Some of the wolves yelped in surprise at the announcement and others barked in firm agreement. They began to pace lightly on their paws, their eyes scanning me with a different quality now, something that had shifted from curiosity into something closer to recognition. I understood why Phoenix had waited until they were shifted. Their wolves responded to hierarchy in a way their human sides sometimes argued with. In this form the information landed where it was supposed to.
Then, slowly and without any prompting, they began to bow. One by one, snouts lowering toward the ground, holding there in a stillness that made the garden go quiet.
I did not know what to do. I could feel the pink in my cheeks and looked sideways to find Pollux standing with his shoulders back and his chin lifted, entirely comfortable with being bowed to. He had told Gaia the same thing he had always known. Lycans were the first. The hierarchy ran through them before it ran through anyone else.
