Adrian Khöller's Story

4pm so often encapsulated a sense of the 'calm before the store' in the pack house. It was generally the quietest time of day. Some of the kids were out (either because they'd had afternoon classes at the school, or because they worked or were just 'out and about'), some of them were in but were generally mooching in their rooms or other discreet corners...perhaps trying to avoid being found to help out with the preparation of dinner.

Tai, for her part, took full advantage of it. All the food materials for dinner were prepared and laid out in the kitchen, and tonight it was a nice easy roast. Just season it and stick it in the oven for an hour or so. But Heaven forbid she should deny the youngsters the opportunity to get their hands stuck into the task...

So until some of them materialised, she was sat on the arm of one of the chairs in the living room - just adjacent to the kitchen, gently strumming her guitar and humming to herself with a wry, contented grin. She could still remember being a teenager in this house herself, always feeling a little bit of an oddball but always happy. Cassidy - alpha female back then - had probably run a tighter ship than Tai did now that she was the alpha female, but that no longer bothered her. This was Adrian's time, and with him she was going to do things her own way. She'd grown comfortable with that over the years.

She could see through the open window that it was still bright outside...the first hints of autumn just about starting to manifest themselves in the woodland which the house overlooked. It was a time when many members of the pack started to realise how they'd wasted the summer lazing around, and sprang into action pursuing outdoor activities before the temperatures started to plummet. Right now though, it was obviously going to be a pleasantly warm evening.

Her mind was wandering all over the shop as she played softly, before she was jolted back into reality by the beeping of her phone. She quickly picked it up and looked at it. Just as expected; a message from Adrian. He and Duncan had taken the 'scenic route' back from their patrol, and were going to be slightly late back. She smirked and shook her head. How things had changed over the years. Adrian was a far less strict an alpha than his father had been, but still managed to command the respect of everyone.

Firing off a quick message back, telling a small lie that dinner was already in the oven cooking so he'd better not be too late, she propped her guitar up behind the sofa and wandered through to the kitchen. She didn't start cooking yet per se, she just started shuffling around a few pots and pans, creating some distinct "dinner preparation" type noises, just to see if it would coax a few people out to help...or whether it would cause them to retreat further into hiding from their duties!

---

Adrian tossed his PDA from one hand to the other, waiting for Tai's reply. When it came, he read it, nodded, and tucked the device safely away in his pack. Patrol...what a wonderful cover for an hour or two of outdoor buffoonery with a good friend. All in the name of fulfilling his role as alpha of the Khöller pack! If it weren't for the fact that the post-effects would be obvious, he'd have taken along a few beers for Duncan and him to enjoy on the trek.

Of course, the route they took had to resemble something like a realistic perimeter of the territory, and of course Adrian knew the important of knowing what was going down on his own turf. He'd seen one or two familiar faces along the way - mainly where the patrol route brought them close to the town - and some of them had been humans (blissfully ignorant of the presence of a pack of wolves living among them) but most of them had been pack members living in the town.

Still, just as expected, nothing untoward had been encountered. It had just been a thoroughly pleasant time out with a good friend. The only pressing matter now was getting back in time to retain the moral high ground when some of the young people started skulking in late for dinner. Being late was foolishness anyway...anyone who's sat down to eat with a pack a wolves (be they in human form or otherwise) knew that tardiness eventually resulted in starvation! It had been that way when Adrian was young, and it hadn't changed since then.

"Yo Duncan!" he called out, realising he'd lost sight of his friend who must have pressed on ahead. "Maybe we should short cut down onto the road? Tai says grub's already bubbling...and I'm not sure if she's bluffing. You eating with us tonight? Always welcome."

Duncan, being a fully fledged adult pack member, did not live in the pack house...officially. But the spare room on the ground floor was frequently used by him as a crash pad, since he did not yet have a mate, and therefore was not required to be 'home' in any particular hurry!

Duncan's head turned slowly, his feet slowing to a sudden stop. He must have zoned out while scanning the tree line on the perimeter, he had a tenancy to want to focus on the smallest things the slightest movement even it was just a leaf falling or an animal running past it could still mean danger.

Looking over to Adrian he nodded slowly shrugging his shoulders shoulders he spoke " I'd love to mate...Tai's cooking always draws me in, let's hope the kids are helping out...kids are so different these days" he commented stretching his arms out as if preparing for a run hearing a reassuring click from his shoulder he sighed softly and continued. " I don't wanna sound like my father but i preferred when we spent most of our time in the woods...helping out the family, learning to fight what our fathers did you know?..... But now kids mope in their rooms and avoid any kind of work"

Duncan highly respected his father and they were very close and spent what ever time they could mainly fishing. This was a hobby which his father had taken up after retiring from the pack and he wasn't a young man anymore, he was getting on in years, but kept healthy as he could and didn't do anything that was to energetic incase his heart couldn't keep up. His mother however was one to hold the rein on his father and would show concern like any mate would for their other half, they were even closer as they grew older together.

Tai paused for a thoughtful moment when Erin solicited to know more about Lux some time. It could have been a way of politely ending that train of conversation, but it sounded genuine enough. How easily Lux's name had fallen from mind and speech over the past eighteen years...despite the remarkable fact of her being the only female in living memory to survive her first shift without her mate. And now, who knew where she was...

"Thanks hon." she said to Erin as she passed through the back door leading from the kitchen to the patio. The kitchen was fairly large but was already starting to feel crowded. Perhaps, she thought with a smirk, it had been designed only to fit the female contingent of the house pack, based on the old ideals Erin and Mark were so vehemently opposing.

Tai's heightened senses caught Raena's scent before her daughter was even in the room. She looked over and laughed under her breath. A rose in the hair this time...it was stuff like that which Tai found so endearing, but knew at the same time confounded Adrian as to how Raena could possibly be his successor as alpha one day.

"Hey munchkin," she said, deliberately using the less-than-well-recieved childhood nickname for her daughter that she found it fun to bring up from time to time, "how about you live a little yourself and come over here, join the party and peel those potatoes."

---

Adrian nodded and chuckled...though there was a slight awkwardness to his response. Spending most time in the woods and helping out the family...yeah, he could see Duncan being like that when he was young. But it was difficult to forget of himself that Adrian had spent most of his youth playing video games and winding up the females in the pack house. But for now it was best to agree with Duncan...hopefully his past wouldn't come up to embarass him too much, though if it did it would probably come from Tai, or possibly one of the others who was with him back in those days.

"Yeah, tell me about it." he said, "Although perhaps we should give the current bunch some credit. They seem to be learning that the best way to avoid work is to be out and abou..."

He caught a movement in the foliage some way up ahead to the left. As if someone approached, and then quickly darted away. He raised his head and peered forwards. What concerned him the most was that whoever it was made their retreat towards the pack house.

"You see that?" he said curtly to Duncan, "Best check it out. You go after them, I'll circle the tree line and catch them if they try to come out the other side..."

He didn't wait for a response, but broke into a sprint further down the path until the meadow opened up to the left, and followed the forest edge, knowing that if the figure in the woods was heading for the pack house they would come out somewhere around here...

Duncan nodded running into the trees leaping over a fallen log. His eyes locked on the person running in front of him, he gained speed as he weaves through large bushes and low hanging tress. He could feel his heart beat increasing and his adrenaline was pumping through his veins. His wolf was loving every minute of it, the feeling of the chase was something he needed.

Breathing deeply he increased the stride in his legs gaining the distance in between him and his persuiter he thought back to memories of him running in the woods after his friends and staying in the woods untill sun set. He loved being outside he would happily live outside if he ever needed to other pack members taught him how to make a fire and build a shelter and eventually hunt for food.

He looked around to see where Adrian was he was in front of him all Duncan had to do was drive the person out of the woods so Adrian could catch them. Finnaly catching up to the person Duncan moved to the side forcing the person to turn out of the woods.

Midnight could hear the pounding of her feet behind her, but something was wrong, yet somehow felt a little right to be the prey for once in her life. She dug her feet into the soft earth then realized she was almost ready to smile. She mentally shook herself as she gained more speed and leaped over a fallen tree branch. Whats the matter with myself? Feeling happy about being the prey, about being chased after and almost smiling! Midnight didn't realize the trap she was walking into but when she realized she was getting closer to the house, she smelt Adrain's scent on the breeze. It was too later for her to slow and stop as she neared the edge of the trees, so she let out a burst of speed hoping to outrun Duncan and dodge Adrian.

Tai could see that her chances of getting much help from the gum-flapping males in the room was diminishing as they got more bolshy with each other. Some things didn't change much! But it was OK. One person chopping, one person peeling, once that was done all that had to happen was for it all to go in the pot with a few sprigs of...

She looked at the meagre offering of greenery Erin presented her with, and managed to turn her look of dismay into a look of serendipity quickly enough for anyone to notice.

"Ah good thinking Erin!" she said, "Coriander goes well with lamb too. I'll put in a bit of cumin and paprika, and we'll give it a bit of Moroccan heat. Well done."

With a smile she took the herbs and began to quickly chop up the leaves, before she was distracted by a yelp of pain and looked up to see her daughter nursing an injury. She raised an eyebrow incredulously. Really, she's cut herself on a potato peeler?

"Oh Rae...OK don't worry go get that washed. That's probably enough potatoes anyway. Maybe go keep an eye out for your father, and see if Duncan is with him. Need to now how many places we're setting at the table OK?"

---

Adrian prowled along the treeline pensively looking for any movement...and then there it was. He could see Duncan steering the figure to the right spot, and put himself right in the person's path. Whoever it was was fast, and made a cunning lunge to get away, but Adrian was well prepared enough and managed to tackle the girl to the ground, gently so as not to hurt her. It didn't take him long to recognise who it was.

"Emily??" he exclaimed, quickly releasing her and standing up. "Are you OK? Why were you running from us?"

---

Calvin slammed the ball hard against the surface of the basketball court and weaved from side to side, feigning against imaginary opponents. The community game was tomorrow night and, typically, none of the team were available for practice. Something had Calvin in a foul mood tonight. He wasn't sure what it was, but the last thing he needed was to be around the rabble at meal-preparation time...Quinn being an honourary female, Erin answering all the questions nobody ever asked...grrr.

The pack dynamic got to him sometimes. Especially when it was so close to the full moon. Just four night away, and everybody was still living like a bunch of...he couldn't even bring himself to say it. He'd gotten in trouble for starting the discussion too many times before.

With a sigh her turned and went into the house, stepping into the hall and pausing just in case he caught the sound of anything worthwhile going on.