I race towards the car; Moss isn’t in there. He has gone. I can smell his scent towards the woods. Nina is unconscious. Blood trickles down the left side of her head. There is glass everywhere.
I howl as loud as I can for help. Mum and Dad appear, shift into their human forms, and climb into the car.
‘Where has Moss gone? You didn’t kill him, did you?’ Mother asks worriedly. I shake my head and whimper as I step towards Dad carrying Nina.
‘She needs to see the pack doctor right away. Otherwise, she might not make it.’
I lower myself down, knowing the quickest way to get her to the doctor is me taking her. Dad places her gently on my back and wraps her arms around my neck. I glide through the air like a bird with every leap, increasing my speed and making it a smoother run so I don’t drop her. Mum and Dad shift back into their wolves and can barely keep up with my pace. We arrive back at the ceremony. Everyone parted ways, screaming or startled at the sight of Nina.
‘Nina! Amelia screams. Leon follows her to me.’ Nina’s mother and father carefully lift Nina down, crying. The pack doctor assesses her.
‘What happened to her?’ her mother asks me as my parents arrive and shift back.
‘She was in a car accident. Moss was driving and fled the scene.’ Astrid tells her.
‘Let’s get her into the packhouse where I can tend to her wounds.’ The doctor says.
Leon carries Nina from the hall towards the packhouse.
‘Thank you, everyone, for attending the ceremony, but it will have to end. So please enjoy the rest of your stay over the next couple of days.’ My dad says.
They all leave and head to their cabins. Some of the she-wolves are trying to get my attention. They want to touch me. I let out a slight snarl just for them to hear and watch as they cower back, changing their minds. I catch up with Leon and follow him up the stairs. He places her on her bed, and the doctor immediately attends to her wounds, cleans them, and bandages her. Nina lets out a whimper, even though she is still unconscious. I growl at the doctor, who quickly backs himself up to the wall.
‘S-Sorry Magnus, I didn’t mean to hurt her, but I have to cleanse her wounds. She doesn’t have her wolf yet, so she needs my help to heal properly.’
Amelia sits by her side and holds her hand, and Leon watches with a steel look.
Mum and dad join us.
‘Magnus, aren’t you going to shift back into human form?’
I shake my head and curl up by Nina’s side. I’m going to stay here and protect her until she wakes. My head rests on her lap. Mum, dad, and Nina’s parents give each other a sad look, then look back at me and nod in understanding.
‘You let us know when she wakes, ok, Magnus?’ Leon says. I lift my head and nod, then resume my position on her lap.
I must have fallen asleep. The warmth from the sun beaming through the window warms my fur. Nina’s hand is resting on my back. She hasn’t woken but must have moved in her sleep. I move my position, rest my head on her pillow facing her, and fall asleep again. I wake up to a scream and sit up.
Nina and I are facing. Sweat covers her forehead, and I watch as she realises it’s just me.
‘Magnus?’
I lick her face.
‘Gross, Magnus!’ she yells.
I whimper and lower my head and place my paws over my eyes. ‘Sorry, Magnus, I didn’t mean to growl. My head hurts.’ She says, touching the patch on her left temple.
‘Wait, last night. You were shifting. I tried to get to you, but Moss wouldn’t let me. He dragged me into his car and sped off, then you jumped onto the roof, and that’s all I remember. Did Moss crash the car?’ she asks, observing the patches down her arms and legs. I whimper again, but I sit up and rest my head on her lap this time.
She pats my head and glides her fingers through my fur. I’m in heaven.
‘Thank you, Magnus, for rescuing me.’
Leon and Amelia barge into the room, panting.
‘Nina, you’re awake! We heard you scream.’ Amelia says.
‘Sorry, I didn’t expect to wake up with an oversized wolf in my bed.’ She laughs. I whimper my apology, and she wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me in for a hug. ‘It’s okay, Magnus, I forgive you.’
‘How are you feeling? Do you want the pack doctor?’ Leon asks her.
‘I’m sore, but I think I’ll be okay. Where is Moss?’
I growl at her question.
‘We don’t know. No one has seen Moss since he fled the car accident.’ Leon says.
‘What if he’s hurt?’
I growl again. Why should Nina care if Moss is hurt? ‘I know you’re not fond of him, Magnus. I know he should not have taken me away like that, but I think he was worried about me.’
Not wanting to hear anymore, I step off the bed and go to my room. After ten minutes of excruciating pain, I shift back and pass out from the exhaustion and pain.
I’m woken by Zak and Flint shaking my shoulders and tapping my face.
‘I’m okay now.’ I say, sitting up.
‘Is it going to be this bad every time you shift?’ Zak asks.
‘Yup, at least until Nina’s curse has been broken.’
I make myself presentable and walk downstairs with Flint and Zak. We find Hank the Greystone packs future Alpha looking around.
‘Hank, can I help you?’ I say.
‘Actually, you can. I have a proposition to offer.’ He smirks.
‘What kind of proposition?’
‘One, you would prefer we speak about privately.’
‘Whatever you need to say to our future Alpha, you can say to us.’ Flint says.
‘Well, sure if you don’t mind everyone finding out about Nina’s curse? I’d hate to know what would happen to her if anyone found out.’
I grab him by the scruff of the neck and growl in his face. My eyes have turned black. I quickly let him go as people enter the room.
‘Flint, Zak, gather Josie, May, and Nina. We are to meet by the lake immediately.’
We arrive by the lake.
‘What’s going on?’ Josie asks
‘Hank knows about Nina’s curse. He has some proposition to make. I assume for in return for him to keep his mouth shut?’ I say, glaring at Hank.
‘How did he even find out?’ May asks.
‘None of us have told anyone, though?’ Flint says and looks at us all. Nina hugs herself and looks down.
‘Nina, what is it?’ I ask.
‘I-I thought I could trust him. I thought he could help me find out how to break this stupid curse.’ She cries. I pull her into my chest and let her cry.
‘Who is him?’ Josie asks.
‘Moss.’ Hank and I say at the same time.
‘Shit.’ Zak says.
‘Why did he tell you?’ I ask Hank.
‘Moss and I go way back; we went to Pup school together far South from here. You could say we are very close friends. In case anything happened to him, he told me to tell his mother about the curse.’
‘What good would telling his mother about the curse do?’ I ask.
‘I don’t know, but I know my sisters are inconsolable now that neither of them isn’t your mate. My father expected one of them to at least be your mate and was quite frustrated himself when he realised they weren’t.’
‘Yes, I get it. I broke the hearts of hundreds of other she-wolves last night. So what’s your point?’
‘My point or proposal, I shall say, is that my father still wants to find a way for you to be mated with one of his daughters, and now I have leverage over you. I have a way for it to happen.’ He smirks.
‘Excuse me?’ I growl.
‘I won’t tell anyone about Nina’s curse, and in return, you choose one of my sisters to be your mate in return.’
‘What!? Are you crazy? I can’t just choose a mate. I need to find my fated mate!’
‘Nonsense. It may be unusual to choose a mate rather than wait for your destined mate, but I’ve known plenty of wolves who have had chosen mates, and most have had a reasonably happy life.’
‘My parents would never allow me to have a chosen mate.’
‘Well then, you better not let them know and pretend one is your fated mate.’
I grind my teeth and fall to my knees in pain. My wolf is trying to take over and shift so he can kill Hank.
‘Magnus!’ Nina yells and kneels beside me.
Her touch helps calm my wolf.
‘You can’t do this, Hank. You can’t force me into mating one of your sisters.’
‘I won’t force you, Magnus. You will choose to do it to save your friend. If I let it slip, she has a curse. We all know they will hunt her down and kill her even by members of your pack.’
My wolf growls, and I yell in pain again. Zak and Flint help me stand. Nina gives me a worried look.
‘You can’t do this, Magnus. You can’t choose one of them and pretend she is your fated mate! I can pack my stuff and leave Shadow Crest right now. I could never live with myself if you had to live with and mate with someone you didn’t want to be with.’
‘No, I could never live with myself if you ever left Shadow Crest… left… me. No matter where you would go, someone would also be after you until they found and killed you.’
‘What do we do?’ she cries.
Zak, Flint, Josie, and May watch us with sorrowful faces. Anyone would think we were at a funeral if they saw us.
‘I will do whatever it takes to protect you, Nina.’
