Everything has changed

Owen's P.O.V.

I ate too much. I feel like my belly would just burst open if I even breathed. But I need to go to my room. With courage, I got up from the chair and started to walk, but I felt like puking with every step. I made it to my room safely. I closed the door and gently sat on my bed. I have so much to do and I can not move. I don't have any other choice; I got my laptop and went straight to Netflix. Good thing I was already watching a series and I did not have to go through hours of searching. I play a kdrama Love struct in the city. I laid down on my side placed the laptop next to me and immersed myself in the series.

After an episode, my belly was in relatively good condition. So, I got up and opened my bags, I need to arrange my clothes in the closet. I took out all the clothes from the bags and placed them all around my room. I started to arrange them, after arranging them I took out an oversized grey V-shaped t-shirt and black sports shorts, I undressed from the rob and wore the clothes. Much better. I then placed all the remaining clothes in the closet. Finally, after two hours, I have done it.

And then it hit me again. Vlad was again quiet from this morning. I felt how he was hurting yesterday and it was unbearable but since morning I'm not feeling him. It is just like how I felt in Lunardale, I don't know what happened again. Maybe Jason is the trigger. He is my mate and maybe that's why Vlad decided to show up, and maybe he decided to not talk because I again ignored our mate. Whatever it is I need to know for sure. Everything, I need to know everything.

And there is only one person I can think of that would know the answers, Jess. I only met him for moments in the woods five years ago and he did some sketchy stuff, and that's why I need to find him. I need to know what he did. But it has been five years and he was on the run, I don't even know if he is still around here, he surely still is not hiding in the woods. But that's the only lead I have so I'm gonna search the woods. But for that, I need to go to the school because the woods where I met him are right next to it and I'm not sure I can handle going back to that place right now. It's just too much to handle. But I need to someday.

It is already afternoon but I am still digesting the food I ate in the morning, so I'm skipping lunch. Maybe I'll grab some snacks in the evening. And there is another important person I need to meet, Mrs. Stephwell. She owns a bookstore a block away from my home, I used to go there whenever I had a hard time and did not feel like going home. She would let me read the books because I was regular and that made me feel special. I would hang out with her all the time and we are very close, plus I know if I don't meet her immediately after I arrived, she would chew my bones.

I left the house and started walking to her store, in a few minutes I was standing in front of a giant café. What? What happened here? The way I remember a rundown building of a book store should be here, with cracks on the walls, fading paint, and lots of books all over the place, but instead I see a glorious building. The front wall was entirely made of glass, white exterior, and interior, with luxurious wooden flooring that was visible from the outside of the café because of the glass. The building was two-story-tall. The only things that remained the same were books, however, the bookshelves have completely changed. I could see the bookshelves covering half of the walls on the opposite side of the glass wall. There were small tables, chairs, and sofas in the cafe. There were small plants also, decorating the store. The book store was mostly empty on weekdays but the café now I see is bustling with the crowd, there is a line in front of the counter and so many people are sitting inside enjoying their coffee.

I pushed the glass door and entered the café. The place smelled heavenly, the fragrance of freshly brewed coffee and flowers on the plants mingling and mesmerizing everyone that smelled it. I made my way to the counter passing the line but someone grabbed my shoulder from behind, I turned around and saw a young man in formal attire, must be an office worker.

"Hey, don't cut the line, we all are waiting." He said as nicely as he could but I could feel irritation in his voice.

"Oh! You got it wrong, I'm not here for coffee. I just want to ask something; it will only take a moment." I replied politely. He let go of me and I went to the counter.

A young girl who must be in her late teen was busy taking the order from a lady. And I could not understand a word that lady said. She talked just like Hailey when she ordered, listing every ingredient.

"Excuse me!" I said looking at the girl after the lady was done ordering.

"Yes, how may I help you?" she asked with a smile.

"Could you please tell me if you know Mrs. Stephwell? she used to own a bookstore in this place a few years back. Did she sell the land?" I asked.

"No, no. She is the boss. She owns this place." She said without changing her expression, the smile still plastered on her face. I was beyond shocked, when did this happen? "You must have been away for a long, she is one the most popular people in the pack." Said the girl.

"OMG!!! OWEN!!!" I said someone shout in shock, and I know who it is.

"Mrs.Stephwell ???" I said as I turned around.

"YOU ARE BACK!" she said as she ran to me and hugged me. "When did you come back, omg, how long has it been?" she said still hugging me.

"Yesterday, afternoon. A...n...d...can...you...plea..s...e...l...e...t...me...go...I...do...n...o...t...want...to...d...i...e...t...o...d...a...y." I say trying to breathe.

"Oh Please, just like always. You haven't changed a bit." She said smiling from ear to ear. I took a look around and everyone was staring at us, amusingly, probably thinking we are crazy.

"How have you been? Wait, that can wait, follow me. And Rebecca darling can you please bring our specials to our table." She said as she grabbed my hand and was about to drag me somewhere but stopped when Rebecca the girl at the counter asked something.

"Which specials?" asked Rebecca.

"All of them." Replied Mrs. Stephwell as she dragged me away. She took me to the small table with two cushy chairs at the opposite end of the café from the counter. I felt every eye on us when she took me away crossing the entire space. I took the seat and she sat opposite me.

"How was Lunardale? Tell me everything." She said with an excited look.

For the next half an hour we talked about everything I did in Lunardale, ad when I say talked, I mean she interrogated me, and when I say everything I meant literally everything. And we were halfway to "Owen's Amazing Life in Lunardale" when then Rebecca with a few other of her colleagues came with food and beverages. There were at least ten of them and they were still not enough to hold everything. They placed some of the food on our table but there was still so much in their hands so they moved a few nearby tables and placed them near us placing everything on them.

"You have finally gone insane. What is all this? I can't eat all of this. What are you trying to feed me for the five years in one afternoon?" I asked. Honestly speaking I was scared.

"Oh! This is nothing. Growing wolves need much to eat. So, stop talking and start eating. You know my place is famous for coffee and sandwiches. And these are all special menus." She said with prideful eyes.

"But I have already eaten so much today morning," I said practically begging her.

"SO?" she said it like she does not understand the correlation.

"..." I was speechless.

She then started stuffing my face with food and drinks. I tried to eat as slowly as possible because I knew my o does not have any meaning here and I don't want to eat like a pig two times a day. I'll die at this rate.

"But why did you rebuild the place?" I asked my mouth filled with red velvet pastry that Mrs. Stephwell stuffed in my mouth.

"Why don't you like it?" She asked. She was surprised.

"It's good and looks much better than before, but I liked the old one better. It holds so many memories." I said I was getting a little emotional. It was the place that soothed me and now it has completely changed. Actually, I've never imagined that the run-down book store will ever change.

"You know sometimes I miss it too. That quiet book store, dust on the shelves that no matter how much I clean never seemed to go away, people coming and reading quietly, buying books, you coming over from school, and even that nasty smell of molds in the corner." She was lost in memories. "The things we have are precious, they hold our memories. The first time I had the thought of rebuilding the place I felt so guilty like I just cheated. But sometimes we have to let go to move on, to create something more beautiful, to see something more spectacular. Just look at you when you moved to Lunardale, you left all your memories of Lahpiaro behind. When you left, you not only left behind the dark past that you faced but also the good memories that you had, you did the right thing." There was a gentle smile on her face, "And look at what that has brought you to, you have seen the world outside of the pack, you have survived there alone, you made friends, you graduated college and you grew in this amazing person. We can never move forward unless we let go of the past that stands in front of us, holding us back. Because without that we can never be free." her eyes were getting teary, and I didn't know the reason.

"Are you all right Mr. Stephwell?" I was now concerned.

"Yes, yes. Of course. What would happen to me?" she said smiling ear to ear. But it kinda looked fake, but I thought she must not want to talk about what was in her mind so I changed the subject to the food I was eating and we talked for a few minutes before I took my leave.

"Keep visiting Owen, let me see you from time to time and we still sell books, we have an even larger collection than before, so there is still something that has not changed about the shop." She said as she hugged me and we said goodbye. I walked out of the café, I ate most of the food and now my belly has doubled and can burst at any moment. But the words Mrs.Stephwell said started to ring in my head and I wondered if I really let go of my past. Because I did move away and I am in a much better state but have I really got over it? I was lost in my thought and then a very familiar enchanting fragrance hit me. 'He is here.' I said in my head and without thinking for a second or looking back I started to run in the direction of my home.