Fated

Chapter 14: Strange Connections

A girl with very curly, brown hair and warm umber skin was sitting at the island counter chatting with Kaden. Kaden's head snapped to me the moment I was in view and so did the girl's.

"Hi," I greeted.

"Hey, Addie," Kaden grinned. "Don't be shy. You want something to drink?"

I nodded and he hopped off the stool he was sitting on before walking over to a cupboard. The girl with curly hair stood up as well and walked around the kitchen island. She stopped in front of me and held out her hand.

"Hi, I'm Cassie," she smiled.

"Addie," I answered taking her hand.

She grinned and walked over to a stool, patting it. "Sit with us. We were just talking about convincing Alpha to have a barbecue to boost morale and you could be our secret weapon," she said with a wink.

I smiled and walked over to the stool, sitting down and folding my hands in my lap. It was weird because I didn't feel as awkward here as I was afraid of. Kaden set a glass of water in front of me and they both sat down. My eyes drifted to Cassie. She seemed different but I couldn't figure out why.

"I'm not a werewolf either," she informed me, seeming to read my mind. "I'm a witch. I'm just in the pack because my mate is."

"Oh," I said, raising my eyebrows and nodding. She must be the witch Xander mentioned on the drive over. I couldn't believe she must be the witch actually just went through my mind. "Cool."

"Speak of the devil," Kaden said, nodding towards the hallway.

Seconds later, a tall man with golden skin and hair as dark as Xander's rounded the corner. He froze when he saw me, his eyes going wide.

"Luna," he said, rushing forward and offering a hand. "I'm Renzo. I'm so glad you're here," he said with a beaming smile.

"Addie. Please call me Addie," I said, accepting his hand.

"Of course. I'm sorry, I forgot," he said, smiling sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head.

"No problem. It's nice to meet you," I said.

He grinned and nodded before rushing over to Cassie. His arms went around her waist and he buried his face in her neck.

"Ew you're all gross from training!" She whined, smacking at his arm. "Go take a shower!"

"Only if you come with me," he teased, peppering her face with kisses.

She protested but giggled and I couldn't help the smile at their interaction. Renzo looked at her the way I kept seeing Xander look at me. Like she was the only thing he saw. I wondered how Cassie handled being a mate. She seemed nice and wasn't witch closer to human? I didn't know. I might've asked her about the mate thing if it weren't for Kaden and Renzo.

"Get a room," Kaden said, pretending to gag before turning to me. "How do you like your room?"

"It's nice," I nodded, rubbing just above my arm as the ache spread.

"What's wrong?" Kaden asked, frowning as he watched me.

"Nothing. It just hurts, still," I shrugged. "I was actually hoping someone could direct me to some pain killers."