WHO MY DAD WAS

Lately, it had come to my attention that my good ol' dad had a lot of secrets, and for some reason, I had lived almost all my life oblivious to them until this year.

But no matter what I found - whether it was the hidden passages under our home, or the true power of the Part A and Part B of our routine warrior drill, or that I was dropped on my head... I never once blamed or doubted my Dad. I mean, I knew this man all my life. I rode on his broad shoulders when I was small - and on his bike too (which in hindsight might not have been his best idea). If you asked me, I'd say I probably knew more secrets than my Mum.

It wasn't even as if I thought my Dad was keeping secrets from me on purpose. I just never asked, anyway it was all in the past. Even if anyone said anything differently, it would be obvious to me that they just didn't know him like I did.

But what if my Dad turned out to be a completely different man than the one I assumed I knew?

I mean, never mind the dapper persona that had recently surfaced since he ran out to lead the rogue war, it still occasionally popped out since then, but I imagined that was just how Dad was in his younger days. Maybe that was the standard of cool back when old people were cool. I wouldn't know.

Like whatever, it was still my Dad under the brief bouts of dapperness. The thinking frown would eventually settle back in place, as would the zen words of wisdom, and every now and then his large hand would rest on my head, just like when I was a puppy. And he would be my Dad again, the Alpha of our pack and the hero of my very normal life.

He was the man who sat behind his large desk on a daily basis, grinding though the paperwork, sitting through long meetings, getting home in time for dinner, and everything else he did to keep Night Leaf and our family happy, safe, and provided for.

I had never ever given it much thought. I wasn't even a little curious about the man also known as the Father of Modern Lycan Education, the Mad Maverick of the Green Packlands, the former Alpha of the Night Forest Pack who abdicated his position for the far away wild lands on the other end of the continent.

Way before the train lines came to this corner of our continent . There weren't super expressways back then either and driving from one Colored Packland to the other would actually take days instead of a little over an hour.

Back then, the Green Packlands were just wild wastelands, too far away from civilization to be bothered with it, too close to the Warlock Lands to be safe even if you were interested, just at the edge of where the plains met the Colored Mountains, which was shrouded by such a thick magic that it couldn't be probed by technology. Wolves who ventured to seek out the legendary Colored Mountains either came back with crazy tales or not at all.

This was where once upon a time, far, far, away... Night Leaf began.

And now... We had roads and a city, we had Gate City Station and connections into the every super expressway. Running water, electricity, gas, and high speed internet were common household expectations in every city building and most homes here.

New Leaf Academy was #2 in the Lycan Education Listings, and always in the top 10 in the entire continent rankings. Gate City College ranked top 5, it's business school ranked #3, every year. Our Gate City Hospital was touted as "world class" and the healthcare model around the continent. This was largely due to the Lorents - particularly Alpha James' work in building up the Lorent's name to be synonymous to the best medical practices and most advanced research.

But the public education system which arose from the debris of the great war, not just here but around the continent was largely credited to Dad. It was his pet project that went all the way back to his teenage years. (what the hell was I doing with my teenage years?)

It had started with a fundraiser, for his highschool because the students were fed up with tiny desks shared with the elementary school classrooms.

But one thing led to another, a system to share used textbooks, a library that remained open till 9.30pm, standardized tests, syllabus, and teachers salaries, further training and conferences, exchange programs with other schools... One thing led to another.

"The world just happened to be ready for change." Dad said. It was a student led movement, with a few passionate teachers in the background empowering and advising them. I mean, these high school kids pretty much revolutionized their education system while studying in it.

But it was just after the Great War and phoenixes liked to appear from such ashes. Now... Not so much. Maybe it's like home grown veggies, if you grew your own school, you'd appreciate it more.

Dad ran out with a dream. His Luna and wolves followed him because he was their Alpha. Night Leaf was his sandbox. He built his dream school - the one he wished he had when he was a student. It was called New Leaf Academy because every student had the capability of turning a new leaf towards a better future for themselves and their families.

Yeah, Dad had always been idealistic.

He was also very modest. In one of the rare interviews he gave, he had answered, "I was just a young wolf who happened to be running in the right direction at the right time."

From the very beginning, he was hailed as a leader that ran beyond his time... but the reputation was also short lived. The moment he had run out to the Green Packlands, the world changed its mind about him.

He became the Mad Maverick and the example of how the brightest stars fell first, the continent's trail blazer had burned too brightly and crash landed to his doom... deep into the darkness of the wilderness. There were many rumors.

Even though Dad was the one who left on his own accord, many believed he was kicked out by his family. Something must have happened that forced him to abdicate. Why else would such a promising young alpha leave his inheritance and what was arguably the oldest and richest pack.

It didn't help when he "picked up" Mimi and Alpha Baby Jude shortly after. Mum had to bear with the rumors for many years in our Original Timeline because of Dad's act of kindness.

Night Leaf's neighbors didn't help with our reputation. To be fair, it wasn't really their fault. It wasn't so much that they slandered Dad than they dragged Dad down simply by association. We had shady neighbors.

The shadiest was the Lorent Pack. Today they were recognized by their long trains of white cars, light colored suits and brilliant bling. A wealthy and cultured pack with the largest proportion of healers in our continent, backed by its unparalleled medical and pharmaceutical Lorent Conglomerate. A long time ago, when mothers told their pups that they would be kidnapped to a dark and Faraway place for laboratory experiments if they were naughty, they were talking about the Lorents.

It was hard to believe that when Alpha James first stepped into the Alpha Office, the Lorent Pack was more sinister than stalwart, and Alpha James took the first decade just struggling not to be engulfed by the consequences of his father's despotic reign.

See, while his mother had ensured their pack's wealth through the preservation of traditional lycan jewelry craft, fine arts… okay, that was the official bull. The truth was, she invested in gold and precious metals. Hahaha, as if artists would be able to pay the bills. Anyway, the Lorents had always been well heeled - at least until Beta Lorent hollowed the pack out. He was a madman.

Their dad was also a madman. Alpha James Lorent the First, invested in healing R&D, which resulted in some rather gruesome discoveries and a host of dark tales of underground laboratories. I think the phrase "even the moon has a dark side" and all its related dark healer quotes became popularized by the LNC due to the Lorents.

Anyway, their image was finally cleaned up with an army of PR consultants and many generous donations to charitable causes.

Our other neighbor, Morning Light, wasn't shady in a too many hooligans in the same pack kind of way. If you heard someone say, "The Green Packlands is full of trash wolves." They were talking about Morning Light.

Alpha Daniel was a good friend of Dad's. They met as youths in Black Forest University. Because both alphas were dark haired and usually dressed casually, they were often confused.

Alpha Daniel was pretty much kicked out of his own pack at around the same time Dad left his, which was probably the inspiration for the rumor that Dad was kicked out too.

Beta Lucas assured me that Alpha Daniel was definitely kicked out though. There was no mistake behind that, "Hoo boy, that guy got it coming to him."

Alpha Daniel was proud, hot headed, outspoken, and impulsive. (According to Beta Lucas, those were also his strong points.) Such a character naturally would come into heated exchanges with anyone with a different opinion - which turned out to happen a whole lot in reality.

He got so mad one day that he took up the offer from Black Forest to go become a young alpha leader there. They would appreciate his talent. They would groom him and who knows? Perhaps one day he would also sit at the round table and be one of the 12 Major Alphas who would rule the entire Black Packlands. To hell with his small home pack.

To cut a long story short, he argued with everyone at Black Forest, got kicked back home, but when he returned he was told they no longer required his leadership. His younger brother was just mending the broken relationships he left in his wake and nobody wanted to see all the good work go down the drain.

Their Alpha Father told him in no uncertain terms to leave, "Go out and get some experience."

He was furious at their betrayal, but too proud to beg. Only his Luna and his long suffering Beta Gerald followed him out. Alpha Daniel vowed to establish his own pack, one that would rival his home pack in every way.

Dad had tried to help his old friend see reason, but Alpha Daniel was very sure that it wasn't his fault. He was the victim.

Seeing that reconciliation was impossible, Dad decided to help in a more practical way, "I've recently acquired land titles in the Green Packlands. I'll sell some to you."

"Huh! The Green Packlands! What good could come from there?" Alpha Daniel felt it was below him. He also didn't have any money to actually purchase the land - even at cost.

That was how Dad started "leasing" land to other Alphas. Although leasing land and space was a rather common business practice, it was a radical idea when they applied it to packlands. The novel idea came from Beta Gerald though.

"Hoo man," Beta Lucas had often said, "Without Gerald, that Alpha Daniel wouldn't even be able to cough up enough money for his next meal."

Alpha Daniel wasn't the most financial savvy wolf. He was the kind who would pay for the drinks as long as he had the cash in his pockets - even if that cash was supposed to be his University tuition fees. That was usually enough to pick up the tab for the whole club for one night. Beta Lucas fondly remembered those good old days.

Maybe the reason why Beta Gerald became such a good businessman was because he needed to support his alpha. #betalife.

Alpha Daniel chose and named Morning Light because the light of the morning sun was beautiful when he saw it. It was love at first sight.

Dad suggested another two plots of land - Morning Light sat alongside two troublesome borders. On one side was the Warlock Lands, and adjacent to it, No Man's Land where a new Vampire Coven and several warring minor packs dwelled.

But it was love at first sight.

Dad tried again to dissuade his friend. It was also too close to Night Leaf and Dad would have preferred more space around his own town.

But it was love at first sight.

And also, Alpha Daniel had a stubborn streak and was hard to reason with. So for the sake of friendship, Dad decided to leave it at that.

Dad did feel a little bad about using his friend's pack as a physical barrier to the rogues that frequently slipped in, but luckily he had Beta Lucas to remind him that Alpha Daniel was the one who insisted to putting his pack where it was.

Love at first sight was a dangerous trap.