CHAPTER 1

"Robert! Come on! You're going to be late for school!"

Robert ran down the stairs after he heard his father yell from the car. He stopped before the hall mirror and checked his face and hair. He grinned at his reflection. 'Looking good!' he thought, winking at himself.

He was a handsome young man with a well-built body. In fact, he looked similar to his father when he was young. Robert has a short side and medium haircut, smooth and glossy, making one feel like touching its softness. His eyes were deep black, so deep like a never-ending black hole that will suck someone in. He also has two deep dimples on both cheeks, making his smile more cheeky and charming.

The front door was open and his mother was waiting for him outside on the front porch.

Their house was a humble cottage with two bedrooms, a guest room, a kitchen, a living room and an office. It was located near the edge of the residential area, far from the bustling town but near the forest. It was a cosy home, fit for a family of three… shifters.

Robert gave his mother a kiss on the cheek before rushing out of the house with his backpack.

"Have fun at school, honey!" his mother called out.

Before getting inside his father's car, he had sneaked a peek at Edward's house, which was beside theirs. Noticing that their car was not outside their house, he knew that they had left their house hours ago. Edward was his best friend.

He got into the car and slammed the door behind him. "Safe!" he said, spreading his arms wide, like wings, unknowingly hitting his father on the chest.

His father smacked him on the head. "Safe, your head."

Everyday, his father usually sends him to school since his school was on the way to the police station. There were other times that Edward would join them. But since Fergus Cairns, Edward's father, was able to send him to school himself that day, so it was just the two of them.

The two of them were quiet as Joseph drove, passing by several houses on the way. Prides town was a big town, with many shopping malls and parks. It was almost as big as a city. Years ago, the town had great luck in getting many investors to come and invest in their town. Currently, the town boasted of having one of the most successful business districts with zero crimes. This was also thanks to the great police force of the town, for keeping it safe.

Despite the bustling atmosphere of the town, the residential area was quite serene and peaceful. This was because the town mayor had placed full importance on the noise level between the residential area and the business districts. They wanted to have distinct differences between both areas.

The high school that Robert attended was located in the residential area, whereas the police station where Joseph worked, was in-between the residential area and the business district. Hence, it was much more convenient for Joseph to send Robert to school, rather than letting him wait for the school bus.

Joseph never trusted Robert, though, when it comes to going to school by himself. The last time he had let Robert go use the school bus, he got a call from the principal where he said that Robert hadn't been to school for hours. Minutes after the call, Joseph had used his senses and found his son still asleep in his room. He immediately went home and poured cold water over Robert. He then scolded Robert to get to school or he will be off the school team.

Robert was someone who loves to play games all night long. So, he was probably sleeping late during that time and broke his alarm clock. This was confirmed when his father saw a shattered alarm clock on the floor beside his bed.

Robert gave out a loud yawn as he looked out of the car window.

"So, you'll finally be eighteen, this year, eh, pup?" Joseph said, smiling.

A small smile graced Robert's lips. "Yeah, can't wait," he replied. "Dane has been itching to get out and run," referring to his inner wolf.

Unlike other young shifters, Robert was unique. Most young shifters would only meet their inner wolf when they were eighteen. The year when they will learn to shift. However, Robert met his inner wolf when he was only eleven years old. Its name was Dane. Although, Robert had never shifted to his wolf, he knew how Dane looked like and its personality. In fact, the two were a complete opposite. While Robert was easy-going, loves to joke and play games, Dane was serious and actually dislike humans. Sometimes, Robert do wonder whether Dane got the wrong person to merge with, since Edward was the serious one.

Robert sighed as he leaned back against his seat, his arms behind his head. "Though, I'm kinda excited and scared at the same time." He remembered stories of how some young shifters did not survive the shifting ritual and had fallen to their wolf, making them feral and wild, losing their humanity. Some have also die from the pain and pressure.

Joseph laughed as he patted his son on the head. "Don't worry, pup! You're the Alpha's son! If I can do it, you can do it too!"

Robert scoffed at his father. "Yeah. Perhaps, I would be much better than you too."

His father smacked him on the head.

"Woi woi! Easy on the head," Robert exclaimed, as he protected his head from his father's abuse'. "You will ruin this gorgeous head of mine!"

Joseph just rolled his eyes and began to talk about what to expect during the shifting ritual. He kept telling his son to not worry much about the ritual because he was confident with him.

They finally arrived at the school. Both father and son gave each other a fist bump and Robert climbed out of the car.

Near the parking lot, there was a lone guy, standing while looking at his watch, apparently waiting for someone. He looked up when he heard his name being called.

"Yo, Edward!" Robert shouted.

Edward frowned when he heard Robert shouting like a mad man, waving wildly at him.

Edward, as mentioned earlier, was Robert's best friend and he, too, was a soon-to-be shifter. He will be joining him this year for the shifting ritual. For now, he was like any normal human, with no inner wolf yet.

Similar to Robert, he was a handsome young man with wavy dark brown hair. He also has a well-built body, like him, which was natural since the two of them were on the football team. But unlike Robert, He hardly smile as he always wore a stern and cold look on his face. He also wore glasses which made him look more colder. It was a wonder how these two could become friends. But the two have been close since they were young pups. Also, Edward's father was the beta of the pack. There was a huge probability that Edward will become Robert's beta when Robert will become the Alpha of the pack in the future.

"Keep it down, Rob," Edward scolded with a frown on his face.

Robert rested his arm on Edward's shoulder and laughed. "Chill out, it's still morning and here you are, scolding me already."

Edward rolled his eyes as he pushed back his glasses. "Well, if you had stop monkeying around, I wouldn't have scolded you."

Robert stretched his arms up, showing his muscular arms. "Yeah, yeah."

"Hey, Robert! Hey, Edward!"

Both of them turned to see a bunch of girls giggling and waving at them flirtatiously. One of them broke out from the group and slipped her arm around Robert's. "Hey, s.e.xy!" she flirted.

Robert grinned as he looked down at the pretty girl, fluttering her eyelashes at him. "Hey, you." To be honest, he does not remember her at all. But since she knows him, he probably know her from somewhere. But then again, he was one of the most popular guy in school. Everyone literally know him, anyway.

Ignoring Dane's low growl in his mind, Robert pushed him at the back of his mind and went in the school with the girl linking arms with him. Edward followed behind them, scrolling on his phone.

Few meters away, a car stopped and a girl climbed out of the car. A man, wearing an army uniform also climbed out of the car and walked around the car to hug the girl. He gave the girl a small kiss on the cheek and patted her on the head. "Good luck on your first day, princess," the man said, smiling.

The girl rolled her eyes at the nickname. "Thanks, dad," she said, giving a small smile.

After her dad drove off, leaving her alone on the sidewalk, the girl turned around to face the school. With her backpack on her back and several notebooks and papers in her arms, she let out a sigh and said softly to herself, "This is it."