586 TYGER TYGER BURNING BRIGHT

22 FEBRUARY, MONDAY, MORNING

"What's the lullaby? Tyger Tyger burning bright... how does it go again?" I asked. You know, just to be sure it would be impossibly hard to fulfill.

"Why?" Savy asked.

"Just sing it for me." I said.

So Savy sang:

"Tyger Tyger, burning bright,

In the forests of the night;

What immortal hand or eye,

Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies.

Burnt the fire of thine eyes?

On what wings dare he aspire?

What the hand, dare seize the fire?"

"I don't remember the rest." Savy said when she stopped.

Oh. Okay. "Seize the fire" wasn't as hard to do as I had hoped.

It sounded like all Bell had to do was reach out and literally take the fire now.

Shouldn't becoming a Tyger be harder than that? Okay, its not like I knew what a Tyger was, but Heller had said it like it was something seriously awesome.

"What is it Sam?" Savy asked me, "Is this something to do with River?"

Eh? What? Was River all she could think about?

I shook my head, "No. Its Bell. River is the easy part. He just can't walk into the blue fire."

At this moment, Ki came downstairs with my school bag. I froze. Ki's smile didn't waver. He put my bag down next the lunch box he already prepared, "I noticed goddess forgot her bag."

"Oh." I gulped, "Thank you."

And then Ki put my phone on the counter next to my bag, "Your phone was in the bathroom."

"Why ever would you bring your phone to the bathroom, Sam?" Mum asked.

To have an excuse to run up a quickly clean out the mess of yucky strong smelling gunk out of some pink clothes that weren't mine?

Mum pressed her lips together, "Now Sam, just as we don't read on the toilet, we don't use our phones on the toilet either."

Eh?

Savy cackled.

"I was uh...yeah. Okay." I felt my cheeks flame up. But better that Mum thought I was reading on the toilet than find out about whatever I had left in the tub.

I looked worriedly at Ki. Even if he didn't see it, he would have smelled it. But Ki only bowed and returned to the kitchen without another word.

I carefully released the breath I was holding. That's right. Ki was MY beta. He was loyal like that.

But for some reason, now I felt even worse.

I poked my food around the plate, and then I confessed to my half eaten sausage, "I dream traveled last night. I got into a fight. There was poison, but I didn't realize..."

Dad stopped typing on his phone.

"But I defeated the bad guys and I found out how to keep River from turning into a warlock, and everything is okay. I'm not hurt at all!" I quickly finished my confession.

Dad looked at Mum. Mum looked at Dad. Savy looked at Mum and then at Dad and then back at me, "How? How can we keep River from turning into a warlock?"

"He just has to not take the blue fire." I repeated, "It's like this magic fire that would burn away his humanity and since its not like we have magic fires lying around just anywhere, I think River would be safe."

"And what about Bell?" Dad was frowning his thinking frown. His phone remained lit in his hand, but he had long stopped looking at it.

"Urm... I'm not sure, I woke up before Heller could explain properly." I said.

"Heller?" Dad asked.

"Fluffy's dad." I explained, "I don't think he can come back anytime soon. He's having some trouble at home."

Dad shook his head as if shaking off what I said, "Never mind him, Sam. What did you find out about Bell?"

I paused, what did I find out about Bell? "I'm not sure. I think becoming the brother of the warlock's fire is to become a Tyger. What's a Tyger?"

Dad sighed, but he didn't answer right away.

"Is it like Tigger? Maybe he'll be able to bounce around a lot." I tried to joke it off.

Dad sighed again, and then, maybe because he thought it would be best his daughter didn't expect her mate to hop out of the warlock forest like it was the hundred acre wood, he said, "The Tyger is just a legend. A wolf so cursed with a physical darkness that he always carried the warlock's flame with him, lest the darkness spreads and corrodes everything he touches. It is a story from long ago..."

Dad shook his head again, "It isn't real."

"Okay, great!" I beamed, so warlocks and formlings and blue fires are real, but not Tygers, "Then we have nothing to worry about."

But just in case...

"Let's just not let Bell near the blue fire anyway." I looked at Savy, "We must never let either of our mates near Fount's home. Just in case."

Savy nodded.

But Dad shook his head yet again, "Oftentimes we meet our fate in the paths we take to avoid it."

Was that his wolf? A warning? Warnings should not be zen. Life was confusing enough as it was.

"Don't worry, Dad." I tried to reassure his wolf, "We aren't going to meet our fate because we aren't going to take any paths - especially any path into the warlock lands."

And so, with that settled, I quickly gobbled up the rest of my food, "Yeah, so that's it. Oh look! Harvey's here! I got to go! I have exams today. We can talk more tomorrow."

I was keen to wrap this up and get out of here. I shot Ki a quick mindlink, {You can just throw away those clothes... I don't think the owner wants it back.}

{Understood, goddess.} Ki agreed placidly.

But he sounded worried anyway. I pretended I didn't notice.

I had a sinking feeling about Dad's warning, but I didn't have anything to worry about right? I was too lucky to pick the wrong path.

Harvey's truck really did pull up our driveway, but I ran out with all my stuff before he even switched the cars. I was running away again, yes. But running away from what? I didn't quite know. I mean, its not like Mum and Dad were going to question me about the fight or the poison or how I nearly died last night. I think the focus was on how both their daughters would have to stop their mates from taking the blasted blue flame.

It's not like I could let something like that happen. Our story was beginning to sound like one of those horrible depressing one. Once there was a good and wise alpha and his lovely and kind luna. They had two daughters whom they loved dearly. Alas by the end of the drama's first season, their first daughter died, and the second was left mateless. Oh cruel fate!

In the second season, maybe their adopted daughter would fight for their cause and right all the wrongs somehow - but this would not be without long episodes of tearful weeping and monologues full of regret and bitterness at their loss.

"Good morning, Alpha." Harvey looked mildly surprised to see me, but he calmly opened the car door to the Porsche for me to get on, "Are we in a hurry today, Alpha?"

I pressed my lips together.

Harvey didn't press further. He started the car and drove out of the garage. I saw Ki come out to help move his truck in. He stood to let our car pass first and waved us off with his usual smile.

"Are you alright, Alpha?" Harvey asked once our car was cruising down the empty street.

I nodded, "Yeah."

I sighed at the window, was there really no other way?

We were wolves, bound to fate. How I wished - just for the moment - that I could be like a human and escape. To be the wildcard and change my fate.

Behind our car, four motorbike escorts quickly rode up to their positions. I guess our early departure threw them off, but no harm's done. We were back in formation and travelling towards school like we did every morning.

Harvey decided to begin with the usual updates and schedule reminders, and after a while, his calm gravelly tone blah blah blahing soothed my frazzled wolf.

Who knew keeping secrets from my family was so hard? Technically, I failed since Ki had discovered my secret like in less than three minutes. (Betas were family too, right). Wow, I would never make it as batman. My butler would have discovered my bloodied batsuit in three minutes, and my conscience would confess everything to the family batman never had. Ah... thus the reason for his family-less-ness. Poor batman.

Unlike batman, I had my family and betas and pack. Still, it's not like I ever needed anyone of them to see my bloodied batsuits.

"Alpha?"

Eh? Oh, urm... Harvey was asking me something?

My good beta calmly repeated himself, "Alpha Solomon had invited us to have our special training at Black Forest tonight. Your father had decided that the elders would remain in the packlands, given the code orange situation. He has since informed Alpha Solomon that he will be unable to attend due to the Rogue King moving into our neighboring warlock forest. It was decided that our gen should take the opportunity to learn and equip ourselves for any future incidences with the vampires."

I nodded, "Uh-huh."

"If Alpha wills it, then we will make arrangements to leave at 5pm for the training. Ben will be in charge of the details." Harvey informed me.

Oh. I was the Alpha. I nodded, "Yeah, okay."

I could tell Harvey and probably Ben wanted to go. Actually, it might be better this way, "Who else is coming? Bell?"

"Yes, Luna Bell will be attending if you are." Harvey nodded, "As well as Ki, Ben, and I. It would be the five of us. We have been informed by the Black Forest Trainers that we would be onsite the actual hunting -"

"Wait, like we're going on an actual vampire hunt?" I cut him off.

"If I understand correctly, the trainers will be taking us to accompany one of their special units to hunt down some stray vampires along their boarders." Harvey reported.

Oh! My wolf perked up immediately. So fun!

"The hunt is not expected to last long. We should be back before dawn." Harvey continued, "We might have to miss our exams though."

Oh wow. No wait! That's right. I have exams tomorrow morning! I can't believe Mum and Dad were letting me go! Okay, maybe just Dad. Did Mum even know?

What's an exam when you had vamps to hunt? (And a learning experience to equip us so that we could secure the safety of our pack in the future?)

But Harvey was in his last year of high school. Wouldn't the exams mean more for him? Now I started to worry. For some reason, Mum was becoming increasingly present in my internal considerations lately. This surprised me. I was always told I was like my Dad, and I believed it. But more and more, I found myself worrying like Mum, caring like Mum, being kind like Mum, being graceful and beautiful like Mum... okay, I wasn't anything like Mum, but was I unconsciously trying to be?

Anyway, there was NO WAY I was going to let my betas and I fail our exams. I'm sure Dad the Father of Lycan Education would agree too.

"Ben's in charge right?" I asked.

"Yes, Alpha." Harvey nodded.

"Let him know I want to dream travel to the hunt at Black Forest." I decided, "And I'll be taking all of you with me like the last time. We'll wake up in time to start the day fresh and take our exams."

Harvey nodded, "Understood Alpha."

And then he added with a wry smile, "I'm not sure your Luna would approve our mode of transportation though."

Hahaha... Bell. He's going to be so cute. I mean, mad. He's going to be so mad. Bell didn't even like when my betas stood close to me.

I grinned at the thought, "Let's not tell him till its too late for him to protest."

Boo was so excited, I had to make effort not the let my ears shift right there in the car. I tried to change the subject, "What else is happening this week?"

So Harvey went through my week. It was like any other week, but with exams instead of lessons at school. Archery and Theater Rehearsals had to stop for the exams, but I would be busy with quite a lot of meetings and extras thrown in, no thanks to River coming over with that stone.

"There would be another followup meeting tomorrow night to discuss our next steps should the Warlock not make his appearance. We might then set out with your plan on Wednesday, clear the mission by Thursday, reset our packland status to code Green, and be ready to head out to the Night Forest Pack to meet your uncle with the economic restructuring team on Friday." Harvey summarized.

So much for cramming before each exam. I'll be lucky if I got any sleep!

OmO maybe I should take my books along in my dream travels.