”Adie, why do we have to move? The old house was fine," my little sister says as she groans from her seat next to me in my small car. The car that somehow seems smaller every time she asks me the same question. Shitadoodle, what do I tell her? I look over at Sophie, who is sat with one ear plug in and doesn't take her eyes off her tablet as she waits for an answer I don't want to give her. I can't worry my fifteen-year-old sister with the facts about our money situation, and the fact we have absolutely none. The truth of the matter is that our parents liked to travel around all the time, and that wasn't good for keeping a long-term job. All the traveling meant that when they died two months ago, in a car crash, I had to sell our house to pay off our debts and then move my sister into the house left in the will. I look out at the snow and ice on the road, deciding I’m not going to like this small town. Well it’s not that bad, as Scotland isn’t too far away and remote. The new house is only seven hours’ drive away from York, where I was at university. Deep breath, and answer her, Adelaide.
"Adie," Sophie sighs louder than before, and I put my foot on the gas a little more and pray my piece of crap car will actually get us to the house. God knows I don’t have the money to pay for a pickup truck or any idea who to call. The old Peugeot is traveling way too far than I would have ever trusted it to, but I really can't afford to pay for a new car.
"We are nearly there,” I finally say. That was a lame answer, and I know it.
“Great,” she huffs, and I just catch her rolling her eyes at me from under her brown hair before she goes back to whatever game she is playing on her tablet.
“I know this is a big change, but it will be good for us," I tell her as she finally looks at me for a second before huffing in response, again, and going back on her tablet. Sophie used to be a chatty twelve-year-old who loved sports. Or at least that’s what I remember her being like when I left for university, but now she is a shell of herself since our parents’ death. My heart drops as I remember that they are really gone, and I have a teenager to look after, with no job and hardly any money. I haven’t had time to grieve because I can’t melt down in front of Sophie. It's going to be difficult enough to find work that works around Sophie in a small town. A university dropout isn't a good person to hire. I had no choice but to leave when the accident happened; I couldn't move Sophie into my shared dorm at university with what the world is like now. They would kill her and me for one slip-up. The small village finally comes into view after over an hour of driving down an empty country lane. The village is near enough to a big town, so I can drive there to work in the day, and it apparently has a very good school that I've gotten Sophie into. She doesn’t start for a few weeks though, and considering we can hardly talk to each other, the idea of being stuck in an old house for weeks is not appealing.
It takes me a few wrong turns down empty roads until I find a row of four houses. Our house is the last of the attached houses, and it has its own driveway that I pull up in. Sophie finally looks up from her iPad and frowns at the sight of the overgrown lawn and old paint falling off the outside of the old house. Home, sweet, home. The house looks close to falling apart, and it takes everything in me not to slam my head against the steering wheel at the sight. The estate agent said it was in good order, this isn’t what I thought it would be like. I wrench my door open, muttering "fuck" to myself as I slam it shut behind me and go up the two steps to the door. Thankfully the locks look new, kind of, and the door opens easily before I walk in.
The smell of dust is the first thing that hits me as I look around at the hallway, which has cobwebs in every corner, and it is empty of any decorations. The space isn’t too bad I guess, and it is painted in a light brown which matches the wooden floors. There are three dark wooden doors, one at the end and one on each side of the hall. I open the first one to a small empty room which I'm guessing is a storage closet or study. The next room is a lounge with a large fireplace, two covered sofas, and a small coffee table. This room isn’t too bad. I go to the window and open the thick cream curtains, coughing from the dust and pushing the window open to let some air in here. I pull the white sheets off both sofas, and they are brown like the colour all the rooms have been painted in, by the looks of it so far.
I leave the lounge and go to the door at the end of corridor, opening it up to find a kitchen. The kitchen is a similar brown to the walls, with dark wooden counters, and I thank god when I see there's a working fridge and cooker that just need plugging in. After a little moving things around, nearly dying from inhaling more dust, I manage to get them turned on. I open the window in the kitchen, letting some more much needed air in. I am going to be up all night cleaning this house from dust and cobwebs. When I come back to the door to get some boxes, Sophie is walking up the stairs, and shouts down from the top, just as I grab the handle.
"The beds don't look bad. Bring me some of my stuff up, won’t you?" she shouts, and I groan internally while pulling the door open and shuffling my feet back to the car. When did she get so damn bossy? Can I even tell her off for it after we lost mum and dad? I’m no parent to her. Sophie and I have never been the closest of sisters. We argue more than get along, but now everything has changed, and I don’t know where I stand with her. I shake my head, knowing I can’t overthink this, and I need to just take one day at a time. I’m so lost in my thoughts, that I don’t look where I am going at all. The next thing I know, I trip over what I assume is a large rock in the middle of the driveway and brace myself for the hard fall I'm going to suffer. Somehow that doesn't happen; instead, I feel a warm chest against my back and strong big arms wrapped around my stomach as someone catches me. I turn my head to thank whoever it is, and my breath catches. The hottest guy I've ever seen is staring at me with sparking clear blue eyes. His dark brown hair is short on the sides with an overgrown fringe which has blond tips, and he has a five o'clock shadow. I have to blink a few times to find out if he is real, because men don’t look like this. No, only gods do, I imagine.
"I don't usually have girls fall for me without knowing their name," he says, a casual smirk on his lips as I stare speechless at him. They don’t make men like this in Britain, or anywhere, so where the hell did he come from? I reluctantly pull out of his arms and move to stand in front of him. He is really tall, as I have to stretch my neck to look up to see his face. I'm not that short, but this guy must be well over six foot.
"I'm Adie," I hold out a hand, and he slides his slightly cold hand into mine. The man gives me a slight, deep sexy chuckle as he turns my hand over in his before pulling it up to his lips for a gentle kiss. The moment his lips touch my skin, I feel a shock, that's the only way to explain it, and by his widened eyes, I know he feels it too. I pull my hand away quickly, and my body takes a step back before I even realise it. I don’t know what the hell that was, but my hand is still somewhat tingling from the contact.
"It is nice to meet you, Adie. I'm Rick. My brother and I live there," he points to the house next door to mine, “with our two friends.” I internally sigh at the fact I have to live next to the hottie who no doubt knows his way around women, and I know I will be drooling over him for the considerable future. Not that a guy like this would be interested in me. I have hips, no boobs to be seen anywhere, and I'm a twenty-year-old virgin. I’m way out of my league with this guy. Not that it matters. The last thing I need right now is any distractions from looking after Sophie. Holy hotness, this means I have to live next to four guys who might all be as hot as this dude, and somehow keep focused. I can only hope they mow the lawn shirtless once in a while. That would be awesome to see.
"Adie, where are you? If you are going to take this long, I’ll get my own stuff," Sophie’s unimpressed voice comes from the door, and I turn to see her just stop when she sees I'm talking to someone. Her eyes watch Rick carefully, and I have to clear my throat to get her attention and to stop her from doing something crazy like be territorial and growl at the human guy.
"This is my sister, Sophie. Sophie, this is one of our new neighbours, Rick," I introduce them as Sophie walks over to us, stopping at my side. Rick holds a hand out to Sophie, who looks at the hand in disgust before ignoring him completely by going around us to the car.
"I'm sorry about her," I say as my cheeks go red at Sophie's behaviour. I watch her open the boot and start pulling out boxes, putting them down as she looks for her bag.
"No problem. I know what it is like to be an angry kid. Do you want some help with the boxes?" Rick asks me, and I glance up at him. He is smiling, no sign of him being angry or not understanding, and in fact, there is sympathy etched across his features.
"If you’re not busy," I find myself replying, even though it is dangerous to make friends with any humans when we need to be invisible in this village. Though he hasn’t noticed how my teenage sister is lifting very heavy boxes out of the boot like they are pillows, so we might be okay. I can just let him help with the boxes and then make an excuse so he has to leave. Nice and simple.
"Nope. It’s my day off work, and I literally have nothing to do," he tells me with a big grin. I laugh as he goes to the car just as Sophie walks past with her large backpack, flashing Rick a glare which he thankfully ignores. Part of me wants to tell her off for being rude, but her eyes look watery, and so much has changed for her that I can’t help but feel sorry for her. This can’t be easy. I pat her shoulder as she goes by, and she nudges me away in clear anger. I swallow the hurt as I watch her run into the house before I go to grab a box. I get to the back of the car just as Rick picks up three boxes like they weigh nothing. The boxes have kitchen written on the side of them, so I know they are filled with heavy plates and kitchen things. I don’t say anything as I follow Rick in with my one box. I could have grabbed three or more like he did, but that might give away my secret, and my parents taught me better than that growing up. Learning to pretend how to be human is something built into my bones at this point. It’s Sophie I worry about. There were several times we had to run and leave everything because she forgot how deadly it is for humans to know what we are.
"Wow, you must work out," I say as we put the boxes on the floor in the kitchen, and I carry one of them into the lounge.
"Sometimes," he mutters behind me, and I look back to see him watching me strangely or something, before leaving the house for more boxes, I guess. I forget the look, following him out after putting my box down, and together we get them all in the house with little trouble.
"Thanks for all your help, can I ask where the local store is?" I ask, noting that it's getting dark, and I need to get some food for Sophie and me to eat tonight. “Actually, don’t worry, I will just Google it.”
"The store closes soon, so it's pointless to go now. I will order pizza. The pizza shop is literally five minutes away, and I’m a regular," he winks at me, and then pulls his phone out, calling for pizza without waiting for my reply.
“Ah thanks. A takeout would be good for the first night,” I say, grabbing my bag off one of the boxes in the lounge. Rick follows me in, chatting on the phone to the pizza man like they are best friends.
"Put the money away, it’s on me. Any preferred toppings?" he asks, and I shake my head, putting my purse back. Judging from his slightly demanding tone, he isn’t going to let me pay.
"Surprise me," I reply, my voice more husky than usual, and I swiftly realise that I’m flirting. I quickly look away, reminding myself that this man is a human and out of my league. Jesus, control yourself, Adie. It’s been like an hour, and I’m already flirting and forgetting everything my parents told me. Get it together, Adie, you can’t flirt with humans anyway. Wolves and humans don’t date, everyone knows that.
I leave him to order and take a box of Sophie's stuff up the stairs. It's a pretty basic house with a small bathroom in the middle and two rooms on either side, which is just like the photos of the house in the will. But the photos made it look much nicer than it is. I follow the only light on to the room on the left, the one Sophie must have claimed. The door is slightly open, so I can see that Sophie is sat on a chair in the one room with her iPad and doesn't notice me come in. I place the box on the floor by the door, looking around the simple room. There is a double bed with a mattress, and Sophie has made up her bed with her purple sheets. The wardrobe is open, and she has even started to put clothes away before getting bored I suspect. I’m just glad it isn’t that dusty in here.
"Soph, Rick is ordering pizza. Will you come and eat with us?" I ask gently, and she finally looks up at me. I see straight away that she has been crying, and it’s heartbreaking to see her like this. I walk over and pull her into a hug even as she protests by trying to push me away. “You don’t have to be strong around me. I miss them too. I’m sad too, and there is no one that understands what you are feeling like I do.”
"I miss them so much," she cries, relaxing into my hug as I look down at her iPad and the photo of mum and dad on it. They are both smiling in front of a tent, with Sophie right in the middle of them, a big goofy grin on her face and one tooth missing because she fell out of a tree the day before, knocking it out. Luckily, it was only a baby tooth that hadn’t fallen out yet. I remember taking this photo years ago when we went camping. Like we did every year because it was the only safe place to shift and run together as a pack. It doesn’t even seem real that they are gone, and we will never get to do that again. I hold Sophie tighter to me, so grateful that at least she is alive and didn’t get into the car that night. If I had lost her as well…I can’t even imagine losing her.
"I miss them more than I could ever describe, but I want you to know I'm here. You always have a home with me. I’m not mum or dad, and I’m crap at knowing what is best, but I am going to try my best to make this work," I tell her firmly, because I mean every word.
"Thanks, Adie. You’re the best sister. I’m sorry I’m a little shit at times," she sniffles.
“Mum would threaten to wash your mouth out with soap if she heard you say ‘shit’,” I joke, and it seems to lighten the mood as she smiles at me.
“I know, but she said ‘shit’ a lot. Just usually under her breath when she dropped something or was mad at dad, but she would usually add ‘head’ to that one,” Sophie says, and we both laugh as she pulls away. It hurts to look at Sophie sometimes because she looks so much like mum, her brown hair is the same dark colour, and she has her brown eyes too. It just reminds me how much I do not look like my sister or my parents.
“So, pizza?” I ask, reminding myself why I came up here in the first place and that Rick is waiting downstairs.
“Sure. Call me down when it gets here, please,” she replies.
I kiss the side of Sophie’s head before walking out of her room and pause in the hallway, staring at the full length mirror that is half covered up by a blanket. I pull the blanket off and stare at myself for a second. In some ways, it is good that I don’t look like Sophie or my mum because I don’t remind myself of mum. Mum was willowy thin, with thin brown hair and dark brown eyes. Dad was similar looking, but in a more geeky way when mum was more delicate. I twirl a bit of my dark red hair around my finger, which is thick and wavy down to my waist. My hair isn’t a tiny bit thin, it is thick and uncontrollable at the best of times. My bright green eyes shine back at me, the green complements my shiny red hair. Whereas my parents had dark tanned skin like Sophie, mine is pale, and no matter how much I sun tan, it sure doesn't change. My hips make my shirt rise a little, revealing a little bit of skin, and I pull my shirt down to cover it. I know I shouldn’t have eaten that second chocolate muffin at the garage we stopped at, but at the time, I didn’t feel a tiny bit guilty. I think back to the conversation I had with my mum once about why I look so much different than them, and I asked if I was adopted or something as a joke. Mum just snapped that I looked like her brother and then left the room like her ass was on fire. I always wished I had asked her more, and for pictures of her brother, but it’s too late now. I shake my head, stepping back and hanging the sheet over the railing on the stairs. I know it’s just moving into this new home and losing my parents that is making me feel like this. I just need to relax for a bit. I run down the stairs, walking into the lounge.
"Everything ok?" Rick asks me from where he is sat on the sofa, looking comfy with his feet on the coffee table.
"Yeah. I don't know if Sophie will come down, but she might do," I reply, feeling awkward. “It’s been a rough few months, and she is only fifteen. I know she is sorry about earlier.”
"Is she your sister?" he asks with clear questions in his eyes. He must be wondering how a twenty-year-old, or however old he thinks I am, is looking after a fifteen-year-old alone.
"Yes. Our parents past away a few months ago," I say quietly as my voice still catches as I admit it.
"I'm sorry, I know what it’s like to lose your mother, but mine was when I was a lot younger. I have a stepmum anyway, so I was lucky. Hell, I’m not making this any better, am I?" he asks me, rapidly speaking like he is nervous, and we both chuckle.
"Then I'm sorry about your loss too," I comment, and he nods.
"So…what brings you to Midview village, i.e. the land of the boring old people," he asks, leaning back and grinning at me. Whatever nervousness he had is lost, and he’s back to being charming, which is somehow making me nervous.
"My parents owned this house and not much else. I thought it would be a good place to start," I say, and he nods.
"Our reasons are similar apparently. We all needed a new start too, and this place had the perfect job. At least for now," he says, and then suddenly goes serious as he leans forward, placing his hands on his knees.
"When were you going to tell me that you’re a shifter? And while you’re at it, why the hell are you really here?"