He was exhausted. He didn't want to get up from his bed or even attempt to tidy up his new room, much less attend the party that his dad and Alpha Joel planned. But did he really have the choice?
"Adrian, are you ready?" his mom called from the living room. "We have to get going."
"Yeah." He shuffled out of his room and saw his mom fixing her hair for the nth time.
"Let's get going then," his dad said and swung the car keys around with a finger.
The drive to Alpha Joel's land was far. It probably took twenty or twenty-five minutes to get there. The area was more suburban if anything, but definitely toward the outskirts of the city.
Judging by the conglomeration of cars parked within the area, Adrian could tell that they'd arrived.
The house wasn't small by any means, and as they walked through the doors, he couldn't help but admire how everything was so nicely decorated—modern, sleek, but with a hint of warmth that made the interior look stylish yet comfortable.
As per usual, they were one of the last to arrive from his pack. According to his mom, it was called being "fashionably late," but according to his dad, it was hardly punctual.
Maybe it was the old grandma in him, but Adrian was more inclined to agree with his dad. In fact, he was a little anxious about being a little too late.
They were immediately greeted by Alpha Joel and his family in the hallway. He was an older man with traces of age evident in his hair. His daughter, Carmen, was the heiress of the pack. She seemed to be quite hospitable, which Adrian silently thanked the gods for.
Other than the fact that his family had just moved to avoid danger, Adrian couldn't help but worry about their new allies. Would they be allies under paper, or would they actually be able to become friends?
He wasn't sure, but from what it seemed like thus far, he was hoping for the second option.
"So, I hear you're going to Rosewood?"
Adrian was left to converse with the heiress. "Uh . . . yeah."
"Hmmm, it's a good school. A lot of good programs and sports and stuff."
"Did you go there?"
"I did," Carmen said with a hint of pride. "Salutatorian in 2015."
"Wow, that's amazing."
"Yeah, I guess, but really it's more of a pain to be honest. A lot of stress and work and pack stuff all at once. Ten out of ten, I don't recommend."
"I'll take note of that."
"Anyway, things have probably changed since I went, but Mira can probably update you on what's up," Carmen explained. "She's also a senior this year."
Adrian nodded in agreement. "That'd be nice."
"I think I saw her earlier by the food. Let's go."
Carmen led the way like a natural-born leader. She must have said "let's go" out of common courtesy because he would've followed her either way. Maybe it was the fact that her alpha tone was too dominant for him to ignore, or maybe it was the fact that she had more training than he did.
For a moment, Adrian wondered if by some chance Carmen also didn't want to be an alpha like her dad. Did she also have her own dreams and aspirations, or did she just want to follow the destiny that was laid out for her?
Was he the only ungrateful one?
His thoughts immediately came to a stop as they weaved through the crowd to find Mira. Several familiar faces mingled with new ones, and from what he could tell, things were going well thus far. No one seemed to be showing any signs of hostility, and instead, it was like meeting a new relative for the first time—awkward and tentative but in a good way.
"Mira!" Carmen yelled. "Mira!"
The girl named Mira turned around from the food table and greeted them with a smile and a friendly wave.
As they approached, Adrian noticed the clashes of smells and scents around them. It was different from the usual, as things were normally a cacophony of cheap perfume and too much deodorant. For some reason, this smell felt different.
"Mira, this is Adrian of the Lunaris Pack. Adrian, this is Mira, my cousin," Carmen quickly introduced them both with practiced ease. "I figured you could tell him all about the ins and outs of Rosewood."
Mira then extended her hand toward Adrian. "It's nice to meet you."
"Likewise," he said politely as he shook her hand, still rather confused on what exactly was going on.
"So what classes are you thinking of taking?" Mira asked while she took something from the refreshment table.
"I haven't exactly registered yet, so I'm not sure."
Mira's face scrunched for a second, but then it returned to neutral.
"You should probably do that soon, before all the classes you want are full."
"You're right." Adrian added it to his mental list of things to do.
"So, what subjects do you like?"
Adrian thought about that for a moment. It was his last year in high school, and it might be his last chance to do something for himself.
"I really like the culinary arts."
"Cooking? Really?" Mira asked.
"Is there something wrong with that?" Adrian tried not to get offended.
"No, no, not at all." Carmen was quick to diffuse the situation. "It's just, Mira can't boil water without burning something."
"Hey!" Mira defended herself. "I'm not that bad."
"You burnt ramen. I don't know how you can even burn ramen," Carmen pointed out. "You even burnt canned soup. How does one even burn soup from a can?"
"I . . . forgot about it." She shrugged sheepishly.
"It's okay. My sister's probably worse. She thought that the potatoes were onions, and she burnt them while she was trying to sauté them," he added to the conversation.
"How do you mix up potatoes and onions?" Carmen's face was painted with confusion.
"I don't even know."
"So culinary?" Mira asked. "I think we have a few electives for that, but I'm not sure. I'm not much of a master chef—"
"Far from it really," Carmen interrupted.
"But I have a friend who took a few classes. I can ask her if you want to know about them."
"Yeah, sure. That sounds great," Adrian agreed. "So, what else is the school known for?"
Mira hummed for a moment. "A lot of things really, but we're really big into sports. You?"
"They're okay. I don't mind it, but I don't think I'd play competitively."
"Really?" Carmen sounded genuinely curious.
"Yeah. They're more up Nick's alley."
"I heard my name," Nick said as he seemingly magically popped up from nowhere.
"Hi, my name's Nick. It's nice to meet you," he greeted Mira and Carmen.
"Mira," she replied.
"I'm Carmen," Carmen introduced herself a little more formally than Mira. "How are you?"
"I'm good. Thanks for asking," Nick replied as informally as ever.
"So, I hear you're good at sports?" Mira asked.
"I'm okay—"
"Don't let him fool you. He's not just good, he's an athlete," Adrian interrupted.
"Really?" Mira seemed impressed.
"I just got really lucky." Nick tried to downplay his accomplishments.
"Sure, you did." Adrian rolled his eyes but in a lighthearted manner. "He's the kind of guy who doesn't even have to try to get on to a team."
"Awesome! What do you play?" Mira asked with great interest.
"Football and baseball. I tried soccer, but it wasn't my thing."
Mira's smile widened. "Great! Maybe we'll finally have a good year! Usually our school always ends up at nationals, but ever since we got a new coach, things have changed."
As the two continued to converse about sports, Carmen had to excuse herself to attend to other guests.
Adrian watched the dynamic duo, figuring out what was up with Mira.
Way back when Nick tried to explain to him what it was like finding his soul mate, one of the things he told him was that there was a distinct draw to the other person. However, what Adrian was feeling right at that moment wasn't exactly an "Oh-my-God-you're-the-one" sort of deal. That wasn't to say that Mira wasn't a nice girl or anything, but Adrian didn't have an alarmingly strong pull toward her.
Suddenly, the topics switched from football to high school drama and then to mates. He wasn't sure how one related to the other, but he figured it was time to pay attention. After all, he didn't want to seem like he was just there to be there.
"Yeah, her name is Leila, and she's gonna study at UNR," Nick explained.
"What's she studying?" Mira asked.
"I think she wants to be an expert on South African history."
"A historian." Mira nodded. "That's interesting."
"So what about you? Have you found yours yet?"
Mira visibly deflated. "No."
"Hey, that's cool. It's fine, so don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll find them soon." Nick immediately tried to fix the awkwardness he inadvertently caused. "Adrian hasn't found his either, so you're not alone."
Adrian shot him a look.
"But I've been searching for almost a year!" Mira huffed.
"Holy sh*t," Adrian accidentally said.
Mira shot him a scathing look.
"Has it really been a year?" He couldn't stop himself.
"Eleven months, but that's literally the same thing," Mira groaned. "I don't know what's wrong with me. There's like no pull toward anyone! I'm literally not asking for a whirlwind romance here. I'm totally cool with being just friends or like . . . not enemies."
"And you thought you had it rough." Nick looked at Adrian.
"I know, right?" Adrian muttered. "A few months suck, but a year? That has to be . . ." He wasn't even sure he wanted to contemplate that possibility.
"You're telling me." Mira was not amused. "To be honest, I was really hoping I'd find them tonight, but that doesn't look like it's going to happen."
"Well, my sister hadn't found hers until she went to Mexico."
"Christ," she groaned.
"Yeah, I know," Adrian agreed.
As the night continued, Adrian could tell that things were going really well. Not only had he met a few of the Chandra Pack's future leaders, but he was also able to build some connections with a few of them.
The party died down some time later, and they had to leave.
Adrian couldn't help but notice the beauty of the town as he drove his family back. It was a decent place. It wasn't small like his old one, but it wasn't massive either.
As he pulled up into the driveway, he couldn't help but feel a weird sense of hope for this town. Maybe it was because of the party and how he felt something different, or maybe it was because this town was a change of scenery.
Whatever it was, it was something that he needed, because he now felt a little less alone. Besides, if he ever thought he had it bad, there was Mira, who seemed to be the real trooper. She was still going strong even after nearly a year of not finding her own soul mate.
Although it was not detrimental to their lives, it still wasn't a fun experience to go without one. If he was in her situation, he had a feeling that he'd be labeled medically insane.
Once they went to their new house, he immediately made his way to his bedroom. For a brief moment, he had almost forgotten about the ungodly amount of unpacking he had left to do, but the sight of boxes that were lined against the walls and beside his bedframe was a good reminder.
Although it was his room, it certainly didn't feel like his room. The bedframe was the only thing that was set up. His desk was still unmounted, and he still had to figure out how to put his PC back together. His dresser was long gone because it was too big for the moving truck, and he still had a pile of clothes that needed to be hung.
Plus, he still needed to register at Rosewood because classes would start in a week. Then, there was the chaotic task of shopping for school supplies and getting parking passes and several registrations. There was just too much to think about.
* * *
"Adrian, what are you looking at?" Nick asked as they browsed through the local bookstore.
"Nothing. Nothing cool at least."
"Huh." His friend shrugged. "Hey, check this out."
"The Transfer?" Adrian read the book title out loud.
Judging from the cover alone, he concluded that it was probably one of those romantic comedy books that most romantics fawned over. Still, if Nick didn't judge him for his love of cooking, then he wasn't going to knock his friend for liking something like that—well, at least, not too much.
"Yeah, it seems pretty good." Nick flipped through the pages and read the summary.
"Since when did you start reading stuff like that?" Adrian picked up a copy off the shelf. "I thought you were more into sci-fi books."
"It's for Leila," he explained. "I'm not into stuff like this, but it seems to have some pretty interesting characters."
"Like?"
"Well, the main guy Dominic seems to have some issues with himself, like, mentally; so does Hazel but with relationships, and they switch point of views every chapter. It also looks more than just a drama, so I'm guessing they're dealing with some legit issues . . ."
"Hmmm . . ." Adrian flipped through a certain page. He soon figured out that it was a page from Dominic's point of view because it talked about how he was at a party he didn't really care for and had an excerpt about kissing some girl. He didn't read the book for too long because he suddenly felt a soft pull toward something, or someone.
He made a point to put the book back in its spot before he nearly dashed out of the store where the pull was becoming stronger. It was like an invisible string was leading him toward someone—someone important.
Unfortunately, the mall had multiple floors, and he suddenly felt like he was in a black box in science class. No matter how hard he tried to figure out where to go, he still felt like it was somehow the wrong direction. Still, he had to try.
His heart was beating faster, and he was trying his best to home in on where this person could be. Every wrong turn he made took a second for him to register, and he had to go back to where he'd been to try a different direction.
Was it a girl? A guy? What would they be like? Were they searching for him the same way he was searching for them? What kind of meeting would it be? Would they be older? Younger? Same age? Would they be happy to see him?
He sure hoped so.
But there were too many people at the damn mall that day. He wasn't sure who it could be or how to discern them from the crowd. The school year was about to start, and since this was also a university town, there was an extra surplus of students shopping.
Adrian dodged a few groups of people while he attempted to look normal. He didn't want to appear out of the norm, but his levels of desperation were increasing.
Suddenly, he was met with a dead end at one of the long hallways. To his frustration, he looked around the area, only to find a few people there. And none of them made his heart tug.
The pull began to weaken, and Adrian understood that he was too late. He didn't make it in time, and now they were gone.
As the disappointment faded, he suddenly felt confused. He didn't understand what to do at that moment because he was ninety-nine percent sure that his soul mate would have jumped at the opportunity to meet him as well.
That's how it normally goes, right?