Adrian continued to hit his head against the desk. It was one of those moments where he had zero motivation to complete any of the work in front of him. The papers were still neatly stacked, and although he did want to help his dad with important pack—or rather community matters—Adrian still couldn't will himself to care.
"If you keep that up, you'll be brain-dead," his dad spoke offhandedly. "Also, I just got that desk."
"But, Dad—"
"You have to be patient, Adrian," he groaned. His dad already knew why his productivity sucked.
Fantastic.
"It'll take some time."
"Was it hard for you?"
"To find them?"
"Yeah."
"No." He shrugged. "Funny thing was, we were friends before I turned eighteen."
"Must be nice."
"Yeah, it was," his dad replied in a softer tone.
Adrian lolled his head to the side. He could feel a small migraine coming. It was so annoying that he couldn't ignore it, but it wasn't bad enough for him to stop everything in his tracks.
Was this the result of him not finding his soul mate? Or was it because of the Excel sheet he had in front of him? Still, at this point, it didn't matter because it put a huge dent into his productivity.
"Have you gone through the numbers yet?" his dad asked as he continued to type away furiously on his own work computer.
"Almost. It's all pretty much the same as last month," Adrian replied while he did a quick recheck to make sure that he was right. "Yeah, pretty much the same," he confirmed.
"Okay."
After attempting to refocus on his work for the fifth time, he skimmed through the rest of the numbers of what they made that month. It was all pretty normal, meaning there were no big changes or anything alarming to look at.
After he made a note at the end of that sheet explaining that everything was clear, Adrian turned his attention to his dad and noticed that the latter was still typing like his life depended on it.
"I'm done," he announced.
"Okay."
"Do you need anything else?"
It was more of a courtesy question than an offer, especially considering how much Adrian was begging for the answer to be "no."
"I just have one more thing for you to look at—"
Dammit.
"It's short, so it won't take long."
"Okay," he said as he tried not to give an attitude.
"Here." His dad handed him a document. "Just a few things you need to fill out."
Adrian nodded as he opened the envelope, and wondered why it had the address to a high school. He then took out the papers and realized that they were transfer forms.
Why would he need to transfer?
"We're moving?"
His dad nodded in response.
"Why?"
For the first time that day, his dad sighed. "Things are getting more complicated around here. There are more incidences where kids are going missing or dead. We don't have enough fighters in our pack, and we have a lot of families."
"So, we're moving."
"Yes."
"To . . ." Adrian scanned through the paper. "Reno?"
His dad nodded. "There's another pack down there with a similar problem. Although they don't have as many families as us, they still don't have enough members to keep big threats away."
"Are you sure that those kids weren't just running away?"
His dad shook his head. "Kids don't just disappear. You know that their bonds with their parents are too strong for them to be gone for too long."
"How many kids?"
"About ten."
"About?"
"Well, we suspected that it might be around eleven, but the eleventh one has a temper, so we're not sure if they're just acting up or is actually missing," his dad explained with a frown marring his face.
"No one from ours though, right?"
"None. Thankfully."
"So when did you decide that we're moving?"
"We decided this a few months ago, when things weren't as bad."
Adrian momentarily forgot about the council.
"Who else knows?"
"We already told the other families, but it wasn't official until this week. I'm working on that email right now."
Before Adrian could ask another question, he could smell that something was burning.
"You can finish that later. Go help your sister before she burns the kitchen."
Adrian noticed his father made a face once the fumes wafted over him.
Without a second glance, Adrian got up and immediately went to the door, where the burning scent only got worse.
"Adrian?"
He turned around to see his dad's tired smile.
"Look on the bright side. Maybe this move will do something good."
"Yeah, maybe." Adrian gave his dad a half-hearted smile of his own before he nearly bolted out of the door and headed toward the kitchen. He felt a smidge of guilt about leaving his dad in the office alone, but someone needed to save dinner.
"Ellie! You can't leave it on the stove!"
He heard his mom yell from outside.
"I'm just charring it."
Adrian didn't need to see his mom's face to know that his sister's argument fell short.
Once he got into the kitchen, he immediately took notice of the mess in front of him. On one side of the island, right on the countertops, were neatly cut vegetables—which were obviously done by his mom; and right next to the stove stood his sister, who was trying to explain that the contents in the pan weren't burnt but charred.
"It's fine," Ellie insisted, trying to redeem herself.
Adrian didn't even have to look inside of the pan to know that the food was beyond saving. Just the smell alone was enough for him.
"No, it's really not," he finally said.
"It is!" Ellie then used the tongs to pick up a piece of what may have been meat. "Look! It's not that bad."
"Yeah, sure. That's totally not burnt," he snarked back.
"Come on, it's really not that bad." She took a small bite which ended up looking like burnt potato bits instead of meat. "See?"
Adrian crossed his arms. "No one's gonna wanna eat that."
His mom shook her head. "I told her to caramelize the onions, but she put in the potatoes instead. I didn't notice because I was too busy cutting the vegetables."
"How did you mistake onions for potatoes?" Adrian looked at his sister incredulously but was also silently pleased that he was right. Those poor burnt bits were indeed potatoes.
"I don't know."
"Aren't you, like, twenty-six?"
Ellie shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal. "Cooking isn't my specialty."
"So how do you feed Diego?" Adrian asked, concerned for his nephew's health.
"Miguel does the cooking," Ellie explained just in time as another person entered into the kitchen.
"I heard my name," Miguel spoke up as he propped up their toddler on a clean counter. The man in question then took stock of the disaster-worthy scene in front of them and made a face. "They let you cook?"
"It's not that—"
"Ellie, you burnt the potatoes." His mom took a glance at the nearly ruined pot. "How do you even feed my grandson?"
"I usually do the cooking, Mom," Miguel replied and then cooed to Diego. "Isn't that right, Diego? Doesn't Papa make the best food?"
A series of giggles came from the boy.
"So, does he really cook everything?" Adrian continued his conversation with his sister.
"Almost." Ellie sighed in a slight defeat.
"So what did you burn?" Miguel asked as he sniffed the air. "I can't even tell what it is."
"Nothing seriou—" Ellie started before their mom interrupted.
"Potatoes. Your wife burnt the potatoes," she added with a bit of indignance in her tone.
"Mom! You can't just sell me out like that," Ellie cried while she scrapped the potato remains from the pot and then threw them into the bin.
"I just can't believe it," she uttered. "How do you even feed my grandbaby?"
Adrian heard his mom utter.
Miguel snickered. "If she did the cooking, then we'd all be hospitalized."
The toddler merely cooed in response.
"So"—Adrian went to the sink to wash his hands—"what needs to be done?"
"I almost have everything cut," his mom replied as she went back to the cutting board to chop the rest of the ingredients. "Right now, just get the onions and carrots together. We're making a stew, so it won't be hard. Oh, and don't forget the peppers and the chili pastes."
"Sounds good," he replied as he grabbed all the necessary things.
"What should I do?" Ellie asked, as if she didn't almost set the house on fire.
Their mom didn't skip a beat when she replied, "You're washing the dishes."
His sister groaned while he couldn't help but let out a snicker.
It didn't take too long for them to prepare everything for the pressure cooker. In fact, the only thing that took the longest time was searching for the cooking device, since it was hidden deep within the depths of the garage.
As Adrian helped Ellie clear up the kitchen, the bitter taste of what could have been dinner seeped into his mind. Somewhere along the line, Adrian realized that he liked being in the kitchen a whole lot more than being in the office. There, he could do anything he wanted the way he wanted. The office wasn't like that. In that small confined space that smelled like papers and ink, there were way too many rules and regulations. No ifs, ands, or buts.
Besides, Ellie was supposed to be the next one—the next leader that everyone knew and loved—while he could go do his own thing and live his own life. That had been the plan until she went to study abroad. Not only did she return with an ability to speak Spanish, but she also brought along her soul mate.
Miguel wasn't the problem; in fact, he was a great guy. Cultural differences really weren't hard to get over, and language barriers were minimal. The only problem lay in the fact that Ellie moved to Mexico.
If Adrian knew anything about his sister, leaving wasn't an easy choice to make. Ellie loved her family as much as he did, and he could understand why she struggled for months before telling them anything. Thankfully Miguel was supportive throughout the whole ordeal, but he was already leading his own pack down south—which was the reason why it made sense for her to move down with him. After all, she wasn't officially inaugurated into office, and their pack had a spare. They had him.
Adrian wouldn't try to kid himself. He had contemplated on the possibility of becoming the next alpha. It was something that all young boys and girls of their community dreamed about. After all, there were hundreds of stories where the brave and courageous leaders of the pack led their people to safety or had some sort of heroic tale.
However, Ellie was too perfect for him to take that consideration seriously. She was just too good to even bother competing with, in alpha-related matters that was. Nevertheless, Adrian couldn't blame Ellie for anything. It wasn't her fault.
There were just a lot of new responsibilities that he'd never really prepared for. He had to know everything important about every single member—which included occupations, education, financial stability, and who could shift and who couldn't. Besides that, he also had to be more present during council meetings which could last from thirty minutes to three hours. Additionally, he had to attend specialized events as a representative of his pack to maintain the peace.
The crazy part of all this was, he was only in training. He probably wouldn't be able to go unsupervised until he was deemed ready, and that seemed far out.
The pressure cooker whistled and brought Adrian back down to Earth. After he let the steam release, he grabbed a ladle and saw that his dad was talking with Diego. A good mix and then he announced that dinner was ready.
Once everyone grabbed their own portion, they made their way to the table.
As they all sat down, he had to remind himself that this was what he was working for. Despite the tedious nature of the paperwork, the meetings, and the overall micromanagement, he had to remember that these peaceful evenings were peaceful for a reason.
"Adrian," his dad called out, "can you pass the bread?"
"Sure."
"Honey, have you started packing your office?" his mom asked.
His dad shook his head. "Not yet."
"You should start. We're leaving next Tuesday."
"That soon?" Ellie asked before Adrian could.
Their mom nodded. "There are a lot of things we need to get settled, especially before the school year starts."
Adrian merely nodded in response.
"Where are you guys going to again?" Ellie asked.
"Down southeast, near Reno," his dad replied.
"Nevada?" Miguel asked.
"Yeah. There's another community down there that's facing a similar issue. Since we're in the same region, it makes sense to merge the two together," his dad reasoned. "But it won't be a complete merger."
"That's not so bad. It's only ten hours from here." Ellie tried to make the mood lighter. "I heard Lake Tahoe is beautiful."
"Maybe we can all go next summer?" his mom suggested. "I bet Diego would love to play in the lake and have bonfires with grandmama."
The little boy cooed in response.
"What do you think?" Miguel directed his question toward Adrian.
For a moment, Adrian wondered if there were any other acceptable answers besides "Sounds great!"
"I think it's a good idea. It'll just be hard since everyone has to move," he said as diplomatically as possible.
Miguel nodded. "Well, I'm glad you have a positive outlook on this. I can't imagine how I'd react if it were me."
"Your family would have none of it." Ellie rolled her eyes.
"Yeah. Well, they're your family now too."
Ellie hummed while she smiled at him. "I think it was fate. I was meant to be Abuela's favorite granddaughter."
"You're the only granddaughter . . . and you married into," Miguel reminded her.
"Technicalities." Ellie waved her hand.
"Anyway," their mom intervened, "you have to come see the new house. It's in a newer development, and the style is completely different."
"How many rooms?" Ellie asked.
"Four, same as this one. But it's a one leveler, and the style's very Mediterranean."
Dinner ended when Diego got cranky enough to spill his juice. Ellie retreated to her old room, which was now a guest room, to put the baby to sleep.
While they were gone, Adrian helped clearing up the table. As soon as that was finished, he seized the opportunity to escape to his room. It wasn't usually like this, but he wasn't in the mood to talk much.
He lay on the bed and stared blankly at the ceiling fan as if it would give him the magical answers to everything. He was in a weird funk, and he sincerely hoped it wouldn't last much longer. All this negative energy was sucking the life out of his soul.
But it was fine. Someway this would all work out, somehow.
* * *
It was a warm summer morning. The sun wasn't quite ready to wake up, which meant that it was an ideal time to load the moving truck. Adrian would be lying if he said that his muscles weren't sore. He'd been helping other families pack and load their boxes into the trucks for a week. It was times like these that he wished he'd had some sort of superhuman ability like how the books portray supernatural people.
Back when he was in middle school, he overheard his crush rave about this popular werewolf fantasy book. Adrian would be a liar if he said that he wasn't curious about what the book talked about. Plus, if he knew a little bit about the story, he might have something to talk to his crush about. It would be a win-win situation, so he read a few snippets.
That was when he realized that the whole fad was ridiculous. The first twenty pages were fine, full of exposition and general facts that the reader ought to know. Then it got overly supernatural. Coming from someone like himself, that was saying a lot.
Like seriously . . . automatic super speed and enough strength that it was practically limitless? That wasn't just realistic!
Don't even get him started on how those characters seemingly acquired new skills overnight. Then the fact that once a character reached a certain age, all these fabulous new experiences started to happen. Plus, how could he forget the unnatural imagery of how big these werewolves got?
He supposed some authors really took their creative license and pushed it to the limit. But there was no way in hell that a real werewolf would ever get to a size of a car. Still, he couldn't really fault the writer for their inaccuracy. They probably didn't even realize that his kind existed.
In reality, it was a blessing and a curse. His kind did have a slight natural advantage in anything athletic. However, they also had to train their bodies for hours on end to maintain their edge and mental health.
For anyone who didn't, they would have a hard time managing the animalistic side of their brains. For example, it would take years of training and practice to keep their wolf part of the brain under control. It was also physically demanding for their kind to keep their canine body in good condition. Plus, it could also take a lot of physical and mental strength to even be allowed to try and shift for the first time.
On the bright side, they'd still be able to transform into something completely different—a wolf, something that only they could do. It might be hard, but at the same time it was absolutely liberating in ways he couldn't explain.
Unfortunately, this wasn't the case for everyone. His people used to be exclusive with who they could and couldn't procreate with. But as time went on, several of their pack leaders eventually understood that their kind couldn't continue without allowing some genetic variation to occur, unless they wanted to risk dying out completely. So they let human partners and hybrid children coexist with them, and eventually it became the norm. As a result, not everyone could transform because they either had too much human in them, or they carried a faulty gene.
"Adrian," his dad called, "don't forget that box in the corner!"
"Okay!"
"I think we have everything," his best friend, Nick, said as he carried a few more boxes out of the house. "But you can do an extra walk-through if you want, just in case."
"I got it," his dad replied while Adrian played "tetris" with the boxes inside the truck.
"You guys have a lot of stuff," Nick huffed as he set the last set of boxes down.
"Yeah," Adrian agreed. "I don't even know where half of it came from."
"You guys should be on that show with hoarders." Nick climbed into the truck. "Even I didn't have this much stuff, and I have three sisters."
"Shut up."
"I'm just saying." Nick shrugged.
"I think we can put these there." Adrian pointed to a specific corner.
"You don't think it'll fall? They're heavy."
Adrian then looked for a different spot. "Maybe over here? We can move these boxes because they're lighter than those."
"Sounds good."
After shifting a few of the boxes around, Nick finally asked, "Are you ready for the new school?"
"Don't I have to be?"
"Doesn't mean you are."
"What about you?" Adrian changed topics. "Are you still gonna try out for varsity?"
Nick shrugged. "I'll try but I don't know if I can get in."
Adrian rolled his eyes. "Says the guy who thought he wouldn't get into varsity freshman year."
"I just got lucky."
"Sure, you did." He looked at his friend. "How's Leila taking the move?" he asked.
"She doesn't mind. She already applied to UNR."
"What's she studying again?" Adrian grunted as he pushed the last box into an empty space.
"She switched to history, I think."
"You think?"
"Yeah. I think it's South African History, but I'm not sure. She took a DNA test, and now she's really curious about it," Nick explained a few more details about his mate and girlfriend.
"Huh? Even with wolfy DNA, it still works?" Adrian wondered out loud.
"She's dormant, so I guess it wasn't a major issue." He shrugged. "I honestly don't know. Genetics is confusing when it comes to stuff like that."
"Yeah. I dunno, man. Genetics is something else."
"Are you two ready to go?" his dad asked as he closed the garage door for the last time.
"Yeah. Do we have everything?" Adrian asked.
"How much more stuff could you guys have?" Nick looked at them incredulously.
"We should have it all," his dad replied.
"Did Mom call yet?"
He nodded. "Yes, everything is going well. Everyone has gotten into their housing, and the kids are going to enroll today and tomorrow."
"That's good."
"Yeah, and all that's left to do is to get there." His dad then opened the door to the driver's seat and got in before he called out, "Are you two coming, or are you going to ride in there?"
Nick hopped out of the back, and Adrian followed suit. Soon enough, the three of them were crammed in the front of the moving truck. It was really only built for two, but with Adrian being in the center, they managed to fit all three.
After two hours of his dad's insane driving, Adrian was starting to regret asking Nick to stay back. It was cramped and uncomfortable to sit between his dad and his best friend.
As he shifted slightly to get into a more comfortable position, Adrian was not ready for the longest eight-hour drive of the summer.
And then it hit him.
He forgot the transcripts.
Sh*t.