Owen had had the pleasure of getting to know their new security chief early on in the effort to reopen the park. They needed a new man in charge and InGen hadn't ignored the matter.

With the return of Claire, Dan Carter had come as well. In the beginning he had been a name, a shadow, because Owen wasn't high on anyone's security list when it came to Jurassic World.

He was number one when it came to the whole island. Because of the pack.

It was inevitable that the two men had to meet one day.

Carter wasn't a carbon copy of the late Vic Hoskins, but he shared Hoskins' distrust in the raptors. He knew they were fast, lethal, with killer instincts, and highly intelligent.

But unlike Hoskins he gave the pack a chance.

Team meetings where he was in attendance were pleasant, professional, and he never outright called Owen or the pack a threat. He had security concerns when it came to the park, to the animal enclosures, the gyrospheres, the gondola, the monorail.

Valid security concerns.

Everything needed to be checked and rechecked.

Claire complied with his demands. She cooperated and the park was growing into a save, family-friendly theme world again. Everything had been updated and upgraded.

Carter rarely stuck around after business had been taken care of. He had never sought him out.

Until much later.

Carter had decided to spend a day with Owen, getting to know the man who was alpha to a pack of velociraptors. He would make his own picture of how dangerous they were, how much Owen could be trusted to handle the four raptors.

The new security chief knew the truth behind the catastrophic events from a year ago and he knew what role Owen had played. He understood that the public knew one thing, but the real story was another.

It had gotten Owen a nod of respect and acknowledgement.

Carter was also in the know when it came to preternatural talents. A friend of his was talented and worked at a wildlife preserve. As chief of security it was also vital to understand that Owen Grady wasn't just a maniac or some idiot with a misunderstood perception of what a velociraptor was and could do.

The man was tall, broad-shouldered, built like a brick, all muscle, but fast on his feet with reflexes that spoke of his military training. Where Owen had been a Military Dog Handler, Carter had been Special Forces. He sported a crew cut, his eyes tracked everything, sharp and quick on the uptake, and he was in control.

There was a mutual acceptance, but trust wasn't easily gained when it came to raptors and outsiders looking in. Grady could accept that in turn.

The troopers knew Owen. Most of those who had survived the i-rex had come back. Only a few had either quit or asked for another assignment.

"I know the file," Carter told him. "Ms. Dearing told me even more. I respect what you did and I realize the part the pack played in it."

"But?" Owen probed, because there was a But. A big one.

"They're animals. Intelligent, but animals. That's what I see in them. Not people. I don't think they can change from what they are, except when their alpha is concerned. That's where we stand here. You they will follow. Everyone else? Possible attack potential."

"The pack knows not to attack anyone at the theme park of anywhere else on the island. Even possible intruders are only watched and their presence reported back to me."

Carter raised an eyebrow. "You trained them that well?"

Owen met the sharp blue eyes. "I am the alpha. They wouldn't attack you unless you attacked me physically or tried to kill them."

The intensity in the gaze rose. "Raising my voice, yelling at you, maybe shoving you…?"

"Growls, warning snarls, maybe a bark. No attack."

"Interesting."

And then it was showtime.

Not that Owen made a show out of it in any way. He walked into the enclosure like he always did: calm and assertive. He had never changed his approach, even with the growing understanding of his pack and deepening bond to each of them.

He was alpha.

He was the leader.

He would never show submission and the pack knew it.

Owen's mind reached for the pack as he whistled for their attention.

Blue's turned her head to look at him, then past him at the watcher. Her fingers flexed and she shifted her weight a little. The tail twitched, but she wasn't preparing for an attack.

He is new.

"Eyes on me, girls," Owen said, palms up and out. And yes, he is the new chief of security. Like Hoskins.

Blue snorted, still watching Carter. The man was tense, hand hovering over his weapon.

Not that he could do much should any of the four attack their alpha. It would be over too fast.

He distrusted us.

The pack had never liked Hoskins, and Hoskins had never liked the pack. He had come to understand the dynamics in the end, had realized how much there was to the pack bond, and how integrated Owen was as the alpha. Not just a human trainer who could be so easily killed.

Too bad it had been mere hours later that he had died at the claws of the i-rex.

"Let's show our new Chief what perfect ladies you are," Owen said with a smile.

Blue chuffed as she pushed her nose against his palm and Owen cupped her jaw.

Delta yipped and looked at their visitor. Her nostrils blew wide, taking in his scent. Carter was growing more and more nervous, tense, ready to shoot.

Owen turned and looked at the man, frowning. "No guns," he said, voice even. "You pull a weapon, you leave."

The tension was now quite visible, especially in the thinning lips. Carter eyes narrowed and he nodded at the raptors who had fanned out behind Owen like an honor guard. Blue stepped beside Owen, shoulder-to-shoulder, clearly positioning herself as the beta. She rumbled a little.

He placed a calming hand on her neck and patted it. "Behave. And now, the usual. Line up, ladies! Time for the muzzles."

Echo whuffled, shaking her head in disgust. She was always the most vocal when it came to the muzzles and she always would be. The harness? Yes. The saddle bags? She was all for it. She would do just about anything but wear the muzzle if she could help it.

But there was no way around it.

Ten minutes later the pack milled around, wearing the hated muzzles. They were all excited to get out, ignoring the straps around their snouts. Charlie scratched her jaw with one sharp talon, snorting.

"They could easily remove them with their claws," Carter remarked.

"Told your predecessor the same, but he insisted that they wear them." Owen shrugged. "So they wear them."

"And you didn't get your hands bitten off."

Grady smiled brightly. "Nope." He wriggled his fingers. Then the humor vanished. "It's not about control. It's about respect. Their respect for me, my respect for them."

They stood behind him, tall and proud. Carter watched them, lips pursed. "You could easily lose that, Grady."

"Doubtful."

Blue agreed strongly.

"Because it's a permanent bond. Your life connected to theirs?"

"They wouldn't have been able to relate to me otherwise."

Carter still looked at them, visible ill at ease at the way Blue was regarding him with such singular attention.

"She understands," he murmured.

"Yes." No lies. People at the park knew.

"Near-human intelligence?"

Owen didn't answer that and the other man blew out a breath. His hand slid away from his gun, but the tension was still there. He would react with force if the pack so much as twitched the wrong way.

"Understood."

"I'm taking them to the Valley for training. Meet you there?"

"I'll follow you."

Okay. Owen didn't argue.

We can easily lose him, Blue decided, teasing.

"Play nice," he murmured as he walked past the beta. "We want the guy on our side."

They left the compound, the pack egging Owen on to run, to work the energy off, and he finally let them. One sharp gesture and sanctioning the run through the connection.

They were off.

Owen followed with Carter in tow.

"You trust them to go where you told them?"

"Yeah."

"They never run off?"

Owen shot him a look. "Why would they? It's training. They get to run, to chase. My word, my rule."

"Alpha."

"Yep."

"You direct them with whistles and hand gestures?"

"Mostly."

Carter was silent, looking at him, then he understood. "The bond. You tell them through the bond? Well, fuck. That runs deeper than I thought it could."

"It's… an evolving connection."

The chief of security laughed wryly. "You don't say. Damnit, Grady!"

Blue barked and he flinched a little, attention immediately on the raptors, hand on his gun.

"Relax, Carter," Owen said, stepping slightly in front of the man and between him and the pack.

She was getting restless. They wanted to get on with the training, wanted to chase some gallimimus and herd them to wherever Owen wanted them to run.

"Pushy," Carter remarked.

"They've been cooped up for a few days. They need to work off their energy, get exercise, even for their brains."

So he sent them off.

With clear orders.

Check on the herd. Find any sick or injured animals. Separate them from the group and run them back to the small paddock that was out of the way and couldn't be seen by tourists. The gallimimus keepers would decide what to do next, whether the animals in questions could be saved or had to be put down.

Those would be raptor prey.

"They don't kill them," Dan murmured, watching it all through binoculars. "And they do this without you guiding them."

"They've done this a hundred times before already. The pack knows what to do and I keep an eye on matters in case I'm needed. They know the selection process."

"Like sheep dogs?"

"You still have to tell a sheep dog where to take the herd. You guide it. The pack doesn't need that any more. They have their duties and they handle the herds according to my orders."

"You trust them." It wasn't even a question.

"I do. I trust the pack and I trust the beta of the pack to handle the others in my absence. Blue keeps an eye on the others and she would intervene if one gets out of line."

"You turn your back to them."

Owen raised his eyebrows. "After everything you've heard, read and seen…? Really?"

"Point. Seeing it for real is… rather disturbing." Carter's expression was a mixture of awe and terror. "The t-rex is one big dinosaur and it's fast. It's deadly. You can respect that. The raptors are… something else. Their intelligence, their cunning, the way they understand… And you are in the middle. Human."

Owen was silent, waiting.

"Aside from the herbivores, hardly anyone gets this close," their security chief went on. "And I've watched and talked to the handlers. They don't pet their triceratopes either. Your contact is casual. You don't even think about the danger any more."

"No," Owen said calmly. "Not in the way you do. I know they could hurt me. I'm quite aware of that danger, that I could get killed. I've been in such situations. I'm still alive."

"Because you have a strong beta?"

He nodded.

Carter thought about it, then went back to watching the pack work.

They returned a few hours later, the pack pleasantly tired and very pleased with themselves. They rumbled and yipped amongst themselves. Echo was almost bouncy and Delta snapped at her, annoyed at so much left-over energy. Charlie just shouldered into her, growling, and Echo playfully pushed back.

Blue watched them, not yet intervening.

Owen whistled and got their attention. They stood still, letting him take off the muzzles again, then waited until he dismissed them.

Blue stayed. She turned her head, focusing on their visitor again.

"What's up with her?" Carter asked, visibly disconcerted by the singular attention.

Owen let his beta brush against him, showing her possessive side. It wasn't dominance, just a way of marking what was hers and not someone else's.

"She's not ready to trust you, Mr. Carter. It's her way to protect me in case you represent danger."

Carter looked at Blue.

Blue looked back.

"The i-rex communicated with them," he remarked. "She turned them against you."

"She tried to. She pushed her will against theirs. Nothing of that is left."

Blue growled as those memories came back. Her lips rose from sharp teeth and Carter tensed.

"The i-rex pushed her will against a lot of dinosaurs. She pushed her will against me. She wanted to kill me."

Blue snarled more, old anger rising. Owen reached for her, physically and mentally. The pack got a little tense now, moving restlessly. Echo whined. Charlie barked.

"It's the past. It wouldn't happen again. The bond is unbreakable, Mr. Carter. There will never be another i-rex, or anything like her."

Blue growled her agreement.

Owen gave her a last pat, then left the paddock, locking the gates. Carter's eyes were still on the raptors.

Blue hadn't moved, standing proud and tall. Her nostrils blew wide and she rumbled continuously. Her tail twitched a little.

Owen nodded at the house. "Soda?"

After a long moment of meeting the beta's eyes, Carter turned away and looked at their alpha. He accepted with a nod. It came as a surprise, but in a way it was a first step after a day of watching, waiting, making mental notes.

He stayed until sunset.

Both men talked a little, but the silence between them wasn't heavy or uncomfortable. Carter was working through it, analyzed what it meant.

Now and then he asked pointed questions.

It would need time.

Owen would gladly give it to him.

It was the beginning of a solid work relationship built on acknowledgement, respect and a common background.

tbc...