CHAPTER 3

It was official. Zoe loathed the sound of her alarm. She wondered why she had set the damn thing. It was Sunday for Goodness sake. Sundays in the supernatural world weren't special or great in any way. 

Zoe thought Sundays were supposed to be for resting but she had to train with her dad. Most people around the estate just go on with their usual lives. The funniest fact was that these same people could kill a person without flinching when the time of war against the enemies arises. 

They were always ready to attack.

They were sure diligent to their pack when the time arises.

Zoe was part of the people who were ready and prepared for any situation. Her father worked at the packhouse! He was Dora's dad's right-hand Beta.

She had woken up late, and with a headache too. She glared at the alarm which still made that horrendous beeping sound she hated.

"Fuck! So annoying." She gritted under her breath. She picked it up and tried to put the damn thing off, but it only seemed to worsen her headache. 

Frustrated and a little mad, she flung it at the wall causing it to smash against the wall before it crashed to the ground and stopped beeping. It was broken and Zoe felt nothing but blissful relief. She ran a hand through her hair as she stood up. 

She pulled her socks on before exiting my room.

"Oh, man!" She groaned.

Her throat felt dry and she wanted a taste of sweet milk. She went down the stairs. The house appeared empty. 

”Dad? Dad?" She called but got no answer. ”Lilian? Lilian are you home?" Still, there wasn't any reply. Zoe felt like they might have left her all alone again. 

She sighed, mildly annoyed.

She entered the kitchen and took out the milk carton from the fridge and poured some into a glass. She gulped the milk impatiently, poured another glass, and did justice to that one too. 

She wondered why she felt so thirsty. The school was to begin tomorrow. That was a bummer because Zoe hated school. 

'Who invented school?' She thought to herself. 'And why?' 

But do nerds hate school? Zoe knew that according to the stereotype they were known for their intelligence. 

Do they even need school? 

She checked the time on her phone. It was only 10:30 AM.

Then she remembered. 

The neighbor's welcoming cake. Today was just the right day to deliver them their banana muffins, she thought.

She went over to where her handheld mixer was kept in the kitchen but she growled angrily when she remembered that it was kept almost out of reach. Dad usually helped her get it down without any qualms.

"This is just bad timing!" She thought.

She brought the stool close to the cupboard and ascended on it. She tried to stand properly as she fought to keep her balance. 

She finally found balance on the stool precariously. Her hands soon got the mixer before grabbing a sigh of relief as she dragged it carefully towards herself. At the sound of footsteps entering the kitchen, Zoe got startled.

She tried to look back at the person who had walked inside the kitchen and that instantly caused her to lose her balance as she fell heavily on her butt. She looked up to find Luke glaring at her with a smirk. 

This son of a b—! 

She couldn't help but notice he had perfect features but she was told nobody was perfect.

Perhaps Zoe would stop believing everything the teachers spouted in class. 

Why did he have such curly hair and a perfectly pointed nose and small—very pink—lips? Zoe supposed he didn't do hard labor as most teenagers did these days. 

And she wondered why he always likes to wander into the kitchen without clothes? Zoe would be lying if she didn't find him  fucking hot! Look how he made her reckon all of this within seconds.

He glanced at her without saying a word then he moved to the fridge and took a bottle of chocomel and sandwiches. He turned to leave, not minding my current predicament. Zoe wondered why he was so cold towards her? 

"H__ey," she stammered but he ignored her and didn't spare her a look, he just left.

"So he was a jerk too," she thought.

"I mean did he think he was a pretty boy?"  Zoe thought with her lips plowed in disgust.

She struggled to stand up as she held the kitchen cabinet to support herself while she gradually stood up. Thank God her mixer was all fine! Her body had broken its fall. 

Her phone beeped inside her night-wear trousers. She dipped her hand to get it, it was a message from Rico.

Rico: I'm going to start school soon.

Rico: Maybe tomorrow we could see each other in school?

Zoe didn't know why she felt awed and happy for Rico. He struggled to make ends meet all by himself and still go to school. She had to admit that she admired him a lot. She stared at the message for a while before agreeing to text back.

Zoe: Oh Rico, congratulations. I'm so happy for you. Maybe we can have coffee after school? What do you think?

When she was done, she hit send and put down her phone on the counter. 

She immediately took her apron and brought out her egg, sugar, flour, melted butter, baking soda, baking powder, and of course her bananas. 

A couple of hours later she was finally done baking and icing. I untied her apron as she cleaned up the mess she had made. After that, she immediately took a quick shower before putting on some home wear. She still wondered why Lilian had insisted that she take the cake to the new neighbor herself.

She went to Luke's room. She knocked on the door before yelling.

”I'm heading out. I got an errand to run around the estate. You have your spare key, right?” she asked but he didn't reply. 

Of course.

Without saying more, she headed off.

She reached the front door of their new neighbor in a few minutes, thanks to her wolf speed. She heaved a big breath before ringing the doorbell. 

She got no response. She tried it again and this time someone opened the door for her. It was the jerk from the other day. She tried to put on a big smile, inadvertently showing off her braces which she closed the minutes she remembered how embarrassing they made her feel. 

She stretched the banana muffins toward him.

”Hey? My name is Zoe! I live a few blocks away from your house. My mum and dad asked me to bring this over. Just to say welcome to the neighborhood I guess," Zoe said, still stretching the muffins to him. 

It felt great calling Lilian her mom for the first time, maybe she should do that more often. He glared at her appearance from head to toe. Zoe was sure that she wasn't the kind of wolf he talked to. He paved the way for her to go in and which she did.

Their home looked so different from theirs, everything was decorated in black and white. ”Where is your mom? I would like to offer her this." When he failed to answer, Zoe continued to blabber. "You don't live with your mum?" She asked but was stunned when he went upstairs without even glancing back at her. 

”Dumb...rude...jerk.” she mumbled in rage. 

A middle-aged woman came into the room and calmly explained to her that Alex wasn't the trustworthy type. She took the muffins off Zoe's hands. 

Zoe knew that the lady who had taken the muffins from her grip didn't look like Alex's mother but she didn't ask them further questions than a small smile escaping her lips.

"Please, don't think too much of his behavior. He just lost his mother!" The lady said. All of a sudden Zoe felt incredibly stupid and furious at herself. She wished she had not said anything at all.