan found me. I told him to go home, but..." Pausing, Sonora turned to glance at Ryan through the window, the corners of her mouth lifting in a slight, reassuring smile before turning back to Grayson. "But," she continued, her voice warming and steadying, "as I am very certain you know, Ryan is a very bright and inquisitive young man, and he wanted to make a new friend tonight. I am not excusing what he did," she hastened to add, "but I couldn't very well leave him on his own with that trophy hunter wandering about. I figured it would cause less trouble to bring him here than to try and escort him back home. I apologize for the distress his absence must have caused, but I am not sorry for bringing him here, Grayson. I know more than most that children need to be protected, and if that means having to break a rule or two in order to do it, then so be it. I accept full responsibility for my actions."<br/><br/>Finished, Sonora finally fell silent, allowing her gaze to drop away from Grayson's. That was when she spotted the other shifter, standing back and watching. He looked a little rough around the edges, and she wondered briefly what his position in Grayson's pack was. When she tried to catch his scent, most of what filled her lungs was pure Grayson, and it made her knees go a little weak as she waited for judgement to fall.