"Within the pack, it is clear that my job is the most important.

Well, the second most important anyway.

You see, my master is the Alpha of our group. The leader. And as his most trusted alley, it is my job to stand at his side and protect both him and the others. Such is my role as the beta of the family.

As always, the day begins with greeting my Alpha."

Hody smiled as he looked down at his loyal little shark pup. "Morning there Snapper, you keep watch for me little guy?" he asked, reaching down and rubbing his head.

Snapper barked and then jumped back and forth happily. Every night he would secure the area ten times over before finally resting at the entrance. He had to make sure that the Alpha was always protected.

"Uh… how are either of you up right now…."

Hody looked over his shoulder and saw Topaz stretching her arms. With how often she had spent the night in his room, they'd had to wake up even earlier than usual to make sure they didn't run into anyone. "Not everyone can afford to sleep in every morning woman. Now get that rump in gear.."

Topaz groaned and began making her way towards the bathroom to get dressed, grumbling under her breath. Hody slapped her across the rear. "Oh! I'm going, I'm going," she said rubbing her butt.

"That is my Alpha's new mate. He has no made her status known to the rest of the pack it seems. He is waiting for the right time. He has had many mates over the years, but I like this one the best. She is strong and resilient. Though she is rather rebellious, and he must discipline her often. But she will make a fine fellow alpha once she is tamed and officially brought into the pack."

Hody hummed and then looked at the clock. There was still a bit of time before the guards would begin making his rounds. He smirked and then grabbed the hairbrush off of his nightstand. "Why don't you go ahead and do your rounds Snapper. I'll bring you a treat at breakfast," he said as he followed after Topaz.

Snapper barked and then began making his way out to check on the rest of the pack, leaving the Alpha to deal with his mate.

SMACK!

"Fuck!"

"As usual, the first one in the pack I check on is Alpha's sister. I have looked over her carefully since she was just a pup. Though this has become much harder as she had grown, as she has entered a very long rebellious stage.

She used to be so small a feeble. Only something to be protected. But now she has become far more scary. Constantly yelling at and defying the Alpha. And spending her time with… him..."

Snapper growled as she scratched at the door. He could smell another scent coming from Maria's room. A familiar and unwelcomed one. It belonged to Alpha's greatest rival.

"The Iced one… always butting heads and confronting the Alpha. Always trying to pluck away Sister from the pack and take her as his mate. Does he not know how the order of things are supposed to work?"

He sniffed at the door angrily.

"I know you're in there Iced One. Whispering rebellious thoughts into the little sister's ears. Plotting against the Alpha. I won't allow your schemes to work. I will alert others to your vile presence. The Alpha will deal with you one and for all…"

Snapper took a deep breath, ready to let out the loudest bark he could muster, but suddenly the door cracked open. Maria peeked out, sending the pup a death glare. "Don't you even think about it…" she said dangerously. The shark pup shut his mouth, lowing his head and letting out a whimper.

Maria huffed, and then closed the door back. It was no secret that she tended to keep the pet at arm's length. It wasn't like she disliked him or anything, but between the years of running into her room and tearing apart her stuff, and doing his best to harass her and her boyfriend in their private moments, she had little tolerance for him.

"Well… for now I will leave little sister and the Iced One be. But if he is not gone by the time I return, I will alert the Alpha! Now, onward to complete my rounds!"

He scurried down the hall towards his next stop. He passed by a few guards on the way to do their own rounds, and then slipped into the main room.

Larry and Camie were just getting out of bed, and he leapt up and pounced onto the ladder, nuzzling her face. She laughed and picked him up. "Okay, alright. You've checked on us. We're here and accounted for," she said, giving him a scratch on the head.

"This is the Alpha's mother! She is the matriarch of the pack, and the Delta! Behind me of course, but still very high ranking! She is wise and talented, and clearly the one whom my Alpha takes after."

"Why don't you check on Larry now?" Camie asked.

The shark pup narrowed his eyes towards Larry, who rolled his in response. "How does he keep getting in here…" he muttered. It was no secret that the king wasn't very fond of the land shark. Had he known how annoying it would be he would have thought twice about letting his son get a pet.

Snapper growled towards him. "Hmph! Delta mother's mate… he acts as if he is the head of the family, when he clearly is not. He is no warrior, and when I was first brought into the pack I rarely ever saw him around. Yet he tries to usurp my Alpha's rule. I have no idea why Delta mother chose him as a mate. He is clearly unworthy of her… though he is my Alpha's kin, so I will protect him nonetheless."

Camie laughed. "Oh c'mon dear. He's just come to check on us. I don't know how you can always be so grumpy whenever this cute face is around," she said cuddling him. It was that she had been worried about Hody having a pet. Especially such an energetic and snappy one. But over the years she had come to love the little guy.

"Hey, I didn't start this feud," Larry said, crossing his arms. "He's the one who gets all growly and bitey when I'm around. I don't understand it." The worst had been the time where he had grounded Hody as a boy. His son had been upset, and the thing went absolutely ballistic.

"Hody said something about pack rankings I think," Camie said, scratching Snapper's stomach. The shark's eyes widened, and his tongue hung out as he enjoyed the belly rub. "He thinks Hody is the Alpha."

Larry huffed. "I'm the alpha…" he muttered.

She reached over and cupped his chin. "Oh, I know sweetie. Everyone knows who the king of the castle is… except him obliviously, but still."

Larry smiled at his wife, and then reached over to cup her face and give her a kiss, only to pull his hand back when Snapper shot up and bit at him. He narrowed his eyes at the pet. "We should have gotten a kraken…"

"No touching Delta mother in my presence!"

After everyone was accounted for, Snapper made his way to the kitchen where the rest of the family eventually all met up to have breakfast. Before taking his seat, Hody poured the shark's food into his bowl and set it in front of him. "There you go. And here's your treat, as promised," he said dropping a whole fish on top of the pile of chum.

Snapper barked before he shoved his face inside of his meal and quickly began gulping it down. Hody took his seat and one of the servants set his food down in front of him. "Thank you," Larry said nodding towards the woman as she left. "So, what does everyone have planned for this lovely morning?" he asked.

Hody grunted. "I'm going to be giving Dottie more swimming lessons today," he said, taking a bite of his food. Snapper barked when he heard the name.

"Yes! Spotted One is coming!"

Camie smiled. "That's nice. Will Topaz be joining you?" The queen had a not so well hidden interest in the fire nymph and the effect she was having on her son. The rest of the family noticed just how much she asked Hody about her and how she was doing.

"She's coming too. Though I doubt she'll be participating much. Fire nymphs don't thrive well in water," he explained.

Larry hummed. "I guess that isn't much of a surprise. There's not too many large bodies of water in the Underworld to begin with," he said before looking towards his daughter. "And what about you my little fry? Anything big planned?"

The princess smiled. "Well, we have some young warriors who are going to start training for the guard today, and I talked Astro into coming by and saying a few words to them," she said.

"Well, how nice of him," Camie said.

Hody scoffed. "You asked him? Are you kidding. I'm right here. Why would you bother asking him to say something to our warriors when the prince of the kingdom is-"

"I assumed you'd be busy. And seeing as you have plans, I was right," Maria said simply. "Astro may not be from here, but he's a famed warrior. Hearing something from him will be just as uplifting as hearing something from you." The prince grumbled under his breath, and Snapper barked.

"Little sister truly has been swayed by the iced one! He cannot hope to compare to my Alpha! It's crazy to even try and compare them!"

"If it means that much to you, why don't you attend as well Hody. I'm sure seeing the both of you will mean twice as much," Larry said. "I know you two don't exactly get along, but these trainees will be the future members of the guard. You can put it aside for a bit to encourage them, no?"

Hody grunted. "I suppose I'll deal with the bas… with Prince Asterossa, for the sake of our future warriors," he said.

"You see. My alpha is willing to work alongside his lessers for the sake of the pack. He is truly a great leader!"

"Snapper!"

The shark barked happily as he rushed towards Dottie. She held her arms out and he jumped into them, immediately turning over and giving her access to his belly. Dottie laughed and began rubbing his stomach, and he stuck his tongue out and panted happily.

"Ah, Spotted One. My Alpha is quite fond of her, and I see why. She may be small and feeble, but she gives excellent belly rubs. I hope that when she grows she will join the pack, as she always treats me kindly and offers me snacks."

"So cute," Dottie said giggling.

Hody walked over towards her and patted her on the head. "Swimming lessons will be a little late shrimp. I had to inspire some new trainees," he said.

"You? Man, they must really be desperate then."

Hody slicked her forehead before turning to leave. "Keep an eye on him for me. I'd take him along, but he'll get too riled up with Asterossa there," he said.

"Got it," Dottie said nodding.

Snapper grunted. "There goes my Alpha. Off to help inspire the young pups who will eventually become warriors in our pack. Hopefully they will prove to be worth his… wait, I know that smell. The Enemy is here…"

Dottie was about to go back to rubbing Snapper's belly, but suddenly heard something behind her. She looked over her shoulder and saw Sear stretching his wings. Snapper narrowed his eyes and began barking angrily towards the dragon, who just seemed to ignore him.

Sear lowered his head and nuzzled Dottie's face. "Oh, hey Sear. Guess Astro is already inside then," she said patting his head. Snapper growled angrily.

"Hey! Stop stealing my attention away from the Spotted One! It is my belly rubbing time!" He jumped down from Dottie's arm and began barking at the dragon, who sneered down at him in response. "Oh, I despise you enemy! Always looking down on me, and thinking your rider is superior to my Alpha!"

"My brother is ten times superior than the walking fish man. He has proved so many a time. Your lucky he taken his time to teach your younglings," Sear said sticking his nose up at the shark.

Dottie sighed. "Hey, c'mon you two. Don't fight."

"Lies! Your rider was simply lucky! My Alpha is the strongest of all!" Snapper rushed towards him ready to pounce, but Sear moved to the side and then opened his mouth, catching him right in his jaws.

Snapper began barking and wiggling in panic as Sear stood there, a smug look on his face as he held the shark in his mouth. Dottie frowned. "Sear, put him down," she said pointing to the ground.

Sear pouted towards her, but she stomped her foot and point down again. The dragon grunted before dropping Snapper down onto the ground. Snapper shot up and ran right back towards Dottie, jumping into her arms. "You cheated! You attacked my belly! You know that's my weak spot!"

The dragon looked proud. "That is why I'm better. I have no weak spot."

"Bad dragon Sear. You shouldn't bully people smaller than you," Dottie said shaking her head at him. Sear grunted, looking annoyed, and then turned around and began walking off. Snapper looked after him smugly.

"Ha! Spotted One prefers me! She knows better, so I am superior!"

"And you should probably pick your battles better…" Dottie said looking down at him.

"He cheated!"

A/N: Of course Snapper sees Hody as the Alpha! And he himself as the Beta! Hody's attitude was bound to rub off on him! And he takes the roles of the pack pretty seriously. Him and Sear also got a little rivalry going on. He wants to prove he and his Alpha are superior, and Sear wants people to stop keeping him from eating him... so yeah.