Chapter 311

Nina

The tick of the lecture hall clock echoed with a relentless rhythm.

Each second was a heartbeat closer to the close of the exam and to freedom. The winter had been bitterly cold, and the spring semester had been exhausting. But in that moment, in that vast room with its intense silence, I was ready to leap forward.

I looked at the last question on my anatomy final. I smirked a little. This? After all the agonizing weeks of studying, this was the monster they chose to throw at me? I filled out the answer confidently, basking in the knowledge I had absorbed over the past months.

Taking a deep breath, I stood, my chair scraping softly against the floor. With the exam paper in hand, I approached the front desk. My professor looked up, her eyes crinkling in a warm smile.

“Nina,” she murmured, taking the paper from me, “have a lovely summer.”

“Thank you, Professor Kane,” I replied, voice brimming with gratitude. And then, the weight lifted off my shoulders, I was out the door, ready to taste the first breath of summer.

Jessica almost crashed into me outside, her blonde hair slightly disheveled. Her eyes were each accented by a dark circle beneath them, but she looked vibrant as ever.

“Nina!” She exclaimed, enveloping me in a tight embrace. I laughed, squeezing her back. “We did it!”

“We did!” I echoed, both of us giggling in relief. “So, premed together?”

“Absolutely,” Jessica responded, determination gleaming in her eyes.

We walked side by side, heading to the quad, our steps light and carefree. Lori sat on the grass, engrossed in her art portfolio. Her vibrant blue and red splattered clothes gave away her recent artistic adventure, with her black hair now cut short to her chin. It was a recent change, but it looked good on her.

“Hey, Picasso!” Jessica called out with a chuckle. Lori glanced up, her eyes twinkling in mischief.

“You think this is bad?” She held up a paint-streaked hand. “I think I have paint in my ears.”

I snorted in amusement. “That explains a lot.”

“Sorry, what? I couldn’t hear you,” she teased.

As we stood on the quad, we were met with the familiar hum of post-exam energy. Everywhere students lounged, their relief palpable in the warm early summer air. Lori, having packed away her paints, joined us, slinging an arm around each of us.

“End of another semester, ladies,” she remarked, her voice tinged with both nostalgia and excitement.

“To one more left.” Jessica raised an imaginary glass, and we all chimed in with laughter.

As we ambled, my nose caught a whiff of a heavenly scent. “Do you guys smell that?” I asked, my mouth watering slightly.

Lori’s nose twitched. “Oh, I do! It’s from that food truck!”

I followed her pointing finger to spot a colorful truck with a banner reading, ‘End-of-Semester Treats’. Without needing further persuasion, the three of us headed towards it.

“Ah, the joys of campus life. Food trucks,” Jessica sighed with feigned melodrama, making us laugh.

An enthusiastic young man with a streak of blue in his hair greeted us. “End of exams, right? Celebrate with some fresh coffee and donuts!”

“Three coffees, please,” Lori ordered, her fingers already dancing with anticipation. “And let’s see... Nina, you're a cinnamon girl, right?”

I nodded, grateful she remembered my penchant for cinnamon donuts.

“And I’ll take the chocolate-glazed,” Jessica chimed in.

“Make mine a classic sugar for me,” Lori concluded.

As we waited, I took in the scene around us—friends huddled together, some animatedly discussing their exams, while others simply lay on the grass, soaking up the sun. It really did feel like nature had restored itself since the events of last semester.

In fact, things had been utterly peaceful since then. The traumatized side of me always felt as though there was another Crescent attack right on the horizon, but it hadn’t happened yet. And I hoped that it wouldn’t ever happen.

“God, I can't believe we’re almost done,” Lori mused, looking distant for a moment. “Feels like just yesterday we were awkward freshmen, stumbling around.”

Jessica chuckled. “Speak for yourself! I had my game together.”

I raised an eyebrow, smirking. “Really? Wasn’t it you who mistook the men’s locker room for the women’s in the first week?”

Jessica’s face turned a shade of pink, causing Lori and I to burst into laughter. “Okay, okay! Mistakes were made,” she admitted, shaking her head in amusement.

The aroma of our coffees brought us back to the present, and we collected our treats, the warm cups comforting against the summer breeze. We found a cozy spot under a large oak tree, our laughter mingling with others’, the taste of the donuts sweet on our tongues.

Sitting there, surrounded by my friends, the prospect of the future and the weight of the past felt balanced. It was a moment of transition, of endings and new beginnings, and I relished every second of it.

“By the way,” Jessica nudged me with her elbow, “where are you headed next, Nina? Enzo’s big game, right?”

I smiled at the mention of his name. “Yep, he’s wrapping up practice. Last big game of the season is this weekend. Can’t miss it.”

“We’ll all have to go,” Lori said, tucking a strand of black hair behind her ear. “Close out the semester on a good note.”

Lori’s words were bittersweet. Because unbeknownst to anyone, Enzo had an announcement to make. A big, huge, life-altering announcement. And it was bound to ruffle some feathers.

We were silent for a few moments, staring out at the campus before us. I felt at peace for the first time in a long time. The Crescents hadn’t reared their heads in some time, the Luna was dead, and our beloved town of Mountainview was safe once more.

But as I stared out at the athletic fields, I suddenly felt a pang in my chest.

There was something—or maybe someone—standing by the edge of the forest, watching. It was almost as though they were… beckoning to me. I felt as though I could make out their features, their blackened eyes, their grinning mouth. They were coming to hurt me. To take away my peace once more.

“Nina?” Jessica’s voice broke through my reverie. “You disappear again?”

I snapped back to reality, and blinked, realizing that what I had ‘seen’ hadn’t been there at all. It was just a misshapen tree.

“Um… I’m good,” I said, forcing a weak smile.

Lori and Jessica shot each other a concerned look. Jessica, putting her hand on my leg, said, “Nina, I think it’s time you talk to someone. You worry us sometimes.”

I pulled away, shaking my head. “I’m fine,” I said. “And besides, it’s not like a therapist here would ever believe me about anything that happened.”

“So find someone in the werewolf realm,” Lori chimed in. “Please, Nina. Sometimes, when you disappear like that, it looks like you’re not even in your body anymore.”

Lori was right, but I wasn’t ready to admit it. I was capable of handling my own trauma after everything that happened. No one—no one—could ever understand what I went through.

“I should head out,” I said, standing abruptly. “Enzo will be finished with practice soon.”

Lori and Jessica looked concerned, but neither of them said anything else.

We bid our farewells, and I made my way to the hockey arena. I could already hear the distant clatter of sticks against the ice. When I stepped inside, a blast of cold air greeted me. The rink was alive with movement, each player a blur of color.

My eyes sought out Enzo, his familiar stance, the way he commanded the puck. And then there he was, gracefully skating across the rink, a force to be reckoned with.

The hockey rink was always cold, but the shivers I felt weren’t just from the temperature. They were from watching Enzo on the ice. His every move was a symphony of raw power and grace. His muscles, taut and pronounced beneath the uniform, contracted and relaxed with every stride, every swing of the stick. It was mesmerizing, almost otherworldly in its beauty.

Errant curls of his brown hair peeked out from beneath his helmet, catching hints of the overhead lights. The vibrant chestnut waves were often a point of teasing amongst his teammates, but to me, they were a marker of the man I had fallen so deeply in love with.

His eyes, a piercing shade of brown, always seemed to find mine, even from across the ice. They would shine with mischief, challenge, and sometimes, if I was lucky, a bit of the love he reserved just for me. Those eyes spoke volumes, revealing depths of a soul that had lived longer than any human's.

Every time he dashed across the rink, I was reminded of our shared secret. Enzo’s supernatural speed and agility weren’t just the results of rigorous training—they were gifts of our werewolf lineage. The same lineage that had drawn us inexplicably together.

I never envisioned falling for someone like Enzo, not only a popular hockey player and a ‘bad boy’, but also a… werewolf. And I especially never imagined that I would be a werewolf too, and that this hockey player ‘bad boy’ would be my fated mate.

The universe sure has a peculiar way of making things fall into place, doesn’t it?

I leaned against the cool barrier, my heart swelling with pride and love as I watched him practice. Werewolves or not, we had found each other in the vast tapestry of life. And nothing could ever tear us apart.

As the players finished up, Enzo glanced towards the stands, his gaze locking onto mine. A grin spread across his face, and he skated closer.

Skating to the edge where the fence separated us, he leaned forward, a playful glint in his eyes. Our lips met briefly, a promise of more moments to come.

“You ready for tonight?” I asked, my breath forming a small mist against the cold.

He gave a nod, the confidence evident in his posture. “Always am.”

My eyes searched his, and a quiet understanding passed between us. It was a conversation we had been skirting for days.

“Have you told the team about your decision?”