I woke up still feeling sleepy, but nothing new about that. What was new was that Dad wasn't at the breakfast table.
"What happened to Dad?" I pretty much demanded when Mum put a plate and a cup of hot chocolate in front of me.
"He's sleeping in today," she told me.
"What? Why? Is he okay?" I narrowed my eyes at her.
"Calm down, Sam." Mum rubbed my back. "He's just sleeping off the last of his wound."
Oh yes, his wound.
Since when did rogues come equipped with snipers? Or use computers? Or even get past our borders?
"Don't worry," Mum was still comforting me. "Your dad is the Alpha. You know he will be fine."
Of course he will be fine. Alphas healed fast. All he needed was sleep.
"Yeah, I know," I said.
It's just that he used to be so invincible, so constant in my daily life, always strong and impregnable.
But lately, I was beginning to feel that there were a lot of things my dad had to deal with that were way out of his control.
Like sniper rogues.
Or supposedly vampire attacks on his daughter...I remembered the way he had looked suddenly older when we talked about it in his office.
Or the way he had looked so crestfallen when I entered the office last night to find him slumped against the ground in front of his own desk… maybe he was just lying low, speeding his healing, and waiting for the rogues to drop their guard.
I know I would be. We're Alphas, but I guess that didn't make us invincible. Although with the right setup… yeah, we could be pretty darn close.
Mum's phone dinged. She checked it. It was so early in the morning that I think it had to be from the school.
"Savy, your school is holding the attack memorial today. You need to dress in dark colors," Mum told Savy.
"Awww, do I have to?" Savy whined.
She looked at me. "Can I go to school with Sam instead?"
Of course she was being ridiculous, so we ignored her.
New Leaf usually held an attack memorial the next school day after large rogue attacks. The kids would wear dark colors to school, sing a few songs, and share their feelings and lessons from the experience. They celebrate the bravery of our warriors, make cards and gifts for any of the injured ones, and take a few minutes to pay respect to the dead, even the rogues.
"Because sometimes we were just soldiers on the opposite side."
That's from one of the songs they sing.
Savy had always hated these emotionally charged events.
"Savy, just go," I told her.
Savy looked shocked. Mum looked shocked.
Usually, I was the one who would argue with Mum until Savy got to stay home.
"Dad's injured and is probably hell to put up with. Mum's probably got tons of visitations to make and receive. Plus, if you don't go, everyone's probably going to worry about you. You were there on the site of the attack. Your teachers will probably make house calls to check on you… which Mum would have to entertain on top of everything else. Let's just make it easier for Mum right now, okay?"
Wow, I was all grown up suddenly.
Savy sulked but nodded. Her eyes were glassy, though. I regretted my words immediately.
"It's true," Mum admitted. "I'm glad you're so understanding, Sam."
Now it was my turn to look shocked.
"So Sam, please cooperate. Beta Lucas will be driving you to school today, just until we figure out the cause of the rogue attacks." Mum quickly assured me. "It's just a temporary precaution."
I nodded.
"Don't worry, it's probably nothing serious," Mum said. I wondered now if she had expected me to refuse.
"I'm not. I know. I'm not a kid anymore. It makes sense." I paused and then added, "I can tell Zara I have to come straight home too, if it would help."
Mum looked like she really wanted to take me up on that offer but shook her head. "No, your dad said to let you go."
She handed me a phone. "Keep this turned on and with you at all times. There is a tracking app inside. You can text us when you reach your friend's home. Someone will be there to fetch you."
I laughed and put the phone in my backpack. "This feels kind of extreme."
Mum smiled. "Sam, you're the future Luna, if not the future Alpha of our pack. In most other packs, this level of security is an everyday affair!"
I remembered how Henry would call his driver after school. "You mean I am supposed to be chauffeured everywhere?"
Mum laughed then. "You don't remember, do you? At West Mountain, your dad sent you to school every morning. And a car was sent for you every afternoon, which you would run away from… Eventually, we gave up and gave you a travel card to get home on your own. Once we did that, you started going to school on your own too."
Actually no, I didn't remember.
Oh wait, yes… I remembered now.
They sent the pack's town car. It was a dark silver long thing. Cool for when Dad rode it for meetings with other Alphas. Really embarrassing for me at school.
The kids were all whispering, "Whose car is that?" or "There's someone rich in our school."
So I pretended it was not my ride home and ran away.
Hahahaha.
And then, since I had the travel card, it just seemed dumb to have my dad drive me all the way there and back every morning when he had so much work at home.
I was such a considerate pup!
Savy left the table earlier than usual. She said she needed more time to pick another outfit now.
I still felt guilty about being so hard on her even after she left. The bad feeling wouldn't go away.
{Beta approaches.}
I stood up and heard Beta Lucas' car pull up the driveway a moment later.
Mum gave me a hug. "Don't forget to text. And take the ride we send home today, alright?"
"Just don't send anything too fancy, and I'll ride it," I promised.
"Oh," I added, because my heart still felt so heavy, "tell Savy I'm sorry for being a jerk."
"When were you a jerk?" Mum asked.
"When I made her cry just now," I blurted out, and then I quickly pulled out of her hug and left before Mum could reassure me otherwise.
I just didn't feel like listening to it now.