WHY I HATE CHESS

2 FEBRUARY, TUESDAY, LUNCH

"To the roof." I said.

In the manga, kids liked to have quiet lunches there.

"Roof access in schools are usually locked..." Keanu informed me.

We got up to the top. The door was locked, but only with a padlock and chain.

"Awww... You're right." River grumbled.

"I'm always right." Keanu assured him.

"Hn." I smirked and grabbed the chain to test it. It was heavy, and made not to be broken.

"I suppose they needed a strong lock to keep the vamps from breaking it." Keanu reasoned aloud.

"Hn" I looked around. Then I grabbed the chain harder. Kicking on foot up to push hard against the door, I pulled the chain back and CRACK! The handle came off. The entire door tore just a little open. I took off the chain and threw it aside in a noisy clatter, annoying my own wolf as it echoed down the stairwell.

Whatever. I checked belatedly. No security cameras. Good. And pushed the door open.

The rooftop was just a rooftop. We found a quiet corner with large pipes and concrete slab curbs that doubled up as benches. I sat down and opened my lunch bag.

The two guys had followed me. River sat next to me, "Did your mum or dad make your lunch for you?"

I shook my head, "My beta did."

"It looks delicious." River smiled. He showed me his very large box full of delicious seafood and rice, "My dad made this for me."

"Alpha made one for me too. It was supposed to be for celebrating our new picnic area." Keanu had one too. He sat himself adjacent to us a short distance away. He smiled at me as he opened his lunchbox but I knew he was once again cautious of me.

"Are we friends, River?" I asked.

"Yes. I mean, I thought so..." River started to fluster up.

I nodded and started eating. River started eating too. Keanu waited for the both of us to start before eating.

"Is Keanu your beta?" I asked.

"I wish!" River said. "But my Beta is going to be Greyson. He is a wolf and kind of serious. Oh you met him. He came for your grandfather's funeral... Oh, opps, sorry. Maybe I shouldn't bring up your grandfather so lightly. Sorry about knocking over his picture too."

I shook my head. So the beta was the other silver haired wolf.

Snow wolves... The last remaining pack. There were more, but during the great war, they merged together. Those that didn't were destroyed.

In the Mountains the snow wolves were the only pack who still had a small village on white mountain. But that was back then when the first wolves left the Mountains. Who knew what the Mountains were like now?

Everything was changing. Even the Mountains.

"Are you really Sam?" River asked me.

I looked up at him, "Why do you ask?"

"You look just like Sam, but you seem different." River told me.

"I'm just in a bad mood because something annoyed me at home." I said, "You're from the Blue Packlands, right? Do you know about a human mansion being burnt down sometime in the last two years?"

"Fire is not uncommon in the Blue Packlands. Especially in the human towns." Keanu smiled, "Why are you asking?"

"My friend's home was burnt down two years ago. He came to our pack because he lost his whole family to a fire." River said, "The fire was so bad that they couldn't even find his little sister's body. She was too small..." River told me.

"Was her name Greta?" I asked.

River stopped, stunned, "How did you know?"

Because I have her. But I didn't say that. I remembered my Mum's determination to keep her.

I really didn't want to get involved.

Plus she had that power to see magic, and she was probably my little cousin's mate. Could I really hand her over to the Blue Packlands?

It would get her out of my house, for sure.

"Sam, how did you know? Have you met her? Where is she?" River asked again, "Willheim has been searching for her through the entire Blue Packland!"

I shrugged, "I was just making a wild guess."

I finished the last of my lunch.

"Sam. That was a very lucky wild guess." Keanu told me. He had determination etched on his face. He knew I was hiding something. Good.

"Yeah. I thought you had met her." River said, "But that's impossible. How is it that the human girl you happen to meet is Willheim's lost sister? That's too much of a coincidence."

"Can you, by any chance, guess where she is now, Sam?" Keanu tried again.

I shrugged and looked away.

"I'll think about it." I said.

"Let me know if there is anything you need to help you guess better." Keanu offered.

For a moment, I wanted to tell them, I did. But I was the Alpha.

"Sam?" River said, "I know I'm not a wolf or anything... So I don't quite get it... But you're really not yourself today. Are you sick?"

I growled softly, warningly. River knew enough even though he wasn't a wolf to raise his hands in surrender but he didn't back down, "I'm just worried..."

"We're friends right?" River tried again, "Friends look out for each other. Even though you might not like it that I'm a human, I can help you if you are in pain or something."

That guy just didn't know when to back off.

"I'm not in pain. I don't need your help." I growled back.

I crossed my arms and sulked while my hair flared. River didn't draw back, he made the funniest face when he was scared though.

"I think Sam might want to be left alone." Keanu suggested.

No! I don't want to be left alone. I want to tear out those big men's faces. F***.

What was wrong with me, today?

"I can't give her back to you." I said finally, "She doesn't belong to me."

"So you have met her? And you know where she is?" River got excited immediately, "Where is she? Is she well?"

"Figure it out yourself." I flared out, "Just because we are friends, doesn't mean I can tell you what's happening in my packhouse."

Keanu raised a brow at that.

River frowned, "I'm sorry, Sam. I didn't mean to put you in a bad position."

I laughed at that. River was so clueless, it was cute.

"I don't really care either way." I turned to go. Even if River was clueless, Keanu was not.

If they came and stole Greta. She would be out of my hands, she would be off my conscience, Uncle Louis wouldn't be able to pin it on us, and best of all, Mum won't be able to blame me for it.

I was doing the right thing. I was returning the lost puppy to her family. So why did I feel like crap?

Why didn't I just say to River, "She's with my mum right now. Come over and pick her up."

I was just like Janice.

She wanted to make more friends, but instead of saying, "I want to be friends with you." She baked some cookies. And then instead of saying, "I baked you cookies, I hope we can be friends," she said "I accidentally baked too much yesterday."

I mean it worked out the same way, but it was such a roundabout way.

{The pawn is only able to go forward. It is the knight who knows how to go around.}

So I'm the knight?

{King.}

Stupid wolfie, the King is the most helpless of all. He could only take move one box each time. I'd rather be the queen... But did that make Bell the queen?

Wait, since when were we even chess pieces?

Stupid wolfie. Don't treat people like chess pieces.

I wandered back to class, taking a walk around the school hallways the way Maria often led me. No vampires in the school at all.

Then I sunk into my seat, being sneaky like a knight was tiring. I put my head down on my desk. It was now my customary position.

The other wolves came in and sat down after the bell rang.

Henry raised a brow at me, "Where were you at lunch?"

"On the rooftop." I answered.

No more going around circles for me. I hated fighting like a knight. Had you ever played chess? We learned in a camp once. I hated it. You know how the knight always moved in an L shape? I had always hated that. It was so annoying! I hated knights as much as I hated bishops. Why can't everyone just move in straight lines?

"You need to sacrifice your pawns." The instructor said, "You had such a strong start, but you always lose in the end because your heart isn't in it to win."

No, my heart was always to protect the pieces. I didn't want to sacrifice anyone.

Ben was very good at the game. He even competed in the continent championship in middle school and got placed.

At any rate, my chess board was messed up. I'm the black king. My queen was white. I've got three bishops in different colors. Who were my knights? I had no idea.

Anyway, we weren't chess pieces. And life isn't a chessboard. I will protect everyone.

I'm not the king. I'm the Alpha.

"Henry, send me info of the Ciara Coven after school." I said, "I'm going to destroy it from top down."

Henry sighed, "Sam, you're being too straight forward as usual. you can't just rush headfirst into a vampire coven and smash it."

I laughed, "Right... Maybe you'd like to do the smashing. It's on your packland right?"

"I'm not stupid enough to stir up the hornet's nest." Henry said folding his arms.

"Then let me do it for you. I'll flatten them. Just give me the info." I insisted.

Henry sighed, "Come with me."