For the Wolves

"Key! Greg! I'm home you little gremlins!"

Samantha Halloway shoved her way through the swinging back door and stumbled over to the center of her small kitchen, maneuvering through so it didn't hit her on her ass, and dropped the mountains of groceries onto the creaky wooden table. Her fiery hair, falling out of it's loose ponytail hung in front of her eyes and stuck to her forehead as the sweat from her brow stung her pupils. Collapsing into the creaky wooden chair with an exhausted gasp for air, the young woman waited for the familiar, cool feeling of manufactured air on her neck to dry her sweaty skin, but it didn't come. That reminded her: she had to pay the air conditioning bill.

Shrugging her suffocating flannel off (probably not the best clothing decision on her part), she was left in her stained white tank, still hugging her curves, but not in the preferable way. It was stuck to the sweat on her skin.

"C'mon boys, I have food! Get your butts down here if you want to eat!"

And suddenly there was a thundering commotion from the upstairs as she saw the delicate black curls of her little brother Keith, rushing down the stairs so fast that she thought he was falling. Bouncing off the bottom step, he sprinted over to her and tackles her with a bone-crushing bear hug that you wouldn't expect to come from a 9 year old.

"Key, I have to breathe!" Sam laughs at the young boy's antics, and tries to get him off, but his arms are locked firmly around her neck. "Get off of me munchkin, or I won't give you your surprise!"

"Ahhmmm mahhmmm," she hears from behind her, and she gasps.

"Key! Are you getting into the food," she shrieks as she wrestles him from her neck, only to find his chipmunk cheeks full with the goldfish he's holding in both his hands, though most of them are slipping through his fingers onto the floor, "you cheeky little gremlin!"

The boy shakes his head vigorously as Sam turns and reaches behind her to get the now-open bag of goldfish on the table. "Key, this was supposed to be your surprise!"

The young boy gives a sheepish, cracker filled grin that Sam grimaces at in disgust, but giggles at in the end, ruffling the young boy's pitch black curls and eliciting a whine from him. Shooing him of her lap so she could close the bag and gather the rest of the groceries, Sam suddenly remembers something else.

"Key, where is Greg?"

Sam knew her preteen brother was more than likely up in his room, being the non-sociable, awkward weirdo that he embraced as of late due to those dreadful hormones. She could never be too sure, though. There was always a chance that he was somewhere else…

"Up in his room," Key says, shrugging, and inspecting the rest of the groceries that Sam had gotten, taking inventory of what he would sneak later. Sam sighs, "Ok, good," she said, feeling a bit better, "Greg! Get your ass down here! I have to make dinner!"

Then, giving Key the evil eye, "And I have a bag of goldfish for you for after school tomorrow!"

Hearing the slow thumping of Greg's I'm-too-cool-for-listening-to-my-legal-guardian-and-her-childish-sustenance swagger down the stairs, his blonde, floppy hair being the first thing she sees when he enters the kitchen. Mainly because it hides his eyes and makes him look like a douche, annoying her.

"You called," the 13 year old grumbled, rather sarcastically.

"I did, in fact," Sam shot back, giving an innocent smile as she starts to put away the groceries, "Did you do your homework?"

"Yes"

Sam gave him a patronizing look, as if to say "Please. Like you could pull that one on me."

"I did!" Greg looked like he was lying, and he knew it, but at that point he didn't really care what his older sister thought so he simply looked away and sat down at the kitchen table next to his younger brother, who was now trying to get into the box of animal crackers that Sam had attempted to hide, but ultimately knew he would find. Sam let the subject drop, but still sighed to herself, knowing that this behavior wouldn't just be a faze, but would evolve into a spiral. At some point, she kept telling herself, she would find something for Greg to be happy about, if it couldn't be his family. Right now, however, her only concern was making and serving dinner without giving into her urge to dump it on his head.

"So, um, when did you boys get home? How long did you stay at the bar with Uncle Miles?"

"Nah, we just came straight home," mumbled Greg playing with the chipped wood on the table.

Sam looked up suddenly from the mac n' cheese she was making. "You did what," she asked incredulously, "I told you to come straight home! What if CPS came? What if someone saw that you two were alone and thought that I was being reckless in not supervising you?"

"I didn't feel like sitting in a stuffy bar with a bunch of day-drinks breathing down my neck - sorry not sorry," Greg said, shrugging again, not looking up. Key, by this point, was shrinking back in his chair, not daring to touch the animal crackers as the scene unfolded before him. Sam seethed, now completely turned away from the stove, "Do you not understand how important this is? Greg, if people saw you then they could take you away!"

"And God forbid I be in the care of a stable adult," Greg shot back.

Sam took a step back, her lower back now against the counter. Her eyes spoke volumes as Greg finally looked up and stared her down. That was a low blow. She never thought that even at his lowest he would ever say something like that. She looked at him with a glare hard enough to match his own. Although, his eyes didn't look hateful or mean, but rather defensive. Greg's hands stopped fidgeting with the table, but his jaw still locked and his leg bounced up and down under the table, giving his anxiety away. Sam forced her gaze away, even though the pain was still there, and turned to her bargaining chip for the sake of peace.

As she nonchalantly stirred the watery noodles and inhaled the steam that made the room seem even more hot and humid than it already was, Greg seemed to get more and more uncomfortable in the sudden silence. Key, on the other hand, took it as a sign of harmony, and dug back into the animal crackers. The crinkling of the bag and the clinking of the spoon in the metal pan were the only sounds to be heard in the room.

"So," Sam, coughed, "after you finish dinner, I have to go and feed the wolves. You want to come with me?"

Both boys looked up.

"Really?!" Keith squealed, his eyes lighting up.

"No," Sam looked up from the noodles, "Greg."

Greg's eyes lit up as he looked at her. Sam had never allowed him into the wolf pen before, much less let him actually feed the wolves! The wolf sanctuary that rested in the back of their yard was an area completely off limits to the two boys. The closest that either had gotten in years was right outside the pen to watch Sam feed them and even then she yelled at them when they got too close. Greg had never understood why Sam got to go into the pen, but not him. After all, he was getting older, and he basically saw it as an essential right that every child in their family possessed, but he coveted.

Sam knew this, and it scared her. Still, she understood being drawn to them. Since their father had died, Sam had kept the boys away from the wolves at all costs, and was reminded to do so every time she saw the scar on Keith's arm, the one that he had had since he was only a baby. Greg was older, of course, and she remembered that she was probably around his age when she started to feed the wolves out back, but the fear of having what happened to their father happen to anyone else in her family reserved that right to herself alone.

Greg gulped slowly, gazing at her cautiously. "Really," he asked, "you're not shitting me?"

"Watch your mouth," she chastised swiftly in her attempt at a motherly tone, "and no," she looked at him out of the side of her eye, smirking, "I'm not shitting you."

A smile wider than she had seen in year lit up his face and brought out a brightness in his dark grey eyes as he swept his floppy blonde locks away from his brow. He sat up in his seat, straightening his back as to appear as he felt: like he had become a man.

"Thanks, Sam," Greg spoke clearly, something he hadn't done in awhile, "Seriously, like, thank you."

Sam smiled at him lovingly, or what she hoped looked loving as opposed to the actual terror that was wracking her bones. It would be fine, she told herself. Nothing would happen.

The two trudged through the long, unmowed grass in their back yard, trying to ignore the possibility of snakes and bugs crawling up their legs. Sam felt suffocated by the sweltering august heat, though it was starting to cool down for the evening. Even in her white tank and loose jean shorts she felt the heat as if it were a tactile substance. Oh, how she longed for the fall and the leaves, but more so for the cool air. And then after that, she would get to see winter and the snow. Well, maybe not. Sam didn't know if Angeles had snow. But then again, she also didn't know if she would be in Angels.

Sam looked over at Greg, who she forced to carry both buckets of meat for the wolves. Smiling to herself, she watched as he trudged through the yard, sweating in the heat just as she was, but still he had a smile gracing his lips. It made her feel good to see him smile. He hadn't smiled in a while. Sam and Greg used to be pretty close, actually, and they did tease each other a lot. Lately though, Sam just assumed that school was getting to him and that was why he locked himself in his room and got this stupid, moody preteen attitude. Of course she knew that at some point she would have to deal with his hormonal-preteen-boy-ness but she didn't think it would be this bad. It was nice to actually have the old Greg back. This Greg was her buddy.

"So," Greg huffed out as they got to the pen, his gaze drifting from her to the beasts inside, "what do we do now?"

Sam put her finger up. "Number one," she mocked authoritatively, "put your gloves on."

"Oh c'mon," Greg groaned, "I knew that already! I've been watching you do this for years, but how do you actually feed them?"
"Tsk Tsk," Sam chided playfully, "be patient young grasshopper! Let the master teach!"

Greg gave her a "seriously" look, and Sam laughed. "Too much too soon?"

"Baby steps," said Greg, grabbing the buckets, "I'm not Keith."

"Well, I know that," said Sam, giving an exasperated sigh, "Keith would play along and let me procrastinate while I fear for your life!"
Greg gave her the look that a parent would give a child, but Sam straightened and gave him a hard glare, "C'mon," she said suddenly, "let's go."

Sam opened the locked gate to the pen and stepped inside the medium area, letting Greg inside too, for the first time in years. Taking a breath of reassurance, Sam finally opened the second door to the pen and stepped inside to greet the wolves who were gathering at the door to greet them.

"Back it up guys, we got a new comer in here - try not to kill him," Sam said jokingly, except with a serious edge that she directed at one in particular, "That means you Denali," she said giving a pointed look at the great big one-legged Arctic Wolf lingering in the back. He perked up at the sound of his name, but his eyes were still on the new comer that he hadn't seen before, and therefore kept his distance from. Greg took a cautious step forward, looking around at the wolves gathered at the feet of his sister. He knew that she was their alpha, but he didn't really have a clear idea of what that meant. Now he knew.

There were Five wolves all together, and he could name them upon one glance. There was Kiska, the pump Gray Wolf in the back with the missing ear and significant limp, gazing greedily at the meat that had oils dripping from his bucket, her tongue salivating already. Attu was obvious, given his pitch-black fur and differing eye colors - one blue and one gold. Then there were Denali and Siku; Siku was the eldest female and it was obvious with her calm disposition, lingering in the back with Denali, and her thick, mottled black, gray, brown, red, and white fur.

Then, finally, there was Nanook, the youngest. He lingered beside Sam, his brownish-red fur prominent among the others, and Sam stroked his fur as he walked alongside her. Nanook had always been a favorite of Sam's from the very beginning. He was small and submissive, but sweet in true nature. Sam liked being around him, though she still loved all the wolves. At the same time though, there was always a sense of reservation towards them, like she was standing on a cliff and she knew the she was safe and trusted herself around the cliff, but didn't trust whether the cliff would break or not.

"C'mon Greg," Sam gestured for him to follow, "you wanted to learn how to feed them right?"

"Um," Greg gulped, "yeah.. yeah definitely."

Sam smiled, "Ok then."

Greg walked cautiously over to the grassy area that was typically used for feeding, and the wolves cleared a path for him towards Sam, though Denali was still a little apprehensive and growled as he came near.

Sam saw this and jumped into action, saying quickly, "Greg, stop lingering and move your-"

"Shhhh, Sam," Greg put a hand over her mouth quickly, which Sam was taken aback by, "I'm a child! You wouldn't want people to think that you were being reckless and not supervising me if I went around cursing," giving a little smirk.

Sam released a breath, taking his hand off her mouth and just gazing at him. His eyes looked a lot happier than before. It confused her, but she tore her eyes away before she made herself feel worse.

"So," she said, clearing her throat as she dumped the meat on the ground and watched the wolves devour it, "why did you say that before?"

Greg kept his eyes trained on the wolves, although it looked more like he was just trying to avoid her eyes, that were trained on him.

"What do you mean?"

He asked this slowly, softly, like he wasn't sure whether he should say anything at all. Sam gave him a look.

"You know what I mean."

Greg gave a sigh, "look," he said, turning to her, "you know that I love you. You know that I'm glad that you're here, even though no one else is. I am. It's just…"

"Just what," Sam urged softly.

"Just… why is no one else here? I mean, we have Uncle Miles, but how far does that go? He's a fucking-"

"Hey," Sam warned, sticking her finger up.

"Sorry," Greg mumbled, "but he's a freakin drunk. And at some point, you're gonna have to leave too… I mean you might already…"

Sam's heart ached as she listened to her kid brother talk. She knew that Greg and Keith hadn't had the best hand dealt in life, and hers was no picnic either, but for him to be worried about her leaving? The kid had trust issues. Sam watched as Greg turned back to the wolves as they devoured their dinner in seconds, before pivoting back towards the house, his shoulders slumped.

"Greg," Sam called chasing after him and opening the pen door for him, "look at me."

She grabs his shoulders once thier out and kneels to his level, her teary eyes matching his. "You don't have to worry about me," She said slowly, emphasizing each and every word as if he were as young as Keith, "You're mine until I say otherwise. I will fight for you until my last breath, and you better be damn sure that in this fucked up game of life, I will make sure that you will not only survive, but win." Greg's eyes were wide as he listened to his sister, and Sam figured it was probably because they had never had a conversation like this before. In fact, he had probably never had a conversation like this with anyone before. That had to change.

"Greg," she took a deep breath and continued slowly, "I love you. Don't ever doubt that."

The 13 year old looked down, avoiding her eyes, and asked softly, "Then why did you sign up for the Selection?"

So that's what this was about. Sam laughed quietly and stood, only touching his shoulder to make him look at her.

"That was for you too, you idiot," she smiled, "I'm not leaving you. I'm probably not even becoming a princess," Greg tried to interrupt but Sam stopped him saying, "It's just for the money. That's all this is. Trust me, I don't foresee getting married anytime soon, and if I do," Sam chuckled, "Well, let's just say the poor bastard won't last long."

Greg smiled and took her hand, "You'll get married," he paused when Sam laughed again, "and maybe to the prince," he continued, "but the same goes for you: you can't get rid of me that easily. Your ass is mine."

Sam smiled and looked down, laughing to herself. Then, looking back at her kid brother she tilted her head and sighed for about the millionth time that night. These boys amazed her everyday. Sam gave a smile smile and squeezed his hand, and Greg returned the gesture, and then let go to grab the empty buckets of meat.

"Shall we go back to the house?"

"We shall," Sam chuckled, and they made their way back to the house where Keith had finished off all of the animal crackers.

"Seriously? She's not even that cute!" Greg whined as he watched their small television screen, curled up in the chair with his long flannel pajamas. A bowl of popcorn sat in his lap, and a completely separate one sat in the laps of Sam and Keith,curled up on Sam's lap. The three watched the screen intently, though Sam not as much considering she would much prefer to watch as Key threw popcorn pieces into Greg's mouth, and have Greg miss them everytime so that she could make fun of him.

"Oh please! That's so rude Greg, don't ever say that," Sam threw a couple pieces of popcorn at the boy as he laughed, "you're horrible! And you know what, I actually think that she's gorgeous!"

"Yeah, she was gorgeous," agreed Key, nodding his head with his eyes still on the screen, almost hypnotized. Sam laughed and ruffled the boy's hair, though he still didn't look away.

After they had gotten back from feeding the wolves, Keith reminded Sam of one especially important event that she had almost missed: the choosing of the Selected. Of course, Sam didn't really expect to get in, but at that point it didn't seem like it could hurt. Besides, if she didn't get in, no harm done. She would figure something out, but at least it wasn't to the point where this was her last chance - kind of.

As she watched the screen, her eyes drifted towards the Crown Prince. Well, the new Crown Prince. It was interesting to watch. Kalum had always seemed far off, as if he lived in another world that didn't exist; one that didn't touch her own. Of course, it didn't, but now he actually seemed real. The boy that she had practically grown up watching, who had always seemed like a statue as opposed to an actual boy, was getting married and literally being forced to put his own emotions on display. It made him seem human, she supposed, which was new. UNiformed in a standard pitch black suit that she couldn't tell apart from all the others, Sam watched as he smiled tightly, though somehow managing to make it seem effortless and comfortable. Sam could see he was anything but. He chestnut hair was slicked back onto his head, though she could tell that some of the glistening on his brow was anxiety, and the tightness of his smile was fear. She couldn't imagine what he could be going through.

Even though the main focus was on the girls, there was a small section in the corner where you could see the entire royal family - like, the entire royal family. The King sat next to his wife, who was more stone than human, and managed to, for once, be quiet and civil and at least not completely intoxicated. He hadn't spoken all evening, even when Baron Chamberlin - God help that poor little soul - first introduced the show. It was his first time back since the accident. Everyone knew that the King was sick, of course there was no use hiding it. That was obviously why they were having the Selection. The only strange part was who it was for.

Kole was the most interesting one to watch. The playboy prince looked more brooding rebel than anything tonight with his dark suit with matching dark shirt and tie, his hair slicked back to match his brother's, though his was darker and more of a coffee grounds sort of color. He looked like that stereotypical dark prince that you read about in fairytales. She supposed that he was, though she didn't hate him for it. Sam pitied him more than anything. The poor guy just needed a break.

"Oh oh! Look at that one! She could probably give the prince a good time.."

"Greg!" Sam looked at him in disbelief, his crudeness surprising her. The boy only shrugged saying, "What? I'm saying she looks hot!"

Sam shook her head, "Yeah? Well next time you say something that crude, I'm gonna tell Marcy from down the street that you said that! We'll see what she has to say about it..."

Greg's face paled significantly, and Key just laughed. Sam smirked.

You're in my house boys. I'm in charge.

Although, he wasn't wrong. The girl on the screen, Katerina Agron, was beautiful by any standards - like, drop dead beautiful. Her untamed dark brown hair that seemed to flow down her back deeply contrasted her blue-green eyes in a way that seemed almost unworldly, or rebellious. Sam couldn't tell which color they were, though they seemed to look curious as she smiled at the camera, her face lighting up at the shot. There was no doubt, this girl would be an eye-catcher.

"I agree Key…"

"And next, from the province of Paloma, we have…" Vegas DeRosier stuttered for a minute, looking back down at the card incredulously, as if checking to see if she had the right name. The crowd started to stir before she picked her head back up and grinned cheekily at the camera before continuing, "we have Lady Caihi Davilla,Two."

The crowd on the Report was silent for a minute, but after about a minute or two broke out into reluctant cheers and hollers, no one quite sure what to do. Sam stared at the screen for a minute too, wondering where she had heard that name from…

"Wasn't that the girl who started that cult and ended up killing her friend," asked Greg, breaking the silence, "because if she was then that's going to be fun to watch!"

"Sam, why is that girl going to the palace," asked Key quietly, not really understanding what just happened, "and why won't people clap for her?"

"It's nothing sweetheart," Sam cooed, stroking his hair, "she's just pretty well-known is all."

Key nodded and sat back on the couch. Well, Sam thought, this was going to be interesting. SHe didn't even know that girls under house-arrest could sign up for the selection! How would she even find out about it… whatever. Caihi's smiling picture showed up on screen, and her appearance completely threw Sam off. Her smiling face looked anything but threatening, and her tousled balayage ombré hair paired with her ebony eyes actually made her quite attractive.

Before they knew it, five girls had already been announced. They swiftly made their way through the rest of them, choosing provinces at random to announce the selection ladies. Each girl looked even more beautiful than the one before but they all kind of blurred together in Sam's eyes. Some of them did stand out - Ilaria Beckett for instance. Her father was Stefan Beckett, the actor, and she was now apparently a lingerie designer of all things. Sam never really followed the fashion word, for she had no need to, but everyone knew the whirlwind Cinderella story of Stefan Beckett and Ilaria's mother, Soledad, a Six, just like her. It wasn't something that Sam really cared about, but seeing as Ilaria was now selected it seemed pretty interesting.

After they finished announcing the Carolina Selected, a girl named Amoriel Fawn who looked just about as innocent as her name. Key thought that she looked like a princess and Sam agreed with him. That girl legitimately looked like something out of a fairytale book.

"And finally," said Baron, taking a step forward to match Vegas, though she took another step forward to be in front of him, "the last, but certainly not least, Selected Candidate from Bankston," Key jumped up and down in Sam's lap and Greg gave her a cheeky, teasing smile, though Sam just shook her head and reached across Key to grab the popcorn bowl.

"Lady Samantha Halloway, Six."

And just like that, the popcorn went flying everywhere. A picture of a pale, red headed girl with hair that just screamed "I'm tired" and honey-molded eyes that said "I don't want to be here but I'm smiling anyway," appeared on the screen and she recognized herself in the shot. Her face, her cheeks, her chin, her nose, even her smile tainted by the image of her chipped canine tooth - it was there! It was on the screen!

"Well folks, those are your Selected, and I think that it's safe to say that we've got a pretty good bunch! We'll be following the girls next week to show you their arrival at the palace and Prince Kalum can begin the journey to find his wife! Until then, goodnight Illea!"

The tv shut off on it's own, it seemed, though Sam knew that her hand more than likely grabbed the remote. The room was quiet. Everything was still, and Sam wasn't really looking at anything or anyone. She just stared ahead, into oblivion as she processed the absolute miracle that just happened.

I'm going to be in the Selection.

I'm going to meet the Princes.

I could marry a Prince.

I'm going to have to leave the boys…

In that moment, nothing else mattered more to her than the boy sitting in the cushioned chair diagonal to her, his eyes trained on her own before she could even look up. Picking up a surprisingly quiet Keith and placing him on the couch behind him, Sam slowly made her way over to the boy and crouched beside him.

"Are you ok," she asked, her eyes filled with apprehension, "I won't go if you don't want me to go."

Greg looked up and smiled, a true, genuine smile that told her it was ok. It said all she needed to know, even if he wouldn't tell her. But he did.

"Of course it's ok," he said kindly, in a voice that she should probably be using as the parent, "we'll be fine."

"Yes but will you-"

"I'll be fine," He said, leaning over the side of the chair to grab her hand, "you don't need to worry about me Sammy. I'm doing fine. I'll be with Uncle Miles, I'll do my schoolwork, I'll watch Key, and I'll even feed the wolves for you-"

"Oh no you don't," Sam interrupted, "chill tiger, you're not there yet."

Greg groaned, "Fine, but still. It'll be alright."

He gave her a reassuring smile as she gripped his hand tighter than she ever had before. Standing, Sam turned back to Key, who watched quietly as the scene unfolded before his eyes. After a few seconds of staring blankly at the both of them, his eyes crinkled and his face broke out into a huge smile as he started chanting, "Sammy's got a boyfriend, Sammy's got a boyfriend, Sammy's got a boyfriend," and started dancing around on the couch.

Sam laughed, throwing her head back as she shook her head at the young boy's antics, but still picked him up on the couch and danced along with him, "Sammy's got a boyfriend, Sammy's got a boyfriend, Sammy's got a boyfriend!"

"C'mon Greg join us!" Sam called for the boy and he got up without any further prompting. All three, their entire family, or what was left of it, danced on the couch, laughing a chanting, "Sammy's got a boyfriend, Sammy's got a boyfriend, Sammy's got a boyfriend!"

Yes. Apparently I do. Let's see how long he lasts.

Yes, I'm back. What'd you think?

That is technically the first "character chapter" if you really want to term it a certain way, but I just prefer the term third person. I know that his isn't my usual writing style, considering I do it more of a first person setting and it's a completely different set of characters in all that, but I'm think that I'm going to do this person for the rest of the story! If you like it, please tell me because I'm always looking for feedback. If you hate it, that's ok too! Hate is a normal human reaction! Embrace it, and tell me! Don't be a troll, be a bitch, it's way more fun.

I know that I promised this awhile ago but stuff came up, and I'm back again! Plus, summer break is coming and so I'll more than likely be posting multiple chapters a week so expect that!

Also, for those of you who submitted, I have news:

THERE ARE NO MAINS AND SUPPORTING!

YAAAY! Fun right?! I think so. Anyway, I had trouble choosing and decided that since I loved all of my girls so much and had just enough of them, I could simply change it to third person and tell the story from multiple points of view, sometimes focusing on one particular girl, while others just basically describing what's going on in EVERYONE's heads! That's the REALLY fun part. All inclusive.

So, anyway, like it or hate it, review, and tell me what you think of Sam?! I love her. Took some liberties with the boys… but love her.

Anyway, end of super long author's note. Love y'all! Review!