Chapter 659 Chapter 0659 Nina Luke and I were carefully winding through the country roads in my truck, chatting casually about the baby when we saw it. Up ahead, something darted across the road, pausing just long enough for the two of us to get a good look.
A yellow-eyed wolf.
"There!" Luke suddenly shouted, pointing to the fleeting glimpse of the large wolf darting across the road. "It's that bloody wolf!* Its fur was a mottled gray color, almost ghost-like in the waning light. I realized, then, that I had in fact seen this wolf before. I had seen it on the night when I had left the hospital after Claiming Jessica.
There was no tto waste. Whether this was a spy of my father's or not, I was determined to catch it; it had, after all, nearly caused one of my best friends to die in a car crash. And she would have died, too, if I hadn't Claimed her at just the right time.
I slammed my foot on the accelerator, the engine roaring to life as we surged forward. The old pickup truck groaned and jostled us as it tore down the bumpy road, kicking up a cloud of dust in our wake.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Hold on!" I yelled over the din of the engine, adrenaline surging through my veins.
Luke braced himself against the dashboard, his gaze never leaving the wolf. "Faster, Nina!" he cried out. "The little shit's getting away!" He was right; the wolf was incredibly agile, moving effortlessly through the terrain, its muscular body weaving between trees and leaping over obstacles. And yet, all the while, it stuck to the side of the road, occasionally slowing down just to pick its speed back up again once our distance closed a little more. It glanced back at us, its yellow eyes glinting like two small flames in its sockets.
Was it... luring us somewhere? "I'm trying," I snapped, pushing the poor old pickup truck to its very limits. The truck whined beneath the strain, but managed to push just a little faster. Trees and bushes blurred past us, creating a swirling tunnel of green and brown.
"Left, left!" Luke directed, and I swerved sharply, narrowly avoiding a curve in the road. The wolf seemed to be toying with us, always just out of reach.
"Damn it!" I cursed, frustration boiling inside of me. This damn wolf was elusive as ever, like a spectral figure taunting us with its agility and speed.
Luke leaned out the window, trying to keep a visual on the wolf. "It's heading towards the old creek," he said, pointing. "We can corner it if we go down Miller Road." I jerked the wheel to the right, sending the pickup truck careening down a narrow dirt road. The creek cinto view up ahead, its water shimmering in the fading sunlight. The wolf was nearing the edge, its pace unrelenting. but still not darting out of sight even though it could have easily disappeared into the forest.
"Con," I urged, my knuckles white from gripping the steering wheel so tightly. But as we neared the creek, the wolf seemed to vanish into thin air, disappearing into the dense underbrush.
I slammed on the brakes, the truck skidding to a stop just before we reached a small bridge that went over the creek. Panting, I slammed my hands against the steering wheel in a mix of anger and defeat.
"Fuck," I hissed. "What the hell?" Luke let out a long sigh, disappointment etched onto his own face as well. "We'll catch that wolf eventually," he said, even though I don't think either of us believed those words. "We just need to find a way to trap it, that's all. But it's incredibly elusive." I chuckled wryly, the adrenaline from the chase slowly ebbing away. "Yeah, you can say that again," I said. "That thing is smart." Luke paused, shootinga glance. "Do you think...
"That it was egging us on?" I asked. Luke nodded. "Yes," I continued. "Yes, I do. But why disappear at the last moment?" "I think it was toying with us," he said. "Leading us on a wild goose chase, just to win in the end." "It seems so." I turned the truck around and began the quiet drive hafter that. The sun had almost disappeared behind the horizon now, leaving the sky a beautiful tapestry of purples and oranges. It should have been peaceful, but it felt anything but that. I wanted to catch that damn wolf, but instead, it played a gof tag withjust before it pulled the wool over our eyes right at the end.
But why? Why do that? I dropped Luke off in town, then drove in silence the rest of the way back to the house, without even the rato keepcompany as my mind whirled with thoughts. Finally, though, my hcinto view, and I let out a soft sigh of relief that I didn't know I had been holding once I pulled into the driveway. At least here, in the privacy of my own home, my dad's spies couldn't see me.
Or so I hoped.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmI spent the rest of the evening trying to distract myself with reading and housework. Enzo was at the hockey arena, playing a scrimmage with the team. I almost considered heading back down there at one point to watch, but I was admittedly exhausted after that chase.
These days, the pregnancy was sapping my energy. I just couldn't do as much as I could before the pregnancy, but it was okay. At least my baby was healthy.
However, as I was dusting the living room, a sudden whoosh of displaced air and the sound pfizzling electricity madejump. I spun around to see a portal rippling open in the middle of the room. My eyes widened in shock as my mother, brother, and father stepped through, the portal closing behind them with a soft hum.
"What the hell are you doing here?" I demanded, my voice a mix of surprise and anger.
My parents exchanged worried glances before my mother stepped forward. "Nina, honey, we want to talk to you," she said gently, holding her hands out for me. "After you ran off-* I stepped back, shaking my head. "Whatever it is, I don't want to hear it," I spat, my frustration boiling over.
My father frowned. "Nina, you need to start acting like an adult," he chided, clearly still just as angry as he was on the night of the party. "You can't just run away like that." "I'm an adult, and I made an adult decision to chome," I said. "And besides, I'm fine here. I'm happier here. I don't want to live with you." But my father just stepped forward, his eyes narrowing. "Does an adult go on a high-speed road chase when she's several months pregnant?"
My eyes widened. So he knew already. "I was trying to track down this yellow eyed wolf spy of yours," I hissed. So could finally send it back to you. So if you don't wantto be doing crazy stuff like that, call the spy off." A silence fell over the room as my family glanced around at one another. My father looked genuinely puzzled, his brow furrowing in confusion.
"A wolf?" he questioned, looking fromto my mother and then back again. "I sent a bird shifter as a spy. Not a wolf."