October 20th
Cato’s point of view
I knocked gently on Lili’s door. Her snivels silenced and there were a few moments before she said anything.
“Come in,” she called.
Having never seen her cry, I had no idea what to say when I saw her tear-stained cheeks. She stood by the window, watching the soldiers milling on our drive, facing out into the forest for any movement.
“We’re safe. He’s gone.”
I stood next to her and together we watched the soldiers.
“Who was he?” she asked, eventually.
“We don’t know. We didn’t get the chance to get it out of him.”
She sighed and pressed her forehead on the window.
“I’m sorry. I panicked and forgot everything you taught me.”
I put my hand on her shoulder, “It’s not your fault. He had your arms pinned and we hadn’t got to kicks yet.”
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October 21stLili’s point of viewFran, Marie and I usually walked to middle school together alone. But the morning after I was attacked in the forest, Mom came with us, along with three massive Stella soldiers.“How are we supposed to explain this to our friends?” I asked, as I looked across at Paulo, Mario and Gianni.They wore the Stella soldier uniform: black from head to toe and big combat boots.“You won’t notice us,” Paulo said, “We’ll be close by if anything happens.”“Maybe plain clothes may have been a plan?”“If anyone comes near you girls, we want them to know you aren’t unprotected. Any wolf should recognise the uniform and any human will-”“Think you’re a terrorist?”“Lili,” Mom scolded, “Until we figure out what happened yesterday, Dad isn’t taking any chances. So check i
October 21stLeo’s point of view“The same markings,” I said, crouched on the ground in a prison cell where the second man to attack Lili lay chained and unconscious.He’d been stripped of his shirt, revealing black tattoos etched over his body, identical to last night’s attacker and the one posing as the school nurse.“Have we got photos?” I asked Blair, who stood with his arms folded, staring at the man.“The tech team are running them through the database to see if anything flags up, but I doubt it. I’ve seen nothing like this before.”I sighed.“A new enemy. Just what we need two months before Cato is Alpha. We have enough trouble with the old ones.”“At least whoever is behind this isn’t very smart. Sending single men to attack Lili. And while she was with Cato?”“Either that or they’re warming up...&rdqu
November 20th - one month before Cato becomes AlphaLeo’s point of viewI sat in my office staring out of the window. The day was crisp and bitter, but the sun shone through the gaps in the trees, casting glorious columns of light. Sweet trills of birds filled the morning air, and the branches rustled in the gentle breeze.Everything was perfect.Too perfect.The door to my office opened and Ella walked in, holding a steaming mug of coffee.“Here,” she said, resting it on my desk beside me.I sighed and pulled her onto my lap, “Thank you, love.”She ran her finger along my cheek, “You’re thinking about it again, aren’t you?”“Two connected attacks and then nothing for a month,” I said, “Problems like that never sort themselves out.”“The kids are pestering to go out again,” she said, “Zac and Stef are d
November 20thLeo’s point of viewThe second Cato got home from school, I called him into my office. He stood at the door, his skin pale, his eyes heavy and his shoulders sloped.“Sit down,” I said, “We need to have a serious conversation.”He took a sharp breath and turned away.“Cato, it wasn’t an offer. Sit down. We can’t avoid this anymore.”For a moment, he stood in the doorway before he dropped his rucksack on the floor and sloped into the chair in front of my desk.“Whoever was behind last month’s attacks, has backed off.”He nodded, “Good.”“Not good,” I said, “He’s backed off because he’s waiting until you are Alpha. Whatever he wants, he’s decided getting it through you is his best bet. I don’t know how or why yet.”Cato sunk into his chair.“He&rsquo
November 20thCato’s point of viewThat night, I met Elias in the forest.“Why the fuck have you dragged me out this late?” he asked as I approached.“To celebrate.”“Celebrate what?”“You spending my entire Alphaship by my side... as my Beta.”His lips cracked into a smile. “You’re joking?”I shook my head.He tackled me to the floor and ruffled my hair as I laughed, “Me? How on earth did your Dad agree to that?”“Oh, it took some persuading.”“Well,Alpha,” he said with a nod. “It’s an honour.”“It means in four weeks, we both have to step the fuck up,” I said, shoving him off me and sitting up. “We’ll be in charge of this entire fucking pack.”“Here we go again,” he sighed. “Stop panicking about
November 27th - three weeks before Cato becomes AlphaElias’s point of view“And that, everyone, is the existential reasoning behind normalising saying ‘fuck’ in the classroom,” I said after reaching the last slide of my presentation.I gazed out over the class of grins and smirks before turning to my silent philosophy teacher.“Thank you, Elias,” he said, “Very... convincing.”“Go on then, Sir,” I urged, “Say it. Or will you let the societal pressure to follow meaningless rules stop you from saying a one-syllable word? A simple sound produced from moving the muscles in your mouth as you expel air. You’re that weak? Next you’ll be working a meaningless 9-5 in a meaningless school teaching other meaningless biological entities that everything is meaningless.”To his great relief, the bell rang. He sighed and picked up his pen.“I
December 19th - eighteen hours before Cato becomes AlphaLeo’s point of viewI knocked on Cato’s door after getting off the phone with Haden. It had been three weeks since anyone had seen Elias. At first, he’d been texting Lia and Cato every few days, telling her he’s safe and not to worry. But it had been ten days since she last heard from him. We’d been tracing his phone to somewhere in Canada, but the signal disappeared ten days ago too.With no sign of him anywhere, we all feared the worst.Cato was standing by his window, staring into the dark forest.“Still nothing, kiddo,” I said, “I’m sorry.”“He’ll be here, Dad,” Cato said, “I know he will.”“Don’t you think we would have had a call? A text? A letter?”He shook his head, “Eleonora said he has to do something and then he’ll be back. He plann
Ten days ago...Elias’s point of viewThe bus left me in the middle of Vermont’s most remote forest.I’d been travelling for eleven days, avoiding towns and main roads so Alpha Loren couldn’t track me. I only turned my phone on to text home when I could get a fast ride away from where the signal would trace to, and every time I rode the bus or train, I covered my face with my hoody.My plan was against Cato’s wishes. The Alpha and Luna would never allow it either. But this is what Cato needed, and I couldn’t let them stop me.I glanced around. That was the final bus I needed to take, meaning my destination was a short walk away, yet there was nothing except a rusty bus stop sign and trees for miles. But the coordinates led me here. This had to be it. So taking a deep breath, I stepped off the single-track road and headed West.The trees loomed over me, casting distorted, shadowy shapes on the ground