#Chapter 119: Something in Her Eyes
Enzo
As I read the letter that fell out of James’ pocket, my eyes widened. I always knew that guy was off about something, and he’d been acting weird ever since my information was leaked. The information that was leaked included my physical fitness test files, and the only other people aside from him who had access to those files were Nina and Tiffany, and neither of them would ever do something like that.
I felt a low growl roll like thunder in my throat as I saw him disappear across the quad. All I wanted in that moment was to run after him and throttle him.
It wasn’t even just about the information being leaked; it was also about the fact that he clearly came from a family of werewolf hunters. My mind flickered back to the night we came running and screaming like a child while Nina was left defenseless against a werewolf. Did he know then, too? He had seemed uncertain about what was coming out of the woods for Nina, but that all could have been an act for all I knew.
“That little weasel…”
Without thinking, I started to walk around Nina to go after him, but I was suddenly stopped by the feeling of her palm pushing into my chest.
“Enzo, think rationally about this,” she pleaded, her voice shaking with fear. “Please. Just take a step back and don’t do anything without really thinking about it first.”
I looked down to see Nina staring up at me with a frightened expression on her face. She was really protecting this guy? Would she protect him even after he somehow killed me?
I pushed past her again, but this time, she jumped in front of me and pressed her body up against mine. I could’ve plowed past her, but I didn’t. Something suddenly assaulted my senses… The same thing that kept making me lose control around her, even when I was supposed to be cutting her off romantically.
That scent… It was faint, but it was there. It was also oddly similar to my mate’s scent, but I knew it was coming from Nina. I was certain her wolf hadn’t emerged yet, and I was also sure that she didn’t even have a wolf yet, but then again….
Our bodies stayed pressed together. I could feel her warmth in the cold air, and I could see our breath coming out in white clouds, mixing together as we stared at each other. Her cheeks were rosy from the cold. Her hair poked out of her hat in two, long braids, and she wore a black hoodie beneath her thick flannel coat. Her tan skin, brown eyes, and black hair stood in stark contrast to the gray atmosphere that had taken over the campus. During a time of year that the landscape had lost its color, she added a pop of warmth. To me, she embodied the color of autumn. She was autumn.
Her scent began to overwhelm me. I felt my eyes start to glow, but I didn’t care at that moment. She stayed close to me and began to raise up on her tiptoes, her long eyelashes brushing her face as she slowly began to close her eyes. I bent my head down, relishing in the feeling of our lips touching.
No, I thought to myself. This wasn’t right. I could feel myself losing control, and I couldn’t let it happen. Before we kissed, I suddenly staggered backwards, shaking my head.
“I can’t keep doing this,” I whispered, more so to myself than to Nina.
She looked up at me then with so much pain on her face. I felt like an asshole for what I was doing to her, but I knew that it would be better to let her go before I really hurt her. I shook my head again, dispelling the images of her beautiful body out of my mind, then turned on my heel.
“Wait!” she said. I felt her small hand grab my wrist and I stopped, not so much as looking at her because I couldn’t even bear it. “Promise you won’t do anything rash until we figure out what’s really going on,” she said, surprising me. I had expected her to say something about our relationship, but once again, Nina’s kindhearted nature came out. Even in the face of potential evil, she was calm and level headed and didn’t want anyone to get hurt.
Somehow, that was a comfort to me: that Edward hadn’t entirely broken Nina. He may have scarred both of us, but at least she would always be kind and gentle and caring. That was all that mattered.
“I won’t,” I said, still not able to bring myself to look at her. She let out a sigh of relief behind me, then released her grip on my wrist. Without another word, I stormed off, and when I was out of Nina’s sight I pulled my mate’s scarf and shoved my face in it, inhaling deeply. My mate’s scent calmed my nerves and made me momentarily forget about my feelings for Nina, but at the same time, I realized even more now that both of their scents were oddly similar. I shook my head again. Maybe I was just picking up my mate’s scent from the scarf and mistakenly thought it came from Nina. She had no wolf, and therefore, no scent. I was certain of it. It wasn’t until I got home later that I realized I still had the letter crumpled up in my fist.
The next morning, I woke up early to go to hockey practice. My back felt even more stiff after a night of bad sleep and from the cold air, but I figured that it would fade with enough time. The more I kept my mate’s scarf around, the stronger Fio seemed to become, and he even started speaking to me a little again. He was excited about our fated mate, but also understandably a little confused about Nina. I told him not to think about her too much, because I needed to focus on winning this tournament. He obliged.
As I crossed the quad, however, I stopped in my tracks and felt my grip tighten around my mate’s scarf — because ahead of me, I saw none other than Nina and Justin talking by the fountain.
They looked to be having a serious conversation as they sat on the edge of the fountain. They sat close to each other… Too close for my comfort.
“No,” I said to myself out loud, shaking my head again. I had a mate. I couldn’t get jealous over Nina. If she wanted to get back together with Justin, then that was a choice she was allowed to make. Assuming that he really was as innocent in all of this as she claimed, of course, then maybe their shared trauma would bring them closer together. Maybe they could even be mates, if he still had the effects of the Mad Wolf serum.
As I was telling myself these things, my eyes stayed fixed on them. All of these platitudes to make myself feel better faded when I saw them hug. I felt my heart practically stop for a moment, and my head began to spin. I felt my eyes start to glow… I was losing control again. How? Why?
I didn’t know the answer to those questions, but I did know that I had to get myself far away from them before I acted out of character again. If I stayed any longer, I would only lose control and attack Justin again, as well as confuse Nina even more about our relationship. No; I had to keep calm.
Before I could do anything stupid, I put my head down and stormed past.
