Chapter 5 Something Has Change

The bar owner talked to her and urged her not to take legal action, promising to pay all hospital expenses and damages caused to her. They also requested her not to give any interviews to avoid bad publicity for the bar. Ella had no problem with this, as she didn't want any complications either.

The woman simply accepted the settlement money to end things, especially since she had been inconvenienced. Because of the incident, Ella felt like something was always going to happen. Was she traumatized? She didn't know. But one thing was for sure, after that night, she wasn't normal anymore.

When Ella went to work on Monday, her colleagues asked how she was. Ella wasn't in the mood to be fake with them.

No one knew what happened to her, so she didn't bother telling them. She was afraid they would call her weird and just laugh at her. They explained what had happened that night. They said they panicked and got scared, so they ran out of the bar. They thought she was following them. But when they got outside, she wasn't there. They tried to go back for her, but they weren't allowed back in, so they decided to wait for the police to help her. Ella gave them a fake smile and a lifeless thank you, but she didn't know why she felt like she had lost her appetite. From that day on, Ella avoided seeing the people she was with at the bar that night. The woman preferred to keep herself busy with work.

"Is she pretty?" Drake asked as soon as Matt entered their hideout. Matt glared at him. They went straight to the bar. Toffee was there, sipping his wine.

Matt was expecting it. He knew they would know, but still, he couldn't help but feel pissed by the fact that he couldn't even decide on his own. It was always like this all the time. It was normal for their group. Nothing could be hidden. They couldn't move and do anything they wanted. And the worst part was, you couldn't argue with them. Complaints had no room for them. You just had to obey.

"Is she home?" Toffee asked. He knew his movements more than anyone else.

"Yes! That's why I'm here," Matt said. He had been tailing the woman for weeks now, making sure she was safe. At first, he wanted to know if she was aware of what happened that night or if she spoke to the media, but then Toffee told him that the woman kept quiet. Matt was amused and confused. It was his fifth reason for keeping an eye on her, being his mate was the second one.

Having that strong mate scent put the woman's life in danger. If he could smell her, so could his clan. If they found out where she was, they would do everything in their power to kill her after he made her his mate.

"Did you tell them about the encounter? Did you tell them I'm tailing her?" Matt asked Toffee with dismay. He knew he could count on Toffee. He had been a true brother to him, even though they weren't blood-related. But he didn't trust Drake. He knew Drake could manipulate Toffee because Drake had the upper hand for being the tribe leader.

"Of course not, and I don't want you to suffer again, bro, like before." Toffee couldn't believe him asking that question. He had been on his side all along.

"I'm sorry, bro. I'm just in distress." Matt tapped Toffee's shoulder and asked for a shot. He pitied his friend, just like he pitied himself. They had lived in hell after coming out of that cave 15 years ago. They were college friends. Toffee had been living alone. Up until now, he hadn't found his mate. He was like him, trapped in this curse of never-ending agony and loneliness.

He found his mate six years ago. He did everything to hide it from them, but the heavens weren't on his side that rainy evening. It was harder for him to make and decide at that time. He had just been awakened by the moon. His strength wasn't enough to fight back. After that, his life became even more hellish and lonely. He deserved that after all. He knew it was his fault.

Ella had long felt like someone was always following her. Sometimes, she felt like someone was watching her or guarding her every move. Even now, almost three months after the incident at the bar, Ella still couldn't sleep properly. If she wasn't having nightmares, she couldn't sleep because of the memories of that night. But what Ella found most strange was that her dreams were different from the memories she saw in her mind when she couldn't sleep. She often dreamed of a dark and smoky place, a monster, and a man, which was like a nightmare.

This was the only dream she had over and over again for three months. Sometimes, the woman didn't want to even take a nap because she thought she would dream about the monster in the dark. Whenever she was daydreaming or getting sleepy, she would go back to the memory of the scene at the bar. The image of the big man who saved her and the man she saw walking away from the bar, who had the same build as the man she caught a glimpse of in the middle of the darkness, didn't leave her imagination.

The image of her superhero was in her mind. The woman almost couldn't remember the trauma of that night, and her resentment towards her colleagues had faded, but the image of that man hadn't.

It was night again, and the woman was not visited by sleep. It was tiring to commute, especially during rush hour. The subway was packed, so you couldn't even sit comfortably. The woman expected to fall asleep early because she was tired, but she was wrong because she had a hard time falling asleep. Ella went out of her room to make some coffee, but she was out of stock.

So, Ella decided to go down to the convenience store in front of her apartment to buy some coffee in a cup. Ella didn't know why her heart was beating so fast, like she was suddenly excited for no reason. She felt hot, as if she couldn't sit still. It was like there was a force pulling her.