A BIT OF WISDOM, A LOT OF LUCK

We were really lucky. Like the entire time traveling adventure was ridiculously lucky.

"The goddess was really on our side." Ki commented when we all stepped out of the Time Gate and back into our time again.

"It was like we had never left." Harvey checked his watch to confirm.

"This kitty seems to enjoy a false sense of modesty." Fluffy smiled and stroked the cat in his arms, "But liars must be punished too…"

"Mew. I didn't lie!" Poor Peony was in such a panic, its claws came out.

"Trying to attack me?" Fluffy's smile didn't waver, but his expression turned ominous.

I sighed and took the large cat out of his arms, "Fluffy, don't bully the cat."

I don't think Fluffy should be allowed to have a pet.

Peony was very large and furry. It purred in my shoulder. I think it had a hard time today.

"There, there, Peony. You've worked hard." I stroked the cat's long fur.

But Fluffy had a point. Peony had said he could only take us two to three years before or after the moment. We were prepared to attempt multiple times and maybe even wait it out. I looked at the two untouched duffle bags Neil was carrying. We hadn't needed it at all.

It felt like all the times Mum would tell me to take an umbrella and it didn't rain.

"Better to have it with you when its sunny than not have it when it rains." Mum had answered when I complained.

Which was exactly the kind of wise advice my lovely Luna mother was known for. I wasn't impressed.

"But I had to carry it!" I grumbled. Okay, so it was just a foldable umbrella tucked in my school bag, but I wasn't ready to lose the argument, "I told you it wouldn't rain! You shouldn't believe the weather station!"

I mean, Mum should be old enough to know by now that our weather station was like the rest of LNC's news - only right half the time at best.

"Oh Sam," Mum said, because she always had the last word, "You were just lucky today. But you can't always depend on luck."

Oh yeah? If I could go back in time, I would have told Mum, "Just watch me."

Watch me step through the time passages purely by luck!

But then again… Future Ben said we arrived a week early? But Future Sam (the annoying one) acted like we were right on time? In fact, they were completely expecting us? Nothing about our trip made sense.

One-eyed Future Ben had come half dead and described a cursed land and dire situation. We rushed into the future to save it. We were prepared to use guns, to use Leon (Bell's own Sword against him), and I felt quite sure Fluffy wasn't kidding about making Peony use its own life force to get us to where we needed to be. (Don't worry, as long as I was around, I wouldn't let Peony suffer.)

But our future was nothing like that.

We had rushed into the future to save it, but why did it feel like we were returning like tourists after a sight-seeing trip? How was it that everything was okay? I mean, it was better than okay! It was unbelievable.

If we didn't change the future, who did?

"Alpha, we are all present and accounted for." Harvey informed me.

Huh? Oh. I nodded.

We made our way back to the Alpha House. The woods was its usual familiar trees and smells. We passed the crater and it was still a mud hole. Our backyard was still the same grass and muddy patches. There was no apples tree, golden koi and lotus pond, rose gardens, or strawberries… The Alpha House was a welcomed sight of normalcy. Everything was back to normal.

Well, it was my new normal. A normal after the old alpha house was destroyed by the rouges. A normal after Ki came to us. A normal after I shifted, after I met Bell, after we killed the Warlock Fount, after magic started seeping into the Green Packlands… because I could smell it in the air.

It was very faint, but used to be negligible.

Now that the warlock was gone, the gyaara and the magic… I think they were set free.

I know, I know, "the world is changing every day and what it is today isn't what it was yesterday. And what it will be tomorrow wouldn't be what it is today. We need to keep running without regrets."

{Are you visiting the traitor later, Neil?} Wolfgang's question took me by surprise.

{Yes, Delta. Jax and I were planning to drop by after our duty today.} Neil answered. Oh, maybe I was overhearing a work discussion.

{I don't have to tell you what not to do.} Wolfgang said.

{Do you think it would happen today, Sir Wolfgang?} Harvey asked.

Wolfgang shrugged, {It will not hurt to make preparations.}

{Got it.} Harvey nodded, {I'll have the DC visiting protocol reviewed and implemented ASAP. Meanwhile, we'll cease all visitation rights on the DC for a few days.}

{Just ban the pie, beta.} Jax said, {Just make the rule: By order of the FAO, no pies are allowed to be given to prisoners.}

I laughed at that, "I think you guys are overdoing it."

The wolves stopped in their steps. I ignored the fact that I wasn't supposed to have heard their mind link discussion, "If you do too much, wouldn't it throw in too many variables?"

Hahaha, I loved when I wasn't the slow one. But I think I understood.

We did save the future, but we didn't do it by running into it with guns. We saved the future day by day, one step at a time.

"It's like a which-way book." I spoked as I realized, "Just because you avoid one tragedy, doesn't mean you won't be headed towards another."

From the way Fluffy was smiling at me, I think he caught my drift.

"So what should we do?" Wolfgang, the other wolf who understood wondered aloud.

"Does goddess have a solution?" Ki asked, like a flower smiling to the sun.

No. Not at all. But how could I disappoint that face?

I gave my wolves a wide smile, "We can always wing it."

And then I added, because it just seemed like a sensible thing to do, "That pie incident wasn't the fault of the pie. If you looked at it, the problem was our security process. So instead of worrying about the pie, let's just fix the cracks in the process so a weapon cannot be smuggled in."

"Understood, Alpha." Harvey nodded.

"Hm," Sir Wolfgang nodded proudly, "Our Alpha Princess shows wisdom."

"I don't get it." Jax shrugged, "It was obviously the pie."

"Don't worry." I gave him my widest grin, "Just follow me. I'm super lucky!"