A SNOW DAY AFTERNOON

Killion made the mistake of asking me what I wanted for lunch.

"Ham and cheese sandwiches!" I told him.

Killion's expression was tragic.

"Maybe you can make it really fancy, Ki." Savy consoled him.

"Yes, of course." Savy's words had given Killion new found purpose. He got busy immediately, taking down a large loaf of bread, large round cookie cutters and a muffin tray?

I highly doubt I was going to get a simple sandwich from Killion ever.

I retreated to my room. Whatever Killion was making was bound to be good anyway.

The construction work on our house next door was becoming annoyingly noisy. I looked for some kind of distraction.

My phone sat on my dresser, fully charged. I had actually been avoiding it, I hadn't look at it since yesterday, and I knew there were a lot of messages.

Ah well, I pulled it off the charger and crawled into my bed. It had been made, but bleh, quilt still smelled like old pizza and stuff. It was fading but I kicked it back down to the floor. Ah, much better.

In my safe nest, I opened up the messaging app.

Gah!!!! Why so many messages? Grrr....

Okay, calm down. Just get through them.

Most of them were from yesterday afternoon telling me to text back and not to leave school on my own because Ki sent a car over.

There was an unknown number too:

UNKNOWN NUMBER

- Hi Sam, it's me.

- You're staying at the pack house now right? Some of us are going for pizza. Hope you can come down for a while.

- I have something to tell you.

- BTW, it's me, Dean.

Oh, it's Dean. So I answered:

- Hi Dean. Just saw your texts. What did you wanna tell me?

Next chat was SCHOOL SQUAD. It was actually chiming even now. I tapped on it to see what was up.

[MAXWELL has been removed.]

[B.PETER has been added.]

PEARL

- What happened to Max?

A.HENRY

- Just a little reorg. You all know Pete.

JASMINE

- Hi Peter.

B.PETER

- Pls do not concern yourself with me. I'm only here for admin purposes.

PEARL

- Do all Alpha kids have their own Betas or is it just Hen and Sam?

B.MARCUS

- Most packs have a future alpha and beta determined the year they turn 13 or shift.

PEARL

- Everyone knows that. I'm asking why Peter and Harvey have to do stuff like answer texts and track schedules.

- Like you don't have to do it right, Marcus?

B.MARCUS

- Actually, I do.

- My alpha just got mated this year, and will officially be alpha at the end of the year.

JASMINE

- Eh? Isn't a Beta's job really demanding?

B.MARCUS

- We've been trained since young.

JASMINE

- Oooh, sounds hard.

I wished I had seen this discussion earlier. Then I would have said that Beta's had it THE WORST!

When did this conversation happen? Two nights ago! Wow, I really didn't check my phone as much as I should.

After that were a few "Sam, answer your text. Harv is trying to contact you" type of thing from yesterday afternoon.

Then it moved on to Killion arranging for my playdate last night.

B.KILLION

- RE: Princess Play Date. Raincheck, is everyone free for play date 6 Feb afternoon?

A.HENRY

- Beta? Have you been promoted, Ki?

B.KILLION

- Yes. I was in training previously.

A.HENRY

- Exactly how many betas does Sam need?

B.KILLION

- As many as she likes.

B.MARCUS

- Congrats Ki.

- Yeah, I'm free.

A.HENRY

- @B.PETER I want to attend. Pls make the arrangements.

B.PETER

- Understood, Alpha.

- Alpha Henry will be pleased to attend 6/2.

- @B.KILLION Pls cfm X n V asap.

JASMINE

- Yay! A playdate with a princess. #excited!

PEARL

- I want to come see Sam's house. I bet it's even bigger than Henry's.

LIAM

- Thanks for the invite. I'm free that day.

PEARL

- Is it true that all the guys from the Green Packlands look like fight dogs?

B.KILLION

- No. They only look like the good looking fight dogs. ;)

PEARL

- Really? Hahaha. Well from the concert today, it really seemed like it.

JASMINE

- OMG! Harvey is in this chat.

- OMG! Harvey you were really good today.

- OMG! I can't believe I had Harvey's number all this while!

PEARL

- Yeah, Harvey, you were amazing.

- All the girls say you were the hottest guy on stage.

LIAM

- That was cool. We are coming for the concert.

B.HARVEY

- Ty. Looking forward to seeing u.

PEARL

- Do we get backstage passes to see you after the concert?

B.HARVEY

- Unfortunately, it's a school concert so only relatives are allowed backstage after the concert.

PEARL

- Even Sam?

B.HARVEY

- This will depend on what capacity she is attending at.

- @A.HENRY Will you be attending as a visiting Alpha?

A.HENRY

- Can I?

B.HARVEY

- Since it's you, I'm pretty sure I can make the arrangements for you and a plus one in the VIP section, no problem.

A.HENRY

- Thanks then.

- @B.Peter pls acc.

B.PETER

- Understood.

PEARL

- Awwww... What about us?

- I really envy you Alphas, you get VIP treatment everywhere you go.

JASMINE

- That's because they really are VIPs.

- We still can go with Marcus and Liam. And after the concert maybe we can meet up for supper or something.

PEARL

- Isn't that dangerous to hang out so late?

A.HENRY

- Since it's Gate City, it should be fine for us. Yeah, let's do supper.

- Will the princess care to join us?

B.MARCUS

- I doubt she will answer.

A.HENRY

- Wanna bet on it Marc?

YOU

- I wanna go.

B.MARCUS

- WHAT! HOW?

- Is it because we are talking about supper?

A.HENRY

- Her status said she was online for a few minutes now.

B.MARCUS

- Quick screenshot. Rare sighting of Sam on chat. Hahahaha

JASMINE

- Hi Sam! Thanks for inviting us to your place! I'm so excited.

Suddenly, I received another text. It was a personal chat message from Pearl.

PEARL

- Hi Sam.

- Who do you like more? Ki or Harvey?

YOU

- That depends on whether I need a sandwich or something else settled.

Actually, now that made me think, if it was just a sandwich, I might need Harvey too. Killion was probably incapable of making anything simple.

Or I could just make myself a sandwich. But that's not the point.

The point was how my betas' tasks were allocated this far. They had been taking turns "babysitting" me. I've noticed Killion take over most of the scheduling from Harvey lately, but was this because Harvey was busy with the concert promotions and school? Or was this just Killion's assigned Beta role while Harvey and Ben took care of the pack related duties?

I should probably ask one of them sometime.

I've also been pretty much asking Killion to deal with my personal stuff, like Vday balloons - but he just felt like the right Beta to ask. I couldn't quite imagine asking Harvey or worse Ben.

Hahaha. Maybe I should ask Ben. Just to watch him struggle at something. No, wait... He would just ask Lizzy.

My phone was chiming again. So irritating.

PEARL

- I mean who would you rather date? Killion or Harvey.

YOU

- No way I'd date my Betas.

PEARL

- Why not?

- Don't you find them attractive at all?

I didn't know how to answer Pearl, so I decided to answer Jasmine in the group chat instead.

SCHOOL SQUAD

YOU

- Hi Jasmine. You're welcome. :)

B.KILLION

- Cmf Princess Play Date. 6/2. 1130HRS. Lunch included. Pick up from Gate City Station, Exit B. 11AM

Address with map attached.

[B.KILLION shared map]

My phone chimed again. I checked, good, it wasn't Pearl. (How should I answer her anyway?).

It was Dean

DEAN

- Hi Sam, it's nothing. Nevermind.

- Is everything alright with your mate?

- Sorry if I got you in trouble last night.

YOU

- Is no trouble.

I typed, "I'm avoiding him for now." But then I changed my mind and deleted the words before I sent it.

If Dean told his mum, the whole pack would hear of it. And then what? It wasn't good for the Alpha and Luna to fight.

"Mate and I are fine."

But that's a lie. So I deleted it too.

YOU

- Don't worry.

That was all I managed to write and send to Dean.

And then I had enough. I knew why I didn't check my phone now. Because it's full of difficult questions.

I turned it off and got out of bed.

If I thought the hammering from the construction was bad, it just started getting worse because the workmen were drilling now. I hated drills, probably as much as guns.

Savy popped her head into the bedroom door, "Ki says lunch is ready."

Yeah, it smelled good too. Maybe lunch would make me feel better.

And I was right. It wasn't a sandwich. More like a ham and cheese bread tart, with green stuff Killion called watercress.

"They're very good with sandwiches." He informed us. He seemed completely unaware that what he was serving was in no way a sandwich.

"It's good." Savy discovered with one bite.

"Yes, thank you Ki. These are delicious. If there are extras perhaps I might take them for Alpha to try." Mum said.

Even Dad had become a fan of Killion's cooking.

"My pleasure, Luna." Killion smiled, "I've already packed Alpha's share. It's on the kitchen counter."

"I don't know what I'm going to do when Sam moves out. Maybe I should adopt you and keep you with us forever." Mum said.

"Mum! Killion's a beta - my beta. Not a..." I frowned, I'm not sure exactly what Killion was here at home. Housekeeper? Butler? Domestic Genie?

"Family pet?" Savy suggested helpfully, "You did say he was your dog."

"Only until he wants to be a wolf again." I said, "Killion is a beta now. He has been taking on an increasing amount of responsibilities from Harvey. I heard he is training for the Elite Warrior Ranking Competition this year too. On top of that, he cooks and washes and... I have no idea what else he has to do around here."

Mum, who did have some idea what Killion did at home looked properly apologetic, "Sam's right. I'm sorry Ki. We're overloading you."

And then Ki smiled, "It's nice to be appreciated, but Goddess, I'm still your dog. I like it here. I want to die as your dog."

Because none of us looked convinced, Killion sighed, "Not to sound pitiful or anything ladies, but your home is full of love. I've gotten more love as a dog here than anywhere else. I get to cook freely, Luna lets me handle the weekly household expenses, and it's enough for a wide variety of ingredients in the store. It's not just cooking, but most of my personal interest and skills are also utilized and appreciated here - interior design, fashion, PR, events, automotive curation..."

Killion's personal interest and skills sound very specialised for the Lorent Pack. I'm not even sure I knew what the last one was but it sounded like something to do with Mate's cars in our pack house garage.

Maybe I should stop calling Mate 'Mate', since it was a matter of time before I'd have to call him 'ex-mate'. Just Rebel, or James... His name was James. James Lorent the Third. I tried to remember him in the way I liked him least.

"Do you wanna go back with James?" I asked Ki. If he wanted to go back, even just a little bit, I should release him.

Killion's mouth pressed down, just slightly, then he smiled amiably, "I'll go anywhere you want me to, goddess."

I supposed that was a 'no'.

I had thought Killion might prefer sticking with James. The both were Alpha and Beta from the same pack after all.

Plus James was a real Alpha. Like a strong male wolf, powerful bloodline, proud heritage and everything.

I was... What was I? Just a kid. With me, Killion was making ham and cheese foods, arranging playdates, and buying Vday balloons.

Oh man, I'm really just a kid huh?

"If you're worried about the Luna, I promise I'll take care of him." Killion said.

I looked up and searched his face properly. Did he mean "I'll take care of him as my precious Luna" or "I'll take care of him, that b****** for making you worry."

I shook my head, "I'm not worried about him. More about you, Killion. What does a highly trained, pure blood Beta wolf do in a place like this anyway?"

I asked the last question with a grin.

Killion picked up the change in mood and smiled widely back, "I do many interesting and important things here."

And then he proceeded to tell me what he did each day.