Chapter 9

Louis POV

I slept peacefully last night. We woke up to my father screaming Libby's name. "What's his problem now?" Libby shrugged her shoulders and left my room. It was the last day of summer break; Libby and I settled on spending it at the lake together. It was our last day to be ourselves before she became the popular kid and me a reject. This year is going to be different because I feel different. I'm not as depressed anymore, and I stopped taking my depression medicine at camp. Everyone was at the lake today having parties.

"Louis, let me know if you want to leave. There are a lot of people here today." Libby express.

"It's fine for now. I don't mind hanging around people. It will help with my social skills."

She laughed at me. Plus, I knew she didn't want to leave the lake. We found a spot in the shady area. All eyes were on us. Most of the younger generation knew Libby was the Alpha's daughter, but who was I? I never hung out with people except for Beta Anthony. My father kept me hidden from the pack for his enjoyment.

The young males were glaring at me, and the young ladies were mesmerized by me. It felt weird having this much attention on me. Is this what the first day of school is going to be like? People want to know who I am, even though I have lived here my entire life. Well, I wouldn't consider the last five years living; more like surviving. 

After clearing my head, I got into the lake and swam around. The water was relaxing. Libby had left me to go hang out with her friends. While swimming, my sister, her best friend Alexis, and Trevor came near me to hang out. We played volleyball, dodgeball, and corn hole. It was a great day, after all. A few of her friends gave me their phone numbers. I was ecstatic to know these young ladies thought I was attractive. Some guys asked me if we could hang out again to play basketball or football. I took their numbers and nodded in agreement to hang out again.

On our way home, Libby and I stopped by our mother's grave to see her. It was our tradition to see her before the first day and to let her know we were ready to start the new school year right. Walking through the meadow, a few butterflies circled us. A butterfly landed on my nose then it went to Libby's nose. Libby was convinced it was our mother spirit kissing us. I couldn't agree more with her. It felt like our mother heard us talking to her and wanted to make her presence known. We missed her terribly. Nothing can replace a mother's love in your heart. Kim tried, but it wasn't the same feeling.

We returned home in enough time to get showers and eat dinner. Tonight's dinner was a little different. Beta Anthony and his mate Kim joined us. All the high-ranking wolves wanted to wish us a happy first day of school. The house's atmosphere was joyful, with no hint of deceit. We watched movies until it was time for bed. I had to wake up earlier than Libby to train with Beta Anthony before school. 

I kept tossing and turning in the middle of the night. The first day of school, jitters were depriving me of sleep; rather than laying there restless, I got up to go to the kitchen for a midnight snack. On my way back to my room, I saw my dad talking to himself, or at least I thought it was him. The aura around him was dark and unstable. I knew it was Derrick.

Fuck, why did I need to get a midnight snack? I thought to myself. I did not want to go to school on my first day with bruises. I snuck out of the house instead of running into that psychopath. I headed to the one place I knew I was safe, Beta Anthony's house. There was no need to knock on the door. He was already sitting on the porch. 

"Why are you on the porch this time of night," I asked him. 

"Your father's aura was off, and I knew it was a matter of time before you showed up or he fell asleep. He's distressed." Beta Anthony disclosed.

"So you're telling me you stay up most of the night watching over my father and me," I was curious to know why.

"It's all a part of the Beta's responsibility to protect the Alphas."

"Thank you for keeping us safe and being a great friend. I'm going to crash in your guest room until it's time for training."

Four hours later, we were up again training. My moves were becoming flawless, and my strength was growing. I couldn't be more proud of learning new techniques during summer camp. Alpha camp immensely helped with my reflexes, combatant skills, and strategies. After our three-mile run, we headed our separate ways to start our Monday. 

I reached home around seven o'clock to find my dad still sleeping. I approached him carefully with coffee in my hand to start his day. However, he had another migraine and wanted to sleep longer. Derrick must've kept him up all night. I gave him a thumbs-up and left. 

Beta Anthony and Kim decided to take us to school. They have been taking us to school for the last five years. This year was going to be no different.

"Let's get this school year started. I had a lot to look forward to this school year." Libby babbled, making our way to the gym to pick up our school schedule. Several kids from the lake joined us. 

My sister squealed when she saw we had our first and last class periods together. I was thrilled to share my day with her. After a short time of waiting in line to get our Chromebook, we went to math. Our math teacher Mrs. Jones was strict. If you were late to class, you had detention. Since it was the first day, she let us pick our seats. Libby, Alexis, Trevor, and I sat at the same table. They seemed like a fun bunch of people, so I did not mind it too much.

My second period was reading. I noticed Trevor was also in this class with me. We talked for the majority of the course. The teacher was going over the introduction of the class.

"Trevor, what's your next class?" I asked him excitedly. It was fantastic to have a friend.

"I have history class," he happily told me.

"Awesome, we can walk together. We can compare our schedules to see if we have more classes together."

When we entered history class, he introduced me to his other friends, John and Blake. You could tell these boys were troublemakers. They were known as the class clowns. There was never a dull moment in class sitting next to them. They always had something slick to say out of their mouths.

All of us made our way to the cafeteria from different directions. Libby and Alexis were already sitting at a table. I went to sit by myself as I had done for years. I was in my own world until everyone came to sit with me.

"Why are you sitting by yourself?" Alexis asked.

"You could have sat with us at the other table." Libby pouted. 

I was dumbstruck by all their questions that I did not know what to say. I just shrugged my shoulders and kept eating. 

"This table is where that scary emo boy used to sit. I wonder what happened to him." Trevor shook his head as if it was his worst nightmare. 

Was I that scary all those years ago? Libby looked at me; I knew she wanted me to tell them that kid was me. "That kid is me," I mumbled, a little worried that they would run away from me. 

"Stop playing with us," they both said simultaneously.

"Next, you're going to tell us you and Liberty are brothers and sisters," they laughed.

"I'm dead serious; I'm that emo kid. Not only are Liberty and I siblings, but we're twins,'' I said matter-of-factly. 

" '_' "

" '_' "

Before they had a chance to respond, the lunch bell rang. Alexis asked Libby why she had never told anyone I was her brother. Libby politely told her it was my choice. Following behind them, the girls went to history class, and I went to the gym with Trevor. 

The gym was the size of a stadium. It was divided into four different sections. The first section was hand-to-hand combat. The second section was your typical weight room. The third section was the weapon room we got to explore this year. The fourth section was the regular gym. The coach told us we must participate in two sports this year. I chose track n field and wrestling. I wouldn't say I liked going to the gym class after lunch. It didn't give my food enough time to digest.

My final class of the day was Driver Ed with Libby. We agreed to partner up since it was easier to learn how to drive at school and home. Before we could get behind the car's wheel, we had to pass the classroom portion. This was my second most accessible class of the day. I loved how my schedule worked out. I had friends in all my classes; no one was scared to talk to me. The prick who used to bully me even wanted to be my friend.

As the end of the day approached, I was glad to be going home. I was overwhelmed by the constant attention I was receiving. The bell rang, and we were out the door fast as lightning. We stood around waiting for Beta Anthony to pick us up; instead, our father called our names. 

Why was he not here? Where is Beta Anthony? I guess I'll go by his house or call him later about my day. I thought to myself. We rushed over to our father and left school. He took us straight home. As we exited the car, he held me back and told Libby to go in the house, and we would be right there. 

I looked at my father's eyes and noticed they were black and not brown. I knew it was a matter of time before Derrick hunted me down. It's been almost two months without any physical altercation.

"Hello Derrick, it's been a while. What do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" I say in a sarcastic tone. 

"You little shit. I was checking to see how your wounds have healed up and If I needed to make a new one," Derrick replied in a sadistic voice.

"I'm sorry, Derrick, but I'm not in the mood to deal with you. I did nothing to piss you off and followed every rule you gave me. Now if you are looking to pick a fight, you will have to find someone else." I was not going to let him intimidate me anymore.

He was laughing at me. "I can smell your fear. Stop trying to play tough, you little shit." Derrick punched me right in the center of the chest. It took me a second to catch my breath. Wow, that punch hurt. I endure a few more punches. I will need to train harder to survive more hits like this without caving. I was glad he hit me in places where my clothes would cover any bruises.

After getting myself together, I looked him in the eye.

"Give my father back control now. I don't have time to deal with your bullshit. Maybe some other day." I yelled at him.

"That day might come sooner than later, you little shit," his brutal glare fell upon me.

"It's a promise I intend to keep." Shoulder checked him as I walked into the house.