Morana

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When it was time for drinks with Rick and Maya, I had faked not being upset long enough that I really wasn't. Or maybe it was because I got nervous that all else disappear from my mind.

The brief conversation with Rick had been fine, but would he notice something was off about me when we spent a longer time together? Would he end up not wanting me there because of it? And what about Maya? If she and Alejo had been more than friends at some point, what would she think of me? Would she maybe try something with Alejo during the evening?

I had to remind myself that it wasn't my business if she did. Just that it definitely felt like it was and it felt like if Alejo responded to any advances from her, or from anyone, it would break me even more.

"Are you sure?" Alejo asked me once again as we stood outside a pub in the middle of town. The question only made me more nervous and feel even more like I just wanted to turn around and go home. But I wouldn't. I didn't hide. I had always faced everything head on and I had been through much, much worse things than this.

"Yes," I answered and pushed the door open.

It was a fancy pub, that was for sure. The ceiling was high up, and there hung fancy, modern chandeliers as lamps from it. The walls were dark and clean of things and every table and chair looked to be placed in straight exact lines. The only place that was busy with things was the bar behind which rows and rows of different liquor bottles stood in front of a mirror-wall. The rest was very minimalistic.

"Over here!" shouted Rick the moment we stepped inside. He sat facing the door and opposite him sat a woman with long, thick black hair. Maya.

I knew I thought of her as the enemy, but I also knew that wasn't a very nice thing to do. I didn't know her at all, my judgement was solely based on my own assumptions. Maybe she was nice and we would become great friends. I forced that idea to the front of my mind as we walked over.

When we got closer, she turned a bit to look at us. She really was beautiful and gave us a dazzling smile. Alejo had said she was a panther-shifter and there seemed to be a bit of the air of a cat around her. Like a proud, regal cat who would only care about things that benefitted her.

No, I thought to myself. That's just my imagination. Am I really the type of woman to be threatened by other women's beauty?

I knew I was being judgmental and not giving her a chance, like people never gave me a chance. It was the last thing I wanted. So I pushed all those thoughts away again and returned her smile.

"Oh my goddess, you're so pretty. Rick, you didn't tell me she was pretty," Maya said and threw a pretend offended look at Rick before turning back to me. "It's so nice to meet you. I got so excited when I heard Alejo was bringing a new friend along."

"It's good to meet you too," I answered, and my smile widened. I felt myself relax since she seemed to be very friendly.

"Come and sit next to me! It's always otherwise just me and those two boys. So us girls gotta stick together and steer them away from any boring topics."

I gladly took the seat next to her while Alejo took the seat opposite me. When I caught his eyes, I noticed he had a slight frown. It made my nerves increase again.

"Your hair isn't naturally white, is it? It looks good on you though!" Maya went on to say.

My hair was still white since Halloween. I had considered dying it black again, but the white looked good and it also felt better. Probably because I didn't want to be reminded of the darkness within me.

"Thank you. I'm blonde really. But I've been dying it different colors since I was 16."

"What other colors have you had?"

"I usually go with black," I said and looked over her hair. Hers had a much nicer black color than any dye could ever achieve. It shone somehow. "But have had basically all possible colors at some point."

"Blue? Red? Purple? Green?"

I nodded to blue, red, and purple, but at green I paused. "Actually never green. Maybe should try that next."

She looked carefully over my face and then shook her head. "Na, don't think it'll fit. Never seen someone that managed to make green work."

"Hello, are we just air to you?" Rick asked opposite us.

Maya turned her head and stuck her tongue out. "Sorry for wanting to get to know Morana."

"You can do that in a conversation which interests all of us."

Maya rolled her eyes at him, but then looked between me and Alejo. "How did you meet?"

A waiter came and asked for our drink orders. When he had gone, I was quick to answer Maya's question and told the same lie as I had told Alejo's family. That time I had felt that I didn't trust them, this time though I wasn't as sure why I didn't want to tell the real story of that day. Probably because I couldn't explain what had happened so it would feel awkward.

"I stepped out on the street, not looking around, and a truck came at me. I teleported myself to safety. I didn't know about magic then, so didn't know what I had actually done. Anyway, Alejo was there to see it."

I looked quickly at Alejo as I told the lie, expected to see surprise or something in his eyes. But his expression remained neutral, as if it was the true story. It made me smile, made me feel as if we were in synch.

"You didn't know about magic? How's that possible?" Maya went on.

I gave a very short explanation of my upbringing, made sure to add a shrug to it to avoid making it seem bad. I didn't want the conversation to take a sad turn like it often did when people found out about my life. I much rather wanted the conversation to stay light and happy.

The waiter came back with the drinks and as he left, Maya turned to Alejo.

"So what have you been up to since last time? Other than making new friends." She smiled at him and it seemed to be a different smile than what she gave me. A softer and more seductive one.

I once again steered my thoughts away from the track they took. Of course she would smile differently towards Alejo than me. They had known each other much longer. That was all.

"Haven't been time for much else. Morana's been taking up most of my time," he answered and sent me a look which made my heart skip a beat. But I knew it was a dangerous path for me to take, so I choose to ignore the feelings that started bubbling.

"Oh, yeah?" Maya turned back to look at me.

"He's been teaching me magic," I answered.

"Oooh, didn't think of that. How's that been going?"

"She's a natural."

Once again, my heart did a little jolt at the pride in his voice. I needed it to stop.

In that moment, I really wished my mate would be the next person to walk through the doors to make my feelings for Alejo disappear.

"How's the studying going?" Alejo asked Maya next, and she made a grimace.

"Alright, I guess. Just have a horrible professor for one of my classes this term. He's so dull and misogynistic. He's all about Freud." She rolled her eyes.

"Studying psychology?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Yeah. Aiming to be a children's psychologist."

"That's cool! I bet you'll be a great one!" I told her and really meant it. She seemed really friendly and open and easy to talk to.

"Thank you! I've just picked a topic for my thesis and I'm so excited to get started on that."

"Because you'll get to play make believe while working on it," Rick smirked at her and she just shook her head at his teasing.

"What's it about?" I asked her.

"Imaginary friends."