Chapter 113

Olivia

The distant chirping of crickets seemed to magnify in the silence following Angela's suggestion. A light breeze rustled the leaves, as if whispering secrets of its own. We were all taken aback by her sudden proposition.

“You can't be serious,” Nathan said, disbelief clear in his eyes. “You really want to lure my dad and Jen away like that? Aren’t you worried about the potential risks?

Angela simply shrugged. “I’m willing to face the consequences if I get caught,” she explained. “I’ll just play it off like I was drunk and acting stupid or something. It’s not like your dad has any reasons for suspicion when it comes to me. He doesn’t know how close I am with Olivia.”

“It’s not a bad idea,” I ventured, trying to see Angela’s perspective despite how nervous the thought of it made me. “If they’re busy chasing after a supposed ‘monster’, then maybe they won’t notice us sneaking around.”

“I don’t know…” Nathan scratched his head. He looked skeptical, and for good reason.

But Angela, seeing this, straightened her back with determination shining in her eyes. “Look, I was a track star in high school. I can outrun anyone, and I'm fast in my other form too. Colin and Jen won't catch me.”

Nathan frowned, his eyes darting around as if searching the ground for answers. “But the property is huge, guys. Even if they’re distracted, Alvin’s hand could be buried anywhere. It would be like looking for a needle in a haystack, only this haystack is filled with vipers.”

I bit my lip, pondering for a few moments.

Nathan was right; it was a big property, situated far out in the woods. Alvin could have buried the box that his hand was in quite literally anywhere in the forest.

“But we grew up playing there, Nathan,” I said, coming to a realization as I recalled Alvin’s journal entries. “If Alvin did bury it, it would be somewhere significant. A place that means something to him.”

“Why would that matter, though?” Nathan asked.

I shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe he buried it thinking that he might want to go back for it someday. None of us can read his mind, Nathan, but maybe we can at least get a good idea as to how his thought process works.”

Nathan looked at me for a few long moments. His blue-green eyes were filled with concern.

“What if they catch Angela?” he asked. “Or us?”

“I can handle myself,” Angela interrupted. “Besides… The point is to keep them busy. To make them believe that the ‘monster’ is real. Isn’t that what we want?”

“I just don’t want anyone getting hurt because of this,” Nathan said, his voice laced with an emotion I couldn’t quite place.

Angela gave a small smirk. “Trust me, Nathan; I won’t be the one getting hurt. Besides, they think this creature is dangerous. They won't come too close. Even Colin wouldn’t act so bravely when confronted with the ‘monster’.”

We were silent for a moment. The weight of the decision felt heavy on our shoulders, but it seemed as though we had come to an understanding; and there was nothing else that we could do. Alvin wouldn’t talk to us. The Council would be hunting him down soon.

We had to go about this quickly and quietly so that we could—hopefully—restore his hand before the search parties began. Then, maybe—just maybe—having his hand back would bring the old Alvin back, and he would stop his nightly rampages.

We could convince the Council that the so-called ‘monster’ ran off or died.

“Fine,” Nathan finally said, exhaling a long breath after a particularly long silence. “But we do this carefully. If anything feels off, we abort immediately.”

I nodded, my heart rate picking up. “We’ll sneak there at night. Less chance of being seen.”

Nathan let out another long sigh.

“Alright. Tomorrow night. For now, I think we’re all too tired and on edge to get it done tonight. And besides, my dad and Jen would have just gotten to the cabin earlier today. It’s best to let them settle for a day before we start trouble and raise even more suspicions.”

I hesitated, my mind swirling with possibilities. Why would Colin and Jen go on a retreat alone? It was all a bit strange to me… But now wasn’t the time for speculations. Right now, the only thing that I had to worry about—above absolutely everything else—was finding Alvin’s hand.

We parted ways, each of us lost in our thoughts. The moon had risen high in the sky by the time Nathan and I watched Angela and Levi leave. Levi headed over to Clint’s cottage, and Angela began the walk back to her house.

“Thank you,” I whispered as Nathan and I finally entered the dimly lit hallway of the villa. “For all of this. I know it’s not easy.”

Nathan paused, looking down at me, a softness in his gaze. Neither of us meant to, but we were standing a little too close. I could smell his sweet scent; grapefruit salt.

The musky scent that had filled my senses when we slept together was now gone. Now that it had been more than a week since our fateful night together, I had lost contact with my wolf once more.

“Anything for Alvin,” he murmured, then paused. “But really… for you.”

I took a deep breath, fighting the unease that settled in my chest. There were so many things I wanted to say, but words escaped me. Instead, I nodded, the silence between us heavy with unspoken words.

Nathan hesitated for a moment before finally speaking again.

“Did you find anything else in Alvin’s journal? Anything else that could help?”

Memories of the journal’s intimate revelations about my relationship with Alvin flooded back. I couldn’t tell Nathan that Alvin had feelings for me… It would destroy everything. My cheeks grew warm, and I quickly shook my head, trying to hide the guilt in my eyes.

“No. Nothing. Just the entry about his hand and some other entries about his loneliness.”

Nathan studied me for a moment, those penetrating blue-green eyes seeming to see straight through me. He didn’t seem to believe me, especially not after he already had suspicions about my relationship with Alvin.

I held his gaze, praying he wouldn't press further.

Finally, he nodded, although the skepticism in his eyes continued to linger all the less.

“Alright then. Get some rest, Liv. Tomorrow is going to be a long night.”

I nodded and forced a weak smile. “You too,” I murmured.

Without another word, Nathan slowly walked up the stairs and retreated to his room. I hardly moved until I finally heard his bedroom door click shut.

My heart raced, torn between the weight of Alvin's secrets and the forthcoming challenges of the upcoming night.

Part of me had been secretly hopeful, too, that maybe Nathan wouldn’t leave me standing here so quickly. When we had been hiding in Alvin’s room, despite what I saw in Alvin’s journal, I couldn’t get Nathan’s gaze out of my mind…

I couldn’t stop thinking about what would have happened to him if Alvin had found him. It made me realize something that I wasn’t ready for: that I cared far more about Nathan, beyond simple friendship, than I had previously thought.

And maybe, just maybe, deep down I had hoped that he would invite me to his room for the night. After such a harrowing experience, I craved closeness and comfort.

And I wouldn’t get it.

But one thing was certain; we were one step closer to finding that hand. And with it, perhaps, we would also find some semblance of peace for our dear friend Alvin.