[--Nov. 1998--]

True to his word, Dakota had taken up watching Kaiden while Slade was at work. After a few weeks, Slade had gotten his shifts changed around so that he was closing. It allowed him to be home while Dakota was in school, and he usually had dinner ready for his son and brother by the time Dakota got there before he'd leave.

But Slade's shift didn't end until 3 AM, so during the week, Dakota had taken up spending the night there. It also gave him a break from Riley, who was getting more aggressive and pushy as he neared the adult rankings.

It'd been about a week since Dakota had settled into the new routine. Slade had left a few hours ago, and Dakota was watching TV. Kaiden had fallen asleep in his playpen, his chew toy still in his mouth, when the front door swung open. Dakota jumped and jerked his head to see Riley and Laird barge into the trailer.

Kaiden grumbled and covered his face with his paws as he rolled over in an attempt to escape the commotion of the older boys while they marched their way into the kitchen.

"Hey, Dakota!" Laird greeted as he trailed behind his friend. Riley was already fishing a few beers out of Slade's fridge for them.

"See? Told you, he don't mind," Riley said as he handed a can to Laird.

Dakota was already off the couch and picked Kaid up out of his playpen and brought him over to the couch. "Why are you here?"

"That sounded a little rude, Dakota," Laird said, snorting. "We're here to keep you company!" the older wolf said, stretching out his arms for emphasis.

"It's rude to take things that aren't yours when you haven't asked permission," Dakota mumbled, eyeing the beer cans before laying Kaiden down on the worn sofa cushions.

"Oh, listen to him!" Riley jeered as he popped the tab on the can in his hand. "You think Slade would say no if we asked? That's right, he wouldn't, because he's a fucking omega." Riley snorted, emphasizing his point by taking a large swig from the can before looking back at Dakota.

"I think all this hanging out with our brother has rubbed off on you," he added, coming toe to toe with his younger brother. "That what you gonna be, huh? A bottom rung wolf like Slade? Or are you gonna grow some balls?" His icy blue eyes were piercing and bore right into Dakota, daring him to make eye contact.

This was his trap. If Dakota looked him in the eye, he'd throttle him for challenging him, and if he looked away it'd only prove his point about Dakota being a submissive wolf. But before Dakota had made up his mind on which way he wanted this to play out, a soft squeak drew their attention down to the floor.

Kaiden was staring up at them with his big, brown eyes and his toy in his mouth. When he noticed that he had Riley and Dakota's attention, his little tail began to wag awkwardly.

"Hn. Slade's little rat is pretty cute," Riley said as he stepped over and picked up Kaiden on his way to the couch.

Dakota was right on Riley's heels. "Don't call him a rat," he said firmly, despite knowing what it could cost him.

"You've become quite the little nursemaid, haven't you, pup?" Laird said, reaching out and ruffling up Dakota's bright, red hair. He'd always been fairly nice to Dakota... at least when Slade was around. "Maybe you could get a job helping the women."

"Hah!" Riley laughed at Laird's comment as he sank into the couch and held Kaiden up in front of him to stare at his tiny nephew. "How bout you? You gonna be a little sub too?" Riley wondered as he stared at the doe-eyed pup. Then, without warning, he felt warmth spread across his shirt and nearly dropped Kaiden as he realized the pup was peeing on him. "Ah, fuck!" He growled. "You little shit!"

Dakota stared in shock for a moment before he nearly doubled over laughing. He had to wrap his arms around his sides just to keep them from feeling like they were going to burst.

Laird let out a deep, raspy belly laugh as well, setting down his beer to keep from spilling it. "Man, the look on your face, Riley."

Embarrassment quickly turned to anger as Riley dropped Kaiden onto the couch and ran to the bathroom. "He's got more balls than his father!" Riley tossed over his shoulder just before leaving their view.

The pup didn't look any worse for wear as his shaking legs fumbled their way across the soft cushions to Dakota. He tried to paw at his young uncle but lacked the stretch and coordination to accomplish the task unassisted.

Dakota wiped a few tears from his eyes and scooped the leggy pup up into his arms, kissing him on the head and whispering praise to him.

"He's probably not wrong," Laird said. "I like Slade, but he's never gonna move up."

"You're wrong." Dakota sat down and positioned his nephew across his lap before picking up the squeaker toy that'd fallen by his feet. "Slade's just too busy to hold a higher rank right now is all..."

Laird smiled and shook his head, then reclaimed his beer. "That's not really how that works."

"You two aren't in the adult ranks yet," Dakota countered. "It's not like you know either."

"Riley will be soon, though." Laird himself was sixteen, so he still had a few years to go before being able to rank up.

"Alright, last questions for the day," Travis said. "That doesn't mean start packing up your desk, Mari," he added as he pointed at Byron's daughter without even glancing in her direction. Maribel paused and put her pencil case back on her desk.

"Ok, so what's the smallest size a pack can be?" Travis asked as he paced in front of the pups and came to seat himself on the edge of his desk. "Zeke," he said, pointing to the pup with his hand raised.

"Five?"

Travis shook his head. "Mari, what do you think?"

"Um, three?"

"Two," Travis corrected. "Even in pairs, you'll have ranks and pack hierarchy. So unless you're a lone wolf, you're a pack. Now, what roles would there be in a two-person pack?" Travis crossed his arms and leaned back a little. "Laird," he pointed his chin to the teenager.

"Alpha and Beta?"

"No, Beta requires at least one wolf above and below them. Dakota, what do you think?" Travis asked as his attention shifted towards him.

Dakota stared back at Travis for a second before looking away and answering, "Alpha and Omega..." It seemed easy for the other pups to always overlook the lowest rank, but thanks to his brothers, it was an impossible position for Dakota to forget.

"Right," Travis said as he got up and went to the chalkboard where all the ranks were listed. "Alpha has no one above them and omega has no one below them. Which means every other rank depends on those two." Travis made a big circle around all the middle rankings and then crossed them all out. "This makes them the most important. Without either one, there is no pack." Travis said as he turned back around to gauge the reaction of the pups, which was a mix of confusion and mild boredom. He looked at the clock and waved a hand. "Alright, you're free to go."

Dakota took his time getting his notebook back in his backpack, and by the time he'd stood and slung the good strap over his shoulder, he was the only one left.

"Do you really think that?" Dakota asked, his gaze once again set on the older wolf.

"I know that," Travis said with a half-smirk.

A small grin tugged at the corner of Dakota's lips as he moved towards the door. "I kinda hope you replace my dad, then."