THE OTHER ALPHA HEIR

(TIMELINE 3, FIRST YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL, CONTINUED)

We rescued Ki this year too - and were now living in the glorious era of After Ki where our bedsheets matched and our thread count could compete with the award-winning Langston Hotels. But HOW we saved Ki was a very different story… basically, because just like how Roy was still with us, Alpha Daniel and his Luna were still with Morning Light.

Because Alpha Daniel and his Luna were still alive in Timeline 3, Morning Light continued in its old ways under his leadership. I'm just going to file this under another example of what Dad felt was "just as it should be."

Beta Gerald continued as Alpha Daniel's faithful beta... which included the Langston 1 and 2 because the things I heard about Alpha Daniel in our original timeline was right... he wasn't the best at finances so it was up to Beta Gerald to find the money to pay for the pack's annual tribute (aka rent) and all the other things packs needed to pay for... like warrior salaries, supplies, loans... because Morning Light had a lot of loans to pay. 

Morning Light books were always in the red and Beta Gerald was the go to "no interest loan" guy. It got to the point where Beta Gerald would have to come over to Dad's office to sign off a waiver at the beginning of each accounting year to say he would not be collecting on the debt that year so that Morning Light could still be considered "liquid" (which was good) and not at risk of "liquidation" (which was bad).

Since Alpha Daniel and his Luna, it was not surprising that they had a son too. The Young Alpha Machete. Matthew really, but Mac hated that name cos he ain't no nerd. (His words, not mine.)

Mac was the Student President of New Leaf Academy. Harv was just his right hand man in this timeline. He was probably also the Student Vice President too, but from what I heard, Mac made all the speeches while Harv worked in the background. #betalife

Since Dad and Alpha Daniel were good friends, Mac often came over with his dad to play when we were growing up.

"You should've betrothed your daughter to my Matt." Alpha Daniel told Dad on day when the two men were talking in Dad's office.

Mac and I were trying to make a map to hide our treasure... which was currently an empty biscuit tin, but we were quite sure we would one day acquire treasure to put in it.

I think this memory dated back to when I was in elementary school. Mac was 3 years older than I was, and already running as Machete - the only people who didn't have to call him Machete were the ones who were stronger than him.

"If I can beat you up, it's Alpha Machete to you." He started telling everyone. I think it was when he started playing that online game... the same one Charles was playing. Only Charles didn't go around making everyone call him by his game name irl.

Within a year all the pups at New Leaf Academy called him Alpha Machete. Even though it had far more syllables than Matt.

He was bigger and stronger, but Mac didn't like to do tedious things like practice drills. He did everything with bull headed strength - just like his father.

Couple that with his hot-headed impulsiveness (also like his father), I was able to bait him with my world class smack talk and then beat him up with my A Part of our warrior drill. Go me!

So I was the only pup who called him Mac. Not Matt though. Mac hated that name, "Why would I be a Matt? I'm the alpha, not the door mat."

"But dont your mum and dad call you Matt?" I asked.

It was also funny because Matt, my student president at Winderhill never had a problem with it... but then again, he was a beta, so maybe he was used to being stepped on. #betalife.

"How about it, eh Sam?" Alpha Daniel turned around and yelled over in a friendly way, "Forget that Lorent boy and be Matt's Luna instead."

I stopped drawing on my half of the map to look up. Mac was much more fun to play with than Bell, but even as a dumb pup, I knew it was a bad idea - more by instinct than anything else.

"No thank you, Alpha Daniel." I answered exactly as the dumb pup I was, "I'm only playing around with Mac."

For some reason, Alpha Daniel thought that was hilarious, "Hohoho! Did you hear that Kingsley? Your girl's gonna be a player like you!"

"Yah man." Beta Lucas agreed shaking his head, "She's gonna grow up to be a real heartbreaker."

They made it sound like good things too. Luckily, I was too young to know any better. I looked at Mac, "Why are they laughing?"

Mac just shrugged, "Dunno. What are you drawing?"

He had just noticed the  triangles I was coloring. 

"The Colored Mountains. I think our treasure would be safer there." I told him. I even made sure to switch colors so each mountain was a different color.

"WHAT?" Mac immediately yelled because he was loud like that, "How the hell are we supposed to get all the way there? No Sam, stick to the plan."

I laughed because I thought it was very funny whenever Mac yelled like an adult. I wasn't allowed to shout things like "what the hell" myself, but when Mac did it, it looked very silly and fun.

"You need to be more realistic Sam." Mac told me.

I laughed again because Mac was being silly again, "Silly Mac. What's the fun of realistic?"

Because we were only playing around and if we were being realistic, I think it would be safe to assume that the treasures in the Colored Mountains would make our empty biscuit tin look like trash... which it was. I knew, because I picked it out from the recycling stack out back on my way through the Packhouse kitchen earlier.

That was my shortcut to Dad's office in Timeline 3 too.

Fast forwards 6 or 7 years, Mac and Harv grew up to cool highschoolers and ruled the hallways of New Leaf Academy. Until Summer last year when Mac and Harvey crossed our borders while hunting rogues and got hunted instead.

We sent out nearly a hundred search parties across the next month and Alpha Daniel repeatedly raided the Hidden Rogue Village for clues but mostly to vent his anger... Which was an infringement of territorial rights so Dad had to tell him to stop it.

By now, our relationship with Morning Light was also strained, mostly because Morning Light barbarian wolves never got along with Lorent stuck-up wolves. Alpha Daniel never understood why Dad would choose the Lorent heir over the Morning Light heir.

"I know they're rich, but WE are friends!" Alpha Daniel would blast at Dad. Dad would give some unmemorable sensible answer only for Alpha Daniel to cut in, "What the hell Kingsley, just for the money? You're aligning your pack with those f***ing snobs?" 

He wasn't listening... he was too angry.

His visits had become like this of late, he would storm in, yell abuse, and storm out.

Dad would sigh deeply after Alpha Daniel's departure and say to Beta Lucas, "The only good thing her engagement with the Lorent boy does is keep out the Morning Light boy."

"Yeah man," Beta Lucas said, "I told you she'll be a heart breaker."

Which was nothing to do with the circumstance. (And I was not!)

Dad shook his head, "Daniel's personal finances is in a bad way. Maybe he sees having our pups mated as his way out."

"Hoo boy, Alpha." Beta Lucas shook his head, "Last I checked, his son and young beta could well be dead by now!"

Despite Alpha Daniel's unreasonable aggression, Dad and Beta Lucas had continued to investigate Mac and Harv's capture. It was widely believed that the two Morning Light boys must have been kidnapped and sold to the fight cages as young warrior wolves often were. But after a month of failing to trace any of the new fight dogs in the listing to Mac and Harv, Beta Lucas felt quite sure the two boys probably didn't survive their first night. Most fight dogs never lived pass this.

"Poor boys." Mum would sigh.  She would've gone to visit Alpha Daniel's Luna, but Dad said not to. Alpha Daniel had been quite volatile of late, better stay away.

Some of the other women went over though - including Mama Rosa, because she used to be from Morning Light. She would sigh a lot after that, "Aye... the poor Luna..."

And then she noticed that I was eating a cookie in the kitchen and sigh again.

"Did something happen to Mac's Mum?" I asked because I was apparently still a dumb pup who didn't know when to pretend I didn't hear the adults talking.

"Aye...." Mama Rosa signed and came over and sit with me. Cutting a nearby apple to add to my plate, she said, "You're still young, so you wouldn't understand..."

I took her word for it and ate my apple slices.

Mama Rosa squared up, "Don't worry, Mama Rosa will pray for your soulmate to always pamper and protect you."

I laughed out loud at that, I didn't need any protection. I was strong and I already had a fiancé. I don't think MY FIANCE was the kind who would pamper and protect me though, "Oh Mama Rosa, I'm not worried. I'm strong. I don't need pampering and I can protect myself."

It did bother me a little. Most of our wolves often talked about meeting and mating their soulmates. I wondered why, just like the schools I attended, I couldn't be like everyone else. Dad had chosen MY FIANCE too.

But I was strong. I can take it. If this was the way to protect the happiness of my wolves, even if we had already unofficially broken up, and he's always messing around somewhere - he had gone MIA-ed again last winter.

Even if MY FIANCE was crap like that, I was going to keep holding up our side of the merger. Let the Lorents be the ones to rescind first. I felt sorry for Alpha Lorent and Luna Edith, they had always treated me like their own daughter, but let them pay the penalties. I was going to protect my pack no matter what and I'd be damn to be the one who would put Night Leaf into the Lorent's debt.

I think Roy had calculated the compensations to set Night Leaf's development plans back by 20 years. That wasn't going on my tab. It was the dumbbell's fault. Let him pay it.