Wait! Werewolves Exist?
Chapter 34

AMBER.

Reaching the restaurant, I took breath and entered through the rear door as I’d been instructed, too. The restaurant wasn’t open yet. I could hear the clatter of pans in the kitchen as Peter got things ready. I hung up my coat and washed my hands in the staff area before heading into the kitchen, where Peter greeted me with a big smile. “Amber, We appreciate you being willing to help us out this morning. Ellie and Becky are busy getting everything set up for the Moon Goddess ceremony this evening. We are providing the catering you see. Normally, me and Adam could handle the breakfast shift, but the ceremony morning is always busy.” He said cheerfully. I gulped, so it would be just me and Adam out in the restaurant all morning. Hopefully, Peter was right, and we would be so busy that I wouldn’t have time to think about the dream. I told Peter that I was happy to help and went through into the restaurant to start getting everything set up.

I had just finished setting the last table when Adam came rushing in. “Sorry I wasn’t here earlier. I was just giving Mum a hand with the heavy stuff.” He said to me. I didn’t look at him “no problem, I’ve finished the tables and set up the coffee machine. Is there anything else you need me to do?” I asked quietly. “You are a star. No, I think we are ready to open.” He said happily and went over to unlock the door. Peter wasn’t wrong about this morning. There were already customers waiting outside. Me and Adam got them seated and took drink orders.

“Amber, is everything OK? You seem a bit odd this morning.” Adam asked as we stood at the coffee machine getting the drinks that had been ordered. “Yes, I’m fine. I just had a difficult night. Sleep trouble.” I told him, forcing myself to look at him. As our eyes met, I felt my cheeks flush. Images from my dream flashed through my mind. I picked up the coffees and hurried off. I could feel him watching me go.

Luckily, it really was very busy, so I didn’t have time to worry about any awkwardness with Adam. By the time the last customer left, I was ready for a sit down. Adam locked the door behind them, and Peter came in carrying three plates of food. He set them down and told me and Adam to sit. “I think we’ve earned ourselves some breakfast” he chuckled, taking a seat. Adam got us some coffees, and I grabbed cutlery. Sitting down, I took an appreciative sniff of the food on my plate. My stomach growled in response. “Well someone definitely worked up an appetite” Peter chuckled. I smiled at him. “Your food is so good that It always seems to excite my stomach.” I told him. “Well then, I thank your stomach for the compliment. Now let’s eat.” He replied, grinning. We all dug in, and before long, we had emptied our plates.

I had just started clearing the table when Ellie and Becky arrived. Peter had kept food for them as well, and they sat to eat. Ellie called me over to thank me for helping, and I told her that I had enjoyed it. I liked keeping busy. I asked if she knew of any jobs that were available in town. She smiled at me “If you want a job, then I would love for you to come and work here. If you want to, that is.” She offered. I accepted instantly and thanked her. I really liked Ellie and Peter and knew I would like working for them. Becky clapped her hands excitedly “yayyy we are going to be working together” she said. I grinned at her. “I couldn’t ask for a better colleague.”

Becky asked if I still wanted to go back to the cemeter today. She said she had some time before she needed to get ready for tonight’s event. I nodded. I wanted to fill her in on what had happened up at Jason’s house last night, too. “I’ve had an idea.” She said. “We should ask my mum about your parents’ graves. She may be able to narrow down the search a little.” I agreed. That was a great idea. We called Ellie over and explained as best we could. I told her about Mary’s letter and that it turns out that I’m actually a werewolf myself. I gave her a moment to process that before continuing. “Mary wants me to scatter her ashes half at the lake and half on my parents’ graves. Which she says are here. She also requested that I do it under the full moon. That’s tonight, so I need to replace their graves quickly. I looked yesterday but couldn’t replace them.” Ellie looked a little bit surprised and confused. “We thought that maybe you could help point me in the right direction.” I finished. “Of course. I will help in any way that I can.” Ellie said. “what can you tell me about your parents?” she asked. I gave her their names, and she looked confused. “We haven’t had anyone called Collins here, that I know of anyway.” She told me. I thought again about the birth certificate. “How about Rivers?” I asked. Ellie looked shocked. I pulled out the picture of my parents and me at the lake from my bag. I had brought it just in case. I showed it to Ellie “These are my parents.” I told her. She gasped and dropped the glass she was polishing.

Peter came in at the sound of the glass smashing. “Is everything OK?” He asked. Ellie showed him the photo and pointed at me. He seemed to understand instantly. He was silent for a few minutes before bursting into joyful laughter. He pulled me into a huge hug. “This is wonderful news.” he said. I didn’t understand, and Becky clearly didn’t either. “So I’m guessing you knew her parents. Does that mean you know where their graves are?” she asked her parents. They nodded. “I looked for anyone called Rivers at the cemetery as well but still couldn’t replace them.” I said. “Well of course not, sweetie. They wouldn’t be in the normal cemetery. They are buried in the Alpha cemetery.” Ellie explained. “Alpha cemetery? Why would they be there?” I asked, confused. Peter chuckled “Well because your parents were our Alpha and Luna. They were the best Alpha and Luna that Lakeside could have wished for. They were greatly loved.” he told me.

Becky suddenly looked very excited “Wait! Does this mean that not only is Amber a werewolf, but she’s an Alpha blooded werewolf and the true heir of the Lakeside pack?” she asked. Ellie and Peter looked at each other for a moment before answering. “Well yes I suppose it does. Though I wouldn’t recommend telling anyone just yet. David isn’t going to want to give up his families claim to leadership without a fight.” Peter said, sounding serious. I nodded my understanding. I had just got to the idea of being a werewolf, I wasn’t ready to think about being more. They gave us directions to the Alpha cemetery, and we headed off.