Reilly had thought he'd been less obvious than that. He'd spent a lot of time not looking directly at things and people, curbing his curiosity and learning to keep his head down, especially when it came to large, imposing "asshole dominants". But these new people from another planet, the ones who haven't always been shifters, are the biggest curiosity in his life right now. Most of them are older and they don't want anything to do with the kids, especially one half-grown like him, but Abby's different. She's closer to his age, and she notices him.

Abby doesn't look mean, precisely, but she's obviously big and strong, and even if he's not a wolf, he's got it in his blood. Reilly can feel the way the dominance kinda sparkles all around her. Most people are somewhere in the middle of the road, if they're not an alpha or a beta. But man, she's up there.

But she doesn't act like any of the dominants he knows. Heck, the person she reminds him of most is probably Hayden, his own beloved, goofy, soft alpha. The one who whines about dish duty but also does the very most, and lets the smallest of pups boss him, who teases without being mean.

Reilly freezes as Abby-the-newcomer-alien-wolf turns her eyes on him, caught, and stares at her with wide eyes as he runs some quick calculations. His first step is hesitant, but then he catches up, gingerly lifting one side of the blankets to better balance them.

"Sorry," he says automatically, his voice a little small. He doesn't sound scared, to exactly, just a little intimidated, unsure of how he's supposed to act.

He keeps quiet for all of a few seconds before he says, shyly:

"I was trying to think about how to talk to you. But I didn't want to make it weird. Sometimes when people are new, they need their space, and they should be allowed to talk when they're ready."

It has the air of something an adult has thoughtfully told him.