Chapter 518

Nina

The look in Enzo’s eyes really was as if he had gone feral. As I stumbled backwards, knocking the chair out from under me, I saw the leather straps straining around his wrists.

“Enzo!” I cried out over the sound of his menacing snarls. “Enzo, why are you doing this?!”

“You bitch,” he repeated. “You cheated on me! You’re trying to overthrow me!”

“Enzo—”

Before I could finish, the curtain behind me whipped open. The doctor ran in, a bottle of some sort of medicine in hand. A moment later I felt strong hands pull me away, and I looked up to see my father standing there in his pajamas, his eyes wide with worry.

“This is exactly what I feared,” he murmured as he pulled me away.

I didn’t resist; I was still in too much shock to even fathom what was happening. I had just woken up to find that my husband, the gentle young man who had never laid a finger on me before, was trying to break out of his restraints and come for me.

Eventually, Enzo’s snarls and curses faded into the distance as my father and I emerged from the infirmary. Once we were in the hallway, my father turned to me, holding me by both shoulders.

“Dad, I—I don’t know what he was saying,” I whimpered as my lower lip began to quiver. “He said some awful things—”

“Shh, shh. It’s alright.” My dad wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in for a hug. I couldn’t help it; I sobbed into his chest, my tears soaking his shirt.

As I closed my eyes now, I could still see the wild, angry look in Enzo’s eyes. It was as if he really did want to hurt me. But I had never done the things he said; I had never cheated on him. I would have never even dreamed of it.

When we finally pulled apart, I wiped my eyes with my sleeve and looked up at my dad.

“Do you think he’s really been poisoned?” I asked softly.

My dad sighed and went to respond. But before he could, the infirmary door suddenly opened and a voice rang out, causing us both to turn.

“I don’t think so.”

“Doctor,” I said quietly, taking in the tall, wiry man with a stethoscope around his neck. “Is he…”

The doctor let out a sigh. “He’s sedated now,” he said. “But after examining him, I don’t see any signs of poisoning—or any sort of magic, either.”

My father and I exchanged glances. “You’re sure about that, Doctor?” my father asked. “It seems to me like he’s exhibiting telltale signs.”

The doctor, however, shook his head sadly. “I’ll keep him under surveillance to make sure. But truly, he’s in excellent health. Although, it is possible…” He paused for a moment, and turned to look at me. “Is it possible that your husband has been suffering from any mental disorders? PTSD? Bipolar?”

I frowned. “PTSD, maybe,” I said. “But it was such a sudden change.”

“That can sometimes happen. I have heard what you both went through—it would come as no surprise if he’s having flashbacks.”

“Flashbacks,” I echoed, furrowing my brow. I supposed it made sense, but… Flashbacks were rarely rooted in the present moment. The way that Enzo had directed his insults very specifically at me and Matt seemed like much more than that.

But I supposed that only time would tell.

…

Sleep eluded me for the remainder of the night, for obvious reasons. With the bedside lamp softly illuminating my room, I laid on the bed, flipping through the strange book in front of me.

“It just doesn’t make any sense,” I whispered both to myself and to my wolf. “I’ve never seen text like this before.”

My wolf, who was also at a loss when it came to deciphering the strange journal, hummed in agreement. “Neither have I. Perhaps it was a personal code; and whoever came up with it is long gone.”

I would have laughed, had there been any humor left in me after everything that had happened. But I just snorted instead.

“How very optimistic of you.”

After flipping through a few more pages to discover that there was still nothing indicating a decipherable language, I started to grow frustrated. With a huff, I sat up, snapped the book shut, and tossed it onto the floor.

It was as I sat there afterwards that I saw it.

The book had begun to glow. The air around it was turning a soft blue color that seemed to be emanating out of the very pages themselves.

A soft gasp escaped my lips. Without hesitating, I quickly leaped off of the bed and lunged for the book, wondering if it would somehow be readable if I opened it.

But unfortunately, as soon as my hand touched it, the glow dissipated. When I opened the book again, it was written in the same coded alphabet as before.

“Dammit,” I muttered, flipping quickly through the pages now to no avail. “What even was that?”

My wolf didn’t know how to answer; we had both seen it glow, and unless it was the effects of a lack of sleep playing tricks on my mind, then it was certainly real. One thing was for certain, though: I was even more intrigued by this strange journal now.

With a sigh, I sank down onto the edge of the bed, still holding the strange book in my hands. The sun had already begun to crest over the horizon, and I hadn’t slept a wink since Enzo’s episode in the infirmary. The book may have been an intriguing distraction, but there was no getting that look in his eyes out of my mind.

Was the doctor right? Was it really a case of PTSD flashbacks?

Or was it something… more?

I yawned and rubbed my eyes as I looked down at my book. Just as the doctor had said, only time would tell. Enzo was safe for now, at least, as was Matt. I supposed that in the meantime, I could lose myself in the strange book.

Just as I was about to flip the book back open to give it another go for the millionth time, there was a soft knock on the door.

I quickly jerked my head up, wondering who could be visiting my room at this hour. An update on Enzo, maybe?

“Come in,” I called out tentatively.

The door creaked open, and a moment later, Tyler’s head poked in. He looked groggy, still in his pajamas with his hair tousled from sleep. He had just woken up.

“Tyler?” I said. “What’s wrong?”

“I thought I heard you cursing in here,” he muttered, rubbing his eyes sleepily. “I wanted to check—”

Suddenly, as his gaze landed on the book that I was still holding in my hands, his eyes widened into saucers. Without a word, he bolted into the room and made a beeline for the book.

I leaped up from where I sat out of instinct, inwardly cursing myself for not putting it away before letting him in. I could feel the way that the book almost seemed to pulse angrily in my hands; it didn’t want to be found. Not by anyone but me, at least.

Before I could move away, though, Tyler was already yanking it out of my hands.

“Tyler!” I gasped. “What are you—”

As soon as Tyler wrenched the book from me, a sudden bright, white light erupted from the book like a lightning bolt. Except it wasn’t just light; it was a force of some kind. It was thick and tangible, like invisible hands.

And it sent both of us stumbling backwards.

The book fluttered to the ground between us, and the light instantly went out as soon as it left Tyler’s hands. We both stood there for a moment, blinking confusedly down at the thing as we tried to comprehend what had just happened.

“Nina,” Tyler finally breathed, slowly lifting his gaze to meet mine. “You found it.”