LUCKY'S DADDY WAS EVIL

25 FEBRUARY, THURSDAY, CONTINUED

While waiting for Barry, we took advantage of Ki's help and scoured the entire kitchen as well as the dining room next door and could confirm that the hamster was not here.

I was half expecting to find a rat, or a roach, and was very impressed that our kitchen was such a pest free space. Our old alpha house had roaches, and once or twice, a small rat might run in from outside. I wasn't terribly fond of rats, but roaches... roaches, I hated. I hated them because they were so ugly, and their legs had spikes, and they stank. Roaches had a strong odor (to us wolves anyway), so it was easy to smell them out, but prying out the back of the built-in kitchen cabinet to access the space against the wall was a whole different story.

Beta Lucas had said to use cockroach bait. Beta Lucas was good with all sorts of "practical alternative solutions", like life hacks, but shadier.

He immediately brought some over for Mum. These baits were special - the cockroaches wouldn't be able to resist it, and after that, they will all die.

"Whenever I put them out, they disappear overnight, and within 24 hours, there'll be dead cockroaches all over your kitchen floor!" He said it like it was a good thing too.

"The best thing about it is that the roaches eat their dead, and then they die too." Beta Lucas exhorted the magic pills in his hand, "So it's effect is very efficient and long lasting."

"It sounds very poisonous." Mum said.

I came over to check it out, "They look yummy, like grape pez."

So mum politely refused and we lived with a small community of roaches behind our built in cabinet. Mum did sniff out their entrance. A little slit that had not been sealed. Dad used silicone to seal them in, and they continued their existence in the alpha house... until the rogues burnt it down.

Well, if it wasn't the fire, I felt quite sure they would have been made extinct by the power of Ki.

After scrutinizing every gap and corner a coffee cup or lone hamster might have fallen, rolled, or crawled through, I had to say, our kitchen was supernaturally spotless and smelled like detergent. Specifically, it was lavender scented detergent. I knew because I saw the bottles of detergents under the sink, "New! Fresh lavender scent, multipurpose cleaner. No sticky residue!"

"What are you doing, Sam?" Mum asked when she noticed me bent over to check under the sink.

"I'm looking for Lucky." I said.

"It wouldn't be in the cabinets." Mum said sternly, "Please don't make a mess of the contents, Sam. Poor Ki is busy enough as it is."

"I'm not making a mess!" I said, but I straightened and shut the cabinet.

"The hamster isn't here." Savy said as she stirred the cookie mixture, "With your hunting ability, if there was anything alive in this room, you'd have found it by now."

Which was true, but I hadn't wanted to admit it. Part of me still couldn't believe I had lost Lucky. My baby had to be here somewhere! Never give up!

"Maybe the hamster pushed the cup off the counter and rolled it outside." Sabre suggested. I think she had been watching too many cartoons, but she was also the only one besides myself who hadn't given up hope either.

Ki had already begun to set up the bread machine for tomorrow's breakfast.

Sabre wandered out through the connecting door to the dining room to look. I didn't follow. I felt quite sure that wasn't there.

Eventually, Barry came in with a very meek bow, now completely clothed, although his hair was still damp, "Good evening, Luna."

"Hello, Barry." Mum smiled warmly.

Sabre returned empty handed from the dining room. The moment she saw another wolf in the kitchen, she ran to her Mama, and hid behind her chair.

Barry dropped a bow and quickly retreated to the kitchen doorway, "Yo, Alpha. Beta here says you wanted my help."

"Yeah." I nodded, I turned to the little human hiding conspicuously behind Mum, "What's the matter, Sabre. Weren't you the one who wanted Ki to call him here?"

Sabre ducked further behind Mum, but her red hair was still sticking out. I really should teach her how to hide better. She was really just a tiny human. Hiding would probably be the only skill that she would have an advantage over the wolves around her. But she was evidently so bad at it, sometimes I worried for my little human sister's survival.

"Sam, please don't tease your sister." Mum smiled at me like the lovely and gentle Luna that everyone said she was.

"Urm..." I guess I would ask Barry then, "Have you seen a yellow coffee cup with a plastic cover on the counter?"

"Ah, that..." Barry's eyes fell onto the bin next to me. I immediately stepped on it and looked, but it was still empty and neatly lined with an empty black trash bag.

Ki slapped his hand over his mouth, "Apologies goddess. I took out the trash..."

I was out the door in a flash.

"Sam! Wait!" Savy chased after me.

I didn't slow for her. I knew she would be able to catch up easily enough. Savy's wolf might be on the small side, but what she lacked in brute strength, she made up for in agility and speed.

I pulled open the first trash can and then the second one. They were empty.

"The garbage truck..." Savy reminded me.

Oh. Pop.

Ki and Barry had come out too. They bowed in unison, "Forgive us, Alpha."

Eh? I looked around the bins, just in case, you know, maybe Lucky had fell out of the trash bag. I wasn't ready to accept that Lucky was gone yet.

Mum and Sabre joined us. Mum was carrying the little girl, and they had stopped to put on coats before coming out. The rest of us were just standing outside in the snow.

Mum took at look at Ki and Barry who at not lifted their heads, "Oh, Sam."

"Did you find it?" Sabre asked.

I would have thought the answer was obvious.

"No." I said. What should I do now?

Sabre burst into tears, "But I wanted a hamster!"

"Oh, Sam." Mum sighed again while bouncing the small girl in her arms. She reached out one hand to pat my head, "I'm sorry, Sam. Come inside when you're done here."

And then she carried Sabre back into the house.

The commotion outside the Alpha House's driveway didn't go unnoticed. The moment, the little human was safely in the house, the glass doors of the pool room slid open and the rest of the special team came over.

"Hoi, hoi, Alpha!" EJ bounced out into the snow, "MOU!!! It's so cold! I'm literally freezing."

Which I supposed was true, since he was still in his swim trunks and soaked.

The other guys came over, a couple of them had their towels, but they were overall crazy to have come out. I guess big tough ex-dog warriors weren't afraid of the cold.

"What happened?" Torque asked, looking to Ki and Barry who was still hanging their heads low and then to me. I took one last look into the trash cans, they were still empty. I let out a sigh, "Nothing."

Then to Ki and Barry, "It's okay." (Even though it was not.)

"It was really my own fault for just leaving the cup on the counter." I hadn't meant to - at the moment, I just wanted for Ki and Barry to raise their heads, but even as the words came out, I felt hot tears push against the back of my eyes. I blinked quickly to keep them in.

The guys got silent. For a moment, I thought they saw my tears, but then I realized it was because something scary had come over from the Beta house next door, "Sam. What's up?"

At Ben's appearance, all the guys suddenly remembered they were warriors again and fell in at attention.

Ben eyed them one by one before finally deciding, "Barry, report."

I guess if we were playing "one of these things are not like the others, one of these things, just doesn't belong", Barry would be the odd one out since he was the only warrior who actually had clothes on.

Barry miserably reported everything.

"So the hamster is..." Ben checked his watch, "Since its already this time, it's probably at the incinerator plant by now."

"No!" I flared. My baby was going to be incinerated?

Suddenly, Barry brightened up, "I know! Alpha! Please let me go to the incinerator plant to look for it!"

"Idiot dog." Ben growled, "What makes you think you can find a single disposable cup in that place?"

"But I have to try, Beta!" Barry pressed, "This dog has made an unforgivable mistake. I need to make it right."

I shook my head, "I don't blame you."

It was my fault.

"Although, I highly doubt we would be able to find Lucky, I too would go." Ki said then, "Since I also had a hand in the loss of goddess' new pet. Please give the order, goddess."

Part of me felt just a bit hopeful.

"Please let us go too, Alpha!" The rest of the special team shouted in unison.

"We give you one free night, and you want to spend it digging though trash?" Ben scoffed, "Do all of you have nothing better to do?"

Eh... so the special team was supposed to be taking a break too?

I weighed my options. I could take the team and search for Lucky, but that would be selfish.

No wait, that would be impossible too. I was still grounded. And the chances of finding Lucky without me around wouldn't be quite the same.

"What are the chances that you guys can find Lucky?" I asked Ink.

I was right the first time I met him by the way, Ink was really covered in ink from head to toe.

Ink frowned, "Not more than 0.1 percent, Alpha."

"Sam, you can't be thinking of sending the Alpha's special team to spend the night sieving through tonnes of trash for a hamster!" Ben exclaimed.

And then Ben shut up because someone else even scarier approached.

Stepping out from the opened pool room, the the one-armed death god in an Armani suit stepped out onto the snow with wing tipped leather shoes, "Why is my princess crying?"

"I'm not crying." I said. I blinked harder so as not to betray my own words.

"Luna is here." Ki announced, his gentle smile on.

"Good evening, luna." Everyone bowed. But if you didn't understand English, and only inferred based on their tone alone, they could have said, "We're so dead."

Even Ben stepped aside so that he was standing at the standard Beta position, one step behind me.

The only person who hadn't felt troubled was Savy. I stole a glance at my sister. She was right next to me, her usual quiet self, but I knew her well enough to know that she was quite enjoying herself. I looked around at my other wolves. In what way was watching my wolves, standing in a row, and freezing their butts off in their swim shorts out in the snow entertaining? Oh well, now that I remembered it, it was kind of funny. Hahaha. So much for big tough warriors.

But I hadn't noticed it then. I was busy trying to figure out how to get Lucky back.

"She lost her hamster." Ben explained in unfeeling monotone.

"Then why are you still standing here?" Bell asked, "Go buy her a new one."

"Yes, Luna." Ben bowed to take his leave. Ben actually sounded relieved too, as if my luna's solution made perfect sense.

"But I have to try." I said. What kind of mother would I be if I left Lucky to be incinerated?

Ben paused, "So... no new hamster? If I go out to Gate City now, I can probably get to the pet store before closing time."

"Lucky is supposed to be a white hamster." Savy felt it was important enough to speak up now, "You need to get one that looks exactly alike because it was a gift from Sam's friend."

Ben looked put off by the unnecessary trouble, but he conceded, "Do you have a picture?"

"No! I have to save Lucky!" I insisted.

"I've just sent you some photos and the link of her friend's SM channel, beta." Ki informed Ben, "Beta can also approximate the young hamster's age with this information"

"No! It has to be Lucky!" I flared. Why was no one listening to me? "I don't want a fake Lucky!"

"Very well." Bell decided, but there was a dark glint in his eyes, "Ben, go check out the pet stores. The rest of you can go search the trash at the incinerator plant...don't rest, or eat, or come back without it... and since you like to stand around without clothes so much - you can go just as you are. Dismiss."