As he had turned back to answer her question,  Hutch found himself silently wondering why Sophia had turned her face away from him, her chestnut hair falling in a sheet between them. When he had eventually spoken of his sister, Sophia had rather quickly looked back in his direction, her blue gaze bright with interest, a faint coloring of pink in her cheeks, and he then wondered why she had flushed. He had just silently admitted to himself that he found the coloring attractive and was starting to theorize that it had been called into being by her excitement when the woman reached up to brush away some of the tresses from her face. He had just enough time to register the movement and firmly resolve not to look down when her cheeks flooded with a darker color. He subtly deepened his breaths, catching the hint of... embarrassment, he decided, mingled with the scent of human and wolf. He looked, He couldn't deny that, without actually moving his eyes to do so. He liked what he saw. She was a beautiful woman, she shouldn't be embarrassed about the body she had been blessed with. He had just opened his mouth to tell her so, though it went against his natural nature, when she quickly dropped her arm back into place and was saying how she would like to meet his sister one day. Slowly, Hutch closed his mouth again, giving a solitary nod of acknowledgment, regretting the lost opportunity for a well-deserved compliment. Mentally, he tucked The comment away in the back of his mind, hoping to have the chance to give it in the future. For now, he reluctantly turned his thoughts back to his sister, the newcomers, The responsibilities his father was trying to give him...

He didn't answer all of her questions immediately, waiting patiently for her to talk herself out, giving himself ample opportunity to collect his thoughts. But when his silence finally would start to be considered rude, he released the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding in an abrupt sigh. "No. New wolves are not common place in our pack. To have three changes at once is almost unheard of... And to have these three change after almost a decade without any... It's strange." He admitted, Tilting his head thoughtfully as he considered the odds. They weren't good, Even with favorable circumstances.

Resisting the sudden urge to grimace as he then admitted to the reason why he had sought solitude, Hutch's Voice almost deepened into a grumble, or perhaps it was more accurately described as a growl. "My sister, Cassidy, can be a little... irritating at times. Even though she is a werewolf, she is positively bubbly." He couldn't help the roll his eyes gave. "She was on one earlier, gushing about the wonderful opportunity the Alpha has given me by asking me to do something so important as leading a first hunt." He could feel himself bristling at the remembered emotions and comments, he couldn't help it. Even though he had wanted to make some sort of sarcastic remark about the manners of her pack's own new Wolf, his earlier irritation was resurfacing, smothering out any thought he had had of flirting. "I had to get away from her before I ripped out her hamstring or something worse to leave her behind. I couldn't take the cheery positivity she was spouting when I just wanted to be angry with my father and the Alpha for trying to force me into accepting higher responsibility. I don't want to be a dominant!"

Instinctively, Hutch's entire body went completely still, his muscles stiffening with the realization of just how much he had admitted to. Never before had he opened up to someone as much as he had been doing with this stranger, Not even his sister, who he was closest with despite being irritated with her frequently. The idea of admitting to such weakness had his mouth going dry, but almost immediately flared his irritation. He didn't care about being weak, he didn't care about being strong, it shouldn't matter that he voiced his opinion. But his wolf didn't like the feeling one bit. The wolf snarled in his mind, Demanding that the statement be refuted, irritated at his human half. Ignoring the prideful beast, ignoring the effect he might have on Sophia,, Hutch surged onto his feet, whirling around until his back was to the woman and taking a few strides away, coming to a stop with his fists clenched and his shoulders taut.