1.
Wishes
Have you ever loathed the image of yourself in the mirror when you gazed in it? I get up every morning and do it. Why?
as I am weak and could not meet my parents' standards.
When I was little, my mother—the Luna of the Mirage pack—never gave me a hug. Whenever I was there, her eyes were lifeless and blank. She hated me, yet I followed her around like a puppy who wanted to please its mother.
I recall bringing a stick figure portrait of our family into her room and exclaiming, "Look, Mommy, I drew this for you!
We live there!
She removed the drawing from my hands, but rather than smear it, she used her nails to create claws to tear it apart.
She yelled at me in a loud voice as I watched the pieces fly to the floor. "Stop bringing me drawings, little wretch! You are annoying! I do not want anything to do with a wolfless joke like you because you are not one of my children." Though they hurt, such remarks did not bring me to tears. Rather, I made an effort to please my mother by acting as though I was not experiencing deep agony, but it was ineffective as always.
My parents detested me unconditionally, but I did not realise at the time that my family would never embrace me. A year ago, I from my pack. There was nothing else I could do because back home, no one regarded me. I packed up my belongings and left the Werewalf family who had rejected me since I was considered a bother.
They could not even manage to locate me. It is funny how my lack of an inner wolf does not make my family view me as a person.
Being the first barn child to be the Alpha of the Mirage pack, I am the daughter of Alpha Pike. However, after birth, my wolf never awoke and I was still unable to shape-shift. My younger sister has shown herself to be stronger than both my parents at a young age, and I am a failure. They thus designated her the Alpha.M. I../was also forgotten.
My relatives started to bully me as they pretended I did not exist. The saddest part was that some of the people who teased me included Faith, my own younger sister. They called me weak. Her partner Marcus took great pleasure in using me as a punching bag, and Faith would just laugh while he struck me.
I wince at the thought. Now that I am living in a new city and working as a waitress at Bar25, my manager has given me permission to sit and drink during my shift because tomorrow is my eighteenth birthday (yeah me!). My lemon cola tastes great, but it has no alcohol!
I look down at my phone and take another sip of my beverage. I have attempted to reach my boyfriend Thomas a gazillion times and he still has not returned my calls, but at least he is texted me.
Thomas: I apologise for missing your birthday. I promise I will be back home later, but something essential came up. Bye, and see you at the flat!
I am not exactly crying, but I am disappointed that my boyfriend can not make it to the bar where I work. Thomas is nice, but I am starting to notice that he never seems to have time to get together. I want to break up with him because we only get to hang out in the mornings before he leaves for work.
"Is this chair taken?"
I was startled by the speaker and dropped my drink. When the stranger reaches out to collect my glass that is about to fall, it crashes across the table.
He gets cola on his brand-new white shirt.
"I am very sorry, I swear! "I am such a freaking klutz!" she exclaimed, quickly getting up and clearing the mess with several napkins from the stack of cutlery on the table. "This is where I can assist you. It is just a shirt," he replies with a sweet smile as he accepts the napkins I am holding out.
I can not help but notice his attractiveness. His jawline is sharp enough to cut diamonds, his eyebrows are two angry slashes of dark blonde hair, and his flawless facial hair is the icing on the cake. Unlike his hair, which appears dishevelled as like he had rubbed his hands through it at least ten times tonight, it appears smooth.
I swoon a little in my seat, even though he appears to be in his early thirties. Tall males with broad shoulders and leather coats are two things that I adore. Do I seem alright? I Brenda my blouse is decent enough, and I am wearing my blonde hair in a ponytail.He extends his hand and says, "My name is Jeffrey."
I give it a shake. "Assume."
"What a beautiful name," he remarks, his gaze resting a bit too long on my face.
I blush, feeling very self-conscious in my white skirt and soiled shirt. "I am grateful."
Goosebumps cover my arms as we continue to stare into each other's eyes, lost in each other's worlds. Even though Jeffrey is a total stranger, I can not help but feel drawn towards him.
Jeffrey does not go, therefore he must think the same thing.
"Would you mind if I bought you another drink?" he offers, pointing to the vacant seat across the room.
For an instant, I am unsure if Thomas would be okay with me striking up a conversation with an unknown person, but then I realise that he is not even here for my birthday.
I decide to be a rebel and I ask, "Why not?"
When the bartender comes over, Jeffrey waves and gives me two more colas with lemon. He then goes and gets himself a glass of whisky.:
"So, Brenda, what do you do when you are not dumping drinks all over strangers?"
I snicker. "I will let you know that I have a boyfriend, even though you are a flirt."
"Well, I am not here to flirt," Jeffrey says with a smile as he looks down at the platter of candy next to me. "But I will be bold and say your partner is a...fool if the lit candle on your cupcake indicates it is your birthday."
He clearly intended to name Thomas something far worse, for I can not help but smile behind my Coke.
Why does he act foolishly?"
Jeffrey furrows his brow. "Because he is taking someone as lovely as you and leaving her to celebrate her birthday alone."I am unable to contain my laughter."That is really corny. Do women genuinely fall for your flirtatious strategies?"
He gives himself a quiet smile. "Yes, but sometimes it is sufficient to just allow them to see my face."Oh, so he is aware of his good looks? My curiosity piques and I start to laugh in my chair. "I believed you were not making out?"
I am not making out with you. I can not stand how old you are."Jeffrey does not seem to be laughing, but even with his deadpanning, I can tell he is kidding. Though it is obvious that Jeffrey is older than I am, I would not have given a damn if we were not together. He towers above six feet, and his shirt reveals his muscular body. What a stinking snáck this guy is.
He smirks as I keep assessing him. "If it is not clear,
Just kidding, one snort "Your sense of humour is peculiar."
His smile keeps expanding.The girl who is laughing says.My lips feel better, "Tourné."
Jeffrey seems happy with himself and says nothing out of the ordinary. I examine him closely as he picks up his whisky."You are not that old."
His mouth twizzles behind his drink.
"You would not expect it."
His blue eyes contact mine, and I have to battle not to drown in them because they make my chest quiver. In my entire life, no man has ever had such an impact on me. I am feeling really happy about this one, and it even smells nice. "So." I try not to sound as apprehensive as I am, and I drawl. "What are your hobbies, other than 'not flirting' with women at the bar?"
He declares, "I like films." "Actually, I was going to the theatre, but because I was running late, I was turned away. I am sitting here speaking to you right now.
"Which film was it?" I take a bite out of my cupcake.
His mouth quivers.
"Is this intended as a test?"
Even if it is not, I give him an evil smile and say, "It is." "It will depend on your response whether or not I accept you as a friend."
His eyes dance with amusement. "You enjoy scary films, are you not a fan?"
I look at him fixedly. "How are you aware of this?"
"You simply give off that vibe. She may appear innocent, but beyond her kind smile lies a nasty sense of humour. You probably did not even flinch when you watched The Conjuring in the theatre."
"You are right," which is actually terrifyingly true. "Yeah, I watched it, and guess what? It was not even that frightening to me." Jeffrey lets out a chuckle. "For the most of the film, I had to turn away."
"Oh, you were that guy who screamed at the movie theatre?" I am kidding, but Jeffrey bursts out laughing. It could have been me.
I can not help but chuckle beside him. A large, frightening man confessing that he can not watch scary films is endearing in a way. Invest in me, please.
Weifall strikes up a discussion. When I tell him about my work, my limitations, and my favourite animals, Jeffrey listens intently and smiles when appropriate. He is a pleasure to converse with, and before I realise it, we are joking and laughing like old friends.
There are wolves as the clock strikes twelve.