Porcupine Ridge Take a bow

He scanned her body language carefully. His ears pulled higher when she lifted her head and his lips twitched a little in the corner, but as her eyes remained averted, Farstep didn't take it as defiance of his rank. He wasn't high enough to behave like Taggarik—perhaps if he had secured the Beta male rank for himself, he could've afforded to act with more impulse to test Jhala's willingness to accept her status and follow another, but it didn't seem necessary even if that was the case. Jolon had been another male among many males. The pack was in need of females and Jhala happened to be one of the finer sex. Because she was a female and naturally not as much competition for both him and Taggarik as other males were, and because the pack was in need of females to balance the tension from the ritualized dominance between the males, Farstep's dominance and his subsequent reactions to the other wolf's responses were quite gentle.

As such, he lowered his tail back to its original position, slightly higher than his rump and now wagging gently, and opened his mouth into a wolfish smile to accept her submission. He remained standing, but cast a glance back over his shoulder. Surely @Taggarik and @Capriccio had heard the howl and would arrive soon enough. They had probably investigated the trespassing wolf's howl from earlier as well and found nobody there, just the scents of himself and an intruder. This time they would have a real wolf to look forward to, one who respected the borders and respected their greeters as well.

As always, he was unable to speak with her, and instead continued to watch her for signs of negligence in her posturing. Taggarik and especially Capriccio would be the critical eyes here, but Farstep was the first line of defense against unsuitables. So far Jhala was passing the test; it was his job to ensure she continued to do so until the Alphas arrived and deemed her suitable by sharing their scents and accepting her deference.