Chapter 3

I jolted awake, my heart racing and sweat dripping down my forehead. I had a nightmare about him. I took a moment to catch my breath, reminding myself that it was just a dream.

“Breathe, Lila. You’re safe.” I whispered to myself. “You didn’t see him last night, okay? After scolding your mom, you went to your room and had a good night’s rest. You dreamt about was him showing up at the door, it wasn't real. It was just a dream and nothing more, so calm down, Lila.”

 I swung my legs over the side of the bed and my feet landed on the cool floor. After brushing my teeth quickly, I washed my face. 

I caught my reflection in the mirror: I had tired eyes, I usually tied my blonde hair into a messy bun but it was currently a lot messier. “I won't let you haunt me any longer.” I said to myself, as I stepped into the kitchen.

Surprisingly, my mother was seated on a stool at the kitchen counter, legs crossed, putting on a white robe and sipping piping hot coffee. I ignored her and walked to the freezer, pulling out a carton of milk, then grabbed a loaf of garlic bread and two eggs from the shelf.

“So, you’re just going to ignore me?” She asked, and I kept my silence. “You must be regretting everything you said to me last night, right? The guilt is weighing on you, which is why you have nothing to say.”

I turned to her. “You know what? Now that you mention it, I do have a lot to say.” Before I could continue, she interrupted me. “Save the apologies. I don’t need anything from you.” She hissed, taking another sip of her coffee.

I suddenly burst into laughter. “What’s so funny?” She asked, genuinely confused. 

“You! You’re just so funny, Caitlyn,” I replied.

“What the hell has gotten into you? Are you on drugs or something?” She asked, narrowing her eyes. “And why are you calling me Caitlyn?”

"Well, you’ve always asked me to stop calling you 'Mom,' so I’ve decided to respect your wishes. And about the new house rules.” I raised my hand to emphasize my point. “First of all, you won’t be bringing any more dirty men into my house until you can contribute your share of the rent. Secondly, the next time you submit my name as a guarantor for a loan without my consent, I will have no choice but to take you to court. And trust me, Caitlyn, I’m prepared to spend all my savings to see you behind bars for at least a week, so that you can have enough time to reflect on your actions.” I paused, took a deep breath, and continued. “Lastly, if you don't stop making your crazy noise in this house and disturbing the other tenants, I will be forced to report you to the police for noise pollution and with so many people ready to testify against you, you will definitely face a fine. Since you don’t have any money on you, you might have to sell one of your designer bags or shoes to bail yourself out. Because I won't be spending a dime on your bail.” I listed out in a full breath.

She stared at me in shock for a moment before slamming her coffee cup on the table, stomping to her room, and banging the door shut.

Once she was inside, I finally exhaled. I may have sounded confident earlier, but in truth, it was difficult to say those things to my mother. No matter how many times she has hurt me, hit me, or caused me to be arrested for loans I knew nothing about, she was still my mother.

Hmph, reflecting on what I just said, I can’t believe I just voiced that thought. She actually is the worst mother alive.

After finishing breakfast, I had my bath and then headed to the supermarket where Jess and I worked our morning shift. Night fell quickly, and we went to the bar for our evening shift.

I stayed busy stocking beer bottles and cleaning tables. Once I finished, I returned the rag, bowl, and bottles, then headed back to reception. There, I spotted Alicia, another girl working at the bar, packing her bags as she prepared to leave.

“You’re leaving early.” I said as I counted my tips.

“I asked the manager if I could leave early tonight. I have a date with Frederick in an hour.” She said, smiling widely.

Everyone at Brown’s Bar knew about Alicia’s boyfriend, Frederick. He came around often with breakfast, lunch and dinner, and while others found it sweet, I thought it was a bit ridiculous. 

She works in a fucking Bar, of course she  has unlimited access to free food and she can get it any goddamn time.

“You know.” Alicia started, obviously about to share more about Frederick. “He wants to introduce me to his parents. He says it’s time for the next step in our relationship.”

‘What step?’ I thought. Someone needs to tell these girls that a guy introducing you to his parents doesn’t necessarily mean he’s in love or will be loyal. Roman did the same, but he didn't see me as a partner, instead a trophy.

A trophy that he needed to solidify his position as Alpha. And he wasn't even born into an Alpha lineage, he was merely a bitter Beta yearning for more power.

“It’s getting late, Alicia. You should go now; you don’t want to get caught in traffic.” I said, hoping to shift the conversation away from Frederick and my thoughts away from Roman.

“Of course, bye.” Alicia said, hanging her bag over her shoulder. “Make sure you get rid of the garbage before you leave. And if you can’t come in early tomorrow, drop off the keys with Emmeline or Jess.” She opened the door and stepped out. As the Assistant Manager, her words were final, after the Manager's obviously.

After attending to the last customer and confirming that the staff had all gone home, I went to the store, collected the trash, and headed out back to get rid of it as Alicia had instructed. Getting there, I threw the bag of trash into the garbage can then I turned, about to make my way back inside, when I heard a Male voice. “If it isn’t the fierce little witch.” I turned around to see the leader of the Panther shifters from yesterday, he was surrounded by several more of his kind.

Witch?

How the hell does he know?

The only people who knew about my witch side were Caitlyn and Roman, and that was before my Rebirth. I haven’t seen Roman since then.

So how did this random Shifter discover I was a witch?

This is really bad; I might have to leave WolfsBane.