TOO HAPPY TO SING PROPERLY

"What the hell, Sam! He's your wolf!" Henry growled.

Oh right, like now (and every time he's troublesome) he's MY wolf?

Henry had a bad habit of deciding they were my wolves when they were troublesome. Like what about all the rest of the times when he was happily bossing all of them around? Or totally bypassing me to get my schedule changed to suit his plans? Who's wolves were they then?

Meanwhile, my wolf in question shrugged, "I'd rather stand in as the dartboard at a vampire after-party."

I blinked. Was that like really a thing, or a really imaginative figure of speech?

"You have no sense of self-preservation, my friend." Fluffy smiled sagely.

"I'd rather preserve my dignity." It was weird when EJ spoke with proper old fashion wolf sensibility and pride.

His wolf met my eyes with his red ones, "Alpha, please release me."

Eh, what? Me? It took me a while to realize what I had done.

Back in class, when I had felt EJ become unstable, I had called out his name instinctively. At the time, I felt I was about to lose EJ... but ironically, the one I called out to and pulled out was his wolf.

Which totally made sense now that I thought about it. EJ's wolf was on the surface, but he only really came out when I called him. I was the one who sealed him away... so naturally, I was also the one who could call him out.

I mean, dope! Here I was desperately trying to figure out how to deal with him, but the matter of fact was that I was the one keeping him here. I never quite knew how to feel whenever I realized I've underestimated myself. I mean, I made a stupid mistake yes - but who knew my alpha wolf was that amazing to seal and call out a wolf on command? Someone should add this to Beta Gerald and Harvey's chronicles of Alpha Sam's awesomeness!

And this might just be Boo talking, but I had a lot of fun today.

I nodded, "Yeah. Thanks for your hard work."

EJ nodded a respectful bow and replied, like the end of a spell, "Thank you for your guidance, Alpha."

It was nothing out of the ordinary - such exchanges were the usual traditional interaction between an alpha and his wolf, but it was also almost magic. Something inside let go, and EJ's wolf receded. The moment he did, EJ fell forwards in a faint.

Fluffy caught him, "He's just sleeping."

EJ started snoring. It was so on cue, I would have thought he was faking it.

"Then wake him!" Henry really didn't have the patience for this. But I could tell he was trying, which was something in itself. I doubt he would have been so forgiving if it were his own wolves messing around and wasting his time like this.

Maybe he figured we couldn't help being crazy Night Leaf wolves. Maybe the poor guy was being held ransom because he needed us to win the Talent Time. Maybe he just really treated us as his friends.

Henry was very bossy even to his friends, "Hurry up. I don't have all day."

Fluffy's idea of waking EJ quickly was to drop him.

EJ fell onto the ground with all the grace of a dead body. I winced at the thud, but almost as immediately as he fell, EJ popped up to sit upright, "MOU!!! I had the weirdest dream..."

And then he looked around the room, "Hoi, hoi, how did I get here?"

He looked down at his clothes and then wrapped his arms around himself, "Who changed me? Whatever happened, I didn't do it! You can't hold me responsible! I'm underage..."

"You fell asleep again, EJ." Fluffy smiled and offered a hand to help him up, "It's time for rehearsals."

"What? I slept through the class party?" EJ sounded horrified at himself, and then more hesitantly, "And nothing happened?"

Fluffy smiled and lied through his teeth, "Nothing happened."

He helped EJ to his feet, but even while patting his friend kindly, Fluffy mindlinked me, {It would be best not to mention the fate of EJ's shoes. I'll take care of it later.}

I didn't think shoes were the most worrisome thing right now, but I nodded.

EJ took my nod to affirm what Fluffy said. He looked extremely relieved, it was like he was expecting to wake up and find someone dead or something... which I guess, given his wolf, and the fact that he survived life as a fight dog, could well have happened before.

"Yeah, don't worry. You didn't miss anything." Marcus misunderstood EJ's upset "We saved you some food too. It's in Sam's mini cooler... And probably cold by now."

I knew I smelled food!

"AFTER we rehearse." Henry added before EJ could bound over to the cooler.

"MOU! Scary alpha is mean!" EJ whined. He bounced over to check out the food anyway, "I'm just looking - scouting, really. Hoi, hoi!"

I went along to look too.

"No." Henry got to it first. He slapped his large hand on top of the cooler box, "No food till we're done."

Grrrrr...

But Henry wasn't in the least threatened by me even when I was growling.

"Mou... But we can't perform on an empty stomach!" EJ whined, "Scary Alpha is so mean...."

"Looks like we have to sing for our supper." Fluffy smiled happily.

"I had never been treated so harshly in my life!" EJ declared. Like surely that had to be a lie, but I couldn't sense it.

"It must be nice to have a memory of a goldfish." Fluffy smiled.

"We're not stopping for lunch either." Henry decided to take the hard line with my wolves, "If you want to eat, you better start singing."

I have to say, Henry was suddenly making quite a convincing argument.

"ACK! Scary Alpha is sooooo scary!" EJ went over to his mic and for some reason, the expression of his fear required squirming and wriggling his bum with a pouty face. I laughed.

It was like EJ was fully back as EJ again.

"Looks like Scary Alpha is figuring out how we work at Night Leaf." Fluffy smiled, but he had taken out his violin and started tuning.

As in motivation through food rewards? How else would you be able to get a bunch of rumbustious pups to willingly sit and be still long enough to learn anything?

EJ made a few explosion sounds.

"What the hell are you doing now?" Henry had slung on his bass and was checking it's connections.

EJ grinned, "I'm tuning my instrument too."

"What instrument?" Marcus chuffed from the drums.

Janice didn't say anything, but she was ready at the keyboard too. Janice hadn't said anything at all. She had waved a little when I first came in, but most of the time, she wore the expression of a tragic heroine. She checked the settings on her keyboard and put her foot above the step pedal. She was ready too. Her expression was still like that of a tragic heroine, but she was a very determined tragic heroine.

"Y'all put your hands together and holler for the.. the the... INSTRUMENT of LOVE...love...love!!!" EJ announced with his own echo effect over the mic.

Yeah, EJ was EJ. I was beginning to feel his bloodthirsty wolf was the sensible one between the two of them though.

Henry chuffed, "Don't you dare say that later."

But it was like he forgot he had been mad. The baseline started and we were off.

It was a little rocky at the start (but not because of us).

I think Marcus either skipped a line or played something else although. It was hard to tell because he was playing the drums. Anyway, it sounded like the beat ran away with him for a bit, and he had to scramble across the toms and a few messy splashes before he found his way back to the beat.

Through it all, Henry and Janice soldiered on in their own correct time signature.

EJ took the double time all in his stride, he didn't even bother to beatbox to that mix. He just went into siren mode, and then danced, jerking his hips sideways with a "urgh". It was Tim's Dad's move right there.

The moment we finished the first run, Henry yelled, "EJ, that was obscene."

Marcus coughed.

"Thank you." EJ grinned, bouncing happily.

"That was NOT a compliment!" Henry yelled. I think if Henry had to work with my wolves, he might become one of the rare wolves who would get sick from a human disease... one of those high-stress ones... maybe hypertension or high blood pressure or something.

"And you have no right to laugh, Marcus." Henry continued berating the band, "You were a mess back there!"

"Ah, yeah. I know. Sorry." Marcus promptly stopped coughing, "That was my bad."

"We were just warming up, Hen." I tried to coax Alpha Bossy Pants for Marcus' sake.

"I know, but I wish you'd take it more seriously." Henry complained, but he wasn't yelling anymore.

"I was singing seriously, I got all the words right and everything!" I retorted.

"Stop grinning when you sing. This isn't a happy song!" Henry scolded.

"But I can't help it! I'm happy." I protested.

"Be less happy!" Henry snapped.

Whatever, "You got it, Hen. I will sing like my heart is breaking."

"This isn't a heartbreak song either...." Henry started and then he shook his head, "Now I know you're just messing with me."

The rest of us laughed.

"Stop it!" Henry ordered.

Of course, we laughed some more. Even Janice laughed, just a little. And then she glanced at Marcus and looked a little regretful and sad.

I wondered if Marcus knew how Janice really felt about him.

"Okay!" I decided, "One more time. I think I got the right mood now."

This time I sang with a little bit of Janice, the bit that would break up with Marcus so he could laugh with his best friend in school again. I also sand with a little bit of me... the bit of me that felt like a dumb pup not realizing all that my wolves do for me behind the scenes, I sang the words, "All the small things..."

And when I hit the chorus and I sang as the happy dumb pup I was, "Na na na na..."

EJ harmonized with me, both of us singing and grinning at each other. I'm just a dumb pup, and maybe EJ kept his wolf a secret even from himself, Fluffy's a scary mess, Ki's broken inside... but hey, we'll take turns carrying each other home.

One day, these guys will run happy and free... and know better than to casually step into the girl's changing room. Until then, I'll protect them. I'm their Alpha. I will protect their happiness.

"That's not bad." Henry said at the end of our second run, "But do you have to sing it so different every time? This is starting to be like your Bulliet again."

What's Bulliet got to do with anything?

"One rehearsal, you're all emo and evil, the next you become the clown." Henry complained, "Do you even understand the concept of consistency?"

"Consistency is like water dripping." I told Henry, "Drip, drip, drip. It's very boring and takes a long, long time, but the rock under it will be changed."

This was my version of one of those lycan stories old people tell puppies. It contained many deep life lessons.

"Why does talking to you feel like I'm talking to a five-year-old pup sometimes?" Henry drew a frustrated hand across his face, "Whatever Sam. Just sing whatever."

And then Henry pointed at himself, "Because, unlike you. I know how to be the rock."

I guess that made me the irritating drip, "Okay! Get ready to be changed forever!"

"What the hell, Sam." Henry shook his head.

Marcus shook his head too, "I never know what she's thinking."

"Only very Alpha things." EJ told them.

Eh? I turned sharply to EJ. If EJ's wolf could access EJ's memories, could EJ remember the conversation I had with his wolf? But warm brown eyes blinked innocently at me.

"Indeed, our Pretty Alpha thoughts are all wise and benevolent." Fluffy happily chimed in.

"And fun too." EJ agreed, "Pretty Alpha is the funnest."

"Right... because all Alphas need to be fun." Marcus smirked.

"Everything is a game to you guys." Henry shook his head.

"A game that we win!" I boasted.

"Fine. Then win this talent time for me." Henry ordered.

He's so bossy, I don't know why I put up with him.

Oh right. Because we're friends. (And it's also really fun to mess with him.)

"I don't know why I put up with you." Henry groaned into his hand.

I knew this! "Because it's fun!"

"It's not!" Henry was indignant. How dare I think he was having fun?

"Well, it's fun FOR ME." I decided with a grin, "Aw... I'm too happy to sing properly again!"

"What the hell, Sam!"

Hahahaha.