The Alpha's forbidden omega mate - Chapter 152: Chapter 152

Catrina POV:
“Cat! You’re spacing out again! Focus!”
Sheila’s voice snapped me back to reality. She was the captain of the cheerleading squad, and she didn’t tolerate mistakes.
I blinked, the gym lights blurring for a moment.
My reflection in the mirror was a stranger – a girl with wide, anxious eyes and a knot of fear in her stomach.
“Sorry, Sheila,” I mumbled, forcing a smile.
My gaze dropped to the floor. I couldn’t meet her sharp, blue eyes.
“Tired? You’re a mess, Catrina.” My wolf whimpered, her voice full of unease. She could sense something wasn’t right, like we were being watched.
Ever since… what?
My mind went blank. There was a hole where a memory should be.
It made me dizzy and sent shivers down my spine. It was that same feeling of wrongness, of something missing, that had haunted me since I woke up a week ago.
“You’ve been acting weird this last week, Cat,” Sheila said.
Her voice was softer now, but her eyes were still sharp, watching me closely. “It’s like… you’re not really here.”
“She can sense it. The emptiness. The wrongness.” My wolf whimpered. My hands clenched into fists, my claws digging into my palms.
I couldn't stop doing it. It was like my wolf was trying to claw her way out of this fog, this confusion.
“I’m fine, Sheila,” I lied, forcing a smile.
I couldn’t handle her questions, her doubts. “Really. Just tired.”
But it wasn’t just tiredness. It was a feeling of being disconnected, of something being deeply wrong.
It was like watching myself from outside, my life a blurry, distorted reflection.
“If you say so,” Sheila said, but she didn’t sound convinced.
She looked at me for a moment longer, then turned back to the other girls, her voice sharp and commanding.
“Alright, ladies, let’s run through the routine again. And this time, I want to see some energy! Catrina, you’re front and center. Let’s show them what we’ve got!”
I went through the motions of practice, my body remembering the cheers and routines.
But my mind was lost in a maze of broken memories, whispers of a past that felt both familiar and strange.
The music pounded, the other girls’ movements blurred around me, and I felt like I was drowning in a sea of confusion.
“It was just a dream, Catrina.” My wolf whispered, trying to soothe me. “A weird dream. It doesn’t mean anything.”
But even as I told myself that, a sliver of doubt lingered.
Something wasn’t right. Someone… or something… was missing.
The dream had been so vivid, so intense. I’d been a wolf, a powerful silver wolf with eyes like the moon.
Her strength had been incredible, and her heart… her heart had been filled with a fierce love.
But for who?
The memory faded, replaced by swirling shadows, a crumbling temple, a tall, dark figure with burning red eyes.
Damien. The name sent a shiver down my spine. My wolf growled, her hackles rising.
“Who is he? Why am I so afraid of him?”
I shook my head, trying to clear the cobwebs, to find the truth buried under those scary memories.
“Five, six, seven, eight!” Sheila’s voice cut through my thoughts, pulling me back to the present.
“And… one, two, three, four… kick, turn, and pose! Work it, Catrina!”
This was my solo part, the one where I had to step forward, all eyes on me. The music shifted, becoming faster, more intense.
I felt a surge of adrenaline, my body instinctively moving to the rhythm, the choreography, a language I understood even when my mind was a blank slate.
I spun, my skirt swirling around me, my hands on my hips, my gaze meeting the eyes of the audience. I could feel their stares, their whispers, their judgment.
I was supposed to be the star cheerleader, the girl everyone wanted to be. But I felt exposed, vulnerable.
“You’re beautiful, Catrina.” My wolf purred, her voice a low rumble of pride. “Show them what you’re made of.”
I pushed aside the fear and let the music take over. I moved with a grace and power that surprised even me, my body fluid, my steps sharp and precise.
I could feel the heat of the spotlight, the intensity of the gaze… his gaze.
Rowan Magnus, the Alpha heir, was watching me. I could feel his eyes on me, burning into me like hot coals.
He was sitting in the bleachers with his friends, their laughter and cheers a jarring counterpoint to the silence that echoed in my own head.
He didn’t look away. Not for a second.
His amber eyes were intense, predatory, making my heart pound, my breath catch in my throat.
I could smell his wolf, a raw power that both thrilled and terrified me.
“He’s dangerous, Catrina.” My wolf growled, a warning rumble in my chest.
But even as she warned me, I couldn’t help but be drawn to him, to the intensity of his gaze.
The power that radiated from him, the primal allure of an Alpha wolf that defied logic, that whispered of a connection, but couldn't deny.
The music reached its climax, and I finished the routine with a flourish, my chest heaving, my cheeks flushed, my gaze meeting his once more, a silent challenge passing between us, a spark of something… dangerous… igniting in the air.
Then, as quickly as it started, the music ended. The spell broke.
I hurried off the floor, my heart racing, my body trembling, a mix of relief and a strange longing.
“What was that, Catrina? What did you feel?” My wolf whimpered, her voice a confused echo of my own.
I didn’t have an answer. Not yet.
But I knew, with a certainty that defied the amnesia, the fog of my forgotten past, that Rowan Magnus was a part of that missing piece.