TODAY'S OFFICIAL AND UNOFFICIAL PLANS

A couple of hours later, my alarm woke me up again. It's Saturday morning.

Considering what happened last night, I felt pretty good this morning.

Savy rolled over in the bed above mine. I got up and padded into the bathroom. Time for another fruity shower. Savy and I had been opening all the different colored bottles. So far no one had told us we couldn't. Morning felt like grapefruit and strawberries.

By the time I was done, everyone was in the dining-living room of the penthouse.

If the pent house was a squeeze when Savy was born, it was a crush now that Savy and I have grown up AND Killion and Harvey were around too.

Mum and Dad acted like we had lived like this all our lives. Dad even had Beta Lucas come up to discuss something. Only that he and Beta Lucas had to take their breakfast and discussion to the living room sofas.

Ben was there too, just sitting on the side sofa looking pensive.

"You sure you don't want anything, Beta Ben?" Killion was asking as he put a plate of something delicious and fancy in front of Beta Lucas.

Ben adverted his gaze, "Not from you, dog."

Killion looked highly amused.

Why were all three of my betas here? Not that I was complaining, but why?

Ben stood up the moment I stepped out of the room. Harvey stood up too.

"Good morning, Princess." Harvey said.

VIP treatment early in the morning? Nice.

I grinned, "Morning, guys."

Killion put juice and a plate of fancy stuff. I carefully examined it, "What is this?"

"Smoked salmon egg Benedict with avocado on a toasted English muffin." He explained.

From now on, I'll just eat without asking.

Killion served Harvey the same. Oh no... "Don't tell me you guys waited for me."

"It's only natural." Harvey said.

There was nothing natural about not eating when you're hungry.

"Beta Ben, not hungry?" Killion took out another plate from the kitchen.

Ben adverted his gaze coolly, "I'll eat later."

Harvey placed a neat stack of files next to me. "Killion had reprinted some of your files this morning."

I saw my project file. Oh good. But Harvey was just getting started.

"Princess, Ben will accompany you this morning. You are meeting your peers for breakfast and Lycan Study Group followed by lunch.

Ki will accompany you after lunch for your project meeting at Alpha Henry's home. Your new car should be arriving in the morning. Ki will see to it.

I will be at Morning Light to deal with some matters there and will return tomorrow afternoon for the first Alpha Duty session with Nix."

Sounds like Harvey's got his plate full, but he still went on.

"The Lorent pack had sent an immediate response about the warriors last night. They apologized for the trespass but had been chasing down one of their own members who had gone rogue. They seek our understanding and would like the warriors returned. But since you had left instructions not to release anyone without your permission last night, your dad kept them overnight. What are your instructions?"

Oh yeah... There was that too. What to do?

DO SOMETHING CRAZY.

Yeah. Why not?

There was a quieting around me, I could tell that Dad and Beta Lucas had stopped to hear my response.

"Thanks Dad, for keeping them." I started by stalling... What should I do with them?

"They were your capture, Sam. I'll leave them to your disposal." Dad answered with an easy smile.

Beta Lucas was feeling a little less at ease about it, "But Sam... I must say that it would be hard not to offend them if we held them back too long without good reason."

There was definitely something really fishy about last night, but what?

"Did the response come directly from Alpha James?" I asked.

"No, their warrior captain responded." Harvey answered. I'm so lucky to have a Beta who caught all the details like that.

I nodded, "Dad, can you contact Alpha James directly? Tell him urm... you didn't want to just tell anyone about this but we caught some of his soldiers out of uniform and friendly with rogues at our borders, and that we witnessed them killing a old woman. And ask him to come meet me personally. The old woman prophesied in her dying breath something that I'd like to discuss with him."

"She did?" Dad asked.

I nodded. "Harvey can fill you in on the details."

"Furthermore, the cars giving chase were suspiciously old. I would like to show them to Alpha James. I am going to say that I have good reason to believe that the warriors are imposters with stolen cars probably impounded by the Lorent years ago."

"Very well, I will ask him over this evening. We will hold the warriors till then." Dad said.

"Meanwhile, what should we tell their Captain?" Beta Lucas asked, "He has been demanding their return all night."

I laughed at that, "Killion, what excuse could we use?"

"Why are you asking me, goddess?" He complained.

"Because I think you would have a fun idea." I answered.

"And you are right as usual, goddess." Killion beamed, "Let's tell them that they had been very rowdy and unruly. They haven't calmed down all night, and have been claiming there was a ghost. You are beginning to doubt their sanity and don't dare to release them till they were calmer."

Beta Lucas held up his hand, "I did hear a few of them talked of ghosts but... They haven't been terribly panicked."

"I'll take care of that." Killion promised.

"What are you planning, Killion?" I asked.

Killion stopped pouring out coffee, "What do you mean goddess? I'll just be test driving the new car and chauffeuring you to Alpha Henry's and back... But before that I might visit some old friends in the dungeon, and then I might just check out the warlock lands -just in case Beta Lorent didn't die. If I find him half dead, or caught in a trap, I might just help end his suffering."

Everyone stopped eating to look at Killion.

Killion flashed one of his brilliant smiles, "If that's alright with you, goddess."

Everyone looked at me now. Was he crazy? Going into the warlock lands was suicide. Mad. But if I was going to do something crazy, why couldn't he?

I smiled back as widely as I could and nodded, "Sure. As long as you come back in one piece to send me to Henry's later, I don't mind... But if you do find him, please bring him back alive, if that's possible."

"Ki, don't go too far with the warriors either..." Harvey warned.

"I'm just going to say hi." Killion insisted, "I grew up with those guys after all... What do you think ghosts wear?"

Savy raised her hand, "I'll help you, Ki."

"You are very kind." Killion answered and I swore Savy would have cackled, except Beta Lucas and Harvey and Ben were around, so she covered her mouth and the laugh that escaped came out as a really cute giggle.

"Our young people have a different approach to things." Dad observed, "Let's see how it goes."

"Lucas, perhaps you might go with Ki." Dad decided, "Lucas can grant you access to the dungeons."

"And pretend he can't see you!" I pretty much shouted. Oh I wished I could see that!

Ben said, "Dad, try to film the warriors freaking out. If you get a good clip, you can send it to the Captain. Don't get the dog in the shot, and make sure you yell at the warriors to keep quiet. And Dog, don't talk. This will make them seem really crazy. Never mind, I'll come with you after breakfast."

Killion chuckled, "Goddess, I'm gonna die of happiness."

"Just make sure you resurrect and send me to Henry's on time." I told him.

"Ahem," Dad cleared his throat and continued, "Lucas is also a good guide in the warlock lands."

Eh, what? I thought no one could go into the warlock lands and come out alive?

"A long time ago, when we were chasing rogues, I ran in and got caught. It was Beta Lucas who chase after me and pulled me out of the trap with his own hand. But after that, we were quite lost. For two days we wandered from one peril to another, before Lucas discovered and solved the enchanted maze we were caught in."

"Since then, we have been occasionally trekking the warlock lands together, just around our borders."

"If Beta Lorent is caught in one of those enchantments, be it spell, trap, or maze, I'm sure Lucas is the one who will be able to solve it."

Beta Lucas nodded sagely in acknowledgement, "I'll take Killion."

"I want to go too!" I said just as Harvey raised his hand and Ben stood up. Them too? Hahaha. "Let's all go!"

Beta Lucas shook his head, "I'm sorry Sam, even with me around, it is risky. I cannot risk you, or Harvey or Ben. Just the extra Beta."

"I'm a popping extra?" Killion pretended to be mad.

"You're a popping dog." Ben reminded him, "Might as well make use of you."

Killion growled, narrowing his eyes in challenge, "And how would you like to make use of me Beta?"

Ben growled back, "Not in anyway that you'd like, dog."

"Guys, cut it out." I said, "What's your problem?"

"He finds me too attractive." Killion said.

Ben rolled his eyes, "Your dog is a pervert."

"He's underaged, Ki." Harvey said.

"He's the one hitting on me." Killion said.

"The only hitting I'd do to you would hurt you." Ben said, his wolf was on the surface now, "If you weren't my Alpha's dog, I'd kill you."

If Killion kept goading him, I think Ben might just force a first shift.

I stood up, I couldn't think like this, "I'm going downstairs."