Filed to story: Wolf Crying Mate of the Alpha by Jazz Ford
‘You wouldn’t have to ask,’ he says.
He kisses me passionately, and suddenly Alec’s face flashes through my mind. I break the kiss and struggle for air.
‘Nina, what is it?’ Magnus says.
‘I’m sorry, I need to go. I’ll be back later,’ I say, hurriedly putting my shoes back on. ‘Skedaddle Dash,’ I say before Magnus can respond.
I appear downstairs, and Reaper flies onto my shoulder.
‘We need to go to the forbidden room and figure this out now,’ I say to him and make a hasty descent to the basement. May and the others are concocting magical potions.
‘Come to help make some Love potion?’ Lilac winks at me.
‘No, sorry, not today. I have some things I need to do. I’ll see you all later,’ I say, stepping into the circle and teleporting into the forbidden room. I flick my wand for light. Reaper lands on the altar and keeps an eye on me while I leaf through dozens of books over the next two hours.
‘There has to be information somewhere,’ I say.
‘Have you considered asking the vampire king himself?’ Reaper suggests.
‘Reaper, why didn’t I think about that? Hey Alec, Vampire King, it’s your blood flame here. I suppose you wouldn’t tell me how to break the blood flame between you and me by any chance, would you?’ I shake my head at Reaper. ‘Could you imagine his reaction, Reaper? Sure, darling, let me do the honours for you and break it… I think it was quite obvious, Reaper, that he doesn’t want this to stop and wants to be with me.’
‘Okay then, how about this? They fight to the death. Whoever lives wins?’
‘Reaper!’ I growl.
I’m having trouble sleeping. I slip out of Magnus’ embrace and take a seat on the balcony. I can’t get my mind off seeing Alec tomorrow. I should be more concerned about Alpha Bennet and the witches’ fate. My inner wolf is crying to be let out. Perhaps going for a run will help. Shifting, I try not to wake Reaper. I leap from the balcony and course my way through the woods of Shadow Crest.
My mind thinks of both Magnus and Alec. The notion of them both sends warm sparks through my body. Damn mate and blood flame bond! I can’t get them out of my head. I can see the lake ahead of me. At this hour of the night, it would be terribly cold. I rush up the slope at lightning speed and plunge into the lake. The ice-cold water overpowers me, but in a good way, as it cleanses my mind of the two men I want to be with.
The sun is slowly rising. I’ve been in the water for almost two hours. I’m semi-conscious and have become hypothermic. I don’t want to get out of the water, though. I don’t want to feel the guilt of thinking about Alec when I’m with Magnus. There is a howl in the distance. It’s Magnus sending an alert out. I’m disoriented, and I’m wondering what the alert is for. I’m barely afloat and feel myself slipping deeper into the lake. I know I have no option but to swim out of the lake at this point, but my paws refuse to move. My body completely submerges underwater, and I realise I’m drowning. After a few moments, I feel the force of someone jumping into the water. I’m hauled out of the water just as I’m going to drown.
Magnus yells, ‘May, Josie, I found her!’
I manage to shift to my human shape, but I’m out of energy to move.
‘Nina, please wake up!’ he shakes me gently. For a brief period, my eyes open slightly, but I can’t keep them open. I’m shivering uncontrollably.
‘Magnus?’ I murmur.
‘Yes, Nina, it’s me, and you’re safe now.’
‘You’re so cold,’ he says as he lifts me. He carries me to the packhouse while holding me tight to his chest.
Everyone rushes over to see us.
‘Where was she? What happened to her?’ Leon asks.
‘I found her submerged in the lake. I think she has been in there for some time.’
‘What would make her do something so erratic, swimming at ridiculous hours in the lake in the dead of winter?’ Leon asks.
‘We will worry about why later. My priority is to get Nina warm.’ Magnus says and enters the house. He places me on our bed, removes his clothes, and holds me in his arms. His body is like a heater on its own. My body presses closer to his for more warmth. The shivering slowly dissipates. Magnus caresses my face until I fall asleep.
It’s right after lunch. I wake. Magnus has not left my side. He gazes into my eyes. ‘Nina, are you feeling better?’ I nod. ‘Can you tell me why you were in the lake?’ he asks calmly. I start to tremble and shake my head no, holding back my tears. ‘Nina, please, you have to tell me? Has something happened?’ I don’t want to lie to him, but I don’t know how to tell him. I shake my head yes. ‘Did someone hurt you?’ he asks. I can hear his heartbeat rapidly increase at the thought. I shake my head no. His body instantly relaxes. ‘Okay, do you want to talk about it?’ I shake my head no, giving him a solemn stare. ‘The moment you are ready to tell me and talk about it, you will come straight to me, won’t you?’ I shake my head, yes, and he pulls me in for a tighter hug. ‘I love you, Nina,’
‘And I love you too,’ I whisper.
We are interrupted by a knock.
‘Zak, what exactly is it?’ Magnus inquires.
‘Alpha Bennet will be here soon,’ he informs me.
‘Okay, I’ll be up and dressed in a moment then.’
Zak closes the door and returns downstairs. As Magnus dresses, I sit up and reach for my clothes.
‘What are you doing, Nina? You need to rest,’
‘Yiselda and the others will need me at Pandora’s Box just in case Alpha Bennet attempts anything,’ I remind him.
He frowns, ‘Surely, they can manage without you?’
‘As a member of the Midnight Coven., I must be there and assist,’
‘I’m just worried about you, Nina. You had hypothermia this morning and almost drowned,’
Stepping closer to Magnus, I wrap my arms around him. “I’m sorry I scared you this morning. I didn’t mean for that to happen,’ I explain.
He kisses the top of my head. ‘Just swear not to scare me like that again.’
‘Promise,’ I say quietly.
We walk downstairs together. Everyone approaches me.
‘Are you all right, Luna?’ Josie replies as she embraces me.
‘I’m glad you are better now. Why were you in the lake last night?’ May asks.
My mother and father approach me with sad expressions and embrace me. I speak out before they ask the same question as everyone else.
‘Thank you, everyone, for all your concern. It means a lot to me. As for what happened, that’s a conversation for another day.’
‘But…’ May says
‘That’s final,’ I say as loud thuds hammer on the door. As Magnus opens the door to see the wolf council, a blast of black mist flies over them, frightening them. Everyone ducks down as Reaper swoops over and lands on my shoulder.
‘You need to control that thing of yours,’ Alpha Bennet sneers, glaring at Reaper.
‘This thing is a Shadow Raven and my familiar. His name is Reaper.’ I retort.
Yiselda emerges behind them, ‘Are you ready, Alpha Bennet?’ she asks, scaring them even more.
We make an effort not to chuckle.
Alpha Bennet scoffs, ‘Alpha Amir and Alpha Theaton will stay here with the rest of us.’ ‘Let’s go,’ he says.