Chapter 228: Closely Guarded
Nina
I knew that Enzo didn’t want to continue now that he seemed to have an understanding of the possibility of what was to come. But he didn’t say anything. Instead, we quietly put out our fire and began our journey toward the Alpha King’s mansion.
Somehow, my kiss with Enzo made the forest a little lighter. It seemed that Enzo remembering his past and breaking out of Selena’s spell also made her spell on the forest a bit less potent, like some of her power was drawn from manipulating Enzo. I hoped that it threw her off guard, but it also worried me that it only further alerted her to our presence and that it would piss her off.
The six of us began our walk to the Alpha King’s mansion. Now that it was a little bit lighter in the forest, Luke was able to get his bearings again. Luke and Enzo walked toward the front of the group as our guides. I stuck close to Enzo, not letting go of his warm hand før even a moment, and stayed vigilant in case Selena or the witch suddenly showed up.
I knew that they were out there somewhere. We all knew. There was only a very slim chance that Selena was potentially waiting for us at the mansion, but I was certain that she would continue hunting through the woods for us instead of simply waiting there. And there was absolutely no chance in Hell that Selena would have given up her search. With Enzo on the loose and finally free from her spell, she was too smart to let him go because she knew that it would only mean that he would join us and work to take her down. If she wanted to succeed in whatever sinister plan she had, she needed full control over everyone she could get her hands on – and we were people that she simply couldn’t control, because we had immense power as a group of friends who were brought together by an unbreakable bond.
When we first decided to call ourselves a pack, I didn’t see it as much more than symbolic. But as time went on, however, I was beginning to realize that it was much more than that.
Something changed when Enzo declared Matt his Beta, and when we decided on our pack’s name. It made it feel final, like it had been set in stone. Somehow, I thought that it had some sort of physical effect on us. Maybe it was just in my head, but it really did feel as though we all had a stronger bond. Now that we had Enzo back, too, that bond felt even stronger.
Somehow, I think that bond was protecting us from Selena to some
extent. I didn’t think that it was protecting us entirely, but I could tell that it was weakening her power over us. Even if it was just weakening her a little bit, anything would help at this point. I didn’t want anyone to have to die tonight, and if I could subdue Selena in a way that would prevent her
from using her magic on anyone else,
then maybe I could stop her completely. Maybe, if I captured her and brought her to the Alpha King, he would know what to do with her. I just hoped that her control over him wasn’t so strong that he wouldn’t believe me at all.
“So…” Enzo said quietly, breaking the silence as we walked and looking down at me, his hand still holding mine. ” You can open portals? But your wolf…”
I nodded and bit my lip for a moment. ” I guess I can. I tried earlier, and it worked somehow. But my wolf is still dormant, so I don’t entirely know how it’s possible.”
Suddenly, Luke chimed in. “It’s like I
told you earlier,” he said matter-of-
factly. “You’re more powerful than you think. You are the Alpha King’s daughter, after all, which means you possess more abilities than the average werewolf. And, because of your twin bond with Selena, some of her magic may leak through to you.”
My eyes widened. While I had come to the realization that killing Selena would also kill me, I hadn’t thought that her magical abilities could bleed through to me. I didn’t know why that didn’t occur to me, but it made sense now that I thought about it.
“So does that mean that I could potentially stand a chance against Selena?” I asked quietly. As I spoke, I felt Enzo’s hand get tense around mine, and when I looked up his jaw was clenching and unclenching over and over again. I knew that he didn’t like the thought of me going head-to-head with Selena, but there was no other way to get around it. It was a highly likely possibility, and I knew that I would be the only other person who could take her down if we needed to.
Luke stopped short and slowly turned to look at me. He looked just as worried as Enzo, but I also knew that he understood where I was coming from.
“Maybe,” he said, his voice somber. There’s no way to know for sure. She has an advantage because she has her wolf, and yours is dormant.”
I fell silent, but nodded nonetheless. As we kept moving again, Enzo’s hand never left mine and he only tightened his grip. Without my wolf, even though she hadn’t emerged yet anyway, I was much weaker than Selena. Before, when I did have my wolf, I could tell
how much more powerful I was even
without her fully emerging. But now, her existence was nothing but a flicker. Enzo’s presence and love for me helped, but not enough. I needed to find a way to break through this curse if I wanted my wolf to emerge. But would I be able to do it in time before I would potentially have to fight Selena?
Somehow, we managed to walk for quite a while longer without any incidents. In fact, we eventually reached the edge of the woods. Ahead of us, across a wide gravel road, lay the Alpha King’s massive mansion.
As soon as we reached the edge of the woods, the inky blackness ended. The full moon illuminated the mansion so brightly it almost looked like daytime, which was both a blessing and a curse; of course, it felt amazing to not be lost in the darkness anymore, but it would also make it harder to get inside the mansion without being seen.
“There’s the side door,” Enzo said, pointing over to the side of the mansion. There was a row of hedges leading up to a small set of stairs, and after that there was a small wooden door. I was a bit surprised that there was no guard there, but it was a servant entrance, after all. I just hoped that there were no guards waiting for us inside the door – or anyone else, for that matter. If we could just get in, get Richard, and get out, this could all be over with quickly.
The mansion was dark. I couldn’t see a single light on, which was a good sign; it meant that everyone was likely asleep.
Either that, or Selena was waiting for us inside in the darkness.
