Nora’s POV“What?” I muttered.“Yes. I mean, if you want this to stop, you have to take her place.” Jake smiled in a wicked way. I looked around me. The Nexton pack was not happy with me. Claire smiled. Lara giggled with a girl. It was while I was scanning the faces of people that I saw Michael. He leaned against a table. Michael shot me a hard look. I had never seen Michael this serious. The longer I stared at him, the more he looked more like a stranger. It was then that I realized I had messed up. I was stupid to have spoken up. I am an idiot, but yet again, I don’t think I will ever live with the guilt if anything bad happens to Mila.I put my chin up and frowned.“Then fine. If that is what it is going to take to stop bullying her,” I walked to the tree as Mila stared at me like I was some alien.“Move aside.” I gently pushed her away.“What are you doing?” she said in a low voice as she stared into my eyes, begging me to say something contrary to what I was doing.“Go back, Mila
Michael’s POVI watched as Nora stood at the foot of the mountain, and my heart raced. She had an intense fear of heights, which she had mentioned quite a number of times. Maybe I shouldn’t have agreed to Jake making her do the climbing. From where I stood, I could see her hands shaking, and it hurt so much. I have to stop this, by all means. I just have to.I was about to leave when Hercules held my hands. I turned to him, and he shook his head.“It’s too late, Michael; you could have said it earlier.” It was like he was reading my mind. I grabbed my hands away from his.“So I have to wait for her to get wounded, or better yet, be dead, before I should do something?” I asked. He shrugged sadly. "Michael, we have no other choice. We can’t do otherwise, or else Jake could renege on his word in retaliation. I mean, look at the knife throwing,” he said.I ran my hands over my hair and sighed heavily. “You remind me of something I badly want to forget,” I muttered. He gave me a gentle slap
Michael’s POVI woke up and sat up immediately. There was no hint of sleepiness in my eyes. It was like I had woken up, like I was on a mission. Yes, I was. I am on a mission to train Nora. To make her her best.As the sun began to rise over the rugged peaks of the mountains, I stood at the basecamp, anxiously awaiting Nora's arrival. She should be here any minute. She agreed to come out before the crack of dawn. I am indeed in awe of her; having fallen from there, she still has not lost hope in being a better climber, despite her fear of height. It was a bold move, one that filled me with both pride and concern."Nora," I called out as she approached, her backpack slung over her shoulder, determination etched on her face. "Are you ready for today's training?"She nodded, a hint of uncertainty in her eyes. "I think so, Michael. I'm willing to learn, but I know I have a long way to go." She smiled at the end.I smiled reassuringly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We'll take it one ste
Nora’s POVAfter the party, I walked to my room, and there was Michael leaning by the door, like a model about to take a photo shoot.Damn! He looked delicious. How come I never saw him this hot? He tied his hair in a ponytail style and left some loose strands falling around the sides of his face. He was staring at me. He stared harder. His blue eyes had dilated to be icy dark blues.“Wow,” I whispered.“Come here.” His voice was deep but quiet. I felt all the hairs on my body stand. My throat suddenly became dry. I didn’t know when my legs moved on their own, and I was standing right in front of him. This time, I didn’t cower or look away. Hmm, alcohol really has its good sides. He stared longer and gave me a wicked smile.“Are you drunk?” he asked.“No, I’m not. I mean, I just had two bottles of beer and a shot of vodka. It…— I stammered, hiccupped, and smiled. The kind that made all your teeth show. I think it was goofy.“You are drunk,” Michael announced. ”Where are your keys?” He
Michael’s POVMusic was in full blast as people walked around in the games arena. Nothing major was going on.The racing game of the Wolf Fest was about to begin. I could spot some wolves from other packs. Oh Jake. He sure went the extra mile to bring spectators to his own downfall.I stood watching the crowd go wild as Hercules did some practice stunts. I was sure of him. It was Zen that was quite rusty with the wheels. Though Hercules rarely drove, he was indeed an excellent driver.Meanwhile, Zen was the opposite. He was good; as of the time, we were still street racing. I just don’t know about his skills. I looked across and watched Zen stare at the car's staring wheels. He narrowed his eyes at the dashboard, as if to read something. I walked across to him.“You know if you can’t do it, Hercules can,” he startled at my intrusion, but he quickly comported himself.He chuckled. “Don't worry about me, your highness; I can take care of myself.”I looked into his eyes, and I could see
Michael’s POV“Michael!” I heard Hercules call out to me, but I didn’t stop to answer.“Nora!”I banged on her door, but all I could hear were crickets. When Hercules caught up with me, he was panting. And so did others. Mia, Zen, and Mila."Damn, has he ever taught of entering into the running game?” Mila whispered to Mia as she put her hands on her knee while breathing through her mouth."Agnar, she’s with the Pack doctor and—” Hercules began.“Excuse me," I said as I walked straight to the pack doctor’s room. I left a raspy knock on the door, and I was immediately ushered in.“Your highness, we have been waiting for you,” she said as she stood up. I immediately rushed to Nora’s side.“Tell me the truth; do you think she would survive it?” I stared at Nora. She looked peaceful. I would be happy if I were honest.“Your highness, we don’t know yet; we just have to watch her,” she said. I sighed as I nodded. What must have happened?Who poisoned Nora? Who is that unfortunate person? I wo
Nora’s POVAs I slowly opened my eyes, the harsh white light of the room pierced through the haze in my mind.Everything felt fuzzy, like trying to grasp at a memory just beyond my reach. I struggled to piece together what had happened, my thoughts swirling like a whirlpool in my head. It was like the more I tried to recall the previous happenings, the more foggy my head became. Where was I? When I looked around, I saw that the walls were painted white. Did Michael request room paint? I mean, I just moved into this room. Everything is still new. Speaking of Michael, where was he? I tried to move around, but then there was an excruciating pain in my belly. What happened? I groaned, and that seemed to attract someone who was standing outside."Nora? Oh my god, you're awake!" A familiar voice broke through the fog, and I turned my head to see Mia standing by my bedside, her eyes filled with concern. She had bags under her eyes, and I wondered how long she must have been here with me. "M
Nora’s POVThe sun filtered into the room, as if it were peeping in. I began to sit up when I felt hands on my body. It was Michael.“You never left?” I croaked. He helped me sit up and gave me water from the sippy cup."No,” he said."Oh, baby,” I said, giving him a weak smile.As I lay still on the sterile patient bed in the pack doctor’s quarters, the stark whiteness of the room contrasted with the chaos swirling in my mind. Michael sat beside her, his worried gaze never leaving me.“I am fine,” I smiled.“Funny you.” He said. I turned to the other side of the bed as he busied himself with sighing some papers when a nurse came in.I couldn’t understand what had happened. The words echoed in my mind like a haunting refrain: “Because it was Mila who poisoned you.”How could it be? I had trusted it so well. I confided in her my deepest fears and secrets. She knows everything with regards to Jake and Dylan. Even she had saved me from being raped by Jake. Made me meet my son after weeks