Filed to story: Wolf Crying Mate of the Alpha by Jazz Ford
‘Maybe it’s just temporary?’ I suggest.
‘It’s going to take us a week to get back to Shadow Crest. This is very dangerous. We mustn’t mention this magic to anyone in the pack other than Alpha Ryker and Our Luna Astrid. Got it?’
We all nod in agreement and enter the cave we came from.
‘Keep to the right.’ I say as we reach two separate tunnels. Nina and May hold their wands up, illuminating the cave. We step out of the exit and into the woods. The only light we can see is from the wands lighting our path. Nina and May yawn.
‘Let’s make a fire and sleep here the night. We are all exhausted and it must be around 2 am.’ I say.
The girls sit down next to each other while Leon and I gather sticks and bundle them together.
‘Inferno Flamo.’ Nina says, pointing her wand at the bundle of sticks. A flame the size of my hand shoots from the wand to the stick, setting them alight. Leon and I give her a look.
‘What?’ she says.
I sit next to Nina on the end as she hovers her hands close to the fire, warming them up. She leans her head on my shoulder. I can feel her body shaking from the cold. I drape my arm over her shoulder to give her my body warmth.
As I wake up, I can feel something warm covering me. I open my eyes and look down to see Nina asleep with her hand and head on my chest.
My hand strokes her arm until she wakes. Her eyes flutter open and we smile at one another and sit up.
‘Let’s wake the others.’ I say.
Nina nods and wakes Gianna and May up while I wake Leon up.
‘I’m so thirsty.’ Gianna says, stretching her arms out.
‘We have bottles of water and snacks in the car. You can help yourself as soon as we are there.’ I tell her.
‘How far away is the car?’
‘About an hour’s walk.’
‘Okay.’ She smiles.
Nina and I walk side by side as the others walk ahead.
‘What does it feel like to wield magic?’ I ask her.
‘Honestly, it feels amazing. It’s a shame I won’t be able to show it off back at Shadow Crest.’ She laughs.
‘Josie would think it’s the best thing ever.’
‘Until I turn her into a frog.’ We both burst into laughter.
‘Was that spell even in the book? I don’t recall reading it in there.’
‘No, but I’m going to have to study the book thoroughly, so I can learn all the spells I can cast.’
‘If my parents learn about the spell book, they might take it away from us. It’s the only thing we have that can help us break your curse.’
‘Then the book can remain a secret then.’ She smiles.
We arrive at the car.
‘I’ll mind-link Alpha Ryker and let them know we have Nina and that we are safe.’
I open the back passenger door. Gianna steps in, then Nina. May sits in the front. My heart rate increases as I get to sit next to Nina. I unzip the bag at my feet and pass out a bottle of water to everyone. Nina and Gianna scull the water down before I hand them snacks. They moan as they eat the food, especially Gianna. She ends up eating a packet of chips, a muesli bar and three chocolate bars.
‘This is so good; I’ve never had food like this before, not even when I was at the orphanage.’ She says with her mouth full of food.
‘We will get you a proper meal when we reach the next town.’ Leon says to her while adjusting the rear-view mirror.
As we reach the town, we park outside the diner. We raced inside, causing a lot of attention from the diners and staff. We sit at the nearest table and wave the waitress over. She takes the pen from behind her ear and the notepad from her pocket.
‘What would you like to order, please?’ she smiles.
‘I’ll have pancakes with syrup and ice cream on top, a cherry pie, fries, bacon, and eggs on toast, and a milkshake.’ Nina blurts out.
We all look at her, then at the waitress and all say at once.
‘I’ll have the same.’
‘Very well then.’ The waitress says.
We eat as if it’s our last supper and waddle back to the car.
‘We can get a motel in this town or if we get back on the road, we can reach the next town by nightfall?’
‘I think the sooner we get back home, the better, so let’s get back on the road and get to the next town.’
‘As long as I get a bath today, then I don’t care.’ Nina says looking down at her dirty arms and legs.
We reach the next town just on nightfall and enter the motel. I pay for two rooms next to each other. They both have a single bed and a double in each room, with a bathroom attached to each room.
‘May, are you able to go see if you can find some clean clothes for Nina and Gianna while they freshen up?’
‘I’ll see what I can do.’ She says and leaves the motel room.
‘You girls can take this room and Leon and I will be in the room next door. Nina, while Gianna baths in here, you can come and use the bath in my bathroom?’
‘Sure, that would be great.’
Gianna walks into the bathroom and locks the door behind her, while Nina and I walk into my room. I open the bathroom door and close it behind her.
‘I’m going to get us some takeaway food from up the road. I’ll be back soon.’ Leon says.
The sound of water fills up the tub while I lay on my bed in silence.
‘Magnus?’ Nina calls.
‘Yeah?’ I stand up and walk to the bathroom door. ‘Is everything okay?’
‘Yeah, um, I just want to make sure I wasn’t alone.’
‘You’re not alone, and you’ll never be alone again.’ I say, with my head leaning against the bathroom door.