I attempted to see what had changed in my body, but, other than an increase in size, I didn't think there was much of a change. Maybe my fingers had become very slightly more dextrous, but if that was the case, it wasn't by much. But the increase in size and stats shouldn't be underestimated--I was even bigger than Tieran when he had first evolved, standing at about 75cm. Looking around, I was happy that my pack was growing, and laid back down to sleep.

...

I woke up to the general noise of the waking pack, and noticed that Illne was constantly pulling at the catatonic Took.

"Don't worry, she'll get up soon. Her body just needs to adjust." It was weird to tower over these companions I had previously been the same size as. I was at least 20cm taller than Illne, and she startled backwards at my presence. In retrospect, I had moved nearly silently, in a manner belied by my newfound bulk. It probably was due to my now 15 in agility, allowing for me to subconsciously move in a strangely graceful yet powerful gait.

Illne nervously bowed before me, seeming to subconsciously devolve to the subservient attitude she had kept up near Tieran. I quickly lifted her head with my own.

"We don't do that here. You're a member of the pack, just like the rest." She nervously nodded and backed off. As she did so, Sybil approached me, filling the space. It appeared that her evolution had a lesser effect on her body than Took's, who was the only one still down. As yesterday, she was followed by Octavi, who I dismissed. She unhappily went to sit near Netre and the others while Sybil began to speak.

"So, fearless leader, what did you eat yesterday?"

"Nothing particularly special, but today, I have a lot to devour." I grinned when I saw the knowing smile on her face, and asked, "You hear anything from our soon-to-be packmates?"

Sybil shook her head gently, saying, "They seem to be going about life as usual. I don't much like it, since that Shemira is a conniver, but with your growth, and the evident growth of our beta, I think that any of her plans are bound to collapse."

I nodded in agreement. "All we need to do now is wait for Took to get up."

As I settled in to wait, I decided to really look at Sybil and Silf's evolutions. Sybil's changes were less notable than the evolutions I had seen previously (with the exception of Oncli's...), but she did seem to be slightly more... athletic, I guessed the term would be. Not the thin that Shemira and Bella (as I learned the haughty female's name was) were, but not the wiry power in Foire's body either. I supposed the term would be svelte. Sybil was obviously more powerful than before, but I couldn't imagine that her growth was primarily physical.

Silf, on the other hand, had experienced a marked change in his body. Looking at him closely, he seemed to mirror Oncli's body structure after his evolution, but a bit stouter than his predecessor. Looking at how he compared to his unevolved twin, it was hard to believe that they even were twins. He was now at least 10cm taller than his twin, and his jaw wider, evidently built to latch onto his prey. I was happy to see that he would now be more useful in the hunt, and I was sure that Silf was as well.

"Sybil."

"Yes?" Her reply was quick, and she stepped up to my left side. It was strange how well she had stepped into this role of informant and intelligence officer of sorts.

"How did you change overnight?"

She startled, then, after briefly cocking her head, decided to answer. "I am slightly larger, as you may have noticed..."

"No, something more than that. Trust me here, and I'll offer you an official position of power." I was decisive in my offer, as I lacked a strong, vocal supporter, and I knew I would need her to run interference on Shemira once they were all implemented into the pack. I had briefly considered simply killing Shemira before I forced the rest to follow me, but I decided against it as I didn't want to lose any of my potential powerhouses simply because I was a bit nervous.

Sybil took a deep breath. "I now have... something... inside of me. I can instill obedience in the unwilling, but it takes something out of me."

Now it was my turn to take a deep breath. "Are you saying that you can control other keelish?"

"Yes and no. Not quite control, but definitely adjust their perceptions. See certain things in a positive or negative light."

Damn that was going to be useful. I needed to keep her on my side. "How often can you do it? To how many? How long does it take to recover?"

Sybil looked at me through the corner of her eye. "It's been mere moments since I 'felt' I could do this. I've hardly had the time to conduct tests." Her face oozed sarcasm, and, were I a human, I'm sure I would have blushed at my stupid question.

Fortunately for me, we were interrupted by Took yawning loudly and shaking herself as she stood. Strikingly, she had what almost appeared to be a mane of longer scales around her neck that shuffled and skittered across each other with her rough movement. She then rolled her shoulders and the scales chinked back into place on her now swarthy neck. Took's hands had also begun to evolve, but differently from both mine and Foire's--her arms were firmly muscled and ended in a more simple claw than my own--two hooks obviously meant for ripping into something and staying there.

Took immediately looked for me, grinned in pleasure, and approached. I noted with a bit of surprise that she was still notably larger than me, standing at probably 90cm.

"This... is good." Took nodded in obvious delight and jokingly squared up with me. I bared my teeth back, and she stepped to my side, purposefully pushing Sybil behind us. Sybil, for her part, took it in stride and stepped back quietly.

"Took, she's qualified. I trust her."

She looked at me severely. "No blood shed. No trust given."

I looked at Sybil, wondering how she would respond. After a moment's thought, she brought forward her own tail and bit deeply into it. She then flicked her tail forward, splashing the blood forward with flecks hitting the unflinching Took in the body.

Took stepped towards the unmoving Sybil, and I noticed Octavi taking note of the situation and beginning to rush forward in a panic. Took grinned wolfishly.

"You're no coward. Blood is shed--trust is given." She quickly lapped the blood off of her chest and turned back to me. "Good choice."

"Thank you for your approval, Beta. Pack," I raised my voice at this, and felt stillness wash over the group, "gather up here." Everyone not close rushed forward and began to listen attentively.

"Two things. 1. Everyone knows that Took is Beta." There were nods. "Now, we have a Gamma. This is Sybil. In the hunt, Took's commands are my commands. In the den, Sybil's words are my words. Clear?" Illne, Octavi, and Netre seemed happy that one of their own was now in a leadership position, as they cheered.

"2. We are now going to annex Shemira and her pack. Any questions?" After a moment of shock, the entire pack began to mosh forward, excitedly clamoring, "Victory!" "Domination!" and "True Alpha!"

I should have known that they would be so excited for this.