September 4th - two-and-a-half months before Cato becomes AlphaElla’s point of viewWhen Cato got home from school, he kissed my cheek, dumped his shoes and ran straight upstairs. I didn’t hear from him all evening until dinner, where he ate fast, washed the dishes and disappeared off again. As I was carrying Ana to bed, I passed the open door of the library. In the corner of my eye, I caught him standing in front of the shelves, running his fingers along the books.“Right, who are you and what have you done with my son?” I asked, “Since when have you been into reading?”He looked up, “I’m reading books about the pack.”I rearranged Ana into one arm as I reached up to the bookshelf.“Try this one next.”It was a book written by me fifteen years ago now. I’d created an extensive list of everything that needed to change in the pack and how I would work a

September 7thCato’s point of viewAs I ate my dinner, I kept glancing over at Marie. She was unusually quiet and hadn’t looked up all mealtime.“How was your date, Marie?” I asked.Dad’s head snapped up. He looked silently from me to Marie, raising an eyebrow.“Playdate,” Mom said quickly.“With a boy…”“A boy?” Dad questioned, “Well, Marie. How was it?”She gave our Dad a meek smile.“It was nice.”“Is Teddy your boyfriend now?” I asked.Dad choked on his broccoli.“Boyfriend?”Mom put her hand on his and squeezed gently.“No,” Marie said.“Good,” Dad grunted, “And you’re too young to be going on dates.”“Leo, they hung at the park after school,” Mom said, “Totally harmless.”

September 11thCato’s point of viewThat weekend, it was Jessica’s 17th birthday. It, unfortunately, fell on a Saturday, meaning seeing her wouldn’t be as easy as a school day. She was still strictly forbidden from seeing me, but that wouldn’t stop me. From the grocery store, I bought the reddest strawberries I could find, chocolates and a bag of carrot flavoured chips (her favourite bizarrely).It was early September and just about warm enough for a midnight picnic, so I grabbed candles and a flashlight from the basement before raiding my parents’ wine collection. As I picked up a bottle, the light to the basement flickered on. I tucked the bottle behind my back and smiled innocently at my Dad who was standing at the top of the basement stairs.“What are you doing?”“Uh... it’s Jess’s birthday and I’m taking her out for a picnic so I needed candles and a flashlight,&rdquo

September 12thLeo’s point of viewThe front door slammed. Cato.I left my office and came into the hall where I found him, angrily flinging off his shoes.“How did it go?” I asked.“It was the best night of my life. Then her Dad found me in her room this morning and lost his shit.”He kept his head down as he passed me to the stairs. I put my hand in front of him and grabbed his chin, lifting his head. Around his eye was a dark, swollen bruise.I clenched my jaw.“Did he do that to you?”Cato nodded, “He hates me.”“And what did you do?”“I shoved him, but then I had to leave. I didn’t trust myself to do anything without losing it.”I nodded. I was glad to see Cato had control, but I can’t let someone hurt and disrespect my son and get away with it.“Leave this with me

September 12thCato’s point of viewI stood underneath Elias’s window, throwing tiny pebbles at the glass. The light flickered on and his face appeared.“What do you want?” he whispered, after opening the window a crack.I lifted the bottle of whiskey and his face lit up. He climbed onto the window ledge, scaling down the gutter and swinging from a tree to the ground.“Where did you get that?” he asked as I swigged the whiskey and handed him the bottle.“My basement. Ana was having a tantrum. It was too easy to sneak down there, grab this, and get here. Our uncles also came over earlier and I snuck a joint from Marco’s jacket.”He took a drink of the whiskey and grimaced, “Strong.”“Just what I need tonight. Jess left.”“She left?”“Her family has left the pack. I’ve lost her.”Elias handed