When Will This End?

Diana’s [POV]

Other than Friday nights, the diner wasn’t usually packed, but tonight, because of a bus of tourists that stopped on their way through town, we got more people to feed than hands to serve.

I’d gone back and forth between waiting tables and cashiering for hours and thirty minutes ago, after the bus left, was the first time I got the chance to sit down in hours.

Only a few locals were still minding their business at their tables, including three wolves from my pack.

When my stomach growled, I gritted my teeth and turned my back to the cash register. I swatted at strands of my hair dangling before my face and undid my ponytail to secure it again with all the pestering strands in place.

Everything was making me irritable, my hair, the loud cars and bikes outside, and the sizzle of the stove in the kitchen.

I hadn’t eaten all day since one of the waitresses called out, and I was left to take her place, never mind I’d been here since 5 am. The majority of the tourists had been friendly, but several seemed hell-bent on being a pain in my ass. Some changed their orders multiple times, complained about the food, and were outright disrespectful.

The other waitress that had been here, a human, had to leave six minutes ago because her son decided to stab his older brother with a pencil.

I wasn’t getting paid enough doing this job, that was for sure.

“Excuse me?”

Behind me, I found a Dryad, a tree or forest spirit, climbing onto the stool at the counter. “Does this diner cater to my species?”

His black hair was slicked back to stop at his neck, and if his leather jacket was anything to go by, I assumed the bike parked before the entrance outside belonged to him. Peeking out from beneath the collar of his shirt were green markings like tattoos that were continuously moving on the surface of his skin.

“We do,” I replied pleasantly and picked up a notepad. “I’ll take your order, and you can have a seat at one of the booths or here at the counter if you’d rather stay seated.”

“I’ll stay here,” he replied, his bright green eyes twinkling with mischief while looking around the diner. “You seem a little lonely, so I’ll keep your company for a bit.”

“Right,” I drawled, and my smile faltered a little because I wasn’t in the mood for whatever game this man wanted to play. “Sure, so what will you be having tonight?”

The female human who’d been eating with her husband and toddler approached the counter, and the Dryad tilted his head a little to look at her. “Excuse me, we’re ready to pay.”

Her nails were painted green, and I caught the slight curve of the Dryad’s lips.

“Sure,” I told her. “Excuse me for just a minute,” I told the Dryad, and he nodded and turned his back to the counter with his elbows rested on the edge.

He smelt like the forest, and I frowned. When I got a whiff of his scent for a second there, it was like I was teleported back to the forest in Wolfcreek. I felt a wave of peace, and my tense shoulders relaxed.

I cashed out the humans, which left the wolves and the Dryad.

“My name’s Adrian,” the Dryad said when I returned to him. “What’s your name, or should I guess?”

“Ila,” I replied and picked up my notepad. “So, what’ll you have?”

He didn’t reply right away. Instead, he sat there, staring at me. My eyes slid to the side and found that the three wolves from my pack were watching us. The two males, Samuel and Adronus, were eyeing Adrian, and the female Marisa was staring at me, her mouth turned downward.

I wasn’t bothered by their staring, but I didn’t want them to start a fight with this man for speaking to me. Treating me like trash wasn’t enough for some pack members. They sometimes went out of their way to ensure I didn’t get kindness from anyone else.

“Nectar,” Adrian said after a few minutes. “I’ll have that.”

“Sure, hot or cold?” I asked, and he bent his head to stare at the wolves over his shoulder.

“Cold,” he answered, and one of the markings on his neck started to throb while I bent down to open the fridge beneath the counter.

When he faced me again, his green eyes had bled out into the white, but they reverted to normal when he blinked. The rising tension was starting to make me uneasy because the cook was still here, and if the wolves started a fight, I was the one who would have to deal with the consequences, like losing my job.

I slid Adrian’s drink across the counter that was sweet enough to give humans diabetes in seconds, and he took a large gulp before placing a hundred-dollar bill on the counter.

“The change is your tip,” he said with a smile. “You’re allowed to accept tips, right?”

I stared at the money and then at him because the drink cost less than ten dollars. “I’m allowed tips, but this is too much.”

He shrugged. “I don’t think so. I don’t imagine it’s easy working in this place. You deserve it.” He took another sip. “What’s your name?”

“Ila,” I answered, and his smile widened.

“You don’t sound sure,” he chuckled. “What’s your real name?”

Adronus appeared beside Adrian and pulled out one of the stools. He didn’t face the counter. Instead, he stared at the Dryad, who continued to gulp his drink uncaringly. Taking a breath, I picked up my notepad.

“Thank you for the tip,” I said with a smile and turned to walk away when a root wrapped around my wrist.

It was attached to the Dryad’s middle finger, and he released me when I turned to him. “I’ll take another drink,” he said, and Adronus leaned forward.

“That one’s your last, so take it and go,” he growled, and Adrian bent his head to stare at him.

“Is he your boyfriend, Ila?” Adrian inquired, and the smile still on his lips turned into something sinister.

“He’s not,” I replied while placing another drink on the counter. “He doesn’t own this diner either, so Adronus, I’d appreciate it if you backed off. The last time I checked, I work here, not you, so why are you telling my customer to go?”

Adronus’s blue eyes slid to me, and I held his stare. They could bully me all they wanted outside of this diner, but in here, this was my space, and wolves were customers like everyone else.

“Our pack doesn’t mingle with other species,” Adronus growled. “Remember that, or should the alpha remind you?”

I leaned forward, my arms crossed on the counter. “What are you doing to tell him? That a customer asked my name because I left my name tag today or that I got a large tip? Sure,” I smiled and tilted my head. “Go ahead.”

Samuel and Marisa got up from the table, both staring at me with disgust while exiting the diner and slamming the door. Adronus only continued staring at me, murder in his eyes while drumming his fingers on the counter.

“Don’t miss the pack meeting,” he growled. “It’s going to be interesting tonight.”

He left without paying, and I walked away and placed the hundred dollars in the register to cover their bill. When my claws extended and ripped the bill, I closed the cash register and turned to leave.

“I’m sorry,” Adrian said behind me, and I stopped. “I shouldn’t have encouraged a confrontation. I saw that they had an issue with us talking, but you seem like a nice girl.”

I didn’t say anything and continued walking. I wasn’t angry at Adrian. Frankly, he hadn’t done anything other than flirt with me a little, and the attention hadn’t been so bad. But I was too livid to speak. How bad would it be to become a rogue, I wondered? It couldn’t be worse than this. I’d have control over my life, at least. I’d be free of my pack and able to find people who would see me as a living being and not something to use as a verbal punching bag.

I’d be able to live as I pleased.

I stormed through the kitchen, ignoring the chef’s calls to lock myself in the bathroom. I stared down at my shaking hands and clenched my fists so tight my claws pierced my palm. I needed a minute. I hadn’t shifted in over two weeks, and I was on the verge of doing so.

I didn’t want to shift here, and while feeling this immense amount of anger, I’d destroy the place.

When I opened my fists, I quickly grabbed rolls of tissues to wipe away the blood, and my skin began to heal. But the pain had been nothing compared to the humiliation I’d just faced.

“Goddess,” I prayed. “When will this end?”

I fell into myself with my eyes closed, searching through eleven years of bad memories. There were no moments I could draw on to ease my rage, so I went further back, to a life I’d had so long ago it didn’t feel like it had happened.

Grey eyes appeared in my mind, beautiful and cold, and my eyes flew open. My lips parted, my fangs descended, and my hands stopped shaking, but my jaws clenched.

I ripped my phone from my pocket and dialed a number I knew by heart. With each number I typed, my face twisted with a calm sort of rage, the kind that grew gradually, the type that was strong enough to cloud one’s thoughts.

Placing the phone to my ear, I listened to it ringing, my chest rising and falling rapidly.

When he answered and the voice that plagued my dreams for years echoed over the phone, the world around me stopped as if at his command.

“Hello, this is Alpha Kaleem.”

I didn’t answer, I couldn’t, and my hand covered my mouth to silence my growl.

“Hello,” he said again, and I held my head back, tears springing to my eyes.

I hated him, Goddess, how I hated Kaleem Mikaelson. He’d done this to me. He’d subjected me to this hell while he was living well in a town that was my home. He’d damned me to eternal suffering, and I wanted to rip him to shreds with my bare hands.

I crushed my phone, the device crumbling in my hand, but still, I threw its shattered pieces at the wall.

Falling to the ground, I palmed my face and started crying. I didn’t care if I was heard. I felt like I was living eternal death, and it was all Kaleem’s fault.

I followed the scent of my fellow pack members into the woods, and there I found them gathered and whispering among themselves. The moon was high, allowing light to shine down on us, and I approached my dad standing at the back of the group, and looped my arm through his.

Colin and Jackson were yet to arrive I noticed with a quick scan of the crowd, and my eyes fell on Adronus. He was already staring at me, a cup in hand, as he took a sip. I held his stare, refusing to look away until my dad tugged on my arm.

Sighing, I turned my attention elsewhere.