Chapter 2

The next day I walk straight past Nina and ask May if she wants to climb some trees with Zak and me. I can see Nina's eyebrows crease in confusion out the corner of my eyes as May and I have rarely ever spoken to each other, nor have we ever played together.

‘Sure,’ she smiles.

‘Okay, let’s go.’ I smile and wave for her to follow.

Nina stands there watching us, then runs after us. ‘Hey, I want to climb trees too, you know!’

I stop and face her. ‘No, only my friends can join,’ 

‘What are you talking about, Magnus? I’m your best friend?’

‘You were never my friend,’ I growl and regroup with others.

Nina’s face turns sombre, with a hint of confusion.

‘That’s harsh, don’t you think, Magnus? You and Nina have been the best of friends since you were both babies,’ Flint says.

‘No, they forced us to be friends, our mother’s planning constant playdates every day, and if she were my best friend, she wouldn’t be getting me into trouble every day. Nina no longer exists to me,’ I snarl.

Flint and Josie flinch and give each other a sad look. 

‘You are welcome to join us as well, just not Nina,’ Flint and Josie hesitate at first but decide to follow us as May grabs my hand with a smile and drags me towards the trees. ‘Come on, guys, let’s see who can climb to the top first,’ she giggles.

‘Sorry,’ Flint and Josie say to Nina, ‘We want to go with them too.’

Nina looks down at her feet to hide the rogue tear sliding down her cheek.

We race towards the trees, and I’m the first to arrive with May. Moments later, Flint, Josie, and Zak arrive.

I could sense Nina watching us play from a distance, but I completely ignored her. Gripping onto branches one after another, I’m the first to reach the top of the tree. May climbs the same tree and sits next to me on the top branch.

Flint, Josie, and Zak shuffle along the vast, thick tree branches and make themselves comfortable as we all admire the view of Shadow Crest.

‘We’re so lucky to live here,’ Josie says.

I couldn’t agree with her more. A forest of trees surrounds Shadow Crest, with mountains in the distance. The buildings and houses are the Victorian styles with steeply pitched roofs, painted iron railings, and large porches. I look over at the Packhouse mansion. Excitement fills me for the day I become Alpha, but I can’t help but feel something is missing. It’s digging at my heart and soul, eating me away inside. I’ve never had this feeling before.

‘Are you okay, Magnus?’ May asks. I look to May, who is only two years younger than Nina, and, unlike Nina’s Brown doe-like eyes, May’s are blue. The rest of her features are like Nina’s, except May’s hair is much shorter.

‘Yeah, I’m fine. Why do you ask?’

‘Well, you seemed to be lost in thought and look sad.’

‘Oh, sorry, I was just thinking about… things,’

‘I know we have spoken little before today, but if you ever want to talk about anything, you can always… talk to me,’ she says, hopeful.

‘Thanks, May. I’m sure I will open up my thoughts to you one day,’ I smile.

May blushes and casually looks away.

‘Last one down is a rotten egg!’ Zak yells. 

We all quickly swing down and drop from one branch to the next.

‘I won,’ I smirk.

‘You only won because Nina isn’t here. We all know she is the fastest of us,’ Josie pouts.

‘If you mention her name to me again, Josie, then you can join Nina and become non-existent to me, too.’

Josie has a hurt look on her face and steps back while Flint glares at me.

‘Let’s go to Shadow Lake for a swim before we go back to the Packhouse,’ May suggests.

I nod in approval and head towards the lake. With May by my side, Josie approaches and walks by my other side.

We arrive at the Lake. I pull my shirt off, then my socks and shoes, and dive right into the cool water. Zak and Flint join me in the deep end while May and Josie roll up the legs of their pants and stay in the shallow area. 

We duck under the water and hold our breaths for as long as possible. Zak is the first to swim back up for air, followed by Flint. Then, feeling like I was not enjoying myself as much as I usually would, I decided to swim away from them and hide behind a large boulder in the lake. I pull myself up for air and peek over the top of the boulder, watching Zak and Flint waiting for me to swim back up.

Their faces change to that of worry as they think I’m still down there.

‘Magnus?’ Flint says.

They all look at each other and nod. Then, all holding their breaths, they duck back down while I stay behind the boulder for a few moments. I look over at May and Josie, who are oblivious to my joke.

Trixie swims back to the surface for air and looks around in circles, confused about where I could be. Then Zak and Flint float to the surface and panic. 

‘Magnus!’ they yell, grabbing May and Josie’s attention.

‘We can’t find him. You don’t think he drowned, do you?’ Flint asks.

They all panic—May and Josie cry.

Nina sprints out from the bushes and dives into the lake with great speed

‘Magnus,’ she screams each time she comes up for breath, frantic, tears pooling in her eyes.

I can’t contain my laughter any longer. I lift myself onto the boulder in hysterics.

‘Magnus! That was not funny,’ Flint yells.

‘Not cool, Magnus,’ Zak growls.

‘Come on guys, don’t be like that.’

I swim to the shore to where May and Josie are. As soon as I step onto the grass, I can’t help but sense someone is behind me. I see tiny little Nina glaring up at me with her hands on her hips and tears streaming down her cheeks.

‘Don’t be like that? Are you serious, Magnus? We thought you had drowned. I thought you had drowned, and all you can say is, “Don’t be like that?” I thought you were dead,’ she says, hitting my chest repeatedly.

That strange feeling comes over me again, eating at my inner conscience and soul. I look over at Zak and Flint, who are making their way out of the lake.

‘We better get back home before mum sends the warriors out looking for us,’ I say, treating Nina as if she was a ghost.

Everyone looks at her with sympathy. I don’t know why. No one ever looked at me that way when she had played her stupid pranks on me.

We walk back to the Packhouse while Nina follows us slowly in the distance behind us.

As soon as we arrive at the Packhouse, I freshen myself up and join my parents for dinner with the rest of the Packhouse. Nina sits in her usual seat and tries to make eye contact. I pay her no attention and watch her shoulders drop out of the corner of my eyes.

‘Bed early tonight, kids, the weekend is over, and you have school tomorrow,’ my mother says.

We all moan and grizzle except for Nina, who stays silent.

‘Is everything okay, sweetie?’ Leon asks Nina.

She shrugs and stays silent as she pushes the food on her plate around with her fork.

‘What did you get up to today?’ Amelia asks.

She looks up at me for a moment, but I keep myself busy eating my dinner.

‘I climbed trees and swam at the lake with the others, mum,’

‘Sounds like you had a fun time.’

‘Yeah, fun…’ she mumbles.