WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING

17 FEBRUARY, WEDNESDAY, CONTINUED

"What are you thinking, Sam?" Dad asked then.

Eh, did he know I knew something?

"I think..." I started, before I realized I had no idea how to explain any of it. Neither was I just about to break out into lycan prose in front of everyone. That was just weird.

"I think..." I suddenly remembered then, "Henry's hole digging experts - had they finished checking out the hill?"

"They reported nothing out of the ordinary." Harvey updated me, "They've recommended building a reinforced frame to support any underground building. Hollowing out the hill is likely to cause the new town built on top of it to take damage from sinkholes in the future though."

As in a real sinkhole, not Maria. I just wanted to clarify in case anyone got confused - I confessed, Maria was now synonymous to sinkhole in my mind now.

"If there are veins of magic still underground, I doubt Sam still wants it hollowed out..." Dad started, and then he stopped, as if it occurred to him that I would indeed plan something stupid like that, "Sam?"

Except I did plan something stupid like that... my underground city! Okay, I needed to be realistic here, we had been growing Gate City for more than 10 years to reach its current population. Even if I rescued (read "stole") every single slave wolf in the continent, would I have enough wolves to fill a cool underground city like the one hidden in the Green Mountain?

What was I thinking? Nothing as usual, I wasn't thinking at all. I picked out the book on a whim, I remembered the stories I've read about the marvelous underground city and I wanted to step into it... even if I had to build it from scratch. Okay. Here's me taking my first step into becoming one of those crazy alphas who bankrupts their packs in a bid to build some crazy Colored Mountain inspired thing in real life.

Because real life didn't have underground cities, or mountains choked full of magic crystals, or talking cats, or flowers that eat wolves whole only to rebirth them, or... you know, this was real life, on the plains. Magic was scarce here. We'd sooner find diamonds than magic around these parts. (And no, there were no diamonds here. Wrong continent.)

But we had found the Wild Red Plum Trees... which were rooted in "veins of magic" that ran under the ground.

I've seen the Colored Mountains, although just in a dream travel... Oh, and we had Fluffy - he was from the Colored Mountains, and he was real. It's not that I didn't believe in the Colored Mountains. I just can't believe that the Colored Mountains could exist HERE.

"Sam..." Beta Lucas raised his hand, "If you're still thinking of hollowing out the hill, I would advise against it. If you hollow out the hill, you would be cutting off what could be the last trace of magic still in the plains. That would be tragic."

"And the wine trees would die!" Gamma Harry pipped in, "We must not let that happen! You never know what the medicinal wine could do. Maybe it can do a lot of useful things! Maybe it can help people lose weight and or cure cancer... or at least cure balding!"

At this point he noticed the looks on the other men's faces and felt he had to defend himself, "What? It's good! A lot of men want to cure balding! The other day, Mike said to me something very interesting. He said, "Why is it that my head is bald, but my wolf is not?' Very interesting! Wolves were not meant to be bald! Are there bald men in the Colored Mountains? I don't think so!"

Well, maybe there were, but given the wolves in the Colored Mountains lived hundreds of years more than we did, they might have to wait a long time for any signs of ageing to show.

"Hey, did you watch the new? It looks like old Alpha Gunter is starting to bald." Gamma Endo said.

"When? I did not notice it." Gamma Harry said.

"Just yesterday night. Its not obvious, just his hairline is receding a tiny bit." Gamma Endo said.

"Well it's about time." Beta Lucas leaned back with his hands behind his head, "That old geezer has been around since I was a pup... and he hadn't aged a day as far as I remembered."

"Well, he's aging now." Gamma Endo said smugly, "He can freeze his face in time, but he can't freeze his hairline."

Gamma Harry laughed heartily at that.

"Gentlemen, I believe we are still at a meeting.' Beta Gerald reminded us.

Wasn't he the one telling us grandmother stories about magic trees? Hahaha

And wasn't this supposed to be a meeting about my inauguration (and on an unrelated note, the migration of the underground army)? I told you, our Night Leaf (and Morning Light) Leadership was phenomenal at multitasking like this.

I caught Harvey discretely checking his watch. No need to look, my good beta. This was going to be one long meeting.

I stole a glance at my very handsome mate. {All the more I can see you, my dear.}

Mate turned and gave me a funny look.

Opps, did I just mindlink him something weird? Lol.

It was getting late, and I was quickly regressing again. I think I was doing a lot better nowadays, but lo, I was tired.

Mate touched my head to pat it, "Do you want to go to bed first, princess?"

And then he stopped and pulled off the hood. My wolf ears twitched. Hahahaha. His face!

{All the more I can hear you, my dear.}

Mate put his hand to his mouth. {Cute}

The surprise on everyone's face (except Dad and Beta Lucas) was evident. Although I was quite sure they couldn't hear Mate's wolf. Megatron thinks I'm cute!

I grinned my widest smile, because the alternative would be to melt in embarrassment in front of my dad and his betas, "I half shifted, and now they won't shift back."

I tried to sound nonchalant about it.

"Is that... is that... permanent, Alpha Sam?" Beta Gerald inquired.

Eh? No? At least I hoped not.

"If Mike could half shift just the fur on his head, he won't be bald anymore." Gamma Harry realized, "And he won't need a haircut either! The fur length might be just right!"

Thank you. Thank you. I've just discovered the cure to male wolf balding. Someone please give me a Nobel Prize.

"That is beside the issue right now, Harry." Beta Lucas said sternly.

Yes, somebody tell me how to shift my ears back!

"We are talking about making a big hole in the Princess Hill." Beta Lucas said, "Or rather about NOT digging up the last veins of magic in the plains. Sam... please reconsider."

Oh right.

"It is likely the Red Plum Trees on top of the hill will die if their source of magic should be cut off." Beta Gerald cautioned.

I pulled the hood back over my head and ears (nothing to see here), and nodded my agreement before the elders decide to lecture me on sustainable urban development. Mr Lark would be pleased I had remembered this concept from one of his text book reading lessons. Okay, so in this case, it was more of preserving magic than natural resources.

I imagined my textbook should read, "Magic is a rare and limited resource in the plains. Thus when planning new urban development for his pack, and Alpha should first consider making as little impact on the existing magic veins that run under her hill. Magic veins fuel the highly endangered Magic Trees that have been found on top of the hill, and if cared for and harvested in a sustainable manner, these Magic Tress might bear fruit to brew medicinal wine of unknown mystic properties for many generations to come."

And then Mate spoke, "It is imperative that we preserve the trees."

I had no idea my Mate was such a tree lover.

"They might be the only thing pegging down the last veins of magic that flow under our lands." Mate continued, "Harvey, I want you to research these underground magic veins, what it its potential and any possibilities on harnessing it."

So it wasn't about the trees.

And then my Megatron spoke, "Power flows to the one who knows how."

Or it could just be Mate speaking his mind.

Dad nodded gravely at its implications, "True. In the meantime, we will keep the existence of the Wild Red Plum Trees and the possibility of the veins of magic still flowing underground within these four walls. We will decide what to do about it when we know more."

"Understood, Alpha." Everyone said, and the meeting moved on, or rather it moved back to the migration of the Underground Army. Where were we? Ah right, the Princess Town was starting construction and would be ready to receive its new residents.

There were some concerns about the stability and safety of the packlands with an army of ex-fightdogs moving in, and we needed to prepare for enough supplies, policies, and supporting infrastructure to welcome our newest members.

As far as I could tell, the plans sounded like they were going to build a federal prison, but with all the daily amenities and aesthetics of a residential town. Think of it as a very high class prison camp, Residents had to carry identity cards at all times. Mate was considering marking all ex-fightdogs, and the ways to keep them movements tracked.

"Why don't you just tattoo them with your insignia and implant a tracking chip under that?" I asked. While we were at it, would Megatron like to consider the usage of the classic Decepticon motif? I'm not sure about copyright issues, but I'm sure tyrants didn't care for things like creative rights. I doubt they cared for any kind of rights at all.

Mate shook his head at me, "Princess, we are dealing with ex-fightdogs, not a box of kittens."

Well yes, actually, if they were stray kittens, then micro-chipping them would be the responsible pet owner thing to do. I had a bright idea, "Oh yes, while we're at it, let's have them dewormed and neutered too."

"Princess..." Mate did not find me funny.

I shook my head, "No. These are wolves like you and me. They will learn to run like you and me. And one day, they will be full pack wolves, just like you and me. I don't care, but no. I didn't save them to march in an army. I saved them to run in a pack."

Mate frowned, he obviously felt the army was a better option.

{You need to pay your army to march. My wolves follow me for free.}

No Boo... this was not about saving money either.

Grrrr... forget it!

Come to think of it, maybe Megatron and Boo were meant to be.

"I suppose its cheaper to just kill them if they misbehave." Bell conceded after considering what I've said.

"They will behave. They are my wolves." Boo shrugged at that, and because she liked to show off her power in front of Mate, she added, "If they are disloyal, I will know, and there will be no where they can run that I would not find them."

Because I had the power of insight. And I knew that they all knew it. Well except for Gamma Endo who scoffed, "Princess, haven't your parents ever taught you, 'beware of wolves in sheep's clothing'?"

Yes, yes they have. They've also taught me, 'When you point a finger at someone, three fingers will end up pointing back at you.'

Because maybe the one who would end up the tyrant would be me. Wasn't it ironic? I named my Mate's wolf Megatron, but I was no little pony myself, unless they made an evil little pony. Oh wait, they did. Twilight turned into the evil Nightmare Sparkle, didn't she?

Wow. Epiphany.

I was the wolf in sheep's clothing all this while.