Chapter 15: Their Cursed

Remi

I woke up in Calder’s room. I felt a little better after some sleep, but I was still trying to wrap my head around all of this. I sat up and looked around the room. The door was open, but I was alone. Calder must have left after I fell asleep. I took a deep breath. I was confused. Calder’s room smelled mostly of coffee and caramel but there was another smell lingering. It smelled like a fresh chocolate chip cookie. I wondered if all these new smells were a part of this werewolf thing. Calder said something about smelling that I was his mate.

My phone was sitting on the nightstand next to me. Calder must have plugged it in for me. I checked it and not surprisingly, I had no messages. It was starting to get late. I really should go home. I could not miss any more work, or I would have to choose which bills I would be able to pay. I only had about a half month’s expenses stashed away. I also wanted to escape all this crazy werewolf business and be normal again.

I put my phone in my pocket and got up. My shoes were sitting next to the door. I slipped them on before leaving the room. I was going to find Calder and tell him I wanted to go home. I wasn’t sure exactly where his apartment was, but I could walk home. I only made it a little bit down the hallway when Gentry came out of a room.

“Hey there, Cinderella,” he said. “Did you sleep well?” I nodded my head. “Going to find Calder?”

“Yea,” I said.

“Come on, I bet he is downstairs still,” he said. He turned and walked down the hallway and I followed him. When we got downstairs, we found Calder in the kitchen.

“Hey Prince Charming, found Cinderella,” Gentry said as we walked in. I wish I knew why he was calling me that.

Calder look over at me and smiled. “Hey,” he said.

“Hi,” I said.

“You hungry? I was just about to order some pizza,” he said.

“No thank you. Actually, I really need to go home,” I said. His face dropped. Gentry looked over at us from the refrigerator.

“Okay,” he said. He sounded so disappointed.

“I can take her home,” Gentry said, coming over to us. A look passed between them.

“Sure,” Calder said.

“I will go get my keys,” Gentry said. “Meet me downstairs.” He left us in the kitchen.

Calder came over to me. “Are you sure? I would be less worried if you would stay here with me,” he said softly.

I nodded my head. “Sorry, I really need to go home. I need to wrap my head around all of this…”

“I understand,” he said. He still sounded sad. “I will walk you downstairs.” He held out his hand and I took it. He led us over to the elevator. We were both quiet all the way down to the bottom floor. We exited into a garage where there was a car waiting. Calder opened the passenger door, and I could see Gentry inside the driver’s seat.

“I will call you tomorrow, okay? Doctor Charles should have something to tell us by then,” he said. I nodded my head. I climbed into the car and he shut the door.

“Ready, Cinderella?” Gentry said. I nodded as he made his way out of the garage parking. The drive was quiet but not awkward. Gentry seemed like a bubbly and talkative guy, but he also seemed to know when someone didn’t want to talk. Soon enough, we were pulling up to my apartment building. Gentry parked the car.

“Thank you for the ride,” I said.

“No problem,” he said with a smile. Before I could get out of the car, he continued. “Hey, Remi. I know this all kind of sucks and is confusing. It's probably really scary too…” He paused for a second. “Just don’t discount it all. It will get better.” He gave me a warm smile.

“Thanks, Gentry. You’re really nice,” I said before getting out of the car. I went inside and up to my apartment. Once I got inside, I sat on my bed and dropped my face into my hands.

In less than 48 hours, my entire life was flipped entirely on its head. Werewolves and supernatural beings. Mates. And Calder introduced me to his parents. I sighed. I was not even sure of my feelings about Calder before all of this. Cullen literally called me the moment I got home from our date.

How was I supposed to process all of this? How could I be a werewolf? Why was Cullen so angry with me? What was I going to do about all of this? What if they want to meet my parents? How do I tell them about what I did?

Right now, I just wanted to forget it all. I decided to take a shower and get ready for bed. Even though I slept earlier, I was still tired from head to toe. Hopefully after a good night’s sleep in my own bed I would feel better. I went to the kitchen and grabbed an apple from the fridge. I munched on it while I looked for some clothes. I grabbed some leggings and a baggy shirt as well as some clean underwear before heading into the bathroom. I finished my apple and brushed my teeth. After a quick shower, I pulled on my clean clothes and wrapped my hair up in a bun. I would end up wearing it up tomorrow at work anyway so there was not much point in doing anything to it tonight.

I got my things ready for the morning before climbing into bed. I set my alarm on my phone before laying down. It took a long time to fall into a restless sleep.

-

I rushed around getting ready in the morning. I had slept past my alarm and woke up to a call from Jessie. I was packing my bag and brushing my teeth at the same time when there was a knock at the door. I groaned and I hurried over to the door. I did not have time for any of this.

“He-ro,” I said opening the door with my toothbrush still in my mouth. My eyes popped as I saw Calder standing there. “What are you doing here?” I said pulling my toothbrush from my mouth.

“Bringing you some breakfast,” he said holding up a bag. “You look like you’re in a hurry…”

“Sort of. I am really late. I am sorry,” I said looking down at my watch.

“Late for what?” he asked.

“Calder, I know what Doctor Penning said but I have to go to work. I don’t get sick pay or vacation,” I said turning around and walking inside. He followed me. “I feel fine, and I really need to go to work today.” I started grabbing my things. I dashed into the bathroom and put my toothbrush away and rinsed my mouth quickly. I twisted my obnoxious hair up into a simple bun before exiting the bathroom.

“At least let me take you…” he said, sounding defeated. I stopped and looked at him. He was dressed casually again, and he looked a little sad. “I was going to ask you to go somewhere with me today, but if you insist, I will just take you to work.”

I sighed. “Okay,” I said. He smiled at that. “But we need to go quickly. I do not have time to eat, sorry. I am already late…”

“Alright,” he said. He held out his hand and I grabbed it. I felt a little better as soon as I did. We went downstairs and he led me to his car. He opened the door and I climbed in. He got in the driver’s seat and started the car.

“Last chance to play hooky,” he said as he started to drive.

“No, I am sorry. I wish I could,” I said.

“Okay,” he said. The rest of the drive was quiet. He parked outside of the diner.

“Thank you for the ride,” I said. I started climbing out of the car.

“I can pick you up when you are done,” he said before I could close the door.

“Uh, sure. But it will be late,” I said.

He smiled at me. “I’ll be here waiting,” he said. I gave him a smile before I closed the door and hurried inside. Jessie was loading a tray as I came in.

“Hey! Wait, why are you here? I thought you were still sick?” she said.

“I didn’t call out today,” I said confused. “I just accidentally slept past my alarm.”

“I called you this morning because you never call out like this and I was worried…”

“So, you didn’t call me to ask where I am?”

“No. I was just worried about you,” she said. Angela came into the back just then.

“Remi, I thought you were out for the rest of the week?”

“What?” I asked. I never called out for the rest of the week. Oh my gosh, did Calder do this?

“The new owner said you would be attending some training for the rest of the week so why are you here?” she said.

“There you are! I am so sorry for the mix up Remi, we aren’t training here today,” came a voice behind me. I turned around to see Gentry. What was he talking about? “Come on, we should go,” he said. He came closer to me and grabbed my arm gently. He started pulling me away gently. “Come on and I will explain later,” he whispered.

I followed him out the back door and into the alleyway. We were about halfway to the street when he stopped and dropped my arm. “Gentry, what is going on? Why does my boss think I am doing some training this week?”

He sighed and scratched the back of his head. “Don’t get mad okay?” I just stared blankly at him. “So, Cullen sort of bought the diner you work in. And Calder had me tell your boss you would not be here for the week. I looked at your work contract and saw that you get paid your average weekly pay for any company mandated training. It was the only way I could think of to make Calder happy and keep you out of work for a few days and make sure you didn’t lose your paycheck…”

“Gentry…” I said. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes.

“Please don’t cry Cinderella. I was just trying to help…” he said.

“Thank you…” I said quietly. Footsteps came from behind him. I looked past him to see Calder walking towards us.

“You should go with Calder. Let him tell you more about us. And enjoy your paid vacation,” he said with a small smile.

“Thanks, Gentry,” Calder said, coming up to us. They exchanged looks before Gentry waved at me and walked away.

“Why didn’t you just tell me?” I asked.

“I didn’t find out my brother purchased the diner until after he had taken you across the boundary and you were unconscious. When I brought you home, I noticed your schedule written down on the table and had Gentry help me get you out of working. I knew you would not be feeling well at least that first day. Gentry is the one who told me about Cullen purchasing the diner. Then his grandfather asked that you take it easy for a few days and we made sure you did not need to work the rest of the week,” he explained. “When I got to your apartment this morning, I knew you weren’t going to listen to me, so I linked Gentry to help me.”

“Calder, I really appreciate all of this but…” I sighed. “You have to understand how it now feels weird that you own the restaurant I work for…”

“I know. I intend to fix this. But for now, will you come with me?” he asked. He held out his hand. Since I was not working, what other choice did I really have? I needed to start looking for a new job now, but my brain was too fried from everything to do it.

“Okay,” I said. I placed my hand in his and he gave me a bright smile.

“How about we go to the park and have that breakfast?” he said.

-

Calder and I spent the day together. First, we went to the park and ate the bagels he bought for breakfast. We sat on a park bench and he started explaining everything about werewolves and the Supernatural Realm. He explained things about werewolf culture and how the mate bond works. He explained why it was so odd that I was a werewolf and did not know. We sat on the bench for a couple hours before we started walking around the park. Calder held my hand as we walked. I had butterflies in my stomach every time he did. We grabbed lunch from a sandwich vendor in the park as we talked. Calder answered every question I had with patience and honesty.

He told me about his conversation with Doctor Penning this morning as well. He said that the Doctor thought that I was born in the Ordinary Realm. He also thought that my parents had me cloaked by a powerful witch and it had suppressed my wolf from fully realizing. His guess was that when I crossed the boundary, all that magic was being undone and my wolf was trying to come forward. Normal werewolves have their entire adolescence for their wolves to form and come forward. They feel no different until 13 years old when they can shift for the first time. They can also feel their mate when they come of age at 16 years old. The doctor wanted to do more research still but thought that the pain and sensation I had felt that night came from everything happening all at once. He suggested we stay on this side of the boundary for now.

“Remi, do you think your parents would tell you about any of this?” Calder asked me. We had stopped to sit again on one of the benches overlooking the park.

“No, that is impossible…” I said looking away from him. I was worried all day that the conversation would end up here.

“I am sorry! I didn’t know!” he said quickly.

“Oh, no, no. They aren’t gone…” I said. Now I made him feel guilty. “We just don’t speak to each other…”

He gave me an inquisitive look. “Can I ask why?” How do I tell them what an utter disappointment I was to them? How do I tell him about the biggest regret I have?

“We, uh, don’t agree on some… things…” I said.

“Remi, your parents have to know what you are. We need them to tell us why they hid you on this side of the boundary… Even if you do not agree on things, they are still your parents. Don’t you think they would tell you the truth?” he said gently. I did not know how to make him understand without telling him at least part of the truth and I was not sure I was ready for that.

I swallowed the lump that was forming in my throat. I had come to accept and understand my parents’ decision to kick me out even if I did not agree. They were still my parents and I missed them profoundly. We had not seen each other or spoken for four years now.

“There is more to it than that. They made it clear a while ago that they didn’t want me around…” I said.

Calder’s hand came to my face and turned me to face him. “Remi, werewolves just aren’t like that. We are fiercely protective of our offspring even once they leave home and have mates of their own. If your parents are mates and both are still together and alive, there wouldn’t be anything that could explain them not wanting you…”

“Well then they behave more like humans than you want to admit. Calder, they kicked me out of the house at 16 and haven’t spoken to me since…” I could feel the tears threatening to fall from my lashes.

His eyes went wide, and his face had that look. The pity look that I hated. As soon as I was 18 and a legal adult, I stopped telling people that my parents kicked me out. It was necessary for a while so that I could actually get jobs and find a place to live. But that look made it hard to get through. I closed my eyes, so I did not have to see it on his face.

“Oh, Remi, I am so sorry,” he said finally. He pulled me to him, and my face was buried in his chest. He wrapped his arms around me in a comforting hug. A few rogue tears escaped my eyes, but I just let Calder hold me. Being in his arms felt warm and safe.

“Remi, I know this is the worst possible thing I can tell you right now, but we have to try to contact your parents. If they can give us any information about this, we need to know… I need to know why it hurt you so much to cross the boundary. I need to protect you and I can’t do that if I don’t know why you were hidden here…” From everything he told me about werewolves today, I understood why he felt the need to protect me. He knew I was not simply rejecting him and promised to give me as much time as I needed to accept all of this. I could not bring myself to tell him why I was hesitant about this whole mate/soul-mate thing yet. I knew it wasn’t fair with how honest he had been with me today, but I just wasn’t ready to talk about that yet.

“They won’t answer the phone if I call. I tried before. They screen everything now. I am sure they would slam the door in my face as well…” I whispered. I breathed in deeply as we sat there. He smelled so good.

“We need to try…” he said.