YOU CAN'T TEACH AN OLD DOG NEW TRICKS

17 FEBRUARY, WEDNESDAY, GOING HOME

You'd never guess who was driving me home today - I'd give you a clue, he drove a silver town car. I'd give you another clue, he drove the long way around, so it took him an extra 15 minutes to get here. I'd give you yet a third clue, he was Dad's beta.

But thanks to Beta Lucas driving me home today, I was given quite a clear picture of what transpired at home while my class and I were being "held hostage by the raging vamp."

Dad was furious. Like broke another conference table furious. The incident could've been prevented if the standard protocol was followed. Apparently, Principal Laura had overlooked a few conditions for the vamp's co-education with Lycan and Human students.

And while Dad could appreciate the practical complexities of employing certain measures in real life, he was furious that Principal Laura had not taken care of the incident in a more timely manner, and exposed his daughter, not just to a young vampire in her dark cycle, but to a vampire lord too.

According to Beta Lucas, a dark cycle to a vampire was like a first shift for a wolf. Except while wolves turn into wolves, vampires turn into red-eyed bloodthirsty unstoppable monsters with supernatural strength and speed. 

There were laws in Gold Packlands forbidding vamps in their dark cycle from leaving their coven, so how Maria was allowed to go to school was in itself evidence of more than a few security breaches.

And there was this old folklore about how old vampire lords were able to plant their seeds in young minds and manipulate them on the sly forever. Even though Beta Lucas was personally unconvinced of this, many wolves believed this, and for wolves who lived near Covens, great pains were often made to hide pups from exposure to vamps.

Actually, even if you didn't believe in folklore, most wolves would agree it's common sense not to let the vamps meet your puppy too.  Puppies were really impressionable. If you let a puppy play with a vamp when they were young, the puppy might lose its intrinsic enmity against vamps. They might even become friends.

Omo. Like Maria and me?

Anyway, Principal Laura wasn't supposed to have allowed Lord Kosan into the classroom when there were young wolves (specifically me) present.

"Hoo, man, your father was going to come down and kick out the old vamp lord himself." Beta Lucas told me, shaking his head.

"But what else could she do?" I don't know why I was defending Madam Principal.

"For one thing, she should have had you and your friends evacuated." Beta Lucas said.

Right. Now that Beta Lucas said it, I guess it would have been safer for us if she did.

"She was selfishly trying to keep the humans alive. Forcing you and the young alpha Henry to help her keep the situation under control. This was her job, not yours. You're both still kids." Beta Lucas continued, "The safety of your human classmates should not have been your burden to bear."

But I could understand Principal Laura's actions. Unlike Beta Lucas and Dad, Principal Laura loved humans. She had a human daughter in law. She did her best to help my late human history teacher and his family while he was sick. She would have done everything in her power to protect her Human students - even breaking a few rules so that she could keep two alpha wolves on scene to keep the vamps in check.

I mean, even Lord Kosan would have to think twice about provoking two young alpha wolves. He might survive it, he might even win, but not without great injury - something which, I've come to notice, vampires, even rather strong ones, seemed to prefer to avoid.

In the end, Mum and Ki (over the mindlink - no wonder he was so preoccupied throughout) managed to convince Dad not to come personally. It would be blowing up the matter even further, not something we wanted to do on front of the mob of Paparazzi camped outside.

For the same reason, Bell had to wait back at the Packhouse with Dad.

{Mate?}

Weird... My wolf did not detect him dream travelling. Perhaps it was because he was so far away... But we were nearing home.

"Bell is home?" I asked. I didn't manage to hide my hopeful expression.

Beta Lucas laughed, "Yeah man. I thought he was going to chi-ka-boom. Luckily, your dad had calmed down by then and Harvey came over. I'm not sure if Luna and I would've been able to handle the situation otherwise."

Oh man... I wondered what kind of scene Bell caused at home. I guess with his army around, it wouldn't be surprising that someone had reported to Bell. Oh right, Henry's phone call earlier probably did nothing to help his impression of the situation either.

And that was why Dad sent his right hand, aka Beta Lucas to drive down and ensure my safe return home. Beta Lucas' conversations often meandered like his navigation. But the scenic route often provided the most information.

"It's too bad the shortcut took so long. If I could be here earlier, hoo man, I would have shown that old vamp lord a thing or two!"

I laughed, "It's alright, Beta Lucas. I was perfectly fine. I'm the alpha. I can handle it."

"Yes, but you're still a pup." Beta Lucas argued tacklessly, "Leave the Alpha-ing to your dad for now. Like I always tell my own children, there's no hurry. You young wolves need time to ripen. There is no hurry. Your dad and I are still running strong."

No... You always say "hurry up, I want to retire" and "I'm too old for this..."

"You young people are always so impatient." Beta Lucas complained as he drove, "Always wanting to run ahead, Ben wanted to skip a school grade last year but I told him no. I don't know what's his hurry."

"Maybe he just wants to graduate quicker." I suggested.

"So what if he graduated middle school early? He would have missed the time with his friends... Running with his friends, mucking around in school, driving his teachers up the wall... These are important skills too." Beta Lucas said.

Really? Omo.

"Look, Sam. I know you're alpha and all. One day you will be running in front of our pack. But I can understand why your parents worry about you."

My parents were worried about me?

"Like why?" I asked. Was this like their usual worry about me getting into trouble or causing trouble in general, or something more specific?

"You're only 14, just shifted, and you're suddenly running out there, fighting grown wolves, rogues, vamps... negotiating with other alphas, dealing with pack policies and budgets, where are you going to find time to just be a kid?" Beta Lucas asked.

"I'm 15 this year. And I was a kid all my life!" I told him.

Beta Lucas chuckled, and then he said, "It's not the destination, but the journey, Sam. Think of it this way, you are the next alpha right?"

I nodded, uh-huh. Where was he going with this?

"But what makes you able to be the alpha? Was it the moment you shifted? Would it be the day of your inauguration?" Beta Lucas challenged. And then he gave me the answer to his own question, "It wasn't so much the point in time, but the journey between the points. It's not so much your birthday or cutting the cake that made you older, it was the 364 days of the year that you spent growing. You're already a strong Alpha Sam, but if you want to be a good alpha, you'll have to take the time and make all the detours along the way."

This surprised me. I thought it was about being planning the route and being efficient.

I suppose it was the same way as his driving. At this point we were definitely on the road less traveled. I barely recognized where we were.

But the elder beta had a point. Maybe school wasn't such a waste of time. Maybe if I stuck it out long enough, and learned to run with my friends, muck around in school, and drive my teachers up the walls... Human cool girls, catfights, Romeo and Juliet, and everything else, these experiences would condense together to make me a good alpha.

How exactly that would happen was beyond me. But Beta Lucas had been my main source of information while growing up, and despite the inconsistency in details and skips in logical sequencing, I've found his stories, for most part, a reliable guide to life.

We got home eventually too. It was a long ride, and by the time we got onto the house porch, Ki had reappeared to greet us with his white cooking apron on, "Good evening, goddess. Dinner will be served in 20 minutes."

"Beta, you're already home?" Jax asked.

Ki smiled, "I returned half an hour ago."

Which would give you a rough idea of how extended our journey home was, especially since Ki had to send Madam Silvia home first!

Neil removed his helmet, his grimace deeper than usual, "I haven't rode so long without a toilet break since the time Jude wanted to take a cross country trip."

Beta Lucas shrugged defensively, "That's why I always say to use the toilet before riding out. How was I supposed to know you had such a small bladder?"

The men laughed and Beta Lucas waved them away shaking his head, "These new wolves... Are you sure they're any good?"

Ki's smile was unwavering, "Their bladders and brains might vary, but I can assure you, their hearts are as large as any that you'd find in your own warriors."

Beta Lucas laughed, "Good, good... Looks like I can retire early afterall."

Ki opened the door for us to enter and I was suddenly aware of two things. One, I still had to deal with my dad, but I had been getting into so much trouble lately, that I didn't expect anything out of the ordinary. I hoped Mum was around though. My parents were easier to deal with together.

Usually, if one was mad, the other would side me. Weird, I know. But it had happened enough times for me to notice.

Two, was far more pressing, the smell of salted caramel wafting through the front door. This wasn't Ki's cooking, I was quite sure. It was mate!

{Mate!}

And as far as my nose could tell, he was here in the flesh.

Omo... I froze on the porch.

Beta Lucas had stomped right in to announce the good news of my safe return to his alpha. I could hear his booted footsteps clomp over to the living room, "Alpha, I brought Sam home, safe and sound."

"Goddess?" Ki inquired politely. He tried to nudge me forward a little.

"Bell is here, really here, isn't he?" I whispered in the same way I would've whispered, "Bell is naked, really naked, isn't he?"

Hahaha. Because my heart was slamming to jump out of my mouth, and Boo was shimmering on the surface. I grabbed my hood to make sure it was securely on. My ears were still stuck in wolf form.

Ki noticed and tried to reassure me, "I'm sure your Luna Bell can help calm your wolf and regain your human form."

Are you sure? Because my wolf right now was anything but calm.

I took a tentative step forward and then turned away from the door at the last minute, "I can't!"

And then I ran to the entrance from the side tower's pool room. I felt around the front pouch of my school bad and fished out the mysterious key card. It unlocked the sliding door. I pulled it open and shut myself into warm pool room. Then I made a dash for it up the stairs and into my room.

I locked the door. For the first time since moving here.

Safe. Whew.

Okay this was crazy, I know, but I just freaked out.