Rich let himself relax.  She was going to cooperate.<br/><br/>"Alice..." he said, as if sampling the name.  "You made the right decision.  Our den isn't too far away, just under a mile west of here."<br/><br/>He was about to suggest that she be carried because of her injuries when Alice gasped and suddenly leaned against the wall.  Rich nearly smacked himself in the forehead, so precisely bad the timing of her collapse had been.  Ian beat him to the punch - again - but instead of berating the lycan, Rich was distracted by Talton.<br/><br/><em>"We need to talk, later."</em><br/><br/>Rich had little idea what his Beta wanted to talk about, probably compensation for his injuries, but he made sure to get the last word in.  It was a show of dominance, albeit a minor one, but it allowed him to instill uncertainty, even anxiety.  As Talton exited the cave, grumbling, Rich leaned in his direction.  "That we do, Talton."<br/><br/>Immediately, he rounded on Ian.  Although he felt the urge to simply order Ian to shut the fuck up and get the hell out, the Alpha was in the presence of a female lycan.  He issued such orders often in the day-to-day interactions with his pack, and all four of his lycans knew it was as impersonal and harmless as waving goodbye or uttering a brief farewell.  Alice, however, did not know this, and would likely take it the completely wrong way.  She was an outsider, and a female at that.  Such rare and...<em>valuable</em>company demanded that he choose his words carefully.<br/><br/>"Uh, Ian," he began, placing a hand firmly, but not uncomfortably, on his packmember's shoulder.  "It would only be right for me to carry Alice - if she even needs to be carried, of course.  Assigning one of my lycans to transport her rather than doing it myself would be disrespectful."  Rich moved his hand to Alice, placing it gently but confidently on the underside of her arm, indicating that she could lean on him if necessary.  "She is now a guest of the pack, and she deserves the best treatment."