Wolf was lying in the grass, eyes closed, listening to Kurt ramble. It was after lunch, and they had free time. He was between Pyro, who was leaning against the tree, probably dozing, and Kitty, who was intently listening to Colossus as he told her about his latest victory in a football game. Did she care about football? Probably not one bit. But you know how it is with puppy love; just listening to his voice is enough. Kurt was being as energetic as always; jumping subjects the same way he was constantly moving.

"Kurt, the only reason you got caught that time was because Logan smelled you; you have a very distinct scent and he has sharp enough senses to pick that up. Next time, stay downwind or disguise your scent with something else," Wolf interrupted. Kurt had been lamenting a prank gone badly.

As a person changes moods, his/her scent changes slightly. Kurt's scent became very excited. He probably had thought Wolf was asleep and no one had been listening to him. "Ya ya ya! I never thought of that! Next time…" he began to ramble faster than before. He also moved faster. One minute he was talking from the other side of Colossus, then he'd BAMF and the voice would be above him, then BAMF again and Kurt would be across from him.

"Why did you have to encourage him?" Pyro muttered, "I was ALMOST sleeping…"

Wolf grinned. "At least now you are entertained."

He heard Pyro grump. Truthfully, he hadn't been seeking entertainment. Wolf knew how important it was to give attention to each of his friends, make them feel special. To be a leader, one must have relationships with those he leads. That's how one gains loyalty. It's not that he was manipulating any friends; he just put extra effort into showing that he cared, which he did. If Wolf was anything, he was loyal.

Then Wolf heard a commotion from across the yard. A scent drifted to him on the wind that made him look up sharply and stiffen.

Vaguely he noted that Prof. Scott came over and spoke to them. "Get inside the building. Now."

"What's going on?" Kitty asked nervously.

"There's a stray dog on the property, and it is walking strangely. Get inside."

They all looked over and saw it. Kurt immediately BAMFed away. Kitty got up quickly and urged Colossus inside. He had wanted to stay and help.

Scott looked at Pyro and Wolf expectantly.

Pyro looked at him. "A stray dog who is walking strangely? Sounds like Wolf when Logan's through with him."

He expected a growl and a "shut up!" from Wolf, but when he got neither he looked over. Then they both noticed Wolf's odd posture and how his sight was fixed on the stray.

"Wolf?" Pyro asked, concerned.

Wolf didn't respond, but he suddenly changed forms and charged at the newcomer. Dimly he could hear both Pyro and Scott shouting at him, but he ignored them. His attention was elsewhere.

When he was about ten feet from the stray he stopped and changed back to human form. He crouched and issued a low growl.

The dog cowered and became submissive, looking down and tucking tail between legs.

Wolf tilted his head and barked curiously.

The dog lifted the forepaw it had been limping on and whined pitifully.

Wolf gave a low bark and he moved closer to take hold of the paw.

"Wolf, what the h*ll do you think you're doin'? Get your *ss over here now!" Logan sounded furious.

Wolf wasn't concerned. He knew what he was doing.

The paw was wet with blood and saliva. Wolf studied it for a few seconds, prodding the wound with a finger. Soon he found the source of the problem.

"Owowo!" the dog howled as Wolf dug out a thorn that was at least an inch long.

Wolf let go of the paw and nudged the dog reassuringly.

It tested it's paw on the ground, and when it found the pain to be gone it wagged it's tail and panted happily.

Wolf growled at it threateningly once again, and the dog placed it's tail between its legs and bounded away and off of the property.

Wolf grinned and stood up, turning to face the school. He meandered his way over to his team. He was getting a lot of stares, but he didn't mind. He likes attention.

His team was with Logan, who was waiting with arms crossed.

"Problem solved," Wolf said with a smirk, "I don't know what the big deal was!"

"Are you hurt?" Logan asked evenly.

"What? No!" Wolf answered. Why was Logan acting hostile?

"Did it bite you?"

"No! I'm telling you, I had it under cont- Hey!"

Logan grabbed his shoulder and spun him around.

SMACK!

"Ow! What the h*ll?!" Wolf whipped back around and protected his butt with his hands. He was not expecting that! Maybe praise, maybe a thank you, maybe even jealousy, but not that!

"Don't you ever do something so stupid again!" Logan growled.

"But-!"

"No 'but's! That thing could've had rabies, or a million other diseases!"

"Hey, I don't like what you're saying here! So any stray dog that wanders around is automatically a walking disease infestation?!"

"No," Logan said sternly, "But a stray dog who walks that way could be!"

"Hey, you should be thanking me for getting rid of the freakin' problem! Now you don't have to worry about it coming on our territory again!"

"We weren't worried about the dog, Wolf! We were worried about the students' safety!"

"I was perfectly safe!"

"You were ten feet away before you even started talking, Wolf! If it had rabies it could have attacked you at any moment! How is that safe?!"

"I was ready to run if I had to!"

"You moved in closer! You didn't even know if it had rabies or not, and you touched it!"

"He told me he didn't have rabies!"

"So you just believed him?!"

Wolf growled and clenched his fists. Why'd Logan have to make such a big deal out of this?

"Dude…" Pyro suddenly broke in, "Your hand!"

Wolf looked down. His one hand was smeared with blood and saliva from the dog's wound.

"It's nothing," Wolf shrugged, and he started to wipe it on his pants.

Logan grabbed his wrist. "We are going down to Jean's lab and she is going to analyze it for rabies and any other disease she thinks might be there. Then you and I will have a talk."

Wolf swallowed hard.