Shirley.
"No one explained that adulthood would be this hard," I muttered to myself, turning in my chair to face the lavish, expanse of my bedroom looking haphazard.
Clothes littered the marble floor around the large wardrobe standing to the left of the bed, with the bedding crumpled in a mess.
Still in my pajamas, I was trying to get a grasp of the new book my father had shoved
into my hands the day before, claiming it was necessary I read it to get acquainted with the recent technicalities of pack politics. I read books, and I loved gathering information, but the current book proved to be a perfect sleeping pill.
Glancing at the book in my hand to see the title, The True Leader: Spirit of Leadership sipping beyond wolf lore, a hiss escaped my lips as I slapped the book shut. Since the day before, I had struggled to get myself engrossed in the book, but all my efforts proved to
be a waste. Contemplating whether to plead with my father to let me drop the book or surf for the book summary on the net, I heard the bell ring.
Wondering who was at the door, I forced myself up, the book becoming a secondary concern as I tossed it to the large desk that bore a mountain of other books I had devoured before now. Walking up to the door, I looked through the peephole to see one of my dad's men all dressed up in suit. I pulled the door open with a groan.
"What is it?"
"Your dad wants to see you."
"Huh?" I was going to argue when I noticed a small coiled wire by the side of his neck, leading to a small earpiece on his right ear. This was security. My dad wants to go out.
"Right," I added awkwardly.
Left with no choice, I walked back into the room, grabbed the book, and headed out, closing the door behind me and following the man. Walking down the hallway, we got to the stairs and walked down. Halfway down the stairs, I saw my father's figure, an average-height man with well-swept black hair almost turning grey, fully dressed in a well-tailored suit.
He turned around to meet my gaze as I got to the foot of the stairs, and a small smile tugged at his lips, followed by a chuckle. "Morning Dad." My eye slid to his dressing of suit and tie, which communicated authority and the money to back it up as he spoke.
"You're still in your pajamas."
I nodded, glancing over his shoulder to the news on TV, which was turned to mute.
I read the caption sliding from left to right to see it was still the news of the missing humans and animals, mostly pets.
"They still haven't figured this out?"
My father followed my gaze to the television, then turned back to me. "We're working on it. But I suspect this has something to do with Sky valley."
"You don't think the governor would watch these disappearances happen right under his nose, do you?" I quirked a brow at him.
"He's the governor. He may have approved a silly rule that is causing all of this nonsense."
Behind him, I noticed one of his men scamper into the room and hurrying towards us, his shoes clicking on the marble floor as he approached.
"Sir, you need to see this. This message got in this morning from the governor." He handed my dad a tablet and I slid closer to him to read the message on the tablet, my eyes catching a paragraph.
The rate of these disappearances is becoming alarming and you know how curious humans can be, so I oblige you to lift any rule you may have made that is encouraging these disappearances.
I can't stand these human media personnel bothering my life.
"Imagine," I looked up to my father as he returned the tab to the man with zero concern on his face and I continued. "We should be the one telling him that."
My father nodded. "Apparently. I do have a council summit to plan." His hand went to my hair, caressing it. "I would love to have your input too, but seems like you learned a bad habit when you traveled. Is that how other students sleep in Diamond county?"
"I uh…" I trailed off, trying to explain myself. I had just returned from my five-year study. My father had sent me overseas to study politics because of my patriotism and interest in pack politics, and living in school made me pick a new lifestyle of waking up late, as I had nothing else to do but attend classes and study.
"Fine then." My dad continued, ignoring what I wanted to say. "I will be meeting with the council elders of Siliconvalley in my office in two hours. You're welcome to join us as a seat is reserved for you."With a curt nod, my father took a few steps away from me, then turned around and headed out with his team, one of them seeming to whisper something to him and he nodded as their figure disappeared through the door.
"A meeting in two hours," I muttered to myself as I walked up the stairs, and back into my room to meet the mess still waiting for me. Taking a quick shower, I shrugged into a milk-colored blazer and matching pants, and not ready for the hassle of stilettos, I wore a matching flat shoe of the same color.
Glancing at the mirror, I tied my dark hair into a ponytail, then headed to my desk where my laptop was lying, a large tablet lying on top of it. Shoving the devices into my bag, I carried it, not forgetting to pick up my phone lying in a corner of the desk. With one last look at the sleeping pill my father had termed a book, I walked out of the room.
Downstairs, I met my bodyguard who was dressed in the same black suit as my father's men. Taking my bag from me, he led me outside to a waiting convoy of three cars, and I slid into the second one, the man joining me from the other side.
"We barely have an hour to make it to the office." The man's baritone came through as he joined me.
"I know, Hank." I burrowed into my phone, scrolling through feeds until I saw a video of a young man I knew so well. Dean Aguilera.
"Thank you, thank you." The man said wearing a plastic smile, as lots of hands holding mics struggled, almost jabbing his lip with the mic as he glanced around. Looking into the camera, it seemed like his eyes met mine as he continued.
"The well-being of the people in Greensville is my utmost concern, and I'm committed to making the State a better place for everyone. To this end, I will not hesitate to use the full arsenal of my position to fight anything and anyone responsible for these disappearances."