SOMEONE WHO MAKES ME HAPPY

"No way!" I protested. There.was.no.way.

"But the fire pup…" Beta Lucas seemed to feel this was all the reason I needed. It turned out that Beta Lucas was really a softie when it came to cute alpha pups.

For some reason, Fluffy (my own soul mate) decided this would be his chance to convince me of how it was for the best. If I grew up to be a beautiful she-wolf who will not ever have to run out to fight or die young. I'll live a long and happy life with a loving loyal mate and happy rumbustious alpha pups in a castle surrounded by majestic forests and wide open glades.

"You're beginning to sound like a property agent, alpha." Ben thought it was amusing.

Beta Lucas tried to explain Version 34 of my future some more.

Wolfgang lectured at the university a couple of times a week in the Spring, he attended Morning Court in the autumn, but was otherwise busy taking care of his fife - a wide march of land the shape of a crescent wrapped around Snow Moon - from the large stately castle we called home.

We enjoyed staying home with our new pup in the evenings, that is, if we didn't have to attend any balls. In the weekends, we'd ride magic horses and shoot game in the forest - We were well known for hosting the royal autumn hunt every year.

We were that kind of family.

In the summers, we'd visit Night Leaf, or spend a week or two at our beach house. Wolfgang was looking forward to taking our pup skiing when he was older. He had a winter lodge up in the mountains with a natural hot spring, but Lala was afraid of skis.

Don't ask me why, it's not like I actually lived that life yet.

It was very likely Alpha Gunter would choose young Chrysanthos as his heir. He had already taken the fire wolf pup as his godson.

"Chrys what?" I asked. Chrysanthe what? Did he say Chrysanthemum? Wth? Was I naming my pups the way the goddess named her cats?

"Chrysanthos." Dad repeated, "It means Golden Flower in one of the old languages in the Blue Packlands."

So not Chrysanthemum, but not much better. I really did name my son after a flower.

"I'm guessing the father named him." Ben smirked.

Oh right! There was no way I would name my son such a sissy name.

Wolfgang adverted his gaze and coughed discretely. Until now, he had been making valiant effort to politely pretend he hadn't heard any of our conversation about his alleged future with me. I think the cough was a signal to please change the subject, but he was in Night Leaf so the others just ignored him and continued like he wasn't there.

"You'd probably have named him Dagger or something dumb like that." Ben informed me.

I would not!

Although Dagger did have a nice ring to it.

"Perhaps we are digressing." Fluffy seemed to finally be ready to get serious now, "Shouldn't we focus more on the Night Leaf Alpha?"

Okay, I take that back, Fluffy was still messing around.

Wolfgang looked most relieved though.

Fluffy continued with his smiling mask, "Please say I mated a sex goddess."

The guys closest to him all hit him.

"Oh right." Beta Lucas nodded, "Of course... The future of Night Leaf…"

Fluffy was the most stable of all of us, which was why Beta Lucas had overlooked reporting it first. Except for when he mated me in the fluke of Version 15, Fluffy would either mate this princess from the colored mountains, or not at all.

It was through mating this beautiful healer princess that Night Leaf was saved in the war.

Beta Lucas glared at Ben as he reported.

"Now that is a man." Beta Lucas exhorted, "He only mated his soul mate or not at all!"

Technically, Fluffy only actually mated his soul mate ONCE. And only presumably because he wasn't able to run away on his own two legs. It seemed like my soul mate was fated to lose one or two limbs in their lifespan.

But it looked like neither of us ever told Dad or Beta Lucas the truth, not now or ever, or in any of the alternative futures.

"Unlike you." Beta Lucas hit Ben roughly over his head.

"Ow, what was that for?" Ben grumbled.

"For running away with Sam!" Beta Lucas was furious, "Hoo boy, I should just strangle you now."

Because there was one alternate future where Ben and I eloped and ran away to live as rogues in some Red Packland town.

"You know it didn't happen." Ben tried to reason with his Dad.

"I saw it for myself!" Beta Lucas argued.

"Seeing it in a future that isn't going to happen doesn't count!" Ben shot back.

"What about Savy?" I asked.

"Oh, she is always with River." Beta Lucas said.

Wait what?

"But isn't her soul mate..." I stopped myself when I saw Ben's face.

Ben shook his head furiously, "No. I'm not..."

"But aren't you two..." I stopped myself when I realize Dad and Beta Lucas would probably kill him, "Who's Ben soulmate?"

Whew! I internally congratulated myself for the nice save.

"No, don't say it." Ben shook his head again, "I don't want to know."

Fluffy beamed, "Actually, it's me."

The guys around him hit him… Ben punched him twice for that.

I just felt very confused. If Ben wasn't Savy's soulmate, why were they dating?

Ben sighed, "Let's just go back and pretend none of this ever happened."

Well, technically, it didn't.

"When we return..." Beta Lucas raised his hand to make a point, "Kai... you will not longer be the young alpha. Are you sure you're okay with that?"

"I don't mind, but..." Fluffy smiled, "When we return to our Original Timeline... Sam's pup will be a Lorent wolf, not a fire wolf. Are YOU sure you're okay with that?"

"That will depend on whether the Lorent boy deserves her." Dad decided in all seriousness.

"Dad!" I was aghast, "I will mate with my soul mate, not matter what the timeline."

"But..." Said Dad.

"But..." Said Beta Lucas.

"I will mate my soul mate!" I declared, "Or not at all!"

"A fire wolf alpha pup would be the first spark to save the fire wolf population from extinction in the plains." Fluffy pointed out.

This was about my soul mate! Not lycan bloodline conservation.

"If you don't want fire wolf pups, Ki was pretty good too." Beta Lucas informed me, "The Lorents are just next door - it's closer to Night Leaf than Snow Moon."

Because I did end up with Ki in a handful of alternate futures in this timeline and Beta Lucas felt the town house in Gate City that we move into was very nice. Lala just wasn't made to rough it out. Mating a Duke or a Lorent Beta would be more suitable, especially since the both of them proved to be the kind of mate who pampered me.

"It's true, my pretty La likes to be pampered." Fluffy agreed. (It was not!)

"Sam..." Beta Lucas advised, "All I can say is... Choose someone who would make you happy. Someone who knows how to take care of you. Don't waste your life with selfish brats like my useless son..." Beta Lucas got mad all over again, "You're the beta! How can you abandon your pack to elope?"

Beta Lucas swung his fist at his son, "As if it wasn't enough to turn rogue, you had to drag Sam down with you!"

Ben ducked from his Dad's fist and took safety behind Fluffy and Harvey, "There must be some misunderstanding!"

But it's not like Ben could explain what or why since neither of us lived that life yet.

Just like I had no idea why I would be afraid of skis.

But if I had to be honest, I'd rather live a hard life with my soul mate than a pampered one with anyone else. What's wrong with working hard together to build a better life?

Not that I had ever worked hard together with Bell to do anything yet. It's hard to do things together when the other party was always mad at you for getting in his way.

Or if you always ended up arguing whenever you were alone together.

Or if you had to be careful to keep certain information from him in case he starts a war.

If I thought about my previous relationship with Bell objectively, without the influence of the mating bond, our relationship was… I took pause at this realization - without the mating bond, did we even have a relationship?