for anyone. It wouldn’t be right.”
“It is right,” Dale said. “That’s how the pride works. But maybe you and Lynn could talk about it and work out which responsibilities are whose.”
Sam looked like she wasn’t sure if she wanted any responsibilities. Dale could understand—this had been sprung on her without any warning.
But she gathered herself together quickly and asked, “How many people are there in the pride?”
“Thirty right now,” Dale said. “Not everyone lives in the city or comes to the studio regularly, and there are some people who are way far out in the country and are mostly only members of the pride in name. So the day-to-day stuff isn’t that complicated. You saw how Lynn kept Dawn in line the other day.”
Sam nodded, smiling a little.
“That’s standard alpha female stuff. Keeping an eye on the younger members, making sure they don’t get out of line.”
“Oh,” Sam said slowly. “I could be good at that, if I had a chance to get to know them.” Then she looked up. “If Lynn’s the alpha female right now, does that mean you’re the alpha male?”
Dale nodded. “I’m in charge of the pride. Technically I should be making all of the business decisions—the pride has assets, that’s sort of complicated—and keeping all the adult males in line, while Lynn deals with the adult females and the kids and any personal or family issues, but in reality we just split everything based on which of us is best able to deal with it.”
“That sounds a lot less, um,” Sam paused.
“Sexist?” Dale nodded. “A lot of the traditional ideas are like that. I promise you that being part of our pride doesn’t just mean having babies, and you don’t have to do what I tell you. Unless you’re in danger,” he couldn’t help adding. “Then you have to do what I tell you.”
Sam nodded seriously. “If I’m in danger, I promise to do what you tell me.”
“Good.” Dale smiled. “Lynn almost never does what I tell her.”
“How often do you try to tell her to do things?” Sam asked skeptically.
“Almost never.” Dale shook his head. “I did tell her to take you on in her class, though. And she barely even argued with me. I guess she could tell you were special.”
Sam blushed again, and again immediately changed the subject. “So, what sort of things have come up that Lynn had to handle? Or you. I just want to know what I’m getting into.”
“Understandable,” said Dale. “Once in a blue moon, one of the younger pride members will shift when they shouldn’t, and we usually have to come help calm things down, along with their parents if they’re a minor. Since I’ve been alpha, no pride member has ever hurt anyone, but if they did, we’d have to take charge of the legal repercussions.”
Sam sobered. “This is more serious than arguments or kids getting out of line, then.”
Dale nodded. “We have to remember that we’re dangerous to others, and that living in a city can be dangerous to us. Lynn and I also run the monthly pride get-together, which is advertised as a fun potluck, but we always make sure to talk to everybody about how often they’re getting a chance to shift, if they want to tell anyone about the pride and who that is, and things like that. It’s important to check in with every single pride member as often as possible, and catch any problems as early as possible.”
“Are there any problems right now?” Sam had leaned forward, looking serious. She might not think so, but Dale could tell she was ready for the responsibilities of being an alpha.
Of course, this particular responsibility…Dale hesitated. “It’s hard to say.”
Sam raised her eyebrows. “Hard how?”
“One of the pride is…he’s difficult to pin down. His name is Alan Chapman, and he’s not actually officially involved with the studio—he works in some high-powered business job downtown, and he’d rather spend his time there. He normally harasses us by email
“It is right,” Dale said. “That’s how the pride works. But maybe you and Lynn could talk about it and work out which responsibilities are whose.”
Sam looked like she wasn’t sure if she wanted any responsibilities. Dale could understand—this had been sprung on her without any warning.
But she gathered herself together quickly and asked, “How many people are there in the pride?”
“Thirty right now,” Dale said. “Not everyone lives in the city or comes to the studio regularly, and there are some people who are way far out in the country and are mostly only members of the pride in name. So the day-to-day stuff isn’t that complicated. You saw how Lynn kept Dawn in line the other day.”
Sam nodded, smiling a little.
“That’s standard alpha female stuff. Keeping an eye on the younger members, making sure they don’t get out of line.”
“Oh,” Sam said slowly. “I could be good at that, if I had a chance to get to know them.” Then she looked up. “If Lynn’s the alpha female right now, does that mean you’re the alpha male?”
Dale nodded. “I’m in charge of the pride. Technically I should be making all of the business decisions—the pride has assets, that’s sort of complicated—and keeping all the adult males in line, while Lynn deals with the adult females and the kids and any personal or family issues, but in reality we just split everything based on which of us is best able to deal with it.”
“That sounds a lot less, um,” Sam paused.
“Sexist?” Dale nodded. “A lot of the traditional ideas are like that. I promise you that being part of our pride doesn’t just mean having babies, and you don’t have to do what I tell you. Unless you’re in danger,” he couldn’t help adding. “Then you have to do what I tell you.”
Sam nodded seriously. “If I’m in danger, I promise to do what you tell me.”
“Good.” Dale smiled. “Lynn almost never does what I tell her.”
“How often do you try to tell her to do things?” Sam asked skeptically.
“Almost never.” Dale shook his head. “I did tell her to take you on in her class, though. And she barely even argued with me. I guess she could tell you were special.”
Sam blushed again, and again immediately changed the subject. “So, what sort of things have come up that Lynn had to handle? Or you. I just want to know what I’m getting into.”
“Understandable,” said Dale. “Once in a blue moon, one of the younger pride members will shift when they shouldn’t, and we usually have to come help calm things down, along with their parents if they’re a minor. Since I’ve been alpha, no pride member has ever hurt anyone, but if they did, we’d have to take charge of the legal repercussions.”
Sam sobered. “This is more serious than arguments or kids getting out of line, then.”
Dale nodded. “We have to remember that we’re dangerous to others, and that living in a city can be dangerous to us. Lynn and I also run the monthly pride get-together, which is advertised as a fun potluck, but we always make sure to talk to everybody about how often they’re getting a chance to shift, if they want to tell anyone about the pride and who that is, and things like that. It’s important to check in with every single pride member as often as possible, and catch any problems as early as possible.”
“Are there any problems right now?” Sam had leaned forward, looking serious. She might not think so, but Dale could tell she was ready for the responsibilities of being an alpha.
Of course, this particular responsibility…Dale hesitated. “It’s hard to say.”
Sam raised her eyebrows. “Hard how?”
“One of the pride is…he’s difficult to pin down. His name is Alan Chapman, and he’s not actually officially involved with the studio—he works in some high-powered business job downtown, and he’d rather spend his time there. He normally harasses us by email
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