PARADOX

sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

Vega

October 2037

Kennedy Winters

The next day I was still angry at Damon but even angrier at myself for starting to develop feelings towards him. He was an Alpha shifter and I was just human. I knew the only way for me to get rid of this stupid little crush that I had on Damon was to go on a date with Adam. So, that night after I came home from work I responded to Adam's text confirming that I would be there the next night. His response was overly eager.

Amazing! Let's go to Antonelli's. It's this amazing pasta place in your district. I've been going pratically every day after school! Can't wait to see you!!!

Was it bad that I disliked it when people were so eager to see me. I couldn't believe that anyone would be that happy in my presence. Boys like that didn't want girls like me. But he had a mate out there somewhere who would be perfect for him, for now if he wanted to go on a date then that suited me and my own mission.

Perhaps that little mission of mine was why I dressed more provactively than usual. I was wearing a low-cut sweetheart neckline top which was a bright red making my blue eyes pop even more than they usually did. My makeup was subtle apart from the brown kohl eyeliner I had smudged around my eyes and my base makeup was bronzier than usual. On the bottom, I wore my favourite pair of blue jeans which were baggy on me from years of use the denim was soft on my skin.

The walk to Antonelli's was cold, the frost sticking to the green grass as I walked past the woods. Antonelli's was in the nice part of town, the part of town that Liv used to stay. She seemed to have moved out with her parents and into Jace's house, their relationship was moving so quickly that I couldn't really fathom it. My heart ached whenever I thought about it and how I knew nothing about her life now.

Thinking about Liv wouldn't help anything at all, certainly wouldn't help my precarious mental health and if that crumbled then this date with Adam would be a disaster. I had never been on a date before but I assumed that you would need to present the best version of yourself possible, one that was chatty and friendly, not my usual cold persona.

The metal streetlights illuminated the pathway as I passed by couples on dates, the man had his arm swung around the girls shoulders holding her close. She would inhale his scent cuddling even closer. It would feel like I was intruding on something private but everyone on this street was doing the same thing.

I hadn't been in this part of town since the merger and it seemed that the Commander had opened it up to shifters as well explaining how Adam even knew about the restaurant in the first place. Yet... the rules were still strict for us to pass over onto pack territory.

When I arrived at Antonelli's, the outside was bustling with people, families and couples all leaving and entering the restaurant. Biting down on my lip I watched as they walked in and out, checking my phone for the time.

6:07pm. Perhaps he was running late, it had only been five minutes really since he was meant to be here, and he had seemed so eager to go... it would make no sense for him not to come.

Still, I waited for another ten minutes, my frozen fingers typing a message to him on my phone.

Hey, where are you? You said six right?

My tone was as frosty as the air outside. Humilated I stood outside for another five minutes before texting him again.

Did something come up?

Before I could text him for a third time, I was interrupted by Sophia Brookes, the Commander (and Liv's mom) coming up to me with her husband beside her.