"Alex!" gasped Aurora, "Are you crazy?"
Alex looked at Aurora calmly, "He's family."
Aurora rolled her eyes and stared at Max, who was now sitting down obediently and staring at Alex.
Kiki pursed her lips.
It seems that Max has accepted Alex as the pack leader for some reason. The way he sat there, quietly and obediently as it stared at Alex indicated this.
This was going to be a huge problem.
Just like what she had said earlier, wolfdogs are very 'pack' oriented. Normally, it would take time for them to recognise and accept their family (the ones who adopted them) as their pack - but in this case, Max had somehow taken Alex in.
What if his parents refused?
What will happen to Max?
Kiki furrowed her eyebrows.
It wasn't the first time that kids from a school trip suddenly developed a desire to adopt a pet, but this was the first time she encountered a kid who was saying it very seriously and determinedly.
Usually, the child would be whining, even throwing a tantrum in wanting to get a pet. This was easily rectified by the teacher-in-charge. From what she could see, this child Alex may not be easily convinced to drop the matter.
Whatever it was, only the teacher-in-charge could decide, so Kiki told them, "Let's see Teacher Alba then, shall we?"
Aurora nodded while Alex shook his head, saying, "I'll stay here. I don't want Max to think I am abandoning him."
Kiki felt a headache coming.
Meanwhile, in the van outside, Zero was rubbing the space between his eyebrows.
Lucka was shaking his head while Edward was laughing.
"Trust Alex to create trouble," Lucka commented.
"Hey, that's not causing trouble!" protested Edward, "He just wants a dog."
Lucka turned to face Edward, "It's a wolfdog, Edward. A wolfdog."
"What?" Edward said, frowning, "It's not aggressive, right? If it was, it wouldn't be in a shelter to be put up for adoption. It would be in a zoo."
"It's not a matter of it being aggressive," Lucka said, "It's the fact that it's not very easy to raise. It's hyperactive, requires lots of activity and exercise. Its diet is also special as it's part wolf. One should not feed it dog food but raw meat."
"Can you imagine Alex being that responsible?" Lucka asked.
Edward nodded seriously.
"He may be temperamental and all," Edward replied, "But he's still Sir's son. No matter how much he fights against it, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."
Lucka shrugged, not convinced.
Lucka was the resident 'animal expert' because that's his weakness. He loves animals and takes their care very seriously. He has rescued many animals and rehomes them, not because he can't afford to take care of them but because he was unable to devote enough time to them.
With his job, he could sometimes be called away for months on end. What sort of parent could he be to do that to them?
Taking on a pet was a huge responsibility. It would be much easier taking care of a cat than a dog, as the former basically took care of itself. You just had to feed it and pay homage to it.
A dog, however, requires more care.
A wolfdog, even more so.
"We'll see," Lucka mumbled.
Zero sighed and called Kyle to update him on the latest development.
✿ Author posts on WN and neovel ✿
Sam raised an eyebrow upon seeing Kyle's face after he put down the phone.
"Something wrong happened at the shelter? What did Alex do?" he asked, pushing his glasses up his nose.
Kyle leaned back in his chair, grinning, "Why am I not surprised that you figured out Alex must have done something."
"Because that's why you hired me in the first place," Sam said seriously, "The way I pay attention to details and analyse people."
"True," Kyle agreed, smiling as he thought of that day so long ago, "Meeting you, and managing to get you, while we were still in secondary school was my fortune."
Sam gave a soft smile, "As was mine."
Then, looking serious again, "So what did Alex do?"
Kyle got up with a sigh, "He wants to adopt a wolfdog."
Sam raised an eyebrow and took out his trusty notebook that had scribbles in his secret code. It contained his observations and things he deemed important.
"Interesting," Sam mumbled, making a few notes under the tab 'Alex', then looked at his watch and continued, "After you get Sayuri's approval, I'll get the necessary items and get the yard ready to receive it. Where do you want to house the wolfdog?"
Kyle rolled his eyes, "Sometimes having you know exactly what I need to do and what needs to be done isn't that fun."
Sam ignored Kyle's mild complaint and waited patiently as Kyle called Sayuri.
He watched as the myriad of expressions flew across Kyle's face as he told his wife about their son's latest fad. It was obvious that Sayuri did not seem keen and Kyle continued to persuade her.
"I get that, Babe, and I agree but don't you think this is … yes, yes but … ah, it's kinda … hmmm," Kyle was saying while rubbing the back of his neck.
Times like this were rare and Sam enjoyed it immensely. To see the overly confident and decisive man who figuratively killed people at the meetings being mild and meek as he seemed to stumble along this time.
When Kyle finally put down the phone, Sam looked at his watch and said, "Hmmm. Fifteen minutes. Sayuri must have been pissed."
Then, with a smirk, Sam asked, "So what do you have to do in return?"
"That's classified," Kyle retorted as he flicked his hand towards Sam.
Sam tilted his head to the right, catching the slim knife that flew beside his head. He returned it back on the desk and Kyle snorted as he picked it back up and slipped it back into its hidden place.
"Not a problem," Sam replied, "I can always ask Sayuri."
With a sigh and a roll of his eyes, Kyle got up and stretched a bit, twisting his waist and neck.
"Well, time to go and douse the fire at the Shelter," Kyle said.
He patted Sam's shoulder as he went by, "Fence out the main area where I normally train Alex. The wolfdog should join in as well. We also need an experienced trainer, who can teach Alex how to train his dog."
Sam nodded.
"The wolfdog is to remain outside, as we do have cats in the house," Kyle said as he reached the door.
He stopped, turned, and said, "You know, I've always wanted a dog. Either a Siberian Husky or a German Shepherd. I guess Alex takes after me a bit in that - though he went straight to a wolfdog, of all things."
Sam pushed his glasses up his nose and noted, "Be careful that Alex doesn't hear you say that. He might decide not to adopt the wolfdog after all."
Kyle's laughter rang in the office as he left.
Seeing him leave, Sam shook his head and sighed as he thought about Alex.
If Alex knew just how much Kyle did for him behind the scenes, would his behaviour be any better? Thinking about it as he headed out, Sam made a few more notes of observation and thoughts in his little book.
Meanwhile, back at the Shelter, Teacher Alba really was getting a headache.
Alex was quite adamant at adopting the wolfdog and no amount of talking could dissuade him. The last thing Alba wanted to do was contact the parent because that was only done in a case of an emergency.
Asking them permission to adopt a wolfdog did not fall in that category.
"Alex," Teacher Alba was saying, "You can't adopt one now. You can go home and discuss it with your parent first."
Alex shook his head and pointed at Max, "If I don't take him home now, he's going to think I abandoned him."
"That's not how it works, Alex," Kiki said, "The bonding would come from interaction and being together. He does not regard you as part of his pack yet."
"He does too," Alex said, standing there firmly, "I am his pack leader."
It was the staring contest from earlier.
Though it was to say 'staring contest', it was, in reality, one party asserting dominance over the other. Max had instinctively felt Alex making a claim and he had reacted by growling and resisting.
Though the growling was low and hardly seen, due to the fact that Alex was not making any sound. Max felt that making such sounds in order to show his dominance was weak since Alex could suppress him simply by glaring at him.
So Max tried to do the same.
As a result, a 'staring' contest.
In the end, Max lost and succumbed, recognising Alex as his Leader.
As if to prove his words, Alex gestured at Max, who came closer to the glass panel and howled.
Teacher Alba and Kiki were stunned.