WHAT AM I WAITING FOR?

It must have been the sunlight, a trick of the eye, a parallax error. I was so shocked I turned to take a second look purely by reflex. Why would my respectable tutor and proud fire pillar of Snow Moon flick his hair like that? In the presence of the most formal visitation we had ever received, no less!

And then Wolfgang did it again.

Looking me straight in the eyes, he reached up his hand and touched his temple under his fringe with his fingers very briefly before putting his hand down again. The movement caused his blond hair to shift. Oh, so he wasn't flicking his hair, but he was definitely signaling something to me. Urm… I was never great at charades. It took me another half second to figure out what Wolfgang was doing.

Here was my sequence of logic: He couldn't be flicking his hair at me. Looking properly, he was actually touching his forehead, or more specifically, the side of his forehead. (The hair movement was the byproduct.)

So he was thinking? Or rather, he wanted ME to think? Or did he mean something to do with my head... To use my head? To think? Or something I should mind? Or something to do with using my mind? Like I wished he'd just tell me! Like mindlink me or something… Oh.

He was reminding me to open up my mindlinks.

Dope! I hated being slow like this, but better late than never. I opened up my mindlink midway in my wolves' discussion.

{I'll take care of the paperwork and coordination. Ki will oversee our guests stay.} My good beta was already allocating the work, {Have the guests rooms in the packhouse prepared and arrange for whatever else they might need... You know what to do Ki, I'll leave it to you.}

{Understood.} Ki had his smiling mask on, {I had prior instructions from our Luna Bell for the living and work arrangements for Gareth and Anna. The healer prince, Hayao, will reside with the Special Team. Their paperwork are ready for submission to the Alpha Office.}

{#10 has arrived already?} Fluffy asked, {Looks like Hotstuff is no longest the youngest brother.}

Wolfgang pretended he didn't hear.

{Not now, Fluff.} Harvey said, putting the breaks on Fluffy's mischief, {We're working. Noted on the paperwork, Ki.}

{Luna Bell would also like to be notified immediately of the healer prince's arrival.} Ki added.

{And you're just telling this to us now, dog?} Ben smirked.

{A thousand apologies, beta.} Ki answered so anyone who really understood him would know he was not sorry at all.

{Alright. I'll drop him a text.} Harvey sounded reluctant, but he was determined to get the work flow going, {Ben, you accompany Alpha for the rest of the day.}

{Yeah, yeah, just leave the babysitting to me.} Ben was his usual unenthusiastic self.

{We can always swap places.} Harvey offered wryly.

{In your dreams.} Ben smirked.

Harvey nodded wryly. How my good beta manages my wolves was beyond me.

{May I present the introductions?} Wolfgang offered, {I am only somewhat familiar with the formality, but I am confident that I would not bring embarrassment on our Alpha Princess.}

{Didn't the old guy say he'd do it?} Ben asked.

{How can we not reciprocate the gesture?} Wolfgang asked.

{Don't waste your breath, Hotstuff.} Ben shrugged, {He's in Night Leaf now. We don't have to play their long winded games.}

{Young beta,} Wolfgang answered seriously, {There is no reason to be rude, and you cannot afford to offend them now, but it would seem that they know as well as we do that there would come a day when your Alpha Princess stands on the pinnacle of the world. When that time comes, you are free to flaunt your rudeness in front of your guests. Until then, it would be to our advantage to reciprocate their grace.}

But I didn't like the sound of that.

Maybe it's a bit of a stretch, but if we did that, if we were only polite to those stronger than us and rude to those who were weaker, then wouldn't we be no better than those two faced adults? Like that elementary school teacher who would be sucking up in front of the principal and all smiles to our parents but always yelling at us in class because we were "just students"? Or the matron at the destitute house who would be always be pleasant and agreeable in front of my Alpha Dad and Luna Mum, but quite the opposite once my parents leave the building?

I got angry watching such characters on Mum's Lycan Drama. They were even worse than the Matron at the Destitute House.

"How can they grovel like that?" I pointed angrily at the TV, "If you don't like it, tell it to the Alpha's face. Don't take it out on the omega outside!"

Weak wolves without a backbone of conviction. Cruel and cowardly bullies. Selfish greedy fools. I hated these kind of people the most.

Dad sighed, "I know. But they are doing their best, that is the only way they know how to survive... The world is large enough for everyone."

His answer surprised me. He was behind his laptop and I hadn't even known he was paying attention to our show.

"Well, I won't allow anyone in our pack to be like this!" I decided.

"Even if you run away and start a new pack, you won't be able to control this." Dad said before adding darkly, "If a wolf dares to deceive me, I'll just see how long he can keep up that face."

Which was just stupid, but it's not like we could kill someone just because they're stupid. (So Dad just had to wait for them to give him a reason to strike?)

The younger me figured that if I couldn't decide for others, I could decide for myself, "I'm not going to be like that. I'm only going to have one face."

I pointed at myself, "Whether I talk to an alpha or an omega, I will only show this face."

"Oh, Sam." Mum sighed and then she smiled ruefully at me, "Well, if you have to choose only one face, then choose a kind one. Be respectful, gentle, and compassionate. If you cultivate these virtues in your heart, you will reap goodness in your life."

I shook my head, "That's nice, Mum, but I'm going to be cool and strong. I'm going to be the Alpha, I can't be too nice or I'll be bullied."

"I'll see who dares bully my daughter." Dad took it as a personal insult.

"You can't, Dad! I need to fight my own battles!"

"Oh Sam, you're a girl." Mum felt she should remind me.

"So what?" I shot back, "As long as I'm the strongest, I'm the alpha right?"

"Shhh..." Said Savy, "I can't hear what they're saying!"

So we stopped there and went back to the show. In Lycan dramas, there were an unrealistic proportion of spineless, two faced, backstabbing wolves, but don't worry, they always got their just desserts in the end.

Lycan drama was very exacting in its justice like that.

This might seem very random, but remembering Mum's drama made me suddenly want very much to be the Alpha again.

I didn't watch all that many episodes, but I still remember that Alpha was just stooopid.

I know it's just a TV drama, but the way he acted, (he was nothing like my dad), it was like he couldn't even tell if someone was lying to his face. He was always afraid of losing support from his wolves. Always worried about how other wolves esteemed him. He was supposed to be the Strongest Alpha in the land too. I don't believe a guy like that had fought his way to the top as the drama had claimed.

"Just beat them up. Beat up everyone who dares look down on you!" I would exclaim regularly. He was so frustrating to watch - he was even more annoying than the two-faced spineless ones. I lost count of the times I had thought to myself, "If I were the alpha..."

{But I am the alpha.}

Yes. That's true.

{So what am I waiting for?}

It happened before I even realized, but Boo had come out to play.