Rich nearly gasped when the white wolf transformed to her human form.  Lycan females had a certain presence; a combination of their pheromones, their appearance, and even just the way they moved.  Human women were like plastic dolls in comparison: stiff and wooden, lacking any of the subtle and graceful attributes that their lycan counterparts possessed (or so Rich firmly believed).<br/><br/>The lycan they had rescued had an<em>exceptional </em>presence.  The way she talked, the way she looked.  The usually calm and stoic Rich was nearly enthralled, but he forced himself to keep his head on straight.  It was difficult.  Afterward, he would reflect on how powerful the surge of emotions had been when he saw a female of his species for the first time in nearly a decade.<br/><br/>By the time he had processed what she said and subdued his rampant emotions, Ian had already started talking.  Rich smiled inwardly: if anyone could convince her to trust them, it'd be Ian.  The seasoned lycan had a naturally friendly, honest feel to him.<br/><br/>When Talton mentioned getting shot, Rich realized that there were likely to be more hunters in the area.  The Alpha mentally berated himself for getting distracted: he had focused so much on the female lycan that he had lost sight of the world around them.  Gunshots were loud, and if the hunter had any buddies tagging along, they'd be zeroing in on them right now.  Even if the hunter was alone, they were close to a highway: police could come to investigate as well.<br/><br/>Rich glanced at the hunter's broken body, then at the blood seeping into the crevasses of the cave's floor.  Nuh-uh, he most definitely did<em>not</em>want police to come investigating, especially if he and his pack were still here.<br/><br/>The Alpha looked at the female lycan, his expression serious.  "We need to go.  Now.  Who knows how many hunters could have heard those gunshots.  Now, if you cooperate, that's fantastic!  We'll escort you back to Pine Springs and patch you up and give you shelter from Louis.  But if you don't cooperate, we'll still take you back to Pine Springs, but there may need to be more patching up in that case.  Whichever you decide, we'll react in your best interests."  He looked over his shoulder at Talton and Ian.  "Right guys?"<br/><br/>Looking back to the female lycan, Rich hoped she would come willingly.  If what the hunter had said was true, she had traveled a good fifty miles on foot from Rainier, most likely wounded from the start.  She looked extremely pale, and though she hid it well, Rich could tell she was in pain.  The last thing the wounded lycan needed was Talton knocking her out if she tried to fight.