My Foreign Mate

CHAPTER 3 Trust

Selena knew this wouldn’t be easy now. Elara was the most gentle and sweetest person. She always tried to understand others. But ever since they had to run away, she got scared and therefore short-tempered. Selena understood that. And she also was well aware of the importance of staying hidden and keeping out of trouble. She wasn’t stupid or naïve. On the contrary, the night that changed her life, the night she lost everyone she held dear, except Elara who was burnt so deeply within her soul, who also wasn’t the same anymore.

But now it was time to face her sister, so Selena turned around looked straight into Elara’s eyes, who stood behind the counter in the diner. Everything was visible from outside, the diner had a glass front, with advertisements written on it with a marker. As Selena entered the diner and opened the door, a bell rang. She headed straight to the counter and sat down on one of the worn-down barstools with bright red leather seats. The diner was a frequented place, people walked in and out grabbing a quick bite before heading back to work. Some of them stayed longer, having a chat with friends. The girls were lucky Elara got the job as a waitress at the diner. They weren’t actually poor, they just had no option to access their finances overseas. Elara walked towards Selena with a mug and coffee pot. She placed it in front of her and poured in the black liquid. The silence was so intense, even the country music in the background muted, as she glanced at Elara anxiously.

“Thank you.” Selena placed her fingers around the mug, something to hold onto so she wouldn’t fall of the chair.

“Do you want to eat something?” The warm tone in Elara’s voice was missing.

“What do you recommend?”

“Honestly?”

“Sure.”

“Nothing.” 

Selena looked up to her with disbelief in her eyes. Elara just nodded discreetly and they both had to laugh. “Stick to the coffee. This place is filthy, and the manager tried to grab my butt twice already. I had a hard time controlling my wolf. If he continues, you’ll eventually hear it on the news soon.”

They kept on chuckling and Selena relaxed a little. It seemed like Elara wasn’t going to rip her head off after all. Though she wasn’t so sure about her manager’s safety.

“Do you want to tell me now what part of ‘stay away from any wolf’ you didn’t understand? I didn’t even have to smell her to know. You could just see it.”

“Seriously I tried. I really did. She just didn’t want to leave me alone. For some sick humanitarian reason, she thought she had to take care of me.”

“Don’t forget. They all think we are weak ordinary humans.”

“The spell really works. No one has noticed a thing.” Selena whispered so quietly not even a wolf could have heard it.

“Yes, but you shouldn’t solely rely on the spell. We only have this on chance.”

“I know. Her friends wanted to invite me to hang out with them at her pool.”

“I should actually be so happy for you. One day at a new school, and you’ve already made friends. And a pool? Really? Such a pack cliché.” They both laughed, but reminiscing and missing their old pack’s pool immensely.

“Yeah but it seems like the wrong kind of friends. The worst part is, I think she belongs to the Alpha family. She might be even the daughter. I don’t know. I could be wrong and just paranoid.”

“I wouldn’t say so, Seli. You always used to have good instincts. When I come to think of it, we could also use this to our advantage. We could find out more about the wolves around here and maybe they hear something from home. I haven’t heard anything from our sources and I’m getting worried.”

“This is too risky.”

“I know. It’s your decision. We have to trust each other. I need you to be responsible. If you feel the situation might get too dangerous, you get away from them.”

“Sounds easier than it actually is. For all we know American werewolf packs are a paranoid bunch of hillbillies. Pumped up males and jealous females with a weakness for violence.”

“That’s all we know. Maybe they aren’t as bad as we think.”

“El, do I have to remind you about their common politics when it comes to rouges? Or how the last big rouge purge ended? ‘Only a dead rouge is a good rouge’. The wolves in this country are not to be trusted.” The words that came from Selena made Elara quiet. They both stared into the black emptiness of the coffee.

“Elara, darling your tables are waiting.” The voice from an old waitress woke the two girls from their dark memories. “I’m sorry, Dolores. I’m coming.” Elara went back to work.

Selena thought about the idea of having the chance of getting some information and it was just too tempting. The small opportunity of getting to know something about home was a risk she knew she was willing to take. Suddenly she knew what she needed to do.