Human a fantasy romance, p.1
Human: A Fantasy Romance, page 1
Copyright © 2021 by Indigo
All rights reserved. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in, or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known, hereinafter invented, without express written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.
Typewriter Pub, an imprint of Blvnp Incorporated
A Nevada Corporation
1887 Whitney Mesa DR #2002
Henderson, NV 89014
www.typewriterpub.com/info@typewriterpub.com
ISBN: 978-1-64434-136-0
DISCLAIMER
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. While references might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
HUMAN
INDIGO
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
To those who don’t have it all planned out yet because plans always change.
Chapter 1
Adrian
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 furiously away 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 towards 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 the door and headed towards the kitchen. He felt a smidge of guilt 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, Adrian 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 as she tried 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 to be a piece of fried starch. “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 with an incredulous expression.
“I don’t know.”
“Aren’t you, like, twenty-six?”
Ellie shrugged like 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 slight defeat.
“So what did you burn?” Miguel asked as he sniffed the air. “I can’t even tell what it is.”
“Nothing serious—” Ellie started before their mom interrupted.
“Potatoes. Your wife burned 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 threw them into the bin.
“I just can’t believe it, 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?”
His mom replied as she went back to the cutting board to chop the rest of the ingredients. “I almost have everything cut. 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 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 as 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 thing that took the longest time was searching for the cooking device, as 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 the office. In the kitchen, 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 knows and loves while he can go do his own thing and live his own life. That was 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 announced she was moving to Mexico.
It wasn’t a light decision on her part. If he knew his sister like he thinks he does then Ellie probably had a tough time figuring out how to tell them. Plus, it wasn’t like the reason was a simple whim. It was because Miguel was already leading his own pack down south.
Which only made sense for Ellie to give up her position since she wasn’t officially inaugurated into office and their pack had a spare. They had him.
He wouldn’t try to kid himself, Adrian had contemplated on the possibility of becoming the next alpha. It’s something that all young boys and girls of their community dream 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 is. Nevertheless, Adrian couldn’t blame Ellie for anything. She probably wanted to live her own life too. To live her own path.
There were just a lot of new responsibilities that he never really prepared for. He had to know everything important about every single member which included occupations, education, financial stability, who can shift, and who can’t. Besides that, he also had to be more present during council meetings which could last from thirty minutes to three hours. Additionally, he also 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 alerted Adrian that the stew was done, and he was immediately brought back to the present. After he let the steam release, he grabbed a ladle, and noticed that his dad was already there where he was, and was standing near the counter with Diego.
Just as Adrian announced that the food was ready, everyone immediately grabbed their own portions while his mom carried the dinner rolls 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, Adrian 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 towards Adrian.
For a moment, he 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 in,” 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 as soon as Diego got cranky and spilled his juice. Ellie retreated to her old room to put the baby to sleep. As soon as Adrian finished clearing the table, he seized the opportunity to escape to his room. Usually it wasn’t like this, but he didn’t feel very chatty tonight.
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 right now, and he sincerely hoped that it wouldn’t last much longer. All this negative energy was sucking the life out of his soul.
But it’s fine.
Some way this would all work out.
Some way.
***
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 had been helping other families pack and loading their boxes into the moving trucks for the past week. It was times like these that he wished he had some sort of superhuman ability like how the books portray supernatural people.
