Nina I woke up to the sound of thunder and howling wind in a dark bedroom that was not my own. Where was I? I slowly sat up, peering through the cracked door that led to another room. I could make out the silhouette of a man on the couch. He was watching a scary movie on the TV. It sounded like
“I’ll take you home when you’re able to walk without collapsing,” Enzo replied, his words immediately followed by a sudden crash of thunder that made the TV flicker. “Also, there’s a typhoon.” I shuddered and pulled my knees up to my chest. Wordlessly, Enzo stood and grabbed a throw blanket from a
Nina When I got home, Jessica and Lori were both furious. “Where were you!” Jessica yelled as soon as I walked in the door. I didn’t even have a chance to hang my jacket up. “You totally ditched us,” Lori chimed in, folding her arms across her chest. “We thought you got kidnapped or something. Th
“Uh… hey,” I said nervously with a little wave when I realized that she was indeed headed straight for me. “Hey, bitch,” she growled, not hesitating for a second before her hand flew forward and grabbed one of my braids, yanking me toward her. “Ow!” I yelped, trying to wrench my hair free from her
Nina I didn’t want to admit it, but I was relieved that Enzo was here. I accepted his offer to drive me home and followed him out to the police station parking lot. As we walked out to the parking lot, my stomach audibly growled. I had forgotten how hungry I was due to the fight, but now that my a
“What’s your major, anyway?” I asked. “Business management,” he replied, rolling his eyes. “As requested by my dad.” I raised my eyebrows. I had heard rumors that Enzo’s dad was a CEO of some foreign company, but I didn’t know that Enzo was connected to it in any way. I supposed it made sense, but
Nina After Enzo dropped me off, I went upstairs and went straight to bed. That night, I had dreams about Enzo. In the dreams, he wasn’t just a human -- but a huge wolf with silver fur and red eyes. I sat on his back while he walked through the forest, my fingers tangled in his fur. Something about
“I’ll be leaving in a few minutes for a performance review with the dean,” she said, rubbing her eyes. She looked like she was up late the night before, too. “Think you’ll be okay in here without me if any students come in?” “No problem,” I replied with a smile. By this point, I had been working he
Nina The warm summer breeze brushed across my skin as I stood on the patio, clutching my robe tightly around my body. Laughter and splashes echoed up from the pool below, where our friends were already gathered for our big end-of-summer party. I should have been down there too, soaking up the ve
“What... what do you mean?” He braced his hands on the doorframe, leaning in closer with a heavy sigh. “I mean, by the time I caught up to them this morning, I only saw them long enough to get that photo before they were boarding a speedboat and taking off. Hell, I’m still not even totally sure wh
Nina My breath caught in my throat as I pulled open the front door expecting to see excited party guests, only to be immediately met with the sight of Luke’s grim expression. His brow was furrowed in a deep frown, his lips pressed into a tight line—clear signs that something was very wrong. “Luk
Nina I huffed out a breath as I hoisted the oversized cardboard box higher in my arms, carefully navigating my way through the living room. Strings of fairy lights poked out haphazardly from the top, and I could feel the weight of glass jars and other assorted decor inside shifting precariously wi
Then, at the last possible second, the scout seemed to find an extra burst of speed. He surged forward, hurtling between two towering oak trees and vanishing into the cover of the forest beyond. “Dammit!” I slammed my palms against the rough bark of the nearest trunk, powerless to do anything but
Enzo The crunch of leaves and snap of twigs echoed through the trees as Matt and I tore after the Schreiber scout. Our breaths came in ragged gasps, the hot summer air burning our lungs. Overhead, a little red bird chirped and flitted through the green canopy of trees; Daphne. But even she wasn’
Shaking my head, I turned without another word and stormed out of the fitting room. I took the two strides across the hall to Jessica’s fitting room and knocked on the door, folding my arms across my chest. “Jess? You in there?” There was a muffled thump in the fitting room, followed by the soun
Nina “How’s it looking in there?” I called out, rapping lightly on the wooden door of Jessica’s fitting room. “Um… decent, I guess?” her muffled voice floated back a moment later, although I could sense the uncertainty in her tone. “Decent? That’s it? Come on, Jess, this is your wedding gown w
Had I really known him at all, I wondered? Or had I merely been too self-absorbed and naive to see past the facade of unshakable command he projected? After a long silence, I found my voice. “Why didn’t he ever tell me that?” “He didn’t want you to see his weakness, I suppose,” Angelica replied