We arrive at the car.
‘I’ll mind-link Alpha Ryker and let them know we have Nina and that we are safe.’
I open the back passenger door—Gianna steps in, then Nina. May sits in the front. My heart rate increases as I get to sit next to Nina. I unzip the bag at my feet and pass out a bottle of water to everyone. Nina and Gianna scull the water down before I hand them snacks. They moan as they eat the food, especially Gianna. She eats a packet of chips, a muesli bar and three chocolate bars.
‘This is so good. I’ve never had food like this before, not even when I was at the orphanage.’ She says with her mouth full of food.
‘We will get you a proper meal when we reach the next town.’ Leon says to her while adjusting the rear-view mirror.
As we reach the town, we park outside the diner. We raced inside, causing a lot of attention from the diners and staff. We sit at the nearest table and wave the waitress over. She takes the pen from behind her ear and the notepad from her pocket.
‘What would you like to order, please?’ she smiles.
‘I’ll have pancakes with syrup and ice cream on top, a cherry pie, fries, bacon, and eggs on toast, and a milkshake.’ Nina blurts out.
We all look at her, then at the waitress, and all say.
‘I’ll have the same.’
‘Very well then.’ The waitress says.
We eat like it’s our last supper and shuffle back to the car.
‘We can get a motel in this town, or if we get back on the road, we can reach the next town by nightfall?’
‘I think the sooner we get back home, the better, so let’s get back on the road and get to the next town.’
‘As long as I get a bath today, I don’t care.’ Nina says, looking down at her dirty arms and legs.
We reach the next town just at nightfall and enter the motel. I pay for two rooms next to each other. They both have a single bed and a double in each room, with a bathroom attached to each room.
‘May, are you able to see if you can find some clean clothes for Nina and Gianna while they freshen up?’
‘I’ll see what I can do.’ She says and leaves the motel room.
‘You girls can take this room, and Leon and I will be in the room next door. Nina, while Gianna baths in your bathroom, you can come and use ours?’
‘Sure, that would be great.’
Gianna walks into the bathroom and locks the door behind her while Nina and I walk into my room. I open the bathroom door and close it behind her.
‘I’m going to get us some takeaway food from up the road. I’ll be back soon.’ Leon says.
The sound of water fills up the tub while I lay on my bed in silence.
‘Magnus?’ Nina calls.
‘Yeah?’ I stand up and walk to the bathroom door. ‘Is everything okay?’
‘Yeah, um, I just want to make sure I wasn’t alone.’
‘You’re not alone, and you’ll never be alone again.’ I say, with my head leaning against the bathroom door.
‘Do you promise?’ she asks after a moment of silence.
I open the door and sit next to the tub on the floor.
The bubbles are up to her neck. She most likely poured an entire bottle into the bath. I smile to myself, thinking of the washing machine incident.
We turn our heads facing each other.
‘I’m scared, Magnus. Moss’s mum is going to come after us. I just know it.’
‘I won’t let her harm you.’
‘But what if she finds a way?’
‘Mark my word, Nina. I will kill her before she ever lays a finger on you again.’
‘I wish if it was something else you could mark.’ She whispers and stares sadly into my eyes.
Just like I have powerful feelings for Nina, she has practically just confessed her feelings to me. Our faces lean in slowly, our lips brush as we are about to kiss. Then she quickly sits back, taking in a deep breath.
‘Magnus, we can’t do this. We aren’t mates. It would be wrong of us. It’s forbidden for us even to consider being together.’ She sobs.
I want to hold her, and I want to kiss her, make love, and never let her go. Seeing her so sad like this is breaking my heart.
I reach my hand out to caress her cheek.
‘Magnus, please, don’t. I need you to stop. I need you to go.’
‘But…’
‘Go!’
I stand up and immediately leave the bathroom. As soon as I shut the door, I hear Nina burst into tears. I’m overwhelmed and confused; I need some air. Leaving the room, I bump into May, causing her to drop the clothes she carries. I don’t stop to help pick up the clothes. Instead, I speed walk out of the motel as she yells after me.
‘Magnus, is everything ok?’ I ignore her.
Running up a hill, I sit on top and stare up at the moon.
‘What’s wrong with me? Why do I have feelings for Nina when she isn’t my mate? Why does it have to be forbidden to have a chosen mate instead of a fated mate?’ I cry into my hands and remain there for hours.
I return to the motel to find a frantic Leon.
‘Where have you been?’ he says and takes in my morbid-looking face.
‘What happened, Magnus? You look worse than Nina does.’ He frowns.
I don’t answer and walk into our room, kicking my shoes off, pulling my shirt over my head, and tossing it aside. I climb into the closest bed and cover myself, including my face with the covers, and sleep.
Leon wakes me up.
‘I know you have had little sleep, Magnus, but we need to go so we can get through a few towns.’
Leon passes me my shirt. I take a quick shower, get dressed, and walk straight to the car. May is already in the front passenger’s seat, which I was hoping to take. Gianna is in the back seat, and Leon is in the driver’s seat. I notice Nina isn’t in the car yet. I open the back passenger door, sit beside Gianna, and wait for Nina.
‘Is everything okay, Magnus? You seemed a bit upset last night. I noticed Nina was upset, too. Did you two have a fight or something?’ May asks.
I shrug my shoulders and sit back. Nina exits the motel wearing clean track pants and a plain shirt.
‘The motel had a lost and found compartment with lots of clothes. The manager told me to help myself.’ May explains.
I notice Gianna is wearing clean overalls and a shirt, too. Nina steps into the car.
‘Let’s go.’ She murmurs.
After a few hours of driving, we stop for a toilet break and for lunch.
Sitting at the table eating, everyone speaks, except for Nina and me. We sit as far away from each other as possible. It was evident to everyone something was up, but they also knew not to get involved and say anything.
‘How much longer until we get to Shadow Crest?’ Gianna asks.
‘At this rate, two more nights. The night before Nina’s wolf ceremony, which the Alpha and Luna are already organising.’ Leon says.
Nina looks even sadder now that Leon mentioned her wolf ceremony. She abruptly stands up and walks away from the table and towards the car.
‘I guess that’s our cue to get back on the road then.’ May says.
The silent drive is almost deafening. I can tell May is struggling not to say anything.
It’s nightfall, and we arrive at a motel. Unfortunately, they only have one room available with two double beds.
‘Who is going to sleep on the floor?’ May asks.
‘I’ll sleep in the car. You all go in.’ I say.
‘Are you sure?
No, I’m not alright. I want to be by Nina’s side, even if it means sleeping on the floor. I’m upset Nina rejected me and that it’s forbidden for us to be together, but I don’t tell May that.
‘Yes, I’m sure.’ I grizzle and walk back to the car.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t sleep, and I couldn’t stop thinking about Nina. I felt like it was almost killing me. The thought of never being with Nina is almost too much to bear.
