Chapter 8

Louis POV

"Son, are you awake? Our appointment is in twenty minutes." I rolled over to see it was after ten in the morning. I have never slept that late. I guess I was extremely exhausted last night.

"Give me a few minutes to take care of my hygiene." I got out of bed and rummaged through my drawers to find a pair of basketball shorts and a tee shirt. It took me ten minutes to get ready. Running downstairs, snatching a piece of fruit off the table as we walked out the door. We arrived at the barbershop right on time.

"Good morning, Alphas," the barber said as we entered. My father looked confused, as if another Alpha was on his territory without permission.

"He's not an Alpha," my father corrected, glaring at me. The barber turned his neck in submission.

"My apologies, Alpha and Louis. What can I help you with this morning?" No one wanted to piss my father off. The pack members avoided confrontation at all costs.

"I just want a shape-up, and my curl turned into coils," I described to the head barber. The barber did a fantastic job on my hair. The barber handed me a mirror, looking at my reflection, and I didn't recognize the person looking back at me. That person was full of confidence and determination.

"Can you please take me to get a cellphone? I need a phone to contact you if I'm running late from school." I mustered up the strength to ask him. This conversation could go either way.

"What time is your curfew, and why would you come home that late?" My father questioned me.

"I am a junior in school. No telling what extracurricular activities I might join this year. That's why I need a phone. That way, it's no problem when I come home after my curfew." Trying to stay calm, but he is unreasonable something. My father started debating with me until he caved into my reasoning. I hated having a curfew.

With all his arguing back and forth, he bought Libby and me the latest cell phones. While Libby was at cheer practice, I watched movies until she came home. She taught me how to work my new phone. Even though I have the basic knowledge, technology is ever-changing.

Nonetheless, I didn't understand all those unnecessary apps. We sat on the couch, talking about everything. She even installed a few games she thought I might like and deleted all that unnecessary crap. I played on my phone for a while, trying to get the hang of it. It was pretty entertaining.

"Do you think Beta Anthony or Dad would give us a Sweet 16th Birthday party? It would be so cool to have a party this year," Libby asked.

"I hope not," I answered her honestly. With Libby mentioning a birthday party, my stomach knotted up. I became nauseous. Libby knew I did not see eye to eye with my father most of the time. Let alone being in each other's company for an extended period would be a disaster. Having a birthday party was one thing that I didn't want my father to ruin for her. I was ok not having one. It's just another day.

"Liberty, do not ask him. It is just a terrible idea. I don't fully trust him." Pleading with her. I felt like my words fell upon deaf ears. Libby was disappointed with my reasons that she stormed out of the living room. There were too many hidden dangers. As the future Alpha, I could not put people at risk unnecessarily. It was my job to protect them from my father.

Helping the omegas with dinner, Libby did not say a word to me. We were having dinner with the bare minimum of conversation. My father was observing Libby's behavior and began to question her. As dinner went on, I noticed my father constantly rubbing his temples. I could tell he was getting a headache, and his mood was shifting. The atmosphere in the dining room started changing. It went from happiness to aggression in a matter of seconds. Excusing myself from the table in a hurry, I didn't want to be around just in case Derrick showed up. Derrick could tolerate Libby, but I warned her to be cautious of him. Making a beeline for the upstairs with Libby hot on my heels, we heard growling from the kitchen. I knew Derrick had made his way to the forefront. I'm glad I left when I did. Libby and I decided to have a mini sleepover in my room.

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Grey POV

My head had been hurting all afternoon. I took my medicine and Tylenol to stop this headache. I even tried taking a nap, but nothing seemed to work. When I woke up, it was dinner time. The house smelled good, and the food stench had my stomach growling. During dinner, I listened to them talk about the upcoming school and whatever else came to mind. Libby was saying the bare minimum throughout dinner. "What's wrong, Libby?" I questioned her.

She looked between Louis and me like she was afraid to ask me a question. Why is everyone looking at him for permission? I'm her father and their Alpha, I thought to myself. 

"Can you please give Louis and me a Sweet 16th birthday party this year?" Her voice was shaky. I was speechless that she was asking me to give them one. I did not know what to say. Before I could get the words out of my mouth, I felt a sharp pain across my eye.

The words that came out of my mouth were not my own but Derrick's. "I will think about it." Even though it was not a yes or no, I still had a chance to answer her question at a later time. They had three months left until their birthday.

The dining room went silent. The kids excused themselves from the table; no sooner than I stood up, I was knocked back down by this crippling pain. This migraine was getting the best of me. The room started spinning, and the light was hurting my eyes.

Derrick had found a way to break through the mental barrier.

"Fuck, that hurts," I growl.

"Why is there a wall barrier between us? Nobody cares you were playing daddy to your kids," Derrick snickered. 

"Those are your kids too. You stupid mutt," I yelled, growing tired of his stupidity.

"Libby is my daughter, but Louis is your son. I don't want any parts of him." He admitted in a matter-of-factly voice.

"You cannot pick which twin life you want to be a part of. We created them." Derrick was pissing me off by the second. Having this internal argument was making my headache worse.

"How did you break down the barrier anyway? Since you broke it down, my headache has become a migraine," putting my hands on both sides of my head to relieve the pressure. The throbbing pain caused my eyes to twitch every so often. Derrick was enjoying the pain he had caused.  

"Why is there a wall barrier between us? And to answer your question, I constantly rammed into it until it came down. I've been trying since this afternoon to break the barrier. I was tired of being blocked out." Derrick asked angrily again.

"So that explains why I couldn't get rid of this headache. As for your question, I took some medicine. I was enjoying the quietness. Not some angry wolf commentaries." 

"I'm far from angry." He rejects.

"Do you want to go for a run? I need a break. My migraine has gotten worse, thanks to you." Going for a run always cheers him up. He didn't answer my question before we shifted into a massive brown wolf. He stood as tall as a Central Asian Shepherd dog. 

We scared all the night creatures that lived in the woods. He was running like a freight train while dodging trees effortlessly. Once he was done running freely, we went to the river taking in the night sky. For once, we both were at peace. 

Making our way home, he shifted back into our human form; however, Derrick stayed in control. He watched TV and drank some beer. He was calm and collected. The house was quiet, and I felt safe leaving him in power for a little longer. I don't remember falling asleep, but when I woke up, I was in Libby's bed. 

Please, Moon Goddess, I pray that I didn't hurt my daughter: Derrick, you bastard. You better not have hurt her.

"Libby, where the fuck are you?" I screamed through the house. Doors started opening up to see her and Louis looking at me like I was crazy.

"Why are you screaming my name this early in the morning?" Libby grunted while rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Nevermind, you can go back to sleep." I felt so embarrassed to wake her up in a rude way. I did not know how to explain that I thought Derrick hurt her.

"Why would I hurt her? Wrong twin, you stupid human. It's your son. I will hurt." Derrick disappeared from the forefront of my mind shaking his head.