Chapter 3 Where It Started

January 16, 1985.

As much as I tried, I couldn't bring myself to sleep for more than five minutes. I tried several times but I ended up tossing and turning on my bed. I even resorted to counting the number of squares on my ceiling. By the time I got to the 265th square, I accepted that there was no way I would be able to bring myself to sleep. I ended up practicing my martial arts skills to pass time. As much as I wanted to change into my wolf form and go on a run, a father would skin me for breakfast if he ever got wind of it.

I was only hoping I wouldn't look like someone who was sleep-starved when morning came. It would ruin my plans and that wasn't my goal. My goal for tomorrow was to look perfect. I was fully aware that perfection doesn't exist, but I was aiming for something close to it. Today was the day I've always silently prayed to the moon goddess and my dreams were about to be a reality.

I stretched out on the bed and pushed the covers off my body, just as my alarm rang, it was pointless anyways, I had no use for it. I was always up before it rang. I pushed the black curtains to the side as the rays of the morning sun found their way into the room. Even though I had enough time to kill, I skipped into the bathroom. I was still feeling the excitement from yesterday when I got the news. Within a short time, I was done with all I had to do inside the bathroom and I made it back to my room and stood in front of my large closet. I always had an outfit ready at the get-go, but today was different. It wasn't like any other day, I found myself contemplating between plain trousers and a cashmere sweater or denim jeans and a basic white tee.

I was aiming for something close to perfection and I needed to get everything right or my plan would go up in smoke, I couldn't even begin to fathom that even happening.

"You're going to be late." My chef calls out from the kitchen where I'm sure he would be, he's usually the only one home whenever it was a work day for the pack. My father had an uncanny habit of working everybody into the ground, he says it's for character development. I glance at the clock on my marble nightstand, 7:40 AM. He was right on time, I needed to leave the house in five minutes if I planned to get to school early and rehearse my lines. My friends would tease me endlessly if they ever found out that the notorious playboy, Logan Zorander was rehearsing pickup lines. But, they wouldn't understand, it was beyond trying to get a girl into bed, his reputation and stance as the next Alpha of the famed Zorander pack depended on the success of this mission.

"I'll be out in a minute," I yelled out, so he would be able to hear me. I took one last long look at my mirror, I cleaned up to the best of my abilities and I was confident of getting this over the line. Very few girls could resist my charm on the first try but they eventually succumbed.

I shook off the jitters as I made my way downstairs. But it was hard to ignore. When you've spent all of your life trying to get your father to acknowledge your presence and efforts, you would grab anything he throws your way with both hands no matter how small it might seem at that moment.

My father was a very powerful man, authority exuded him and he dominated every room which he walked into, even other alphas recognized his authority despite being of the same rank as he was. I had become used to the nervousness he made me feel anytime he walked into a room where I was present, I'm used to mixing up my words anytime he speaks to me directly and not through a third party.

Imagine my surprise when he vehemently refused the advice from his Beta and gave me this task along with his blessings and a command to make the family name proud. That was the proudest moment of my life yet, getting my father to acknowledge me. I silently vowed not to fail him no matter the circumstance.

***

The air smelt nice despite the sleety rain that fell impartially on the cars in the parking lot and on the high-rise building in front of me. St. Jude's High School was founded in 1948 by a group of British expatriates, to provide education of equivalent standard to that obtains in the United Kingdom before it eventually switched to the curriculum used in the United States a few decades later. I shivered as I wrapped my arms around my waist, I wasn't feeling cold, I never did. I had just always hated the cold weather, it made me feel nauseous now and then. I fervently prayed that this year would be an exception. I brought out a cigarette from my backpack and lit one. Smoking was prohibited on the school grounds, but I had a habit of breaking school rules and since I couldn't get kicked out of school due to my status as Alpha Raymond's son, I was pretty much allowed to do whatever I pleased. Besides, my father was the largest donor to the school, he always had been.

I took a long drag of my cigarette as I watched her alight from the car. I quickly brought out my phone and stared at the picture on the screen, it was a bit blurry but it was her quite alright. I swiped to a much clearer one and took in every inch of her face.

I lifted my head at the same time a limousine stopped a few meters away from where I parked. I instantly recognized it. The limousine was part of the Goretti family signature, you would rarely see a Goretti in anything else. I watched as three teenagers alighted from the car, almost immediately, the boys took off, leaving just her standing there momentarily.

For a few seconds, my mouth hung open before I recovered and snapped them shut as fast as I could. She was way beyond what I had been expecting, the pictures on my phone didn't do her justice.

I wondered why I hadn't seen her before or heard anything about her from my notorious friends. I had heard all about her brother's reputation but never about her. I could understand why daughters of powerful alphas were protected even more than the firstborn sons of the alphas. If she had stayed under the radar for this long, it was because everyone feared crossing her in order not to incur the wrath of her father.

There were very few families ranked about the Goretti's in the entire country and mine was amongst the selected few.

I wasn't any ordinary wolf, I was the next alpha of the biggest wolf pack in the city and I feared no one.