The Long Lost Daughter

9 Cupcakes

Penelope

I wake up to the sound of my alarm early on Monday morning. Ever since finding out I was a werewolf, I have been having an easier time falling asleep at night. It was almost as if a good amount of my anxiety was sue to internal struggle my body was having with itself. Like I always sensed that I was different, and now that I know the truth I am more at peace. 

Waking up at 7am, is definitely not what I like to do, but I wanted to get a great start to my day. Today I move into my apartment and I sign my paperwork for my new job. I begin to pack up the motel room and load up the car with my stuff. I decide after checking out of the motel to get some breakfast before heading to the apartment building because they don’t open until 8:30am so I still have a lot of time.

I decide to go to a diner that is right next to the motel and I enjoy a cup of coffee and breakfast in peace. I have never been one who always needed people around me, so enjoying a meal while sitting in a booth my myself does not bother me. The diner is nice and I have a very friendly waitress. 

Helen is a kind old lady, definitely old enough to be retired. We got to chatting and I told her all about how it is only my second day in Ocean and how I will be moving into an apartment today. She seemed genuinely interested in my life. 

Between helping her other tables Helen sits and chats with me all about how she first came to ocean only 15 years ago after her divorce. She tells me all her favorite places to go and even her favorite places to go hiking. She may be on the older side, but she is really living her best life here in Ocean. Once I am done eating, I pay for my food and leave Helen a nice cash tip.

I make a mental note to make sure I come back here. The food was really good and I can't wait to give Helen updates on my journey here. So far I have been very impressed with my ability to be able to talk to people here in this new city. Maybe being on my own finally where I want to be has provided me with a sense of freedom where I want to live my life in a new fashion. I don't want to pass idly by in life, I want to enjoy it. 

At exactly 8:30am I make it to the leasing office of my new apartment complex. The gentleman who was helping me was very nice and helped me to finish filing out all the necessary paperwork. Once we finalized everything, he showed me to the apartment where I will be living for at least the next year.

The apartment was everything I had hoped for and more. I am on the second level not too far into the complex and I even have a parking spot right next to the stairs. I was a little nervous that I wouldn’t like the studio apartment style, but I actually love it.

Though the apartment is small I have a decent sized kitchen, bathroom and even a little walk in closet. The rest of the apartment is one room. The small and cozy size of the place is perfect just for me and I can already imagine all that I could do with the place. Decorating and making this place my home is going to be so much fun. 

After the tour the helpful man hands me my own set of keys. I move my car to my new assigned spot and begin unloading all of my stuff into my apartment. Luckily I did not bring much with me so it does not take long for my car to be unloaded.

I still have a while before I have to be at The Hideout so I take the time to unpack my clothes and put them in my closet. Besides clothes, the only other thing I brought with me was an air mattress. I planned on sleeping on it until I got all of my furniture. 

Though I would not chose to sleep on an air mattress, it is not that bad because it is actually a nice quality thick mattress. Even after all unpacking my clothes and setting up my bed, I still have time before I have to get ready for work. I settle on taking a nap before heading to work to help make the time go by quicker. I am actually excited to go into work today. It has already been a successful day today and it is not even noon yet. 

An hour before it is time for me to be at The Hideout I take a shower. Luckily I brought all the toiletries I had at my house. One of my favorite parts of this apartment is that there is a bathtub and shower in one. I can not wait to be relaxing in that tub one day. Stepping out of the shower feeling refreshed I wrap a towel around my body and proceed to get ready. 

I decide to actually spend time on my appearance today, so I pull my hair back into a ponytail and use some of the hair to add in some twists to make it look nicer.  I throw on some makeup and I take a step back satisfied with my handiwork. 

I am not sure if I will be training today or if it is just paperwork. So I decide to wear a white V-neck t-shirt and some black skinny jeans. Once I put on my chucks and am all set to go. I grab my keys and head out to my car. 

 Luckily The Hideout is now only about a five minute drive from where I am living. I chose an apartment complex that was as close to University of California that I could afford and since the school is very close to the downtown area it is perfect that I got a job here. 

I arrive about fifteen minuets early, I drive around and find a parking lot behind the building where The Hideout is and I assume that is where the employees park. 

When I approach the black door I am again welcomed by the strong scent of coffee outside of the door. If it wasn’t for the smell of it, no person would know that there is a business inside. I figure that is the appeal of the place. The only people who come to this place have heard about it from others. So people keep going because apart of the appeal is being in on the secret. 

When I open the door it takes my eyes a minute to adjust because of the dim lighting on the inside. Again I am surprised by the amount of people in here. It is the middle of the day on a Monday. There is not as many people enrolled in summer school than during the regular session, so the amount of people in here is surprising. 

As I take a couple more minuets to look around, I get the sense that something is off compared to the way it was yesterday. It is possible I was distracted yesterday, but today I can sense Ruby's uneasiness. It feels like she is anxiously pacing around in my head. 

There are other wolves around.

What do you mean? We are in a coffee shop in Ocean, what do you mean there are other wolves?

I had this feeling yesterday when you came in to apply, but because you were distracted you did not notice.

You should have told me yesterday what does this even mean?

Ruby choses now to start ignoring me. I quickly find out why when I hear someone behind me ask, “Are you okay?”

I turn to face the guy who called me out for checking him out yesterday. He seems pleased to see me and has a smirk on his face. He lifts his eyebrow when it takes longer than necessary for me to respond. I clear my through and respond, “Oh yes I am fine I was just giving my eyes a chance to adjust to the light. It is so dim in here.”

“It is, you will get used to it" he tells me. "So you are the new girl right? The one my Dad hired?”

Great he knows I am going to work here. He hasn't teased me about the incident yesterday so I decide he is not the cocky asshole I thought he was originally. 

“That would be me, hi my name is Penelope” I say reaching forward to shake his hand. 

He shakes my hand and says, “Hello my name is Gabriel.”

“Nice to meet you Gabriel. I look forward to working with you” I tell him releasing his hand. I am glad that I now know his name and I don't have to go out of my way to awkwardly ask. 

“We are glad to have you. My Dad should be waiting in his office. If you head straight for the coffee bar it is directly to the right. You will see his name on the door” he tells me pointing in the direction of the office.

“Thank you so much, see you around.” I say waving goodbye and walking in the direction of the office. 

As I walk towards the office I take my time to look around and try to find the werewolves Ruby was talking about. I have never met another wolf before other than my Dad, so I am nervous. I don't want to be hurt. 

You don't need to be nervous, werewolves are just as nice as any human you have ever met. There is the occasional bad wolf, but those are rare. They won’t stick out in a crowd. With the amount of wolves that are here you won't be able to tell which ones they are.

Wait there are a lot of them here? 

Yes, don't be scared you are fine. It also means that they may not be able to sense any wolf on you. It helps you have never been with a pack and we have not shifted yet. Who ever the werewolves are, they won't have any clue. 

I guess she is right. That just makes this all the more difficult. I am excited to have a job, but I never imagined I would have to work so hard to hide my true identity. 

I decide before heading to Alex’s office to stop at the coffee bar to say hi to Darla before heading in. I never did get the chance to formally thank her for helping me get the job.

As I approach the counter I peak over and see her bending down and refilling one of the fridges with milk. 

“Hey Darla!” I exclaim. I quickly realize that I have taken her completely off guard. She yells and jumps up so quickly that if I have blinked I would have missed it. Darla lands as if she was about to attack and I could have sworn I heard her growl. 

“Oh my gosh you scared me Penelope!” Darla responds starting to relax.

“I am sorry. I just wanted to come over and say hello and thank you for the help in getting the job. I really appreciate it" I tell her which earns me a smile. 

“It is no problem! I am so happy to have you here working with us! It will help me a lot when it is time for school to start” she admits.

“I am so happy to have a job, it will help me so much. Where are you going to school?”

“I will be attending University of California.”

“Sweet, that is where I will be going. I am happy that I will know someone” I admit. The fact that Darla will be going to the same school as me, makes me feel a little better. It is going to be nice knowing at least one person who I will be going to school with. 

“No way! I hope we at least get a class together.”

“I am sure we will” I tell her with a smile that I hope conveys that I am excited, because I am. "I better go do my paperwork." 

“Of course, I won’t keep you! See you around Penelope!

With a wave I turn and head towards the door that is labeled Alexander Cole. Before I get there I am hit with the smell of the most delicious cupcakes. The smell distracts me completely and I find myself sniffing around me. It is the most captivating smell that makes my mouth water. Even Ruby is purring in my head.

I must look completely insane because I hear Darla loudly ask, "Are you okay there Penelope?" 

"Yeah I am fine. Sorry, I just smelt something really good" I tell her honestly. 

"Oh, I just took out a new batch of brownies" she tells me. 

"That must be it" I chuckle walking back in the direction of the door. 

I know the scent I was getting was not a brownie. I must have just picked up on something in the case. I take a quick look over my shoulder and see that we do not carry cupcakes. I decide that it must have just been someone's perfume or something random. 

I finally reach the door and decide the polite thing to do would be to knock before entering. After I do I hear “Come in.”

As soon as I push open the door I feel Ruby pacing around again so much she is causing me to have a headache. My heading pounding similar to the way it was the night I found out I was a werewolf. 

Ruby please calm down you are giving me a headache I plead. I can't begin acting weird in front of my new boss. 

I am sorry I am trying to calm down. A werewolf is close. It has to be Alex. 

I stop in my spot for a second and I quickly snap out of it and walk into the office. I instantly begin to shake out of fear. I have to act normal. He can't know that I am a wolf or my plans of a regular life are ruined. I have no idea what will happen if he finds out I a just like him. 

Trying my best to act normal I speak first saying, “Hello, it is nice to see you again Alex. Thank you so much for this opportunity.”

“It’s no problem. Come have a seat we have some paperwork to fill out and a lot to discuss" he says gesturing to the chair that is right in front of his large oak desk. 

I take a seat and feel the headache that I was feeling before get even worse. It almost feels like Ruby is trying to push herself to take control of my mind. From what I remember this is something she can do. I close my eyes and will her to stop. 

I am sorry Penny I am trying. I can't help it. I want out.

I try my hardest to calm her down. Once I have a little more control of myself and Ruby I open my eyes to find Alex staring at me like I am crazy. His whole family must think I am the biggest weirdo. I would rather have that then them think I am a wolf. 

I can even feel myself sweating. The headache only continues to intensify and once the pain becomes to much I lean forward placing my elbows on my knees and begin rubbing my temples hoping to ease the pain. I have had panic attacks many times before, however this is something completely different. I am fighting hard to have control over my own body. 

Alex breaks the silence and asks “Are you okay?”

“Yes I am. Sorry I am just getting a really bad headache.”

“Is your wolf giving you problems?" he pauses when I snap my head up to look at him. "I get it, I have a hard time keeping my wolf under control when I am around humans too.”

I stare at him eyes wide in shock. My headache is gone immediately as I feel Ruby retreat to the back of my mind. She whimpers in fear at someone knowing that we are a wolf. I must not have heard him correctly. Maybe this is a panic attack and I am just imagining my worst nightmare coming true. 

"What?" is all I can manage as a response. 

“I asked if your wolf was giving you problems? Trying to get out?” he response so matter of factly. So I did hear him correctly. Crap, he knows I am a werewolf. 

The feeling of a panic attack returns except worse this time. Ruby is completely taking control in an effort to protect us. I feel the most intense headache as my skin begins to burn all over. I fall out of the chair and curl into a ball screaming because I am in the most intense pain I have ever felt in my life. I am hyperventilating and can't stop screaming. 

As I begin to stretch out feeling my bones start to pop, I feel a sharp pain in my neck. The pain is followed by the complete darkness that consumes me.