A LORENT BETA TALE

25 FEBRUARY, THURSDAY, CONTINUED

I seemed to be seriously opening a lot of canned worms today. In hindsight, I should've known it would be like this. I've already got the empirical evidence that betas were in general smarter than the average wolf. I honestly couldn't think of a beta who wasn't smart, except maybe Beta Lucas, but then again, just because he did some dumb things before might not necessarily reflect his true IQ. Beta Lucas might be the prime reason why Dad liked to ask, "Why do intelligent people do stupid things?"

Anyway, Dad had said Beta Lucas was really intelligent, and I guess he would know his own beta. And Ben had to have gotten his brain from somewhere. Naturally, I would say Mrs Beta, but everyone else said he was an exact replica of his dad.

I guess I'm trying to see how a guy who thought it was a good idea to show a small puppy how to shoot a stapler like a gun was on equal intelligence level as the guy who was the god of hackers.

But after that episode, Beta Lucas did come up with the bright idea of using a magnet to pick up all the prickly metal pieces off the floor and dad's desk. We forgot to clean up dad's chair though. His face when we sat down!

But back to the higher intelligence beings known as beta wolves, Ki was also a Lorent wolf, and you know how Lorents read between the lines at the words that didn't exist.

So when Ki opened his mouth to answer what exactly he understood, I really should've seen it coming.

"What do you mean, goddess?" Ki asked mildly. But I knew by now he was testing the waters to see what he might get away with not saying. Sneaky betas, all of them.

For everyone's convenience, I'm just going to compile a short glossary of Beta terms and what they really mean when they say it.

SAM'S GLOSSARY FOR BETA SPEAK:

* For Ki, replace "Alpha" with "goddess"

YES, ALPHA - This is the most straightforward answer for complicance. E.g. "Move that chair." "Yes, Alpha." Job done.

APOLOGIES, ALPHA - I'm sorry that I'm right, but...

A HUNDRED APOLOGIES - I'm only a little sorry, but I'm still right.

A THOUSAND APOLOGIES - I'm not sorry at all, really. I had to it do. Because I was right.

PARDON, ALPHA - Please let me point out your obvious oversight.

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I MAY DO FOR YOU? - Is there anything else you need help with before I leave to get some actual work done?

WHAT DO YOU MEAN, ALPHA? - Tell me exactly what you want to know so I don't have to tell you everything.

I SEE, ALPHA - I see where you're coming from, but I can't say I agree.

AS YOU WISH, ALPHA - I'll do as you say, but I know you're wrong.

UNDERSTOOD - I believe I completely understand everything you said, as well as everything you didn't say, because I'm too smart for my own good.

Hahaha... I'm so funny. Oh wait, I forgot, where was I?

Right, I was crossing the street with Ki on a bright and magical snowy afternoon. The snow flakes were falling like a sprinkling of pixie dust and the air smelled crisp and clean.

Ki had a hand on the small of my back, and I had just asked him to explain, "Exactly what do you understand?"

"Just say everything that went through your mind when you said you understood." I naively decided.

Ki's smile never wavered, it was his beautiful smile, the one he used whenever he was about to serve tea.

I should really refrain from asking a Lorent wolf this kind of thing, because what followed straight after was a serving of Lorent tea, brewed from the purest melodrama and then left to steep in my Lorent Beta's mind till the water was dark and clear.

"I understood that this was my destiny." Ki began. (I told you so). And also, while Harvey was usually my most long winded beta, Lorent tea was not something that you could hurry.

"And my destiny was never something I could escape in this life."

Ki and I stopped on Beta Lucas' porch. Despite the snow, it wasn't terribly cold, and I leaned over the railing to enjoy the view of the Alpha house and the Packhouse across the street, the white snow covered landscape, the neatly shoveled walkways and roads, the bare trees here and there, and the snow falling like a Christmas movie.

I breathed out a cloud of white... Ki leaned against the beam, his back to the view I was enjoying so that he was facing my profile, "Goddess, this might take a while."

I pushed myself up to sit on the wooden railing, the way I've always done since a pup, "Shoot. I've got time to kill."

I grinned at Ki. The words and movement came out so cool, I was pretty pleased. I crossed my legs and waited.

Ki chuckled, just a little. I was going for cool, but Ki was laughing like I did something funny.

But at least he laughed. I smiled, "Made you laugh."

I hadn't meant to, but Ki seldom laughed. When he did though, he looked surprisingly young.

I could imagine him as a young boy, a playful and affectionate pup. But his mother was always either at the hospital or too tired to play or return his affections. His father, the beta was never at home. He had a very lonely childhood.

When his mother passed on, no one would take him in. No one but his Uncle Harry (aka Delta Harrison Oran), who was only a teenager himself at that time. Uncle Harry who's wolf was furious at how the elders remained silent when asked to volunteer to care for the boy. Beta Oran was far too busy with important work to need to bother.

But no one dared to accept the responsibility.

"I'll take him." The young Harrison had said in the face of his elders.

"But Harry!" His mother protested, "How can you accept the consequences if anything goes wrong?"

"You fool. No matter how you care for him, this boy will only grow up to lord over you." His father growled.

But the young Uncle Harry took Ki to the boarding house he was staying at, and brought him up the best he knew how.

Ki had always known though, despite his uncle's constant smile and gentleness that he was a burden on the young man.

He tried his best not to cause his uncle undue trouble, but he could not help but be selfish. His uncle was the first person in his family who ever bothered to hold a conversation with him.

He quickly learned good ways to repay the teenage Harrison. Quite by accident, they discovered that Ki's cute innocent puppy-ness was very attractive to Harrison's female school friends.

Harrison was very pleased at the female attention, and Ki learned by trial and error how to charm girls so that Harrison was never short of female admirers.

But Ki was a little too good, and a few years down the road, one of Harrison's girlfriend told him that she really loved the puppy Ki more than Harrison.

Ki knew she was only teasing his uncle, but Harrison stopped taking Ki out as much after that.

When Ki got to middle school, he realised that the only reason why he was popular was because he was likeable and because he was going to be the young beta of the glorious Lorent Pack.

I guess Ki was always smart like that. He was very good at understanding people.

But that was just my imagination again. What Ki answered was, "Goddess, there was a time when I had thought I've completely destroyed my fate. I've cut off all ties with the Lorent Pack and the alpha I was bonded to. I killed my soul mate with my own hands for the entertainment of millions... There was nothing left beyond the fight dog cell for me, and I was tired of fighting for my life, fighting for my sanity, fighting for every single little popping thing to increase my value and chances of survival. I was quite determined to end it all that night. And then you showed up."

Ki leaned out to face the alpha house, his elbow next to my leg as I sat on the wooden railing. I couldn't see his expression, but he said very quietly, "And then, from the moment I swore my allegiance to you, my life was suddenly reslotted back into my fated destiny."

"I'm the Lorent Beta now, and I am serving my true Alpha and his glorious Lorent Pack whom I've resented all my life. I was freed from my chains in the fight dog cage only to be bound back to my original dark fate."

Eh? But I thought... All this while, I thought Ki was happy? I felt my mouth turned down.

"Don't look like that, goddess." Ki turned and stopped smiling at my expression, "I mean this in the most positive way."

Which part of this sounded positive to you?

"Your Luna Bell fought tooth and nail against his fate since the day he was born, till today he still tries to wrest control from it." Ki told me, "Even so, he has changed since he met you. As have I."

"That is why I believe in you goddess." Ki turned his head to smile at me, "You neither seek to overturn fate nor do you surrender to it, instead you run alongside fate each day in search of the right path to lead us."

Oh, why was Ki bringing up my most invalidated plan to outsmart the goddess and fulfill our fates with a happy ending?

"Ooof, Ki." I wanted to tell him that my plan was a shot in the dark at best. There was no scientific evidence or even case studies to prove it would work, but there was snow in his hair. I reached out instintively and flicked it off before it melted. Can't have my most beautiful beta have an awkward fringe now, can I?

"How'd you know it's gonna work? I could be leading us all into even more trouble than Fate had meant to give us." That was, if my theory held any truth in the first place.

"I know what you've done for me." Ki smiled, this time a real smile, "Although my fate reads the same, I am happy everyday. I've found my beta work surprisingly fulfilling and rather enjoyable, I've made a lot of friends, some of whom I don't even need to be polite to. I have a home and family..."

"Goddess, you've saved my life, not once but twice. At first, I followed you because you saved me from the fight dog cages, but now I follow you because I... you... You are my alpha."

And then Ki smiled, his killion dollar smile, quickly recovering from his uncharacteristic stumble over his own words, "I will always be your dog, goddess. Please take care of me."

Although this was not the first time Ki had said these words to me, it was the first time I felt like I was supposed to read between the lines. The only problem was I had no idea how to read words that weren't actually there. Naturally, my brain short-circuited at the attempt so I promptly gave up.

Hopping off the banister, I punched Ki in his shoulder, "Yeah, okay, Ki. You can stay as long as you like. Mum would probably cry if you left anyway."

I walked over to the front door, "And you're not my dog, you're my beta."

The front door opened before I could ring the doorbell. Ben leaned against it, "Took you long enough."

Eh? Was Ben waiting to open the door all this while?

"You could've just opened the door anytime, you know." I told him.

"What? And ruin the dog's heartfelt confession?" Ben smirked.

He heard? I felt my cheeks flame up, "It wasn't a confession, Ben."

"I heard him say 'I love you'." Ben smirked more.

I punched him in the shoulder too, "Nobody said anything like that!"

And I thought my imagination was bad!

Ben only laughed, "Anyway, it's good you brought your dog, I just finished something good. Come see."