Claim Me

Chapter 22

I teleported back to my hotel room and grabbed my sunglasses and some cash that I obtained due to the shopping outing with Octavia. Luckily, I still had a few bills left, so I stuffed them into my pocket and walked out the hotel. I originally told the hotel that I'd leave sometime in the afternoon, but I went to the reception and asked if I could extend my stay until later tonight. Thankfully, the hotel wasn't busy so the manager allowed it.

After I slipped on my sunglasses, I stepped out the hotel and looked up and down the street. It was the middle of the day and there were people walking around. Since the hotel was in the middle of the city, I had plenty of places I could go to kill time. The Copper Moon Pack complex was always an option, but I needed time away from the werewolves that stayed there at the moment.

Besides, it had been a long time since I actually took the time to explore an active city full of humans. Though my throat still itched a bit, I could control myself.

As I walked down the street, I came upon a few coffee shops. But from what I could see, most of them were busy and filled with humans, so I continued to search for the perfect coffee shop to idle in.

When I finally found one that didn't look busy, I entered it and ordered a cold coffee drink. Once the drink was made, I settled by the window seats and sat on a high stool. I placed the coffee atop the high table and sipped through the straw before I leaned my chin against the heel of my palm and stared outside.

I rarely people-watched, but when I did, I made interesting discoveries.

Such as the fact that humans apparently didn't only put their pets on a leash, but their children as well. The leashes were disguised by stuffed animal backpacks, but it didn't hide their real purpose. I sipped on my coffee just as an angry businessman walked by, shouting into his cellphone. Even through the glass, I could hear him. It sounded like an argument with his wife.

I guess that was one thing undeniably similar between us and them. I sighed and continued to watch as humans passed by. A few minutes later, I sucked air through my coffee straw and looked down at the cup to see that I had drank all the contents.

Just as I was about to turn around and order another coffee, someone sat down beside me and slid a full cup of cold coffee in front of me. In his hand was a pastry which he also offered me. My eyes immediately spotted the 'Manager' tag on his shirt before I shifted my gaze up.

To my surprise, I was met with a fairly young and handsome face.

"My treat," he smiled.

I glanced behind me to see that he had also offered the few other patrons in the coffeehouse another helping of coffee. But the extra pastry was mine alone.

"Thank you," I said and accepted the coffee and cake. From what I could tell, it looked like carrot cake.

"We just opened, so we don't get many customers. It doesn't help that we're competing with plenty of other coffee shops around here," he said. "So this is just an extra for those who gave us a chance. I hope you're enjoying the coffee so far?"

I returned his smile. "I am. Thank you. I guess I should say congratulations on opening this coffee shop."

"Thanks. My name's Zach by the way."

"I'm Lydia."

He noticed that my smile faltered and asked, "Is something the matter?"

I shook my head. "No. Everything's fine. I know someone else named Zach—" Zachariah to be exact. "—and it made me realize just how much I missed him."

Even though Zachariah was much older than me, he was also random most of the time. He became distracted easily like a child, but he always said the right things to me at the right time. Now was a particular time I needed him. Maybe he'd know what I should say and do concerning Mickey. And maybe he'd tell me whether I did the right thing or not to chastise Octavia and Javier.