Chapter 64 They Felt Me Awaken

Chapter 64 They Felt Me Awaken
Kaelani POV

After Kaia and I get to Mitzy’s, I find a booth all the way in the back. After everything that happened at school, I need somewhere that doesn't have half the student body staring at me.
“I can’t believe you just left them,” she says.
“They know where to find me,” I say with a shrug. If they want to sit around being moody because I walked away, that's their problem.
I pull my phone out and call Ezra.
“Hey Ez,” I say when he picks up.
“What’s up, sister?” he asks.
“Kaia and I want to have a sleepover with the guys in the treehouse. Can you convince Daddy to let us?” I ask.
Silence fills the line for a few seconds.
“You want me to convince him to let you have a sleepover with boys who are not your mates?” he asks.
Kaia snorts from across the table, and I kick her underneath it.
“Please. I’ll still do my training. They can do it too,” I say.
“Okay, but you know him and Uncle Eric won’t be happy about this,” he says.
I already know that. Daddy barely likes boys looking in my direction. Asking him to willingly allow three of them to spend the night with me is probably pushing my luck.
“Can you also have some Omegas go and set everything up for us?” I ask.
“Okay, Bean, but tonight is weapons again,” he says.
I groan and drop my forehead against the table.
“Kill me now. Fine,” I say.
Of course tonight would be weapons training. Apparently becoming the Mother Witch doesn't get me out of getting my ass handed to me by my family.
“Okay, I will talk to him. Please, no sex,” he groans into the phone.
My head snaps up.
“Ezra!”
Kaia immediately bursts into laughter.
“There will be no sex. I promise,” I say through gritted teeth, glaring across the table at Kaia when her laughter gets louder.
“Thank you. See you later,” he says before hanging up.
I put my phone down.
“Your brother really just gave you the no-sex talk,” Kaia says.
“Please don't.”
“Three boys, one treehouse. I think it was a valid concern.”
“Kaia.”
She holds her hands up, still laughing.
Mel walks over to the table.
“Hey, ladies. Two banana milkshakes?” she asks.
“Yeah, that works,” I say.
She walks away, and I reach for one of the menus even though I already know what I want.
“Lani, don’t look, but that guy at the table by the door has been watching us since we walked in,” Kaia links me.
My fingers stop on the edge of the menu.
“Watching us how?”
“Watching you.”
My stomach tightens.
I keep my eyes on the menu instead of immediately turning around. After the week I've had, some random person staring at me shouldn't bother me this much. Except something about Kaia's tone tells me this isn't the usual school-rumor staring.
“Nyra, do you feel anything?” I ask.
“No, but you will be better able to sense him since we haven’t shifted yet,” she says.
I concentrate anyway, trying to feel whatever I'm apparently supposed to feel now that my powers are awake.
Nothing.
No strange pull. No warning. No sudden magical instinct telling me exactly who the guy is.
“I can’t sense anything,” I say as my panic starts to rise.
What good is having all this power if I don't even know how to use it? Zaire can walk into a room and immediately see things I don't even know are there. I'm supposed to be the Mother Witch, and I can't tell if some random man watching me is dangerous.
“Calm down, Kaelani. We don’t want to blow up,” Nyra says.
I slowly release the breath I didn't realize I was holding.
“Right. No blowing up Mitzy’s.”
“Daddy would definitely make us pay for it.”
Despite myself, a tiny laugh escapes me.
The bell over the door rings, and the guys walk in.
I don't even have to look to know it's them. Kaia's entire face changes as she looks toward the entrance.
Zaire stops at the door.
His expression changes immediately.
Instead of looking for us like Kieran and Liam do, his eyes lock directly on the guy sitting near the entrance.
The playful expression he usually wears disappears.
My stomach drops.
“Oh, that's not good,” Nyra says.
No. It definitely isn't.
Zaire says something low to Kieran and Liam before all three start walking toward us. The entire time, Zaire keeps glancing back at the stranger.
When he reaches the table, he doesn't sit.
“That guy is a witch. He’s watching you. Did he say something to you?” he asks.
My eyes flick toward the stranger before I can stop myself.
He is still looking at me.
Not Kaia.
Not the guys who just walked in.
Me.
“No, he’s just been staring,” I say.
Zaire's jaw tightens.
Kieran looks toward the table.
Liam does the same.
I barely have time to process what's happening before all three of them turn and start walking toward him.
My eyes widen.
“Oh goddess.”
Kaia slides into the seat beside me, looking entirely too entertained for someone who just told me a strange witch has been watching me.
“This should be interesting,” she murmurs.
I stare at the backs of the three Alpha heirs approaching the stranger's table.
“Why do I have a feeling they're about to make this worse?”
Nyra snorts.
“Because they usually do.”
And unfortunately, I can't even argue with her.
Kaia and I watch them talk to him for a few moments before they walk back to the table with him. The closer they get, the more confused I become. The guy doesn't look threatening. If anything, he looks nervous now that he's standing in front of me.
“Shorty, this is Edward. The High Priestess of his coven sent him here to confirm what she felt,” Zaire says.
I look between him and Edward.
“What she felt?” I ask.
“I’m sorry for scaring you and your friend, Mother. I was just trying to get a feel for your magic,” he says. “Forgive me.”
He bows.
I stare at him.
Mother.
Hearing Zaire call me the Mother Witch was one thing. Hearing a complete stranger address me that way before bowing makes the title suddenly feel a lot more real.
“Oh shit, Kaelani, you really are royalty,” Sebastian says.
I roll my eyes. “Please don't start.”
Everyone laughs, but my attention stays on Edward. If a High Priestess somewhere else felt what happened when my powers awakened, how many other witches felt it too?
“You can tell your High Priestess that it is true, but please spread the word I’m not ready to take my place and I am here. My wolf doesn’t surface for months,” I say.
I don't even completely know what taking my place means yet. I learned what I was only hours ago. The last thing I need is witches showing up expecting me to suddenly know how to lead them.
“Of course, Mother. I will make sure she spreads the word. Your grandmother was great at her job, and you will do great things,” he says before bowing once more and taking his leave.
I watch him walk toward the door.
My grandmother. Again.
Another person who knew something about her that I don't.
“That was strange,” I say.
“Get used to it,” Zaire says.
I glare at him. “Absolutely not.”
My phone goes off before anybody can respond.
Ezra: you got the green light. Your friends can run the course, but weapons is watching only. Please don’t make me regret this Lani 🤦🏾
I smile at my phone.
Finally, something happening today that doesn't involve magical responsibilities I didn't ask for.
“My dad gave us the green light for the sleepover tonight in the treehouse. You guys are most definitely running our course. Ezra had one rule. No sex,” I say, rolling my eyes.
The table goes silent for half a second.
Then Kaia bursts out laughing.
“Oh, tonight is going to be fun,” Caelum says.
“Why did you sound excited after the no-sex rule?” Sebastian asks.
Caelum sucks his teeth. “I meant the obstacle course, dumbass.”
“Sure you did,” Kaia says.
I shake my head at all of them. This is exactly what I signed myself up for.
I look at Felix.
He catches me looking at him.
“It’s okay, I know I’m not invited,” he says.
“Actually, I was going to say if you wanted to come, you can,” I say.
His eyes go wide. “Seriously?”
“Yeah, sure,” I say.
I don't see a reason to purposely exclude him. He asked to hang out with us, and if we're all supposed to be friends, leaving him out would just make everything weird.
“Okay, let’s eat so we can all go home and get our stuff,” Sebastian says.
“And mentally prepare for whatever torture her family considers an obstacle course,” Caelum adds.
Kaia snorts. “Oh, you have no idea.”
I smile. “I tried to warn you.”
I glance at Zaire.
“Later we will talk about that statement you made,” I say.
“I already know, Shorty,” he says.
I narrow my eyes at him.
He knows exactly what I'm talking about. Calling me his girlfriend in front of everybody without even talking to me first.
I still don't know what we are, and apparently Zaire decided skipping straight to girlfriend was easier than figuring it out.
Yeah. We're definitely having that conversation later.
We all order and eat and enjoy each other’s company. Eventually the conversation shifts back to the obstacle course, with Sebastian and Caelum making increasingly ridiculous claims about how easily they're going to beat it while Kaia and I exchange looks across the table.
They have absolutely no idea what they're walking into.
I don’t know what tonight holds, but I’m sleeping in the same room with three boys that fry my brain.
That thought alone is enough to make my stomach flip.
Zaire, who understands a part of me I'm only beginning to understand myself. Kieran, who somehow went from the boy I spent years avoiding to someone I'm actually enjoying being around. And Liam, whose presence seems to calm me without him even trying.
And now I'm willingly spending the entire night with all three of them.
What could possibly go wrong?
Knowing my luck, everything.
My powers awakening means witches will start seeking me out. I hope Edward’s High Priestess can keep them at bay.
Because I'm not ready for witches to bow to me. I'm not ready to lead anybody. I barely know how to control my own powers without destroying a room when I get overwhelmed.
Someone is still watching me, and having witches showing up will only draw more attention to me.
They already said they were waiting for my powers to awaken.
Well, they're awake now.
And somehow I don't think whoever has been watching me is going to wait much longer.