Finding herself

Chapter 16: Blowing off steam

It took me no more than 10 minutes to reach a huge building in the middle of an open field. It had a racing track going around it and a basketball field on the side.

I focused on the pain and my body reacted almost instantly. My bones started breaking again and reshaping, but it didn't hurt like before. It still hurt like a b***h though.

I breathed through the pain and I was glad when it was done.

I remembered I didn't bring any clothes with me, but I couldn't care less.

I opened the door and stepped inside, where music could be heard through the place. It was upbeat and it had a steady rhythm.

The first place I came in was full of lockers and showers. I searched through the place and found a couple of training bras and pants. I put them on and continued my way toward the source of the music.

The door was open and I could see a couple of people training on different types of machines. I watched a guy make his way on the monkey bars, a different guy lifting weights, and a girl on a bench press.

My eyes found Brian, he was counting for a girl, who was currently on a leg press. The number of weights she was lifting was very impressive and I couldn't help myself but stare.

"Hey, Anya. What are you doing here?" Brian's voice pulled my attention and I smiled at him, while I made my way over to him.

"Hey. I was wondering if you have a punching bag here, that I could use." I gave him my biggest smile.

"Yeah, of course. I'm happy to know that you came here willingly. I thought I would never see you in here. You know, with all the distractions." He winked at me and I knew immediately he meant Sebastian.

"Nope, no distractions here." I looked down as my bad mood returned.

"What happened?" He put his hand on my shoulder. I knew instantly he felt how tense I was.

"He sort of met his mate and left me in the middle of the woods to go home by myself. Anyway, I would love to see that punching bag now. But I don't guarantee you'll get it back in one piece." I moved away from him as I felt uncomfortable all of a sudden and my muscles were itching, waiting for the release of the energy I was keeping at bay.

"Sorry to hear that. Come with me. But don't worry about the bags, they are made for us, so it rarely happens one is destroyed."

We walked behind a second door and it was a room dedicated to boxing. A punch machine, a boxing ring, and at the far end of the room, a punching bag.

"Enjoy yourself. And if you need anything, just come look for me, I'll close this door for you if you want to scream or anything. It's soundproof, so let everything go."

Brian squeezed my shoulder again and left the room, closing the door behind him.

I stared at the bag hanging from the ceiling. I imagined it was Sebastian's face and I just punched it.

It swayed back and forth and when it came toward me, I punched it again. And again, and again.

I had to admit, Brian was right, the chain held the bag in its place, and I wasn't at all gentle.

I hit a couple of times again, but this time with all the strength I could manage.

If it wasn't for the stupid wolf I could be happy right now. Why couldn't things stay exactly the way they were?

Stupid wolf and stupid Sebastian ruining my mood and my fun. Who needs the stupid bastard? Not me. f**k him and his w***e. I hope they burn in hell.

I punched the bag, I put all my anger and sorrow in it and finally, the chain gave out. The bag went flying across the room and it left a dent in the wall. I let out a big huff of air and went to sit down.

The door went flying open and Brian ran into the room

"What the hell?" He said when he saw the bag on the floor. "What the f**k happened here?"

"Sorry about the bag. I'll have it replaced in no time. I told you it will get destroyed." I stood up and was about to leave when he blocked my way. I thought he was going to yell at me or something.

"I thought you didn't like Sebastian like that. But this shows you had feelings for him. Would you like to talk about it? It would be the easiest way to get over him." I put my hand on his biceps and stopped him before he could say anything else.

"Thanks, I'm good. Besides, they say the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else. And I intend to do so, even if I didn't have feelings for him, other than admiration. No love or anything, it just hurts that he could forget about me just like that. And he left me in the middle of the f*****g woods, where I've never been before. Thank goddess for the good sense of smell, otherwise, I would have gotten lost. Anyway, thanks for the concern, but I'll live. Not sure yet about the b***h I met, but we'll see."

I winked at him and made my way to the running mill.

I started running while the machine sped up. The final speed read 30 miles per hour. And it was fast. I kept up with it and it wasn't hard at first, but after some time, my muscles started aching. Even after that, I kept going, I just had to think about the two bastards.

'You are such a drama queen. All of this for a stupid horny wolf.' Onyx shared her feelings on the matter.

'I don't see you doing anything. Aren't you hurt by his betrayal? How can you be so cold-hearted?' I slowed my running little by little.

'Why would I be? He's not our mate. If he were, now that would suck. This is just child's play. When we meet our mate, you'll forget all about him, trust me.' She was so chill and it calmed me down somehow.

'Fine, be it your way. But if that won't be the case, you owe me.' I felt a wave of calmness and I knew it was her. Somehow, when we connected at my parents' grave, we became closer and could share emotions, whereas before, we were like two different people in one body. Before she felt like a stranger, now she's more like my twin, but with one body.

'You'll see I'm right. I always am. It's fun for me, not so much for you.' She started laughing and I couldn't help but smirk at her remark.

By this time, the machine had stopped and I stepped off it and made my way to the showers. It's not like I was wet with sweat, but I felt sticky and gross.

I grabbed another set of bra and joga pants and threw the old ones in the clothes bin. I turned the shower on and stepped inside, the warm water feeling nice on my skin. I washed and then dried myself, put on clean clothes, and walked out of the gym.

It was the middle of the night and I slowly walked home, needing to get some sleep before my shift at the diner.

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I woke up from my short sleep and I needed a second to figure out where I was and who I was. I think I woke up even more tired than when I went to sleep.

I slowly got my ass up from the bed and went to brush my teeth. As I looked at myself in the mirror, I saw huge black circles around my eyes, that showed just how tired I was.

I put my uniform on and fixed my hair to look presentable. I put it in a braid and then in a bun. I grabbed my phone and keys, put my sneakers on, and walked out the door.

I walked to the diner, just like any other day, but today seemed exceptionally blue. I didn't have the energy to quicken my pace or be happy about work as I usually was. I just wanted to get back under the covers and go back to sleep. I guess it wasn't a good idea to go to the gym a couple of hours before I had to get up for work.

I get to the diner and saw Maya was already making the coffee and cleaning the counter. I get in and put my stuff next to hers on the counter.

"Hey, you look like s**t. What happened?" Maya asked me while she prepared the mugs.

"I didn't sleep well. Don't worry about it." I poured coffee into a mug and went to sit down with it. I had to get some caffeine in me if I was to finish this shift.

"I don't believe you. Sebastian didn't let you sleep, huh?" She winked at me and I just drank my coffee. She sat down next to me.

"No, he met his mate. I went to the gym too late and didn't get enough sleep, okay?" I had to restrain myself from raising my voice. She didn't do anything to me and she didn't know.

"Oh s**t, I'm sorry. Well, good for you, because tonight, you are coming with me to the party in the next town. You can now meet someone new to keep you warm at night." She laughed at her joke and nudged me with her shoulder. I chuckled and imagined what it would be like with anybody else. Would it be worse? Better? I guess I have to find out.

"Fine, but you have to do something for me first." I put my empty mug in front of her and smiled the biggest smile I could come up with.

"What?" She scrunched her eyebrows and waited for me to answer.

"Get me another cup of coffee and some pancakes with Nutella." I winked at her while smiling and she just rolled her eyes at me and went to get my breakfast.

She joined me and we talked about the party and who is going. When I was done, we cleaned up the table. The customers started coming just then and I felt refreshed and ready to take some orders.

Everybody was extra nice to me today and I had the feeling they knew what happened the night before.

The day went by fast as the diner was always full and I didn't have time to slow down or think about stupid things.

The shift was about to change and the afternoon chef and waitresses came in and started helping because it was in the middle of the lunch rush.

As we were working, the rush calmed down and we had to clean up in the kitchen, so the afternoon staff would have dishes and cutlery. As I was putting the dishes on the rack to dry, I could hear what everyone was talking about. Even though I usually could hear pretty well, today it was better. I saw Vanessa and Elena whispering to each other next to the computer.

"Omg did you hear? Sebastian met his mate and left our poor little Anya all by herself in the woods." Elena said and laughed, Vanessa joined her and I just got annoyed.

"What? Really? Damn, I wish I would have seen that, that's hysterical." They were now laughing out loud and everyone could hear them.

I could feel rumbling in my chest before I could hear the growl that came from my lips and I was shoved to the side, while my wolf took control. Our eyes glowed and the girls were now looking at me, frightened. Suddenly, they started coughing and they clutched their necks.

Maya ran into the kitchen and put her hand on my shoulder, breaking eye contact with the two worms, now squirming on the floor.

"Relax, it's okay, they learned their lesson. Remember, there are humans in the diner that don't know anything about us." That broke me out of the trance I was in and I felt myself gain control back. I untied my apron and threw it on the rack.

I stepped over Vanessa and Elena, now sitting on the floor, with their backs to the wall, huffing to get air in their lungs faster.

"The dishes are done," I told them and just walked out, Maya was right behind me, and I could hear her chuckle quietly to herself as she looked back at them. That should teach them to gossip about someone's misery.