My dad pointed at me warning, “Don’t you dare push her into doing that. I feel you thinking it’s a good idea to nudge her into doing it.” I laughed, “They’d bring Melanie then to prove she’s not a prank then though. Wouldn’t they?”
He agreed, “Yes, but eventually she has to show up to things. Elise considers her a sister.” I asked, “What do you really think is going on?” He replied, “I think Drake is very nervous about Melanie’s safety and the Warriors and other pack members pick up on that. They all worry for her because they do love her, and they are doing what they think is best.”
I gasped, “You think they are lying.” He shrugged, “Pups are curious. I’m sure she has crossed a few times, but she got caught. Do I think she crossed today? No. Literally no one thinksthat. Sam and Drake have trauma associated with crossing the border. So, I think they believe it.”
I asked, “What trauma?” He answered, “Deaths in their family prior to you or your mom coming into our lives. It happened more than we cared for it to. They get so triggered about it because it’s happened to them before. Both of them having those stories make them react harsher. Sam saw her family members’ bodies, and she’s been on scene at several pups in Blue Moon dying. One of her best friends did run away at one point and keep everyone at arm’s length before she left. Sam has a lot going on.”
I snorted, “That’s not Melanie’s fault.” He agreed, “It’s not but something I have come to understand is it’s very important to talk about your trauma because it shapes our reactions to things. I don’t even know if Sam could control that response at this point. She’s afraid for her pup and she’s seen the aftermath. Considering it was right on top of what happened yesterday, I wish those that reported it had used a different made up offense.” Me too.
It was insulting they believed it. Oden grumbled, “That means Melanie is probably insulted too.” I didn’t like that. My dad said, “Let’s head back out there.” I nodded and walked back out into our pack. I’d try to have fun, but it didn’t hold a candle the excitement I’d had thinking I was going to meet Melanie today.
Helping My Way
Melanie is Eleven Years Old
Melanie was nervous. My network of people listening out for rumors that I needed to warn people about had grown exponentially. Pups were unassuming and people talked around us. Plus, I was certain some of them were in bad packs.
My network was of dancers and general word of mouth. This tip was important because I’d verified it… Ok, I verified them all. I should feel bad because, well in a way I was taking advantage of those pups… but I was helping. No one ever wanted to let me help.
So, I might have had a network listening for subjects I wanted to know about. Did they do that because I’m kind of an amazing dancer? Well… yes. I did talk to them though… so it wasn’t all bad. I watched the clock, ready to finish this experiment.
My dad was coming to pick me up from school then I was heading to my dance competition in California. That’s where I’d enact my plan to protect Xander. I had to. I was finalizing my competition experiment for the science fair next week when I got back.
I wanted to check my financial portfolio before I left though too. I’d been investing since I was little. I felt a little bad I’d used a fake I.D. but I mean… I had to, when you thought about it. My parents gave me an allowance… and they did have a lot of money. No one took me seriously though and I wanted to prove I could invest and make my own money.
So, I used my allowance as my spending money. All the money from my grandparents at Christmas and my birthday I’d put into investing. My grandparents on my mom’s side always gave me money… because I guess it was hard to buy me presents.
Me, Jason, and Tristan were their only grandpups since my mom was their only pup. They were rich too…and I did know that made me very privileged… but I’d turned quite the profit. I smiled to myself because I was a millionaire, and no one knew it.
I had a diversified portfolio, and I even set up a profile using Prince Gunner Cambridge’s tips, to advise people on their finances. I hired a guy who was the front guy, but the ideas came from me. Those genius genes from my dad really came in handy.
My mom is smart too though so I should thank both of them really. My dad says I’m smarter than he is which feels like a tradeoff… because he’s better at not saying everything he thinks out loud. I’m bad at it… like very bad. I love it when people say I remind them of him though. I’m a proud daddy’s girl.
My teacher came over and hovered in close. He inhaled, “Hmm, that’s brilliant.” I muttered, “It’s not done yet.” I was working on a tool that identified elemental components. I wanted to turn around and use that and combine with jewelry for Supernatural’s. Uncle Duncan had been there when I thought of it, but I hadn’t worked on it until recently.
If I could it worked out Supernaturals could know if they were around something that hurt them. My teacher trailed his finger down my arm saying, “It’s brilliant. I love the way your mind works.” Because I was smarter than he was.
Ok, that sounded mean, but it was true. I was much smarter than this human teacher. He groaned, “Wow, you smell good.” I made a face because humans weren’t supposed to have an enhanced sense of smell, but I’d found a lot of them liked my scent.
I smelled like strawberries so I could understand people liked it. It was the scent of candles, bodywash, shampoo, condition, perfume, lotion, and all kinds of other things humans sold. I was about to say I used strawberry shampoo….which was true when I heard an all out snarl. My dad was early. Good.
I jolted up and my teacher jumped five feet back. I grabbed my backpack, “Hi, daddy! Let me clean this up and…” He ordered, “Go outside.” I frowned, “Oh…umm well… it’s just class procedure to clean up your…” He growled, “Outside.” I blinked in surprise at Pepper. My dad’s wolf was firmly in charge now. I quickly left the classroom, but I heard him hit my teacher.
I linked Peter, “Umm…” He laughed, “What’s wrong?” I admitted, “I’m not sure, but… well so… Pepper is beating up my human science teacher… he definitely growled… and…” He popped in front of me with Warriors, Garrett, Sharon, and Zane, our Male Lead Warrior.
Peter ordered, “Sharon stay out here with Ladybug.” He pointed at two Warriors, “You too.” I offered, “I could help.” I could. I trained with Zane, my mom, Chelsea, and former Alpha Nick Kyle. He was like my grandpa though.
We trained with Elise too. She was the best! She was practically my sister. Peter didn’t answer me and took off. Sharon asked, “What happened?” I explained what I’d been doing and she winced. I asked, “What? I don’t understand what’s wrong?” She chuckled, “Oh, Ladybug.” I hated when people said that.
It was the tone that said I was so cute and didn’t understand. I didn’t like not understanding things. It irked me. She ruffled my hair, “One day, you’ll understand. You’ll be getting a new teacher though.” I shrugged because he wasn’t really a good teacher. I basically did his job and taught the class.
I must have said it out loud because she asked, “You what? What do you mean you do his job?” I admitted, “Umm… well, I plan the lessons because… through a series of events… we already learned what he taught prior… so I plan his lesson and give it to him for the week… and…”
She cut me off, “Why didn’t you say anything?” I answered, “Because I liked the challenge of planning the class.” She asked,“Was this just for your class?” I admitted, “No… it’s… well… it’s for all his classes.” She rubbed her temples, “Goddess that won’t help the situation.” I wasn’t even sure what the situation was.
I whispered, “Will they make me stay home from the competition? Because I…” She cut me off, “No, you’re still going. Why wouldn’t you? You didn’t do anything wrong.” I pointed out, “I never do, and I still get punished all the time… like literally… all the time.” She winced and made a face I knew all too well because she knew I was right.
It was maddening that I followed the rules all the time, but I was punished for breaking rules I never had. I was tempted to break them to prove I could. Because I TOTALLY could break them and get away with it.
