THE SECOND NOMINEE

"Can we put the damn minutes up?" Ben grumbled.

Delta Oran didn't have WiFi access though (and he looked very nervous about letting Ben touch his laptop.) But Ben's IT level was godlike - at least to me, he didn't need to do anything like physically touch another person's computer. He accessed the administration dashboard to our WiFi from his tablet and gave a timed permission to Delta Oran's guest account. I didn't even know Delta Oran had a guest account with us. Wi-Fi and beer, Delta O was really making himself at home here.

Anyway, we got the minutes up, and Delta Oran had beautifully and professionally summarized everything we had discussed as:

"Delta Oran raised the Y. BETA ANTHONY LORENT as the first nominee. Delta Emerson seconded the nomination. Y. Alpha Lorent approved."

Which made it look like we were having a very official and proper meeting.

"Can we have a second nominee?" Ki looked around the room.

And you guessed it, everyone looked down to busy with their files and papers - as if they had definitely prepared something and that nominee name was somewhere in their documents.

We waited for the papers to be shuffled.

I wouldn't have thought it were possible, but the Lorents once again superseded my expectations. I had almost thought that the discussion on Anthony was a once off drama. Sometimes these things happened. But the second nominee's discussion was even more scandalous than the first - and it involved MY wolf.

"If not, I do have a suggestion…" Ki was smiling his gentle smile. Uh oh. Just because Ki was my wolf didn't make him any less Lorent.

"The Morning Light Pack has 2 young gammas..." Ki began.

No way! Ki was going to recommend Nix? Omo. How would that work? Like we send Nix and he rubs them all the wrong way? Nix could be a lot like Gamma Endo in a chip of the old block kind of way. Throwing Gamma Endo into a pack of Lorent wolves was like throwing a glitter bomb into a pack of Lorent wolves. It was unlikely to hurt them, it make even make them shine, but none of them were going to find it delightful.

Maybe we should. Just for a day or two. Hahaha.

Dom raised his hand, "Don't mind, beta, I'm all for outsourcing and foreign talent, but its stipulated that the nominees for this position have to be Lorent wolves."

Which was weird because Ki would have seen that and known.

"Yes," Ki smiled, "But the Young Gamma Lola is a girl, and almost at mating age. All she needs to do is mate a Lorent wolf."

"A girl?" Coach Em immediately took issue, "But gamma work's no joke you know. It's pretty tough."

Yeah. I mean, look at Gamma Endo and Gamma Harry - toughest guys in the pack hands down. I narrowed my eyes at Dom… Dom's dad wasn't really the tough guy type either. The only punching I'd expect from the Lorent Gamma was his fingers punching the keyboard to type angry emails and reports about our warriors trespassing the borders etc etc.

Dom was lankier than his Dad. He was tall, but had a slenderness that made me think of the very thin male models that walked on runways - the kind with high cheekbones and very angular shoulders. I don't think he would be able to stand in front of a strong wind.

"Where are we going to find a Lorent wolf of appropriate status to be her mate?" Dom asked, and then the answer dawned upon him.

"You mean me, don't you?" He didn't sound terribly offended at being volunteered to an arranged marriage, or terribly happy either - He must not know who Lola was.

Well I wasn't going to tell him!

"It's either you or Ki." Bell shrugged.

"Dom's at a more appropriate age." Ki demurred.

"No." This was me, not Bell, "Lola is going to mate her SOUL MATE."

Bell nodded, "Very well. I will approve Lola as the second nominee. Dom will be her soul mate."

"I will second the nomination." Delta Oran raised his hand.

Dom shrugged and said wryly, "Understood, I will do my best."

"You can't just decide that!" I flared now, "No!"

Because I was upset and I had never been good at explaining when I was upset.

"Calm down, Sam. It's just an interim." Ben pointed out.

Eh? What?

"The term is only for 24 months." Ben scrolled up some document on his screen to explain, "It can be terminated before the end of the term too. So if Lola wants to mate someone who isn't a Lorent, she'll just have to resign from her position with a three month notice period."

Oh… I get it. So it was just one of those technical plays to go around the rules… just like my harem… no! Wait! That's not right!

But the minutes projected on our screen now had a new line, "Y. Beta Oran raised the Y. GAMMA LOLA SUMMERSFIELD as the second nominee. Delta Oran seconded the nomination. Y. Alpha Lorent approved.

Oh, even her family name was beautiful.

"Do you remember the girl in the black gown who sang at the Ceremony of the Departed?" Ki asked Dom.

"Yes." Dom remembered.

How would anyone be able to forget that scene?

"That's Lola." Ki smiled like a flower to the sun, "She is Gamma Endo's niece. Her late father was a valiant warrior who died in battle. Her mother is currently serving numerous business and political secretarial positions, including Alpha Kingsley's Merger Committee. This beautiful princess is well loved for her voice and calm demeanor."

Why was Ki pouring tea about Lola to Dom?

"If I were you, Dom," Ki's smile never faltered, "I would make the most of every opportunity while working with her."

"Yeah, you better be nice." Ben chipped in, "Sam's very protective of her. Make Lola cry and you die."

I felt quite sure that Ben was just using my name in vain, but I let it go. It seemed like the best thing I could do for Lola.

"Do we have a third nominee?" Ki prompted, now that he was satisfied Dom understood his part of the intrigue should Lola's nomination be selected. My comfort was that Dom was an overall nice guy for a Lorent wolf. Lola could just quit when she finds her soulmate. I mean, she might not even be selected!

I waited as the Lorent wolves shuffled their papers and files and twiddled with their screens. But nothing.

"I guess this is enough." Dom decided. Was it because he knew who Lola was now? OmO

Since they had no intention of letting Anthony be selected, wouldn't the position go to Lola by default?

"One more nominee might be better." Delta Oran raised his hand, "A nominee we can fall back on, in case the Morning Light Princess is unable to pass the selection tests."

Wait, MY Lola would definitely be able to pass whatever test you Lorents come up with!

"Dom, nominate someone." Bell ordered, "I'm giving you this chance to choose who you want to work with."

Dom hesitated, (I think he wants to work with Lola, haha), but he said, "I guess Howl. He's still only 16 though, but I think he has potential."

Then Dom hesitated again, "Unless you'd like to nominate your own son, Delta Em. I will be happy to second Roan."

"My Roan?" Coach Em was totally taken aback, "No way! That boy only does what he wants, he doesn't listen to anybody. Forget Roan. I'll second for the Holden boy."

"We could nominate both boys." Ki offered generously, "The nomination in itself is prestigious and will be a boon to Roan's CV."

"Yeah?" Coach Em rubbed his chin, and then he thought better of it, "No need. Let him go make his own opportunities. The last time I tried to pull strings for him, he didn't even show up for the interview!"

Coach Em sighed, "Ungrateful punk."

So now we officially had a third nominee.

"Y. Gamma Micheals raised Y. DELTA HOWARD HOLDEN as the third nominee. Delta Emerson seconded the nomination. Y. Alpha Lorent approved."

And no, Bell didn't actually verbally approve this time, but he could see the minutes too and he hadn't said otherwise. I guess silence was consent.

"Holden is going to be estatic." Delta Oran remarked after he finished typing. He didn't mean Howl, he meant Howl's dad - I think he was the guy who was principal of the Lorent schools, the one who enjoys finding and polishing the diamonds.

I tried to remember Howl, I think he was one of the young deltas I beat up, but I couldn't remember which one. (Backstory Chapter 382 "Don't Ever Do that Again!")

"Is Howl the one who said I was just a girl? Or his sidekick who said I didn't look like a girl?"

I think my question threw of the Lorent wolves.

"Howl is also known as Howard Holden, Delta Harrison Holden's son. Delta Harrison holds the Education Portfolio in Alpha Lorent's inner circle." Ki dutifully informed me, "His friend that evening was Gavin. They are both 16 this year."

"Well, urm..." Dom shuffled his papers, "Maybe we could change the nominee to Roan. Roan wasn't part of that incident...."

"No, it's okay." I said, and then I quickly nodded before Delta Oran changed the nominee, "That's cool."

This seemed to encourage Dom, "Howl's the strongest warrior from our generation."

Oh. I didn't really notice. I nodded politely. Yes, I suppose if he were executive gamma, he should be tough. I gave Dom a side glance, not like it would be hard to be tougher than Dom. Just saying.

"Does anyone have a forth nominee in mind?" Ki asked, "No?"

Delta Oran raised his hand, "Pardon, but on second thoughts, I do think it would be better to swap the Holden boy out for Roan."

The room got quiet again.

And then the Lorent brains started turning. This was a different quiet from when they shuffled their papers. Now they were shuffling through their minds for the relevant facets that might have caused Delta Oran to abruptly change this minds like that.

I wished I knew what was going on behind the quiet thoughtfulness that befell the wolves in the room.

As I looked about the room, I think it would have made a nice old fashioned oil painting. My mate would've made a particularly gorgeous subject (but I digress.)

I would have named this painting, "Definitely Overthinking".