Chapter 7 - Diana
With my elbows resting on the table and my fingers interlocked over my mouth, I observed the people coming in and out of the restaurant.
My mind took me back to Colin’s comment that I should smile more and I was more bothered by it now that I kept remembering it. I could remember times when I was all smiles, joyful, and filled with passion, but Colin was the one that stole those things from me.
He stole them from everyone in the pack.
Not everyone was skilled at fake smiling the way he was, and my appearance was not a testament to who I was inside. Colin smiled often, but he’d do so even while hurting others.
I’d smile when I had something to smile about, not without, and right now, sitting here in a restaurant I had frequently visited as a child and seeing new faces, I wasn’t sure how to feel.
I returned to Wolfcreek like Colin ordered me to yesterday, found a motel, and spent the rest of my time wandering around the town. So much had changed. There were new buildings and businesses, and the town had expanded with new streets.
It was still beautiful, the people still lived in peace with each other, but other than the forest, I didn’t know this place. I felt sad, as if the had world moved on without me but depending on how Kaleem and Colin’s meeting went, I’d find joy in getting to know my home all over again.
With that singular thought about Kaleem, everything was stirred towards him. I hadn’t seen him since I returned to town and I was happy about that. I wasn’t sure how Colin expected me to keep an eye on the man when Silverdawn Pack had a whole town of their own built on his territory.
I’d only see him in town, and I wouldn’t sit around for hours waiting for that. But my previous question was answered if I could handle living so close to him again. I could because he wouldn’t be in town except when visiting restaurants, supermarkets or cafés.
“Diana?”
When my name was called, I found familiar eyes wide with shock. “Marian?” I asked while standing up, and the woman nodded.
She advanced on me and pulled me into a hug before I knew what was happening.
It took me a second, but I hugged her back, and slowly my lips curved with a smile. I closed my eyes while she rocked us back and forth, laughing with joy.
“God, I can’t believe it’s you,” she laughed and pulled away, and I gestured to the seat across from mine for her to sit. “How are you?”
“I’m good,” I answered. “Trying to find my way around. Everything’s so different.”
Marian was human, but we’d grown up together. She was one of few people I’d left behind and often thought of. We’d once been inseparable and looking at her now, she too had changed.
She was of African-American and Mexican descent with the thickest, most beautiful hair to her chest. Her round face and button nose gave her the appearance of a doll, just like when we were children, but unlike when we were younger, she was now plump with a large bust, tiny waist, and wide hips.
She was stunning.
“Yeah, I suppose Wolfcreek has changed a bit. Wait,” she said with a frown. “Diana,howare you here?”
Everyone in town knew about the feud between the Silverdawn Pack and the Bluemoon Pack. They also knew that the feud ended with us being banished from Wolfcreek, but I hadn’t been recognized yet with so many new faces, and I wasn’t complaining about that.
Walking freely with no one staring at me with suspicion was refreshing.
“I came to speak with Kaleem,” I whispered to her. “It’s a long story and not one we can talk about here, but it’s good to be back.”
“It’s good to have you back,” she smiled. “But—your pack, if the pack had returned, the whole town would have been whispering about it?”
I wasn’t bothered by her instant poking for information. If the tables were turned, I’d perhaps do the same. She knew what my pack was like, what Colin was like, and if I was here, they surely must be too.
I shook my head and picked up my water to take a sip. “The pack isn’t back,” I told her. “Not yet, at least.”
Her eyes narrowed while she bobbed her head. “I get you. We never got to say goodbye to each other, and I’m sorry how things went down, but you look well, Diana. I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Thanks,” I replied. “So do you. How’s your mom?”
Marian held her head back. “Mom’s in Mexico. She moved back not long after you left, actually. I visit her occasionally, but I just can’t see myself leaving Wolfcreek.”
I looked out the window, the evening quickly turning into night. “I know how you feel.”