Breakfast was not as terrible as Matt expected, but whatever it was they ate, it certainly was neither Sinigang nor Adobo. It did help him sleep well for the rest of the day. The sun was close to the horizon by the time he woke up. He picked up his things and headed straight to Crimson, where Morgan should be waiting for him.

Matt slipped through the backdoor entrance of Crimson, where he was greeted by Morgan’s father, who offered him a slice of strawberry cheesecake, which he eagerly accepted. It was a new recipe with a tinge of calamity, and Matt wished right away to order an entire cake of it.

"Hey Grey!" Matt said as Greyson passed him by, seemingly leaving the cafe when it was just about to enter peak hours. "I take it Morgan's taking this shift again?"

"And all the others till the end of the year!" Greyson declared with a sour face as he exited through the backdoor.

Matt flung open the kitchen door and into the warm and cozy space of Crimson. There were still open tables, but they are not going to be for long, especially on a weekend. Morgan was just on his way back after waiting on a table, setting down orders, and on his way back to the register.

"Your brother's still mad at you, it seems," Matt whispered, setting his backpack on the counter and checking all the cakes on the cooler, wondering which ones he should take.

"I'm swamped. Basketball practices in the morning, and all afternoon and all night long, I am stuck here," Morgan sighed. This seems to be the first time in a long while he was able to stop and take a breath.

"Just be glad the next full moons don't happen on weekends, or else you'll be screwed," Matt whispered. "Hey, just a thought. That woof woof we encountered at the school. Do you think that was your alpha?"

"Woof woof?" Morgan responded. He then pulled out a plate, took a slice of chocolate fudge cake, and handed it to Matt.

"Werewolf," Matt replied, grabbing a fork from the tray and quickly dove into the cake Morgan just handed him. "You know it spoke to you, and it appeared right after your first few transformations. You might have a connection with it." Morgan did not bother to reply, but he looked exasperated.

"All I want right now is to sleep. A full eight hours of sleep would be nice." He then took Morgan's plate, which was now empty, and put another slice of cake on it. This time, a Braso de Mercedes. He slid it quickly to Matt's side, who happily and mindlessly dove into it for a bite. "They've been spending time here a lot."

Morgan must be referring to the same thing Matt has been staring at while enjoying his cake. The sight of the Supernatural Breakfast Club, as Matt calls them, in Crimson Cafe is weird, to say the least. They seem so distracted in their own spaces. Kira has been on her video game seemingly frustrated, maybe unable to get past a level. Janina had so many books scattered in front of her as she donned her horn-rimmed glasses, mumbling what phrases she was trying to memorize. Cedric had his earphones on and kept singing along to his music, ballads as it seemed, completely unbothered if people would be watching him.

"Don't pretend like you're not enjoying this." Matt patted Morgan on the back, knowing his eyes were set on watching only Kira. "Did you know she's a gamer? Did you know she plays Pokemon? I play Pokemon. That's a geek thing. Not a popular girl thing."

"You know, from here, they just seem like... normal students, you know," Morgan said, wiping a couple of mugs and preparing for the hoard of customers about to show up.

"Well, don't be fooled, my friend. Remember, they're the reasons why our lockers smelled of rotten eggs for more than half a school year two years ago." Matt sighed, preparing himself. Morgan should get back to work, and he should be brave enough to walk up to his new, "... friends! Hello."

The three of them looked up at him with the same disturbed curiosity as grandparents figuring out technology.

"He's really weird," Janina said, gathering her books to make room on the table.

"Whatcha say again?" Cedric mumbled, removing his headphones and pulling a chair up for Matt.

"Morgan did warn me about this," Kira said, pausing her game and putting the console down.

Matt glanced back at Morgan, mouthing help me. Morgan rolled his eyes as a hoard of customers entered the cafe, including a group of sophomores, one of whom has been riling up both Cedric and Morgan for the past few weeks.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"That kid's a pain in the ass if I ever know one," Cedric mumbled under his breath, referring to the tall young boy by the register talking to Morgan. The kid had strong jaws and striking brown eyes, even from afar. Morgan is biting his lip, a good indication that he is holding himself back from saying anything bad.

"Nathaniel Cervantes? Are you mad at him because he beat you during the friendly match that Morgan bailed on? And now that he transferred to Lawton High and entered the basketball varsity, you're afraid he is going to outshine you?" Matt said as he sat down, realizing that Cedric was glaring at him. "My mouth runs like a freight train with no brakes." He should probably run.

"Insubordinate, show off, and just plain annoying. I hate him," Cedric said, rolling his eyes and emptying his glass of iced tea.

"Oh boo hoo. You're just mad he's good, if not better," Janina teased, earning herself a light punch from her brother. "Those things aside, just stay out of his way and don't cause any trouble for us."

"I will if he does!" Cedric huffed.

"I won't. I promise." Nathaniel Cervantes had approached them with his group of friends following behind him like a pack waiting for him to speak. He took off his jacket in an obvious effort to show off his lean but muscled arms while wearing his basketball jersey. "Nice game we had. Looking forward to playing you in the next few weeks."

"I think it should be playing with you, but I guess he is taunting because you lost to him the last time," Matt turned to Cedric.

"Shut up!" Both Cedric and Janina responded.

"What do you want, Nate?" Kira said with a mean tone that reminded Matt of Sara. "

"Bite me, Lauzon," Nathaniel snapped back with gritted teeth, showing a more vicious side behind his inviting smile from earlier. "What're you staring at?" he said after he realized Matt was looking at him with curiosity.

"You really have big ears," Matt said flatly. Nathaniel took a step back, confused, and did not know what else to say. "Yeah, big ones, you know, like a dog's." He then put his hands over his ears and mimicked dog ears going up and down when they are excited, followed by sticking out his tongue. "Like that! They're really big."

"Aw yeah, now that you mentioned it," chimed in Janina.

"I don't think growing out your hair would help hide it either," added Cedric.

Nathaniel clearly did not know how to respond to that and made an escape with a sour look on his face while everyone on the table laughed.

"That was mean," Kira said, but she could not hold herself back from laughing after seeing the look of confusion and defeat on Nathaniel's face.

"I was not being mean. I was just pointing it out!" Matt responded, insisting that he was not trying to embarrass the young guy, but even he knows he has a hidden mean streak he developed after years of defending himself from other bullies.

"No, but seriously. Be careful around Nate," Kira said, sounding very concerned. "Tell Morgan to do so as well, and that goes the same for you." She turned to Cedric. "He's not someone you should be messing with."

"With arms like those, I wouldn't even try," Matt responded.

"Hey! Seriously!" Janina pointed a finger at him to appear stern. Then all three looked at each other and nodded as if they had just nonverbally decided on something. "How should I say this in your own words? Nathaniel Cervantes is a woof woof!"

Matt dropped the glass of iced tea he was taking a sip on just as Cedric realized it was his iced tea Matt was finishing through. He swiped the glass away and sighed, since only the ice cubes were left.

"He's a werew-

Morgan appeared with a trayful of cakes on one hand, and he was quick enough to put one in Matt's mouth before he could finish his sentence. "I knew there was something off about that guy," he said as he distributed the other sweets and refilled Cedric's glass, much to his glee. Matt gave Morgan a side eye but then realized a slice of mango chiffon was stuffed in his mouth, which is always a delight.

"You mean to say there are lots of other woof woofs in town?" Matt mumbled as he was still trying to gulp down the rest of the cake. It was quite an information to know, and Matt wonders why they held back on telling him about this till now. Although he has been talking about magic nonstop since they started hanging out, he would not blame them for thinking that he is a know-it-all. The subject really just excites him.

"More than you'd think," Kira answered, glancing at Morgan. "But that's a story for a different time. Because we need to go."

Matt sighed because he really wanted to learn more. If there are more werewolves in town, then the question of who was the werewolf that attacked them that night at school just became a much bigger mystery to solve. And from what Matt already knows, werewolves always travel in packs with an alpha leading the way. Would it be possible that Morgan's alpha is also the alpha of this pack?

"You're really doing this? You're really gonna take 'em there?" Cedric gave Kira a stern look as he drank his iced tea as if making sure he got another glass before Morgan moved on to wait on a different table.

"We've gone over for this the past few weeks already. I'm pretty sure she's already made up her mind." Janina's playful tone sounded like she was pleading for Kira to change her mind at the last minute. But Kira remained firm and nodded yes. "Well, you better get going then, since you're gonna need to take the longer route so no one sees you. The assembly should be at eight. Don't be late," Janina said with a wink wink. She returned to her books and started mumbling phrases again.

Kira then looked at Matt with an excited smile and said, "Let's go!" Matt did not even realize she was talking to him when she declared it was time to leave.

"Oh! Wait. Where to?" Matt jolted in surprise, but he held on to his bag, ready to leave no matter what the answer was.

"To see the coven," Kira said in a low voice to add mystery. "There are a lot of witches and covens in this country as you may already know. I think you should meet the witches on this end."