I thought it was odd that he was wearing a jacket, but it was winter, even if it didn’t feel like it was almost winter in the Caribbean.
What the hell was I even thinking about? This place was fake. Not real. Neither was the family. Who cared what kind of jacket the kid was wearing?
I turned back to the menu. Was I supposed to order something? I hadn’t seen any waitstaff, so I was assuming not, but who the hell knew? What was the point of this? Was this some insane, stalker witch who wanted a date? I understood what it was trying to do with the mental hospital, but I was having trouble figuring out what the diner had to do with anything.
But maybe that was the point. Maybe it was just supposed to frustrate me. I looked at the menu again. And gross me out.
I closed my eyes and tried to reach for Dastien again. Dastien. Dastien. Dastien. I put my magic behind his name as I reached along our bond, but he was too far away.
I growled as I picked up the napkin dispenser and hurled it across the stupid fucking diner.
My breath heaved in and out of me, but no one had even flinched at the sound of the dispenser crashing through the window.
Shit. This was so dumb. “Come on. Show your face.”
“Y’all have a nice day,” the hostess told the family behind me.
The dad murmured something, and the door chimed as it opened and closed.
The family was gone, but I still felt like someone was staring at me. I glanced a little to the side, but the hostess was wiping down menus. So, it wasn’t her.
To the right of me, a clock hung on the wall. I watched the seconds tick by. My knee bounced under the table as I glanced out the windows. In the distance, I could see a city. I knew it wasn’t actually there, but I couldn’t just keep sitting here waiting for whoever—whatever—this was to show up.
Nope.
I started to get up, but froze.
The tingling was back. Stronger this time. An evil twinge of magic was stronger, making my skin crawl.
I didn’t want to look. I didn’t want to turn around. It was here.
But I had to look. I geared myself up for it.
Three.
Two.
One.
I spun, but no one was behind me except the little boy. He didn’t look too concerned that his family had left. He just stood there and stared at me. The mom, dad, and little girl were walking through the parking lot outside.
I glanced back to the menu to buy myself some time. Something wasn’t right with this boy. My gut was screaming demon. It lined up with the greasy magic and ability to sneakily take over my mind and the creepy child. This wasn’t the first time I’d seen a demon take the shape of a kid, but seeing something so evil shoved into an innocent body was more than unsettling.
Was that it? The demon wanted to creep me out? Was this whole diner thing just for that?
I turned around, and for the first time, really looked at the boy.
There was nothing out of the ordinary about him. His shoes were dirty and one lace untied. His jacket had a few stains but looked warm enough.
Why was I thinking about his jacket when I should’ve been meeting his gaze? Confronting him? But no matter how I tried to look at his face, I couldn’t seem to meet his eyes.
I stopped breathing as my thought processed.
This was a problem. An Alpha werewolf could meet any gaze. Unless this thing was more—
I swallowed down the lump in my throat.
The demon was more dominant—more powerful—than me.