5

DAPHNE’S POV

The moment I was done with the line, I closed the blinds and left the booth, running to the film room. There were rolls and boxes of movies. I found a corner and sat there, bringing my knees to my chest and begging myself to relax.

“This has to be a mistake,” I told myself, burying my hands in my head.

There was no way that Zachary Ackerman was here in Louiseville and in my parent’s theatre. I would know his face even in my dreams, I was sure he was the one. I thought that Eleanor bullying me that final day was all I had to go through. I thought that I would be able to find peace during Christmas.

Why was he here? How did he find me? Wasn’t I already miserable enough?

“Oh, goddess,” I began to gasp, feeling like I was trapped. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t see.

“Daphne?” a voice called.

I looked up to see Kane West. I knew him from high school. We weren’t really close but we weren’t really strangers either. Still, I didn’t want him seeing me like this.

I ducked my head, wiping at my tears. “Hi, Kane.”

“It’s actually you. I saw you come in and I had to confirm that it was really you,” Kane smiled, that smile that used to sweep me off my feet. He pushed his blond hair away from his face. It had grown longer since the last time I’d seen him. He settled down on the floor next to me, our knees touching.

“How are you doing?” he asked.

I shrugged, not trusting myself enough to answer without crying.

Kane nodded. “Do you want me to ask why you’re crying or pretend I didn’t see you?”

“Pretend,” I choked out finally.

“Daphne Curtis back in Louiseville. You went to that big shot academy and forgot all about us here in the small town. You’re a bad girl now,” he bumped into my shoulders playfully.

The truth was I had cut off all my friends from my old school. I didn’t want them to know about the bullying. I only posted pictures once in a while because I was scared of people from Bateview finding my account and trolling it.

I had to delete the last one when things started to get out of hand.

“How have you been?” I asked.

“So-so, high school is still the same shitty place if that’s what you’re wondering. We don’t go on cool school trips in other continents like you guys but it’s still home. Still nice, I guess,” Kane replied. There was a brief sadness in his eyes and I wondered if, maybe just if, he was having a hard time too.

Kane didn’t quite fit in. He had a few friends but he wasn’t always hanging out with them. He was a bright student but on the surface, he seemed like such a bad boy.

But, thanks to him, I felt like I could finally breath.

He must have noticed because he stood to his feet and held out his hand. “Come on. The great Daphne shouldn’t be hiding around in a corner at a time like this. Let’s go peek at the movie that’s showing on screen.”

I looked at his hand and then his face. He sensed my hesitation. “I promise, I don’t bite.”

I took his hand and let him help me up. He pulled me with a little too much force and I ended up falling into his arms. “Sorry,” I apologized, blushing red.

“Don’t be,” he said, “It’s my fault.”

Together, we walked to the first screening room. We quietly snuck in. It was packed. We couldn’t even find seats at the back. Kane asked if I was okay standing. We talked for a while, laughing over things that happened in Louiseville while I was away.

That’s when I noticed the eyes staring at me.

Even in the dark, I could recognize him. I could almost see that blue glow he had used to intimidate me months ago and force my submission to him.

I felt weak again, a feeling I never felt being back home. I turned to Kane, “you mentioned something about getting away.”

Kane smiled. “There’s a little festival happening in the square right now. It’s supposed to be a little gathering but you can trust the teens to turn it into a party.”

I could run into friends from my old school. Mom may still need me in the ticket booth. But right now, Zachary Ackerman was in the theatre and for the first time, I didn’t want to stay. “We should check it out.”

Kane and I left the theatre. I grabbed my coat and told Daisy I won’t be gone for long. I followed Kane to the square, remembering how nice it was to have someone to talk to without being scared of repercussions.

The first friend I made in Bateview Academy sold me to the wolves, literally. She invited me for a party, told me that it was a costume party. When I showed up, she was standing with Eleanor and her friends.

It had been a pool party and she convinced me to show  rrrrrrtgup as a sexy bunny. It was embarrassing and my pictures circulated BA app for days. I was a literal meme. After that, everything went to hell. I became bait for everyone, simply because Zachary believed an omega like me had no place at the academy. I was never going to forgive him.

The square was full of people socializing and dancing. Lights were strung up high above us and there was a giant Christmas tree in the middle, giving the square some sort of homely warmth. Kane led me a little into the gathering and stopped us by a pole.

“Wait here, I’ll get you something to drink,” he said and began to walk.

I nodded and looked around for something to entertain myself while I waited.

I felt it then; a pull deep in my soul and felt like I was flying and drowning at the same time. It knocked the air out of my lungs. I turned, feeling my wolf stir slightly. I had to find here this was coming from.

I came face to face with the last person I wanted to see. I flinched, not because he was standing in front of me but because what I was feeling multiplied until it was almost unbearable.

I flinched, taking a step back as he came to stand in front of me. “Zachary…”

His brows furrowed and I knew he felt the same thing. “No way…”

He was my mate.