Chương 110: NIGHT WALK WITH DAD

I couldn't sleep. I played that new game on my phone till the battery was down to the last 3 percent. Then I realized I had had enough. The game wasn't fun anymore. And the rewards were drying up. I had school tomorrow and archery club. It was going to be a long day. There was a meeting I had to attend with Harvey and the elders on drafting the pack merger proposal for Alpha James in the evening, too. Hmmm...

Maybe attacking his men and randomly bounding up to him willy-nilly in my wolf form wasn't the smartest thing to do last night. He only said nice things about me after that, though. But what if Alpha James was just the kind of person who only said gracious words? Yeah, I propose we merge and overtake you as Green Packlands' number one pack. I will be the next Alpha, and yes, I will attack you for fun if I should meet you by chance along the road, should I feel like it. Well, no, they attacked first.

Beta Lorent hadn't recognized our wolves and ordered the attack. He didn't even apologize after that. Did I mention he stank of something weird and almost rogue? Plus, he wasn't a real Beta. He wasn't from a Beta family; he was from the Alpha family. Could Alphas be Betas? What happened to their real Beta? Maybe he was somewhere else last night. Could Alpha James have more than one Betas? Maybe. I mean, I had Harvey and Ben. I could even mindlink Harvey, even though we are from different packs...

actually, that was a little odd. I guess these things weren't cast in stone. Exceptions happen, so who was I to say Beta Lorent couldn't be a Beta? I could see the moonlight shining down through my window. It wasn't a full moon; it was the proper crescent shape that it should be at this time of the month. It was snowing softly, too. The snow had been lovely these days. Like a proper pretty winter, the type you named your daughter after. Peaceful and white.

And then I thought, what the heck, and, plodding down the stairs barefoot, I slipped out to the porch and ran behind the tree line. There, I stripped quickly and shifted. Nice. I'm back! Heh heh heh. So fun. I ran about in a happy circle around the small clearing, then, tail wagging and nose sniffing, I happily took in the wintry, icy smells. Dad! He's here! I bounded over without a second thought. Dad's wolf was walking across the large, snow-clad lawn behind the pack house. Dad! Dad! Dad! My tail wagged.

Dad stopped and turned to look at me, then he resumed walking. Yay! I can come? Where were we going? Let's go hunt! Let's do something fun. {Can't sleep?} Dad mindlinked. Oh yeah. {Yeah,} I answered. We reached the tree line just in front of the woods. I smelled rabbit. Rabbit rabbit rabbit… The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Dad's wolf, in comparison, was much calmer. But it seemed relaxed and happy. {You really did it, Sam,} Dad linked.

{What did I do now? It wasn't me,} I linked back. Dad's wolf shook his large head in mirth. {I meant, you did it, Sam. You are going to be the next Alpha.} {Of course I am!} Wolfie boasted, fluffing itself out and trying to square up next to Dad's wolf. Why was I not bigger? I know, I know, female wolves were smaller than male wolves. The fact that I was the same size as Harvey's magnificent male Beta wolf was in itself a marvel. Yes, of course I noticed right away. At the very first run, I had noticed.

Dad's wolf was the biggest, then Harvey's and mine, then Beta Lucas—his was long like ours but not as broad. Then Gamma Harry's, which wasn't much smaller either. Let me tell you, size matters. I didn't know any female wolf even close to the size of mine. Usually, if a female wolf was warrior-wolf-sized, she was considered large. And in wolf form, being a big girl was a huge compliment. Okay, no, that's probably just me.

I think the right thing to say to the other female wolves was how their eyes or fur were beautiful. When I'm in my wolf form, I'm larger and stronger than even regular male wolves. Because it turned out, I hadn't shrunk after shifting; I was exactly as before—a teenage girl. Size was relative. Next to Ben, I was tall and slender. Next to Harvey, I was petite. Next to Dad, I was still a kid. Nothing ever seemed to change with Dad. He was always big in my sight. But as a wolf, we were nearly matching in size.

As a wolf, everything was smaller, and I felt big and powerful. I poked into every rabbit hole I found as I explored the snowy undergrowth... The greens had started budding earlier, just a bit, but winter was back, and the little green bits looked cold and frozen. My wolf mouthed the icy, fresh bush. Yuck, bitter. Dad watched me play... It made me feel like when I was a kid again. Even as a wolf, I was still a kid in his eyes. Grrr.... I pounced on Dad. {Fight! Let's fight!} {So much energy when one is young,} Dad's wolf admired. He sidestepped my direct attack so easily it annoyed me. {I'm big and strong now!} I boasted. {Sometimes, my puppy, it's not about size. Have you ever thought that being small could be an advantage too?}Dad's wolf said. Was this Dad's wolf talking? Why was Dad's wolf going into zen mode? {I don't care. Big is the best! When I'm big, I can protect everyone!} I told Dad. But Dad's wolf was staring up at the moon.

{Even though your mother is small and sweet, when she is angry, I'm the one wandering outside in the snow.} Eh? Did Mum and Dad have a fight? Then Dad looked at me. {Sometimes I wish you would also stay small and sweet and be the protected one.} Eh? I eyed him carefully. What was Dad talking about? When was I ever small and sweet? I shook my large wolf head at him. {I'm always protected. I have you and Mum and Savy. I've got my Betas and Gammas and lots of other wolves in the pack looking out for me. Plus, I've always been lucky.} Dad seemed to be considering my words. And then he said, {Since you know this much, I will tell you more: the true strength of an Alpha isn't in the size of his wolf, but the power of his pack.} Hm, yes. Very zen... and by "zen" I meant I'm sure it's deep and important, but I had no idea what I was supposed to do with those words. {Let's go back. It's late, and you have school tomorrow.} Dad's wolf started off toward the house. Oh yeah. School.

I followed Dad's wolf to the tree line behind our house, found my clothes, and changed quickly back... Or at least that was the plan. Butt naked, I tried to get my underwear on quickly, but my hair got caught in the panty hole when I put my leg through. Ooof, I fell over in the snow. So cold.

"Sam?" It was Dad's voice. {Alpha approaches}"Stop! I'm still changing," I quickly said. Silence. I quickly pulled on my clothes... Of course my hair got into everything. In the end, I pulled it into a ponytail, twisted it, and let it rest on my shoulder so it would stay out of the way. It only worked very slightly better than before. Finally done, and now icy cold, I released the pent-up frustration in a sigh, tried to readjust my clothes, gave up, and plodded back out to my dad's side.

My bare feet were wet and cold and icy by now. Stupid hair. Was it going to grow out again every time I shifted?

"Dad, can you cut my hair again?" I asked the moment I saw him. He didn't even consider it, shaking his head as we walked up onto the porch and into the house again.

"You better ask your mum."