FLUFFY IS...THE CUTEST!

7 FEBRUARY, SUNDAY, LUNCH

I got back to the packhouse in time for lunch. Ki and Ben wasted no time in getting me upstairs to the Future Alpha's Office.

They had left me in my office with two piles of work. The larger one was homework, which also included reference books and Lycan Study Group which wasn't due till Saturday. Ben had arranged it according to due date. How he knew when what was due was beyond me although I suspected Marcus had been providing my betas with Intel.

The other pile was actually very neat and deceptively flat. A couple of L-files that contained contracts, and everything else on the kindle. If Savy had a kindle to store all her manga, we wouldn't have to live in a room cramped with cardboard boxes and paper bags and stacks of manga books. BUT that room was now gone.

I wandered to where that room used to be. But the room I knew was gone. In its place was an office and Ki.

Ki had mentioned that he had some things to deal with. Now I see that it was the kind of things that required him to frown at the computer screen.

He looked up the moment I was at the door. The creases on his forehead immediate smoothed out with a bright smile. He stood up, "Can I help you, goddess?"

"Whatcha doing?" I asked.

"Just taking care of some things." Ki answered mildly.

And then he pulled out a chair for me, "Your Luna has asked me to take the Lorent's beta position."

"You don't have to." I said, "I know you hate that place."

"You do?" Ki looked surprised, then he shook his head, "I used to hate that place, but now I think I hated what I was more."

I blinked. I didn't understand him. I really should be used to not understanding things by now.

"You need a permanent Beta there. The pack leadership is unstable without it. Luna is hardly home to deal with it, and there isn't even an elder Beta there now. Alpha Lorent has resorted to using Deltas to shoulder the various beta responsibilities. Despite all this, the Lorent Pack will be an invaluable asset to your reign. I've been helping cover for the Luna and I've seen their reports and numbers. I also know their leadership and culture. You need a strong and high profile beta to bring it under your administration effectively. I was thinking, perhaps I would be able to serve you best from there, goddess."

"Is this cos of the princesses we met while shopping?" I asked, "I can do better introductions next time."

Ki laughed, "Not at all goddess. Why would a princess ever need to introduce herself? It was I who was slow to do the introductions."

I pursed my lips a little. I don't understand what Ki was saying.

"Ki, pretend I'm really stupid and try to explain it to me." I said.

"Goddess, I'm asking you for permission to change my portfolio from the beta of the Princess Town to the beta of the Lorent pack." Ki said.

I blinked, "But you liked working on the Princess Town, didn't you?"

"Yes, yes, I did." Ki said, "And I'd be sorry to hand it over."

"Who would we hand over to?" I asked, "Alaric?"

"Fluffy?" Ki smiled, "Now that's an interesting idea, but no... Fluffy is... Fluffy is a good friend, but he... He isn't able to deal with full beta responsibilities yet."

Okay... Then I remembered all my betas had been trained from young. Fluffy was living as a vampire's pet. I guess he did have some ways to go.

"Stephan could do it." Ki told me, "His former pack would be living in that town too. I'll talk to the Luna first."

I nodded, but I think Stephan was happy in the army. Why couldn't everyone just do what they were happy doing?

In a perfect world, Stephan would be Captian of our army, Ki would be beta of the Princess Town... Mate will be my Luna. And urm... Who would take care of the Lorents?

Where would I find another beta who could match my own? He would have to be highly trained, and loyal, and "high profiled" whatever that meant.

But then, Ki was born in the Lorent's true beta family. A true beta was closer than a brother to the alpha. It was like Beta Lucas and Dad. Their bloodlines were meant to run together.

Like Ben and I. And I suppose, even though they seem to hate each other, Ki and Bell were tied together by their bloodline too.

I just wanted to protect Ki from his past, because it was the only thing I've ever seen that hurt him. But was it wrong of me to block him from what was probably his destiny?

"Let me meet Alpha Lorent and see who he recommends for the position first." I stood up and head butted Ki lightly on his broad shoulder. So much like Bell, even their build was similar.

"We're wolves, we have to live for our destinies, but there is no hurry." I felt Boo surfaced and my Alpha dominance surge, "You're my beta and my betas will run free and strong and happy."

Ben came into the office with lunch trays, he dropped off one on Ki's desk, "Sam, your lunch is on your table. Do you need help with your homework?"

I shook my head, "Homework I can figure out on my own, but can you think of anyway to re-allocate my betas?"

Ben frowned, "What for?"

"To better assimilate and harness the Lorent pack." Ki answered for me.

"Isn't Luna doing that?" Ben asked.

"When he is around." Ki answered with a close-mouthed smile.

Ben nodded, "Understood."

Did he?

"I'll keep Harv and I where we are. Ki goes to the Lorent. Princess Town can go under the Army administration, under Stephan." Ben said.

"Wait, what?"

"Lots of armies run their own towns for soldiers and their families." Ben reasoned, "Some armies also run the refugee camps. Which would encompass pretty much the resident profile of Princess Town."

"But I don't want the Princess Town to be run like a refugee or army camp!" I protested.

"In some ways, you don't have a choice. New fight dogs need discipline. Refugees need protection, but they also need order." Ben argued his case, "And Stephan is already the true Alpha of most of the refugees. He's also the second in command after your Luna in the army. They're already learning to follow him. He probably just needs a team to help with the different aspects - and a good secretary, which would be easier to recruit than another beta or alpha wolf."

"His reports would all be in Ancient Lycan." I reminded Ben.

Ben grinned, "We have a very good translator now."

It turned out that my betas had been testing Fluffy at all sorts of things and found that Fluffy was good at masking his real feelings, fighting (he was particularly skilled with throwing knives), flirting, and reading in multiple languages. Fluffy could read several languages including lycan and vampiric ones because his job as a vampire's dog included reading aloud to his mistress.

He was also skilled at making polite conversation, serving tea, hosting fancy parties, planning outfits, make up, and hair. While these sounded like the skills I most needed to fit in with the Lorent princesses, apparently these were also a vampire dog's daily responsibility.

Fluffy was bad at cooking, had never learned to drive, couldn't balance an accounts sheet to save his life, and had a bad habit of trying to seduce his way out of things he didn't want to do, which was anything he found tedious or physically draining.

"You see, Fluffy is really like a dog." Ki explained, "A good dog, but he needs a lot of supervision to help him settle in and you need to be very strict with him and clear about the new boundaries he has to keep."

"It takes one to know one." Ben smirked.

Ki beamed, "I'm glad you know, Beta."

I decided to ignore my betas banter, "Fluffy's dad said he was coming to get him. I don't know when, but we need to let him know."

The two guys stopped.

"So he's not a permanent player on our roster then." Ben concluded.

"Well, he's on loan to us for now. Like the way the goddess gives us children or football players are transferred from another club." I answered remembering the earlier random conversations I've overheard today.

"Okay..." Ben was thinking again. I could almost hear the gears turning inside his head.

"I'll need time to think about the Princess Town's beta if Ki should really move back to the Lorent's." I added, "And Ki, no matter where you go, you're still my beta. Don't forget that."

"Understood, goddess. Thank you." Ki smiled his usual smile making me feel everything was going to be alright.

And then I left because I was hungry, I had a lot of homework, and I needed space to process. Slow people were like that.

Sigh. Slow...more and more I began to realize that everyone who called me slow was right about me. I had been feeling like I was only understanding half of the conversation most of the time lately.

For example, I thought Ben and Ki made the princess town sound like a pack full of Fluffys that required strictly enforced discipline and order to run. And then I realised that many of them WERE Fluffys - or at least they were ex-fightdog and slaves and actual refugees.

Dad always said, when the Alpha runs, the pack follows, "One day, I'll look back and there would be no more followers. Then I would know I'm not the Alpha anymore."

I've always been following Dad, but now I wondered if I would really be able to be the Alpha. Why would anyone follow me?

I ate my lunch over homework. I never thought I'd say this, but the homework was a relaxing respite because it was straightforward, and because there was a clear right and wrong answer... Unlike the other pile of work on my desk, or the invisible pile of decisions it represented.

Two familiar raps on the door and Harvey let himself in. Fluffy at his heel.

"Good afternoon, Princess. Alpha Duties will begin in 30 minutes." Harvey greeted me with his usual wry smile. Fluffy bowed and smiled brilliantly at me.

I smiled back, "So we need to leave now?"

"Yes, princess. We are meeting Flynn, Lola, and my dad at the Morning Light Packhouse." Harvey informed me.

I nodded, "Okay."

The thought of Alpha duties was a welcomed break from homework. (Which pretty much indicated that I was enjoying my homework less than I imagined.)

"Is Fluffy coming along?" I asked when Fluffy continued to follow us out of the office.

"Yes." Harvey didn't sound particularly enthusiastic though.

I laughed a little at my good Beta's reluctance and and told Fluffy, "I heard you needed a lot of supervision."

Fluffy smiled, "Yes. I am very inappropriate."

Now I really laughed, "I think we are going to be good friends."

Fluffy smiled, "I'm so happy that a pretty girl wants to be my friend."

Naturally, I burst out laughing because it was the most ridiculous thing a guy ever said to me, "You don't have to talk like that when you're with me."

"Alpha doesn't like it? Then how does Alpha like Fluffy to talk?" Fluffy asked more cutely.

The sudden shift in persona stunned me a little, and then I grinned at him, "Do another."

Fluffy tried again, straightening to a more grown up posture, "Alpha, you're very beautiful today."

Harvey coughed, but he managed to lead us to his truck without laughing out loud.

I was, on the other hand, laughing my head off, "Am I very beautiful?"

"Yes, Alpha, your beauty is like a rare blue rose." Fluffy smiled, "I want to come near to you except I am afraid of the thorns.

"What thorns?" I asked because this was hilarious.

"Beta thorns." Fluffy smiled, momentarily breaking out of his character. I burst out into fresh laughter.

And then I stopped. I had seen it - a single real smile.

We got into Harvey's truck. Harvey at the wheel, I was in the centre, and Fluffy next to me.

"Okay, Fluffy, be serious." I told him, "You can't talk to me like that either. It's..."

"Not appropriate?" Fluffy asked.

"Well, I was going to say it was too funny." I answered honestly.

"Perhaps it's better if I do not speak at all?" Fluffy suggested still proffering one of his practiced smiles at me.

"It's okay to speak if you want, but if you're talking to me, it's better to pretend you're just talking to another guy." I said.

Harvey cleared his throat and gave Fluffy a quick warning glance before returning his attention to the road.

"I don't think that would be appropriate." Fluffy answered.

But maybe Fluffy was having trouble fitting in the way I was with the Lorent princesses. Our backgrounds made us 'eccentric' and we might not always say things exactly the right way, but all we needed was to find a group of friends and place in the pack - and we'd be ready to run with everyone else!

"Just try it." I urged him.

"Yes, Master." Fluffy nodded a bow, "Please feel free to correct me if I displease you."

Eh? Was that how Fluffy would speak to another guy?

Harvey cleared his throat, "Fluffy has spent all his life entertaining clients. He doesn't speak normally."

Oh. Well, now that would explain it. It was pretty entertaining, "Can you do another? What other personas can you play?"

Fluffy turned businesslike, "I have many personas. My most popular one is the pretty boy one. It is widely acceptable by most ladies. I also can do..."

"That's enough, Fluffy. Don't list them." Harvey said.

"Forgive me, Beta." Fluffy was immediately contrite, like the Lorent Princesses in front of Ki. No, Fluffy was even better.

"You're amazing, Fluffy!" I said, "Please teach me the art of talking pretty!"

"What?" Harvey and Fluffy both said at the same time.

"I met some Lorent princesses this morning and I want to be cuter than them." I said.

"You...want to be cute?" Harvey asked. He seemed to be having trouble processing this.

"Yes. I'm going to be so cute that..." I caught myself. That what?

"That what, princess?" Harvey asked. He pressing his lips together to bite back a smile. What? Did he think this was funny?

"But princess is cute!" Fluffy smiled at me, he nodded his own assent, "Princess is the cutest!"

Yeah, like that. I needed to learn to talk like that.

I tried my best to imitate Fluffy's expression, "Fluffy is the cutest too!"

Fluffy smiled widely and for a moment I thought of the sun shining out from between parted clouds.

I smiled back, tilting my head and letting my eyes bend like crescents the way Fluffy did.

"Oh s***." I heard Harvey mindlink on the beta channel, "Guys, we're screwed."