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***Valerie's POV***

Ooh yeah, a new day in the Redwood Pack. It looked all foggy outside and there is hardly any trace of sun. It is shivering cold and perhaps the coldest day of the year, but thankfully the sun began to rise. After having a quick bath and light face cream, I got out to the street. The excitement of seeing snow, made me forget the torture and severe troubles in the house from my aunt, Ava.

"Valerie! Valerie! Valerie! How many times did I call you? Just don't make me think you are going to school today again" 

Ooh noo, Aunt Ava, not again. She knows I had not been able to get over uncle, Jasper's death. It hit me so hard but she always acts as though his loss didn't want anything to her. Rather she yells at me at every little thing and nags like a heavily pregnant woman.

Honestly, I am not getting comfortable with her anymore but when I want to let Dad know how I feel about Ava, he just shuns and tells me she is doing all that because she wants me to be disciplined and morally sound. Who gets morally sound just by been nagged at always? Dad will have to see that she isn't been nice to me. I have to make him know this. 

Nevertheless, I am thrilled to see the white landscape for the first time in my life. It was snow all around. The roofs of the houses, the trees, the peaks, and the streets everything was covered and painted with snowfall. I saw pups starting to run and jumping in excitement. They picked up snow and started playing with it, throwing it here and there like fireballs.

One of the pups made a snowman and put his hat on the head and his muffler curled around its neck. Then made its eyes by inserting marbles on its face. It was a beautiful creation. I watched on in elation. I saw another pup seem tired of playing, but it huddled some more snow and made a painting of the scenery. Ha!-ha!, Er! I was wondering how it regained its strength. Suddenly the fog started clearing in the sky. It became warm and pups shivering with cold welcomed the sun. 

Uh!-Oh! But I did not like it very much as it started melting the snow and destroying their snowman. I stood still glaring, as the landscape had completely changed. Ugly tin roofs started staring at us. The snow was visible only on the distant hill. I was thinking that this was perhaps the most lovely winter morning I had. I couldn't just leave even though I was frozen. I can repel cold feelings that much.  I stood just right there, watching our neighbor's pups in the pack delightfully chase-playing at each other after their made snowman kept vanishing.

Let's I forgot to say only the pups of the Beta and Alpha were permitted to mingle together in our pack. Since the Beta would be Alpha in no due time. So I was barred from joining the other pups play, the only person who could have kept me company so I wouldn't feel bored were my two brothers but they were nowhere to be found, perhaps they had left for the house early for school before I got up this morning. 

I didn't feel like going anywhere. I have been keeping away from school for a week now. Hopefully, I will return to class when I get over the sad feeling of losing uncle Jasper but I saw my best friend Damien approaching me.

He is dressed in our school's usual bow tie, short shirt sleeves, and black plain trousers. I signal at him with a wave. I knew he was going to school that morning sighting him did eventually change my mind and I rushed into the house to take a quick bath. I in a jiffy I was out of the house properly dress. I ran to meet Damien it would be difficult for him to change the way he walks fast.  

"Take care of yourself, Val!" I heard my mom yelling from the bancoly.

Mom is fond of calling me "Val" when I ask her why or the meaning, she says it means to love but then no one ever loves me. I always find myself trying to make my classmates and those I feel emotional for, love me. It uses to be this way until Jasper's death and it got worst. My last hope of having a friend who will love me is all cracking down. I would run away from the pack if Damien doesn't want me around him. It would be hard for me to bear. 

Damien walks me to the school premises and then into the class with his hands curled around my waist. I was pursing my lips all along as we walk past every one of our classmates but for some moment I couldn't get my eyes off the stranger who stood beside our class door staring at me as we walked in. 

I can still remember his piercing blues eyes. I had never seen eyes that color before. They were so blue that they appeared purple and violet in between. I remember his shiny jet-black and the urge to ask him what type of shampoo he uses on it. 

He stared at me and I found myself lost in his eyes. I didn't know how to think about him at the moment. No one had ever stared at me for long like that, not even my friend Damien. I would usually plea with him to look at me and he wouldn't. It seemed like I didn't deserve him but here I am overwhelmed by a guy I didn't know much about his identity fixing his gaze on me. 

I thought I was doing myself good, staying back home all this week and not wanting to be in school. I would never know I wasn't because I feel so excited to be in school at the moment. I should have gotten over Uncle Jasper's death early than now.  The jet-black hair guy is my fantasy. He must have had so many female friends dying to get closer to him. What number will I be now? I have to find a way to approach him. He is that kind of mate I had always dreamed about.

The moon goddess would match us. I prayed under my voice even as Damien held me closer. He would notice my attention was moving away from him but I succeed in disguising it when he tried to look at my face. The blue eyes guy is all I wanted now.   I was fighting the irresistible urge to run up on him and curl my hands around him. Leaning my neck on his broad shoulder. He seems to be 5 ft 10 and  I am 5ft,  we would match nevertheless or I would always wear a heel when I want to hug him. I know I may sound stupid perhaps I am losing it around him. 

I blinked back those thoughts. I had a dude who held me around my waist at the moment and I am thinking of a stranger who might not like me. But I thought I and Damien were just mere friends, and even if he finds out how I feel about this stranger we would still be good, and no quarrel. He had never liked me anyway unless today he had to curl up his hand around me walking me into the class. I felt good about it at the beginning but it all regrets it now. I wouldn't have allowed him to hold me that way. It might seem like we are dating but then even if we are, I would still be okay with Damien. Just that now I am confused between choosing from someone I always want to be his girlfriend and my fantasy mate. 

Damien had not been the kind who love Martial art or even like to practice. I remember last semester I pleaded with him so we can go learn but he yells at me every time I talk about it. I have decided to love him the way he is anyway.

We arrived at the class, every corner was decorated with ribbons and balloons.  I thought about what was going on, When did we begin to have such class parties? This is unusual and who must be the celebrant? Who permitted such a person to have a party in our class?.

"Happy Birthday Prince William!" "Happy Birthday Prince William!" Echoed all over."

I have never heard that name before," I said to myself, Perhaps he might have joined us when I was away from school for a week. As I turned around to say a birthday wish to the celebrant who stood behind me responding to the other class members, there he was, the same stranger I was admiring some moment ago is the same  Prince William that is being celebrated here, I got pale and my fingers trembled. 

He is Alpha Gerrard's Son, a fraction of me wanted to get much closer to him immediately but then I remembered what happened to my uncle, Jasper, and how his death was ordered by Alpha Gerard. My eyes blew red. He smiled at me and I smiled back, I gave him a fake smile he would think it was genuine, but  I was thinking of painful revenge.