Kieran’s POV
Even after Xander had walked away, I just couldn’t bring myself to move from the spot I was rooted to. The wind was blowing even more harshly and I was freezing, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. Goosebumps trailed the surface of my skin, and no matter how hard I rubbed against my arm, it did nothing to shake away the cold.
Perhaps it was just the shock. The fact that despite how hard I thought I hid, Xander still found me. I would be lying if I said the thought of our paths crossing again didn’t flicker in and out of my mind.
Whenever it did, I was quick to push them away because I couldn’t bear the thought of him. It hurt too much to think about him, and I had decided to choose myself.
I had sworn that I was going to do things that would only benefit me. I had even made myself chant that if I saw Xander, I would turn away immediately and make a run for it. Then why did I not only go to him again, but waited till he was done talking? We had a whole ass conversation.
A loud creak from behind was all it took to pull me out of my thoughts. I jerked in fear almost immediately. Once I was sure I hadn’t missed my step or broken any bones from the sudden jumpscare, I turned in the direction the sound had come from. I let out a breath of relief when I realized it was just the diner door. It was way past closing time, and it was empty now.
Usually when the diner had closed, it was up to us to lock it up. Since I was usually busy in the kitchen, I never got the chance to actually lock it up. Me and some of the coworkers usually joked that we would take turns to lock up the diner one day, and we even scheduled days for everyone on kitchen duty to lock up the place.
Today was my turn and a small smile made its way to my lips. What were the chances that I got to lock the diner, the very day Xander showed up too?
After spending a couple of minutes still rooted in my spot, I decided that I had enough for the night. I walked into the diner, my footsteps small and heavy. I didn’t waste any time in locking up the place. Only when I was done, did I realize I was the only one in there.
Somewhere in between me and Xander’s little confrontation, Cecil had disappeared. She was the waitress who had gone to signal him that the diner was closing, before I walked past the counter. Maybe if I had decided to help them clean up and take out the trash like I had considered, I wouldn’t have bumped into Xander.
Well, maybe…
I stole one more glance at the diner before heading upstairs. My footsteps echoed throughout the hall as I made my way to my room. Exhaustion washed over me as I got to my room. I basically ran to the bed and slumped on it immediately.
My plan had been to come up here and have a good night’s sleep, but that wasn’t possible anymore. I didn’t even need to try, I just knew. Xander’s presence was only going to make me think throughout the night, and I didn’t particularly like it.
I had barely pressed my face against the pillow when a loud knock interrupted me. I glanced at my door before I let out a quiet groan.
“Oh, goddess.” I muttered under my breath. I turned to my side, and pressed my face against the pillow. A small thought crept into my mind, and for a minute, I considered pretending to be asleep. No one would fault me and I could easily tell them I had fallen asleep early because I had a busy day today.
Another groan slid past my lips as the knock sounded again. I already had a few ideas on who it could be, but it didn’t matter. I was still too tired to move.
I groaned as I finally decided to just attend to whoever it was. I got out of bed and headed towards the door.
“Hey” Cecil called out to me the moment the door swung open.
“You’re awake.” she noted.
“Cecil.” I gave her a small smile in return. “What are you doing here?” I asked.
Call me crazy or whatever, but a tiny part of me had hoped that it was Xander at the door. What the hell was I even going to do if it ended up being him? And how did I even think he was going to find me?.
No, because seriously, I had to be crazy. How the hell would Xander make it up here? I was becoming delusional.
“… are you even listening to me?” Cecil’s voice brought me back to earth.
“Are you okay?” she asked and I blinked to process what she said.
“I’m okay.” I finally said as I shrugged.
“I’m just tired. I had a long day.” I said. Which wasn’t a lie. I was so tired.
“I know, but I just wanted to apologize to you first.” I watched as the lady in front of me wrung her hands together.
That wasn’t even all. I watched her clean the invisible dirt in between her fingers. She looked nervous.
“I don’t think I would be able to fall asleep without talking to you first.” she said and I frowned slightly.
“Um, come in?” I said, stepping aside and allowing her inside. We sat on my bed and I stared at her as I tried to think of what could be wrong.
“What is it?” I asked softly.
Cecil and I weren’t best friends, but I wouldn’t say we were enemies. We had interacted a couple of times, and that was enough to let me know that she wasn’t a bad person.
Just like me, she had a room upstairs too. I had no idea how long she had been here for, and truthfully, I couldn’t be bothered enough to know. We weren’t that close.
While I was usually on kitchen duty, she had the task of waiting at the tables. I could count the number of times we spoke, and it never went past the usual greetings. And sometimes, a little joking here and there.
The only favor I had asked her for had to do with Xander. After a handful of interactions, I decided she was trustworthy to know my secret, even though it wasn’t everything. I had told her to cover for me, if anyone ever came looking. That was all. So, she didn’t even actually know any secrets. She only knew I was hiding from someone.
I guess a part of me knew Xander wasn’t going to sit back till he found me, and I was right.
I had made plans ahead of him, to make sure he never found me, but somehow, the universe had chosen to kick me to the curb one more time.
“I really tried my best.” Cecil spoke up.
“I did all you asked when you told me to cover for you. Actually, he came yesterday but he wasn’t alone. I planned on telling you but I completely forgot about it.” she explained and I sighed.
Oh.
“It’s okay.” I shrugged.
The damage had already been done, and a tiny part of me couldn’t help but feel like he was bound to find me eventually.
“It’s alright, you don’t have to apologize. It already happened and there’s nothing we can do now. You didn’t do anything wrong.” I said, trying to ease her nerves.
She was so sweet, the fact that she felt so nervous just to tell me this.
The silence that followed was slightly tense. I had nothing to say, and apparently she didn’t either. Like I said, we were not close. Just when I thought she was done, Cecil spoke up again.
“Can I ask a question?” she asked.
I wanted to say no, but fought the urge not to. Instead, I nodded.
“What’s the relationship between you two?” She asked and I tensed.
That wasn’t even on the list of questions I was expecting.
“Why do you ask?” I shot back at her with another question.
“Is there a problem?” I asked.
“No, no. No problem at all.” She said, shaking her head slowly.
“It’s just… I noticed something, that’s all. He’s so persistent.” she said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“He spent the whole of the day at the diner.” A wave of shock hit me at Cecil’s words.
“The moment he arrived early in the afternoon, he started ordering. Sometimes, he didn’t even touch his order. He gave them to other customers that were in the diner too. Once he saw that I was coming, he would order some random stuff from off the menu, just so he could stay a little longer.” she explained.
I was shocked.
He stayed the whole day?!
Then, I wondered why Cecil didn’t come to meet me there.
Hm, she was probably busy or something like that.
“He wanted to believe that you were here.” she said again.
“He was desperate and he kept looking in the direction of the counter” she finished.
I couldn’t wrap my head around her words. But why? Why was he so persistent with me? It was just the thought that the Alpha King even bothered to care about someone like me that was more crazy.
“I’ll be going now.” Cecil announced and I smiled.
“Thank you” I said and just so she could believe I wasn’t mad at her, I hugged her.
Thoughts of Xander and our conversation followed me to bed. I couldn’t believe that he really wanted to announce me as his Luna. Was he really going to do that? And if he did, what was that going to mean for me?
And then again, it seemed like he was going to do it whether I showed up or not. But what would not showing up make me look like?
I knew I wasn’t a strong wolf. Just a rogue. But I didn’t want everyone to see me like that. I needed to look strong enough.
The more I tried to figure everything out, the more confused I got. Seconds ticked by and it did nothing to clear my mind. The last thing on my mind was Xander and his words, before I let slipped into the warm embrace of oblivion.