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"Hi dad , you back early today?" I asked him in what I considered to be my normal voice. I don't know why I was tensed. It was not like I committed a crime.I just had a pet wolf. But I guess dad would flip out if I gave him this information.

My father Dr.Keith Novell is a doctor who is more into research than actually practicing and curing patients on a daily basis.

"Hey Alex. Yeah I left some work at home and came to collect it." He also answered normally which means that he didn't notice Adrian. Good for me but sooner or later I will tell him about my pet wolf.

We spoke about my day for sometime and dad left. I entered home and mom was on call with someone. It was dad?! My dad was in the house just a few minutes ago. That was weird. Maybe he didn't have time to speak with mom and decided to talk to her during the commute.

I finished eating dinner but mom was still on the phone. I was almost near my room when I realized that I left my phone on the dining table. I retraced my steps and mom was still on the phone.

"Don't worry. Nobody will find out about her. We have covered our tracks well." My mom was whispering. She saw me and hastily tried to cover by telling a plot of some movie. She ended the call and gave me a nervous smile.

"Hey sweetheart ! I was just telling your dad about the thriller movie I saw the other day."

"Hmm." I didn't know what else to tell.

"Your dad will be staying over at work today. He asked us not to wait up." She replied and went to the living room. I took my phone and went back to my room.

What did she mean by covering the tracks and nobody being able to find. Who was trying to find whom? I decided I had enough of this. I was scared of the truth and hence avoided confronting till now. Truth could be bitter but I think I am ready to face it. Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth.

I waited till I could hear no more sounds and tiptoed to my dad's den. That is where he kept his documents. If I did find anything it would be there. I silently entered and closed the door behind me. I switched on the light and looked around. There was his lab on one side. I went to the other side where his desk was there. There was an old almirah in the corner which was locked. It was a number lock.

I could actually confront my parents instead of behaving like a thief in my own house. But if my suspicions were false then I will end up hurting my parents a lot. I obviously didn't want that to happen. This is a better option. If I didn't find anything at least I would have sated my curiosity.

For the next fifteen minutes I tried different combinations of the lock. It was to no avail. I had put my problem solving skills till now. Maybe I needed a different, simpler approach. I started again with simpler combinations like my dad's birthday.Still no luck.

Mom's birthday, my parents anniversary - no luck.

I tried their first date's date. Then other numbers which I thought was important to my parents. None of them worked. Out of the blue a thought occurred to me and I entered my birth date and the lock clicked. Omg! Dad had kept my birth date as the code for his lock. Was I doing the right thing by going through his things like this. It would hurt them immensely that I did not trust them. Guilt trickled through me and I just could not proceed. I locked back the almirah, switched off the lights and silently went back to my room.

The next morning when I went to have breakfast, mom and dad were already at the table eating. They both smiled at me and their eyes were filled with such love which made me feel even more guilty thinking about yesterday night. I avoided their eyes and sat down to eat.

"I am thinking of starting work again." My mom was telling. My mom Usha Novell was a school teacher. She also had to quit when we moved.

"That's a good idea. Now that we are all settled in you should start working again" , was my dad's response. That was the end of their conversation.We finished eating silently and I left for work.

I took my regular route and was thinking about yesterday night when something nudged me from behind. I turned to see Adrian.

"You sneaky bastard. I could have died of a heart attack." I scolded him lightheartedly and hugged him. I really needed a friend right now.

"Adrian I need to tell you something. I think I am adopted." I narrated to him the incidents which lead to my suspicions. He was staring ahead like he was in deep thought.

"It doesn't change anything if I am adopted or not.But my mother was talking about covering tracks which sounds suspicious. I went to my father's study and rummaged into his things. I cracked the lock open and almost opened the almirah, when I had a bout of guilty conscience and went back to my room."

We walked silently for sometime.

"I am scared of the truth." I told him and he licked my face in a comforting manner.

We had almost reached my office building. Both of us stopped and he was waiting for me to continue.

"Anyway I think I will let it pass for now till my curiosity threshold breaks. We are here. See you later. Hope Ronan comes into work today also. I could use some handsome company." I dismissed him.

Grr. Grr. He was again growling at me.

"Why are you growling? I think you are hungry. Go have your breakfast. Though I have no idea what you eat." I waved at him and entered the office. Nina was there working. I said hi to her and went to my cubicle. I sat down and immediately went into work mode. At lunch time , Nina and I again went to the same house. We filled our plates and sat at a table. We were talking about our likes and dislikes when Eric and Ronan came and sat at our table.

"Hi Alex and Nina." Eric said and began eating.

"What are you two discussing about?" Ronan asked.

"Oh nothing in particular, everything in general" , was my reply.

"And here I thought you were discussing work." Ronan smiled. I could keep looking at his smiling face.

"Hey there is a gathering today at the house. After work you guys change and get back here. It's not much. Just dinner and get together of people. Don't miss it. It will be fun." He invited both of us and we accepted.

The day ended and I was in the familiar path back home with Adrian.

"And Ronan invited us to this gathering. So, I don't have much time. I need to get changed and get back to Ronan."

Grr. Grr

"I mean get back to the house for the gathering. I have no clue about what the gathering is for.Hey are you angry? Why do you keep acting strange all of a sudden?" I asked him but it's not like he could reply.He just licked my face.My phone started ringing then.It was my mom.

"Hey Alex. Your dad and I are out. Don't wait for us. We maybe late." She informed me. I in turn told her about the gathering I was attending to.

"Be careful Alex. Call dad if you get late and want him to pick you up."

"That's ok. I won't be late and also you said that you guys would be late.So no way dad can pick me up." I assured her and ended the call.

"You wait here.I won't take much time." I told him once we reached my house.

I quickly changed and freshened up. I wore a simple dress and went back to Adrian. He was pacing around. He stopped and looked at me when he heard me.

"Shall we go?" I asked him and he kept looking at me. Finally he stopped and walked to me. He came near me and started licking my face.

"It's a good thing that I don't wear makeup and also that I don't mind you licking me." I laughingly told him.

"I hope I'm dressed okay for this gathering. Nina told me to wear something simple and casual and not to worry about my dress."

It was getting dark and it was tough to make out the way. I took out my phone and turned on the torch. Adrian's eyes looked so green in the phone's torch light.It was spooky.

"I am sure Ronan will look handsome in whatever he wears."

Grr. Grr. Grr. I ignored his growling and continued. Since I didn't understand wolf language I had no idea what Adrian was growling about.

"And his smile. His whole face transforms when he smiles. It is so cute."

Adrian started whining now like he was sad about something. We reached the office. I told Adrian to go back but he kept walking with me. It was dark and nobody was around. So I didn't mind Adrian walking with me.

We went around the office to the house and there was lights here. I shooed Adrian afraid that somebody would see him.

"But you know what?! I don't get any boyfriend vibes from him." Adrian turned back hearing my voice.

"I mean he is handsome and everything. He even seems to be a nice person. But, I don't get any jitters when I am with him. I always thought that when you see your partner for the first time something magical would happen.Some kind of a pull. You know the kind of a pull which made me come towards you when you were lying down the first time I saw you." I ended dreamily.

Adrian started barking happily. His barks were getting louder.

"Shush. People can hear you.Go away now" I scolded him and he obeyed. I waited till he disappeared then went inside.

There were so many people and it looked like a party of sorts. And here I thought it was just a simple gathering.