NOT QUITE THE TV SHOW ENDING

That's the problem with real life. In TV shows, everything wraps up and makes sense. In real life, nothing ever wrapped up nicely by the end of the episode. My 15 minutes was up and we were late for rehearsal. If this was a TV show, everything should be wrapping up nicely about now, but the hunters were just watching the broken body of the Rogue Councilman limp down the narrow path through the woods.

"He was able to enter my mindshield magic." Tessa had whispered.

"That's impossible, Tess." Hellsing immediately reassured her.

"Nothing is impossible if you've been in this business long enough." Gar shook his head.

But Tessa's magic had never failed before! Dan had felt he had to remind everyone. In fact, Tessa's magic was so well known among the hunting circles, they called her the Magic Girl.

"He was probably under the vamp's control way before this incident." Dan argued, "He did say they had met before."

"It would certainly explain it." Mor said, "I've heard stories about how very powerful vampires are able to leave a shred of their consciousness in their target's mind."

"That's sick." Hellsing said.

"Jack got too greedy." Gar shook his head.

Tessa was still staring at her magic stick in disbelief.

Meanwhile, Jack was still in stasis, there were probably two dead hunters on the ground near EJ, and who knew where the three rogue wolves would be by now? Weren't these guys supposed to be professionals? The hunters on TV would have been leaving with the three rogues in their cage, and the vamp in the bodybag by now! These guys were still surrounding Tessa trying to rationalize how Jack could've been controlled by the Rogue Councilman even with Tessa's mindshield spell.

If you wanted something done, sometimes you needed to do it yourself!

I dropped down from the tree and Torque followed me out. His giant silhouette a shadow over my own girly frame. The Hunters took pause the moment he stepped out. Torque stopped by the tree line. I left him there to stand guard and ambled nimbly over to where Ki was tapping his phone lightly to his chin in thought, "What should I do with this?"

As he spoke his question aloud, he looked to Fluffy. The blond wolf was just leaving the cage now that it was all over. He seriously just sat in the cage without lifting a finger throughout, but he also looked happy enough. The last time Lord Kosan showed up in school (due to the sinkhole named Maria), my wolves had all taken a while to get over it. But today, Fluffy's wolf continued unperturbed under his smiling mask.

EJ was still mucking around with the dead hunters.I took a glance in his direction to see what he was busy with, and realized he was kicking the mangled bodies into a pile. I covered my mouth and looked away. There was no Blue Coat or Green Coat, everything in the pile was blood-stained. EJ dusted off his hands looking satisfied, "I got all their parts together."

In stark contrast, even though Ki was still smiling gently, his wolf was definitely sickened by the whole episode. I watched his smiling mask carefully, and when he looked to me, I head-bumped his shoulder.

Ki immediately smiled like a flower to the sun, "Apologies, goddess for the unpleasant experience."

"I'm okay, Ki." I told him softly. It was him that I was worried about.

Ki was always the shining epitome of what an ex-fightdog could become in our pack, but every now and then, it was like the darkness of his past would still be grasping at him. I couldn't quite explain the feeling, I didn't quite understand it myself. If I could, I would chase away the darkness so it would never bother him again. So he could smile without the shadows of whatever happened in his past. So he would stop saying he wanted to live and die as my dog. So he could sleep through the night... I knew he still had nightmares. I knew he still slept in his wolf form outside my bedroom door almost every night.

Ki was the least okay of my wolves right now.

I pushed his phone away from his face and told him, "It's going to be okay."

I don't know how, but one day, Ki was going to be okay again. More than okay. Ki was going to be happy.

Ki stopped smiling.

I ignored my beta's inner turmoil and stepped forward, "Need help cleaning up here?"

Fluffy took my cue and stepped forward too.

"And why would we need your help, sweetie?" Hellsing asked.

"Because you're incompetent." Fluffy told him with his signature smile. My master strategist could be really useful sometimes.

"S***, you wolves." Hellsing growled.

"Stop. Hellsing. That's enough." Tessa shook her head, "She's right. This was our hunt."

"Our hunt which they gatecrashed!" Hellsing argued.

"But if we hadn't stepped in, who would have stopped you from killing a fake rogue?" Fluffy reasoned, "You'd minimally have the deaths of Jack and company on your hands, a garrison of local law enforcers out for your heads, and a coven of vamps out for your blood."

Fluffy smiled like the morning sun and waited for the gravity of the hunters' situation to sink in.

"But how are we going to deal with this mess?" Dan worried now.

"Are you asking for our help?" Ki wasn't going to just stand back and watch. His beta steely tone and gentle smile were back in place. I had worried for nothing. Ki's wolf once again proved himself more resilient than I had thought.

"S***." Hellsing said. He should change his name to Hells***. Hahahaha.

Cobra popped out at this point. He was carrying an unconscious Sweaty Suit.

"Shhhh...." He dropped the rogue wolf onto the ground.

"S***." Hellsing said again.

"Don't just leave him lying around." Ki reprimanded, "Put him in the cage. Torque, go with Cobra and pick up the other two bodies."

The two of them left again and came back a few minutes later with the other two unconscious rogues. They squashed them in the cage. The silver bars burned Sweaty Suits' cheek. I looked away.

They were just stinky rogues, but I felt sorry anyway.

I hesitated and then I poked Sweaty Suit's face so that it leaned away from the bars of the cage.

It was kind of embarrassing because EVERYONE saw it. I felt my own cheeks flame in mortification and flared, "Don't misunderstand! I'm not being nice to the rogue or anything! The burning smell just annoyed me!"

Nobody said anything. Not even Hells***, even though he looked like he wanted to, he thought better of it and went to work digging a pit for the two dead hunters.

Ki took out wet wipes to clean my hands.

"You two escort the goddess back to class." Ki ordered, "We'll take it from here."

"Understood, Charming Beta." Fluffy nodded a bow and came to my side.

But why should Ki have to shoulder this mess? I didn't move from my spot.

And then EJ suddenly yelled, "MOU! I got blood on my sneakers! Help! This one is a limited edition!"

He bounced up and down and around the bewildered hunters to me and grabbed me by my shoulders to face him, "Pretty Alpha! My SHOOOEEESSS... You have to avenge my SHOOOEEESSS!"

I was just as bewildered as the rest. Did EJ's wolf finally retire? I looked at the bouncing redhead and the suspiciously red eyes. What the hell was EJ's wolf playing at?

Grrrr....

Everyone stopped to look over when my hair flared. Even EJ stopped bouncing.

"You want me to avenge your shoes?" I was still confused by EJ's switched personality. I thought EJ and his wolf didn't share memories?

There was a pause. And then EJ started bouncing again, "Hoi hoi! I knew you'd understand! It was all that vampire's fault! Now my shoe is ruined!"

Fluffy's hand pushed me gently on the small of my back to leave, "But he's gone now. Come on, EJ, let's get back before Scary Alpha blows a fuse."

I felt myself being pushed away from the crime scene. It was only when I looked back and noticed Tessa being pulled away by Dan while the others discussed around the bodies that I realized my wolves were trying to protect me - just like Tessa's friends were protecting her.

"Wait, Tessa!" I pulled out of Fluffy's hand and u-turned back, "Why don't you catch up with the Rogue Councilman and make a deal? Tell him you'd send him home for a fee. I'm sure his Lord would pay you handsomely for his return. And he couldn't have gone far, he's way too broken."

"That's crazy!" Dan exclaimed.

"It's fine. Plus you guys need someone to pay for the outlay for today's hunt right?" I reasoned.

"What makes you think the vamp won't mess with us?" Gar asked from the R(A) section of the clearing. Hellsing and Mor were using their spades to shovel the body parts into the hole they dug.

"Make it part of the deal. Like he has to let you shoot him so he'd be unconscious for the trip back." I said.

"What?" Tessa sounded truly shocked. But the other hunters looked like they were considering it.

And then Mor poked Jack who was still standing in stasis with his spade.

"I don't suppose you know what to do with this one either, princess?" Mor asked hopefully.

"He's just in suspended animation." I clapped my hands sharply together and just like back when Maria the Sinkhole happened, Jack woke up screaming.

It really did seem like very old vampires (and Vamp Lords were as ancient as they came) were quite set in their ways. Ki had ever said they preferred their personal living arrangements to be exactly the same no matter which property they were residing in. But it wasn't just about furniture placement. They seemed to prefer using the same old party tricks over and over again.

Jack gasped as if he had just survived an avalanche, "Gar? Mor? Is that you? Thank God... There was a rogue vampire... My men... all dead...I think... I barely... barely made it out alive..."

At least Lord Kosan didn't use the sinkhole scenario again. But I'm getting to understand that Lord Kosan really liked embellished dramas.

"He knows I killed his son..." Jack's eyes were wild with terror, "The Rogue Councilman! He's coming for me... You need to help me... I'll pay you! He's coming for me!"

"I suppose that'll be the story then." Ki decided with a nod.

"Mou... my poor shoes." EJ bemoaned, "Alpha, my feet are soaked in blood."

He wasn't upset at all.

I felt quite sure of it.

And he just gave himself away. He called me "Alpha."

"What happened to Pretty Alpha?" I teased. And then I took the trail back to school, "Come on, let's get back before Henry loses it."

Ki and my wolves bowed politely at my leaving. I turned back with my usual wide smile and waved, "Good work everyone! Thank you for taking care of everything!"

But most of all, they took care of me. I realized belatedly that Boo's fearlessness wasn't due to my growing powers, but because I knew the wolves who were running with me. EJ, Fluffy, Ki... all my wolves, really. I knew they would take care of me no matter what. If we had team-building exercises, I was going to ace the trust fall.

And even if real life didn't ever play out like TV shows, even if it's much messier, grosser, dirtier, stinkier, scriptless, and way more senseless, it's okay. I kind of like real life in all its unglorious reality - like the fact that EJ needed to change his shoes. In fact, EJ needed a shower and a change of clothes. He looked like a murder victim in a hunted house. The kind that would pounce out with a big creepy grin so you'd scream the house down.

Fluffy and I were surprisingly clean. I guess I did spend most of the episode in a tree, and Fluffy had stayed in the cage for this very reason, "My sneakers are also a limited edition."

How much was my Special Team getting paid?

"Mou..." EJ bemoaned his sneakers. Now that the two guys were showing me their shoes, I realized they were wearing the same design, just that Fluffy's were white and EJ's were... not white.

"Why are you pretending to be bouncy?" I asked EJ when his not-white shoes wouldn't stop moving.

Fluffy was so surprised he stopped smiling to stare at his friend.

EJ stopped humming and bouncing to walk normally again. EJ's wolf had the measured and graceful gait of a killer, "I thought it would make you feel more at ease, Alpha."

I just laughed in his face.

"EJ..." And for some reason, I repeated what Mum had always been telling me, "You and your wolf are one and the same. For what it's worth. I like you either way."

"And me, Pretty Alpha?" Fluffy inserted himself into our conversation.

I grinned, "Yup! You too Fluffy. You're my favorite strategist after all!"

And for some reason, we had to stop at the vending machine to buy strawberry-flavored yogurt drinks to celebrate our friendship. Henry was so gonna chi-ka-boom.