Disclaimer: I do not own or have rights to any of the series or characters of Wolf Lake.

Author's note: I realize there probably isn't mush traffic through this room anymore but if you are reading this I would be grateful for any constructive criticism.

Luke's POV

The other children playing in his yard were mostly all familiar to him, he saw them at church all the time. The elementary school aged kids were all gathered on one section of the lawn being watched over by his two older sisters and their friend. The boys were playing a loosely interpreted version of football primarily consisting of rough housing, posturing, and trying to show off. The girls were sitting to one side tying endless knots in string with beads and paying attention to the boys. Whenever one of them distinguished himself the girls would smile at him. The lone exception was a small dark haired girl sitting off to one side. She was concentrating on the paper in front of her. When the ball bounced out of bounds and landed next to her it startled her. Luke jogged over to get it and snuck a look at her paper while he was getting it to try and figure out what was so interesting. It was like some strange version of connect the dots but she was drawing the dots…and the didn't all connect to stuff. He threw the ball back out to the others and turned to her.

"What are you doing? Why aren't you paying attention?" He demanded.

She looked up at him and her silent gaze weighed on him more than those of the girls who were avidly following the game.

"I'm making a star chart. This is Orion, the Hunter, and I am starting in on the dippers and the bears…" the warm voice replied trailing off as she looked back down.

"But you should be watching!…I knocked down Bill and Anthony! They are 3 grades ahead of me. You should look! Dad says the boys are supposed to prove they are tough and worthy and the girls are supposed to 'preciate them doing that." he said, his tone both imperious and agitated.

"My Daddy says that boys show off to make themselves feel better about themselves and that people who are worthy prove it by how they treat those they can beat and the things they do to appreciate others." the girl murmured. "Doesn't your father show your mom he appreciates her by doing nice things for her? And doesn't she do the same for him"

"Yeah, but first he had to prove he could be worthy and keep us safe!" he insisted. "Besides, my Dad is the Alpha, so we go by his rules!"

"Luke? What are you arguing with Sophia about?", inquired his sister Amanda.

Sophia, thought Luke, he liked the name but did not like that she didn't know how to behave. He was growing quite strong and impressive, even the adults were saying it. But this girl didn't seem to think so. Did that mean he could;t be great like his Dad. Would Mom be disappointed? NO! he would just have to impress her and make her acknowledge it. Then everything would be fine and everyone would be proud.

"She isn't watching 'Manda. She isn't looking at all. Make her watch!" Luke growled.

"I don't have time to watch", the girl replied. "I need to finish this. School starts tomorrow and I want to show it to my new teacher. Mama said I might be able to ask if we could talk about stars during science time if I showed the teacher I was willing to work hard on it. "

Luke tilted his head to the side and wondered if she would have the same teacher as him. He looked at his sister and didn't see any signs of disappointment in him yet. So maybe it was ok if she didn't watch right away. Dad said a good wolf prioritizes and makes sure things get done before it is too late. That was why he had to pick his toys up before the party, because it would be too late to do it after. Maybe this was something that had to be prioritized. He could make her appreciate him later. Luke knew she was starting first grade but he didn't know which of the two first grade classes she would be in. He looked pensive and then told his sister, "I need to go ask Dad something."

"Luke, what are you up to?" his other sister murmured at him smiling impishly.

Luke looked between his sisters and Sophia and replied, "I need to talk to Dad, Ruby. Can you and Amanda watch Sophia till I get back?"

His sisters looked amused then nodded to him. Luke started to head up the yard to the area the adults were occupying and planning how he was going to ask for what he wanted so that his Dad understood it was best for the Pack.

Willard Cates POV

Willard sat himself down in his study and looked at his son. Luke had respectfully urgently insisted that he needed to talk to his dad in private. When he asked if it could wait, his son had very seriously told him that it was a matter of priorities and that some had to happen before school tomorrow. He knew Luke was excited about starting first grade at the public school tomorrow, most of the Wolven kids went to kindergarten through the church to give them that extra year to learn how to keep the pack off the humans radars. Was it possible that Luke was concerned about a classmate? Surely, one of the girls would have comet him immediately if any of the younglings had shown signs for concern.

"Well son, what seems to be the problem?", he asked.

Luke looking troubled and worried replied," Sophia isn't paying attention. If I am going to be the next Alpha all the females need to respect me. But she said she needs to finish her star thingy before tomorrow so that the teacher might teach us about them. I told her how you said boys are supposed to prove themselves and the girls are supposed to look at them and smile if they did well. But Dad, Sophia said that boys show off to make themselves feel better and that you prove you are worthy by doing nice things and how you treat those you can beat."

Willard winced a little at the thought of trying to explain the workings of the female ming, especially the female Wolven mind, to his son. and then smiled at the fact Luke cared enough to look for clarity on the issue…not that clarity on the female mind was ever really possible. as an Alph with three females in his house he still didn't feel like he had an accurate idea of the way they worked.

"Well son, both versions of that are true. as you get older how you are judged worthy becomes more complex. showing you are better at the physical contests with the other boys is the first step. Then after you show strength you can show mercy and kindness, but in order to be considered merciful the others must Know that you were the one who determined the outcome and it could have gone differently. In order to be a Good Alpha, you first have to be Alpha", he told his son.

"Sophia also said that you and mom show you appreciate each other by doing nice things for each other. Is that like when you got mom the nice bracelet last week? This kinds of nice things? Or like when give mommy the shoulder rubs, or when you give mommy the other shoulder rubs in your room and you make a lot of noises and then she is all smiley after? Do I have to learn how to do that?" his son asked.

Wow. Called out for having really loud sex by the baby of the family. I would have thought one of the twins would have complained first. Crap, he is asking about sex. Alpha or not, if I answer this wrong and V finds out I'll be on the couch.

"Well Luke, there are lots of ways you can do nice things for someone. and should rubs are something you can worry about when you get closer to your flip…much closer. Women are very particular about jewelry so stay far away from that until you ask me or someone else in the family to help. but basically doing nice things is showing that you care for the person and trying to make them feel good."

Luke looked thoughtful for a long moment and said, "OK Dad, I think the best thing would be to let her finish the chart, so that she knows I care about her, but I think she needs to be in my class at school so she has time to appreciate me and so that the others who didn't see her looking today understand that there were priorities. Then, what about if we took a note in to the teacher to ask them the teach some about stars, so she can see I do nice things. Is that right? Do you think that would work?"

Willard smiled and said, "I think that would be a very wise path to take." I will call the school and make sure she is in your class and will have the note ready tomorrow."

Luke excused himself and Willard watched from the window as his son ran down to the lower lawn and planted himself next to the young lady that had caused him to fret over his young masculine ego. Well, well…Sherman would get a kick out of this…Matt not so much. But it would certainly present lots of teaching opportunities. After all, women were a living breathing minefield.

He walked out into the yard and up to the school's principle, " Hey Mitch, I need you to do something…" Quickly outlining the requirements and getting the appropriate assurances accompanied by a look of speculation from the man he settled the matter. The two kids would be in the same class and at some point tomorrow. When handed a note from Luke the teacher (who was also a pack member and at the cookout) would gladly agree to do a segment on astronomy.

When everything was settled to his satisfaction, he strolled over to Matt and his wife who were standing with Sherman by one of the five tow behind BBQ set-ups. Chuckling, he greeted Marie and Matt then briefly explained what had happened. Sherman laughed and asked Cates if he really thought teaching Luke so young was wise. Marie looked nervous and about the whole matter. Matt looked a mix of amused and irritated.

"Don't you think they are a little young for this to be starting?", Marie inquired.

"Nah, pups learn how to treat those around them by observing and imitating from a young age," said Sherman. "Besides, from the looks of things, your daughter may as well be holding a whistle and a bag of sausage. She is going to have him trained in no time."

" it will be good for Luke to learn young that part of being a dominant is caring and providing for the pack members beneath you," Will mused.

"As long as that is all he is doing Will," Matt stated.