Chapter 7：Tensions Arise

“Yes sir, I understand. Thank you.” I said nonchalantly, before turning around and walking away, silently.

I opened the door to my dorm quietly, as I feared disturbing Anna in case she was fast asleep.

“Back so soon?” I heard Anna’s surprised question escape her lips as soon as I entered my dorm, putting my bag on a chair.

She wasn’t asleep, in fact she was wide awake, working on something on her laptop.

“I wasn’t feeling well so I took a leave for the rest of the evening.” I continued the same lie that Deimon forced on me, not wanting to alert Anna. She had already done so much for me that it would be unfair for her to learn more about my problems, especially since she was the only reason I was able to get a job at the bar.

I did not want her to think that my life was getting complicated because of it, especially since I greatly depended on my salary there.

Upon hearing about my sickness, Anna took her laptop out of her lap and placed it on her bed before approaching me with a worried look. She placed the back of her hand on my forehead, attempting to check my temperature in case I had gotten a fever.

“Really? Why? What happened to you? Should I call the doctor?” she asked hastily, her brows furrowed in worry.

I took her hand off me quickly, and gave her a reassuring look.

“No, no. There’s no need for that. I think if I have some rest, I should be fine soon.” I explained, knowing that there was no doctor or medicine to cure me of the problem that I was facing.

“Are you sure?” she asked, looking at me doubtfully. She didn’t seem to buy my explanation but I had to be adamant about it if I wanted to escape her interrogation.

“Yes. Very sure.” I said, curving my lips forcefully.

After a moment of silence, Anna calmed herself, taking my word regarding my recovery.

“Alright. Good night then. Get well soon, Kate but do wake me up in case you feel any worse.” she said with a gentle tone, prompting a voluntarily warm smile to appear on my face.

Anna went back to cozy up on her bed and placed her laptop on a pillow on her lap, continuing to type away on it.

I turned away, groaning silently as my head ached terribly. Even though I didn’t complete my shift for the evening, I was way too exhausted both mentally and physically.

I slipped into the bathroom with my handbag and after taking off my waitress uniform, I jumped into the shower instantly. As the warm water traveled down my body, I couldn’t help brush my finger across my lips.

I could still recall Deimon’s lips pressing against them, making my body have a weird sensation drive within it. I could feel his warm breath touching my skin, as images of our kiss in the VIP room flooded my mind.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get Deimon’s face off my mind as I washed all of his saliva off my lips.

I failed to understand why Deimon did that to me. What did he even consider me to be for him to kiss me the way he did? It was bizarre, and thinking about it, made my headache even worse.

As I got out of the shower, wrapping my hair and body in a pair of thick white towels, I stared at myself in the mirror. My skin was flushed out of its color, the area beneath my eyes were gray while my lips were red, even after taking off my lipstick earlier.

It made me realize the force that Deimon exerted on me and if he continued any further, my lips would tear under his force.

It made me shiver just thinking about it.

Looking to my side, my peripheral vision caught sight of my purse.

I fetched my purse that was thrown on the bathroom floor and dug inside to grab the bundle of cash that Deimon threw at me earlier.  I took off the band that held them together and began to count each dollar over the sink.

After a few minutes, my eyes widened after I had finished counting all of it. Deimon was indeed telling the truth when he mentioned that he was paying me more than double the amount I could earn from just tips at the party. With just this money, I was more than halfway near my goal of escaping into the human world.

I’d only need to work a little bit more to get me just enough to safely settle myself in the new world. I did not want to make myself suffer and let someone take advantage of me just because I wouldn’t have any means to support myself.

It puzzled me however why Deimon would waste so much money on me. Why was it so important for him to have me leave the bar tonight? Then again, he was the Alpha. This amount of money, though it was a treasure in my eyes, was merely nothing for him.

Although it should’ve been a rejoicing moment for me to have such a large amount of cash in front of my vision, I did not feel good about it. I stared down at my body as an icky feeling grabbing a hold over me.

It was like Deimon paid me enough for the kiss that he stole from me. I felt like a wh*re, playing around with customers and satisfying their needs to get paid instead of working hard for my living.

No matter how hard I tried, I was not able to shake that feeling off me. I placed the rubber band over the cash and zipped it up inside my bag, not wanting to take another look at it.

After putting on some comfy clothes, I made my way to my bed.

The feeling of my body hitting the soft mattress gives me temporary relief. Even though Anna was still working on her laptop, she turned the lights off so that I could sleep peacefully.

I covered my body with a blanket, closed my eyes and attempted to fall asleep.

However, even after a few minutes of tossing and turning in my bed, I couldn’t bring myself to sleep at all.

“Kate, are you alright? Do you need anything?” I heard Anna ask after seeing my struggle.

“I’m fine, Anna. I’m just about to go to sleep.” I said, covering my entire body in the sheets and pretended to fall asleep

I was frustrated with myself as my mind was still fixated on Deimon as a wave of guilt washed over me, the more I thought about the kiss between Deimon and I.

Touching my lips once again, I could remember seeing the fire in his eyes. The kiss was so rough and passionate that even just thinking about it took my breath away.

It wasn’t something I felt before.

As I thought about the kiss, I felt a bolt from the blue when suddenly I realized that the academy wasn’t the first place I had actually met Deimon.

I remembered seeing him at an event in Nascent Moon Pack at the time, I was Nash’s girlfriend.

But it wasn’t just any regular event, it was the engagement ceremony between Deimon and Nash’s cousin, Monica.

It made me feel terrible about myself that the man whose engagement I had attended as a guest, was the same man who kissed me tonight.

I wondered what provoked him to take such a drastic step.

I couldn’t make sense of the situation when my mind felt numb, thinking about Nash at that moment.

“Why Nash? Why did you have to do that to me?” I thought to myself as tears spilt from my eyes down the sides of my face.

His rejection was still fresh in my mind. At times, I couldn’t feel it was even real. Knowing it hurt so much being without a wolf, I couldn’t imagine how much it would’ve hurt if I did have one.

I grabbed my pillow and placed it on top of me, muffling my cries as I did not want to disturb Anna.

My heart ached as I continued to sob silently, wondering how my life could’ve been different had Nash not left my side.

I woke up with a tear-stained face, having cried throughout the night before finally forcing myself to sleep during the last two hours before the sun came up.

I wished I could have slept in longer, but today marked the first day of my classes at Umbra Academy. While most people would be excited, I dreaded it entirely. I wasn't in the right headspace to even step outside my room, let alone interact with anyone.

It was apparent to me that I was the weakest in the entire academy, even with Anna's spell, and only time could tell when that vulnerability would be exploited.

Forcing myself out of bed, I freshened up in the bathroom. After a quick shower and changing into some pants and a sweatshirt, I made my way out of the dorm with Anna.

"How are you feeling, Kate?" Anna asked, grabbing onto her backpack strap.

I rubbed my eyes, which begged to remain shut, before turning to her. "I'm much better now. Maybe I was stressed because it was the first day at the bar, but I think I can handle it better next time."

"That's good to hear. The first day is always the toughest, but don't worry; it will only get better from here," Anna assured with a warm smile, prompting me to curve my lips as well, concealing the pain I was feeling inside.

"Let's go grab some breakfast. I'm starving," she said, holding onto my hand and leading me to the canteen.

Upon reaching the canteen, I immediately made my way to the espresso machine and grabbed three strong cups of espresso. I desperately needed it if I didn't want to doze off in the middle of class. Grandfather wouldn't spare me if the academy reported any negative reviews about me.

After grabbing the rest of my breakfast, consisting mainly of eggs, bacon, and toast, I settled at one of the wooden tables next to Anna. I quickly gulped down my espresso before reaching for the second and third cup.

"I-I just really love coffee," I said, noticing Anna's surprise at the amount I was drinking.

"I don't know how you can do that. Coffee is just too bitter for me. I'm happy with my orange juice," Anna chuckled before taking a bite of her club sandwich.

"Anna, can I ask you something?" I suddenly inquired, grabbing her immediate attention.