2 months later, Austrian Bureau of Supernatural Beings, Puchberg am Schneeburg

***Adriana Anderson POV***

I strutted the marble corridors, my white heels clicking against the polished floor as my black and pink suit stuck tightly to my skin, my hair in a half up-do. I wrapped my skinny, bony fingers around the golden door handle, slightly turning it before deciding to whether interrupt my step-dad during his work hours or wait until his work finished.

His loud voice on the other end of the door startled me, sending a shiver down my spine as I heard him slam his fist on the table. Right now was not a good time. My step-dad was a patient man most of the time. He was calm and collected, all of his qualities which my brother inherited, but I didn't. I got my mothers' mercy, her anger issues and her personality.

"Get him here in 10 minutes. He needs to hear his verdict!" My step-dad shouted, the sound of him slamming the phone echoing in his empty office as he sighed loudly

Taking in a deep breath I twisted the handle, but before I could push open the wooden door, someone else did it for me from the other end, their looming figure terrifying me to my core as their shadow fell over me.

Looking up I saw my uncle, my step-dad's brother Damien, who was startled by my sudden appearance, his mouth slightly parted as I heard his heart beating furiously in his chest, a blank expression on his face.

"Oh, how long have you been standing here?" He asked, calmly, trying to hide the fear behind his voice

"Since dad yelled at the phone." I answered, my hands folded behind my back as I looked up at my uncle.

My uncle wore a three-piece dark blue suit with matching tie and pants, his cuff links personally designed with the letter D. His black and grey hair was slicked back, not a single strand out of its place as his hands rested on the insides of his clean suit pockets.

My uncle had dark brown eyes, his thin lips in a permanent frown as he always seemed to have a crease in between his brows. He had dark circles from his insomnia and a wide forehead from always pushing his hair back, a couple more wrinkles on his face than the last time I saw him. It made sense for him to have wrinkles, he was older than my step-dad by almost 17 years and my step-dad seemed to have a babyface.

"You've been here for 10 minutes?" He asked, earning a low chuckle out of me

Out of everyone in my family, I got well with my uncle. He and I had the same sense of humour, making fun of my step-dad. We did it because we knew it annoyed him, but that didn't stop us from making fun of him whenever he came to visit or I visited his house.

"You want some time alone with him?" He asked, quietly

"Yeah." I answered, a small smile on my face as my uncle moved out of my way to let me in, then closing the door behind me until it was just me and my step-dad

I took a step into my step-dad's office, an L shaped sofa on my right with a glass table in the centre, a human-sized globe to my left - which served the purpose of locating supernatural's - as half the walls were covered with in-built shelves, stuffed with hundreds of books.

My eyes landed on my step-dad's new table which covered half the room, a black marble design on it too difficult to see from the number of papers and pen's scattered on the table.

His office was fancier and luxurious than the others because of the position he held in the bureau, being president was not easy, but it got me access to some areas that other normal workers weren't allowed to, and along with the fact I was a member of one of the Sacred 4.

"Hey, honey." He greeted quietly, his head that was previously buried in his hand now looking up at me

"Hi." I answered, careful not to speak too loudly

I pull out the leather seat, sliding it against the black marbled flooring as I sat down across from my step-dad. Leaning back in the chair, my hands resting in my lap on the clean pink pants I looked outside the balcony window, the clear blue sky and the bright yellow sun shining down on the rather large houses appearing small from the distance.

"How's school?" My step-dad asked, breaking the awkward silence between us

"It's good. I'm all caught up with all the work, with Hermione's help. I'm graduating next Friday." I asked, looking up at him

His well-kept jet black hair was oily and messy, strands falling on his face, his eyelids almost closing as if he hadn't slept in days. All of his movement was at the speed of a turtle, a groan escaping from him every time he shifted in his chair to get comfortable.

"When was the last time you slept?" I asked, frowning visibly

"I'll sleep when all the paperwork is done and is sent to the other 2 bureaus." He answered, eyeing the folders on his desk

There were 3 supernatural bureaus in existence, this one; Bureau of supernatural beings, located in Schneeburg, an hour from Innsbruck. The other 2 were the Swiss and Canadian bureau of supernatural beings, all handling political and magical matters of our world and pulling together all their resources to start the construction of the second supernatural school in Switzerland.

It was a bad time to come. The bureau was flooded with workers and transportation, which was taking workers to and from the Anderson Boarding school to help repair all the damage done to it from me and Aiden. I felt so guilty about it that I didn't hesitate to donate 2-3 million euro's to help with the reconstruction. Don't know what Aiden did on his side.

"Oh my god!" My step-dad exclaimed, startling me and bringing me out of my thoughts

"It's your birthday today. I'm sorry I missed it."

My step-dad had a saddened expression on his face, his tiredness quickly fading away as he looked at me with guilt dripping down his face. Today was my birthday, I finally turned 18 today and Hermione and Paige had thrown me a little birthday party with just the 3 of us.

Dexter had sent me my birthday present, and Hermione and Paige had flooded me with gifts before I got on the plane and flew to the Bureau. I think, for the first time in months, I smiled.

"It's ok. You were busy with work." I murmured, my head hanging low as I played with the button on my pink suit

"No, it's not. Here, I got you a birthday present." He said, exasperated

He opened the drawer to his right, pulling out a blue velvet rectangular box. He slammed the drawer shut, opening up the blue box before turning it around to let me take a look at it. My eyes landed on the diamond pendant. It was beautiful.

"It was your mum's. I kept it with me after she passed away, but I think you should have it." He suggested, his voice low and quiet at the mention of my mum, his wife as he slid the box in my direction

I picked up the box, examining the necklace, the jewel twinkling like the stars in the dark night sky as its enchanting beauty captivated me. It was so mesmerising, and it was my mum's.

I never saw her wear it, she passed away when I was 3, but my step-dad continuously showed me her pictures once I got older. He didn't want the connection between my mum and me to die. In a way, it felt right to remember my mum.

"Thank you." I said, my lips slightly parted as I took in the sight in front of me

"Yeah." He answered back, almost too low for me to hear

I could feel the hurt behind my step-dad's voice, the way he kept diverting his gaze from me. The necklace was the last possession he had of my mum, and I knew it pained him to give it to me, to give the last piece of the woman you love to another person, especially if that person was not yours.

My step-dad wasn't my real dad, but he and my mum knew each other since high school; it's where they fell in love. One night, after the graduation party, my mum and dad had gotten heavily drunk, and then 9 months later my older brother was born.

They never called him an accident, even though I teased him about it to this day. And then, one night, my mum and her friends had gone out for a girl's night. Once again she got drunk, and when a random man hit her up, she didn't stop him.

When my step-dad found out the baby wasn't his, he was disappointed, my mum was on the verge of tears. Surprisingly, they didn't fight, my step-dad didn't want the fighting to cause distress to me. So, they went months without speaking, until my mum went into labour with me. My uncle rushed my mum to the hospital and called my step-dad.

From what my step-dad told me, the second he held me in his arms, all the hatred washed away. At that moment, he knew how difficult it was going to be to raise someone's else baby, but he did it anyway.

"Hey Ana, listen, would you mind coming back later?" He asked, looking up at me intently as I ran my thumb across the necklace

"I have to meet up with the Board of Directors and I have to complete this paperwork before that?"

"Maybe I can help you with something, dad?" I offered, putting the necklace on the empty seat beside me as my arms rested on the desk

Calling him dad for the first time felt weird as it rolled off my tongue. All those years I had only called him by his name, David, and I bet it felt weird for him to hear another person call him dad beside Dexter. But, I was proven wrong. My dad's eyes lit up with excitement as a small smile crawled up his face. He looked happy.

"Yeah, sure." Dad mumbled, handing me a couple of pages stacked upon each other as he tried his best to repress the smile that was crawling up his face from time to time

"I was going to mail it to you, but now that you're here, I'm going to need your signature." He continued, tapping on the bottom of the page where I had to sign

I lifted the papers, reading them thoroughly. If there's one thing I know about signing papers like these, it is to always thoroughly read them. My eyes scanned the hundreds of words, and within a couple of minutes I was finished, one of the perks of being a quick reader.

"Since you own a part of the school, or well your mum who wrote you down as her heir, you're going to have to sign to initiate the reconstruction of the school. The Karlsten's and I have done so along with the Board of Directors, you're the last person." He sighed, squeezing his eyes shut as he rubbed his forehead.

Dad never did this very often; sigh many times or rub his forehead. Observing him over the years, I figured out that something was on his mind, something other than work. It was a habit I had picked up from him, so I probably knew about it better than anyone else.

"What's on your mind?" I asked, picking up one of the many fountain pen's scattered on the table and signing at the bottom of the page

"Nothing." He heaved, his chest rising up and down

"Really? 'cause you're lying through your teeth."

Something was wrong. It was this gut feeling, I couldn't shake it off. I tried reading my dad's mind, an ability for vampires and hybrids, but I was naive, thinking I could just do it. I needed to train in that area of being a hybrid. So instead, I just let out a deep breath, rubbing my forehead stressfully as the fountain pen rested between my 2 fingers.

"Aiden's trial is today." He spoke, tiredly

The sudden mention of his name made my back curl, my head sharply turning to meet my dad's eyes who had a worried look on his face, his fisted hand supporting his chin.

I took in a deep breath, trying to regulate the nervousness that was building up, my heart beating furiously in my chest as I remember the horrific night 2 months ago. It felt as if Aiden was right in front of me, rather than my dad.

"I was on the phone with the supervisor at the supernatural prison. He's saying Aiden's refusing to come out of his cell, how he's ready to accept his punishment." Dad informed, leaning back in the chair

He nervously spun the fountain pen in his fingers, the motion revealing the tattoo running on the side of his ring finger, a heart shape with my mum's name, Andrea. He continued fidgeting with the pen as my eyes became fixated on the telephone, stuck in a trance.

"What's his punishment?" I asked, curiously

"His original punishment was a death sentence. He killed Katherine, destroyed a part of the school and tried to kill you." He spoke, gripping the pen in his hand as the thumb squeezed against the cap

"But, judge Nina found a much more gruesome punishment." He continued, speaking bitterly

I waited for his next words, the nervousness building. But the extended silence between us told me that he wasn't going to tell me the punishment - what Aiden's verdict was going to be. The verdict must be confidential, maybe only high ranking officials could know about it?

"His memory is to be wiped, stored away in the safest room in the Bureau. Take away everything he owns, then leave him by himself." His deep voice cut through the tense atmosphere

My eyes widened at the verdict. Memory wiped? Take everything he owns? I had only heard about having memories wiped. It was only done to the worst of the worst kinds of people.

Aiden may be evil, a monster, but he was far from the worst of the worst. Taking away everything he owns? What was the Bureau going to do with it? Use it for their gain?

"And you didn't think it was necessary to get my opinion on this?" I asked, sternly, my heavy hair falling to my sides as I glared at my dad

"He hurt me! He hunted me down!"

My dad looked at me with confusion dripping down his face, his eyes also widening as his brows furrowed. All his movement came to a halt as his eyes became fixated on me. He stopped playing with his pen and seemed to be frozen in time. He looked shocked.

But then I realised what had happened. The rage took over. It had happened a couple of times. Whenever I got furious, my eyes had a habit of their own, to turn red from my vampirism. I still didn't know how to control it, so I took in a couple of steady breaths, blinking rapidly as I sat there bewildered, trying to push down the anger.

"You transitioned?" Dad asked, his voice louder than normal as he dropped the pen in his hand, leaning forward

"Yeah, a few months ago. After Dexter went missing. It was the loneliness. It triggered it." I spoke, lowly, a permanent crease on my forehead

"I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't there." He apologised, quickly, his hand going to cover mouth at the sudden revelation

Dad sat there in shock, not a sound coming out as he stared out the window, trying to make sense of the situation. He seemed disappointed, in himself. Of course, he would be. He missed my birthday, my first day of school, and my transition.

"It's fine." I spoke, comforting him a little

"I was fine. It didn't hurt or anything if that's what you're worried about. It was like falling asleep. I went to sleep as a witch and woke up as a hybrid."

I smiled at my dad, my voice forcing him to look at me. I think, hearing those words brought him some level of comfort. If I was a parent and was worried about my child transitioning into a hybrid, the first thing I would care about is if it hurt them or not.

But, I wasn't in that position. I couldn't have a child as I was part vampire, my hybrid nature prohibiting me from having a child. Hybrids were rare, only being born into the Sacred 4 with a centuries gap.

"So, are you planning anything for the afternoon?" Dad asked, changing the topic

"Yeah. I was planning on going to the school. Collect all my stuff, but I'll ask Hermione to bring it over if she can." I answered, smiling on the inside, a bit relieved that we didn't have to talk about me being a hybrid

"Before I get going, you mind if I grab a couple of books? Dexter says he wants to know more about being a vampire, you know, granted he did turn into one."

"Yeah sure. Help yourself." He offered, pointing to one of the bookshelves before digging his head into the papers

Dad always knew that Dexter was a vampire. Since my brother's transition a month ago, he has been feeling a little on edge. Ever since he found out about vampires, he insisted on being one, but I guess they came with a side effect. He was a lot crankier, and not to mention the bloodlust.

I was bewildered when Dexter asked me to turn him into a vampire. I straight up rejected his idea. I guess I was worried that he might be turned into a hybrid like me. Being a hybrid was like a curse; only able to perform small acts of magic, downing at least one glass of blood a day to stay strong, not feeling guilty about anything you do. I didn't want it for Dexter.

Vampire blood was flowing through my veins, making it impossible for me to age, but the magic in the blood pushed back. It was like they were at a constant battle with each other, and vampirism always won. It sounds cool being a hybrid, but it's torture.

"Wow!" I exclaimed, looking up at the tall in-built book shelve

It was twice my height, brown or dark brown from some areas as it loomed over me. Some books were neatly kept, the gold, brown or red spine displaying the title whilst some looked like they had been thrown carelessly at the shelf.

The opened books, or the ones resting on the tidied up ones, were all about vampires or hybrids. I guess Dexter wasn't the only one studying up vampires or hybrids. I picked one up, skimming through it before I tucked it between my elbow and waist, adding more and more to my hand until I couldn't handle it anymore.

God, they're heavy

I turned on my heels, putting down the books on the glass table, which was overflowing with papers. Dad didn't seem to mind me walking around the office a lot, and I didn't bother stopping for a while, not until I realised that I had too many books for me to carry.

"Dad?" I asked, nervously, as I saw his head buried behind a paper

"Yeah?" He mumbled, bringing the paper down a little just for him to take a peek at me

"Can you use the teleportation spell on these?"

Dad nodded his head, putting his papers down before walking over to where I was standing. He raised his hands towards the books, doing a weird gesture I had never seen him do before and without a single word, the books vanished into thin air.

"I would do it myself, but-"

"But you're a hybrid?" He smiled, raising a brow as I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly

At one time I was one of the few powerful witches, and now I can't even do a simple teleportation spell. This felt horrible. I hated feeling like this; depending on someone else for magic.

"He's going to be startled when these randomly appear in his lap." I laughed, turning towards the door to leave the Bureau as dad walked towards his desk

"I'll see you late-"

I stopped, not a sound coming out as I looked at a dusty file surrounded by the papers, standing out and almost begging me to read it. The title embedded on the file; Aiden Sullivan.

The Bureau had a file about everyone in the Anderson Boarding School. But, why did dad have it? He wasn't allowed access to these files. Was he hiding something from me?