Chapter 433

Nina

The bedroom door swung open, and Lori and I rushed inside, relief washing over us as we escaped the chaos that had erupted at the party. Somehow, we had managed to make it out of the banquet hall in one piece, although my heart was pounding knowing that I had just left Enzo down there.

Matt and Jessica were waiting for us, their faces etched with worry. Jessica immediately jumped up off of my bed and ran up to Lori. She enveloped her in a tight hug, checking her over to make sure she was okay like a little kid that had gotten lost.

“Oh my god,” Jessica said, her voice filled with worry, “are you okay?”

Lori nodded, her voice shaky. “I’m fine, Jess,” she said. “Just a little shaken up, that’s all.”

Jessica let out a sigh of relief. “Good. I wanted to go back for you, but Matt here wouldn’t let me leave.”

“Sorry,” Matt said as he rubbed the back of his neck. “But I wasn’t about to let you run back out into that mess.”

“It’s really okay, Jessica,” Lori said. “I’m okay. Nina and Enzo found me.”

“Speaking of which,” Matt said, looking around, “where is Enzo?”

At Matt’s words, I felt my heart begin to pound again. “Enzo… stayed behind,” I said, swallowing. “There were guys coming after us, and…”

Matt seemed to share my concern, and his eyes widened. He nodded and pushed his sleeved up, making his way over to the door. “I’ll go back for him,” he said. “Don’t worry, Nina. I’ll find him.” But just as Matt was about to open the door, it swung open of its own accord. Enzo stepped into the room, looking a bit frazzled but otherwise okay.

Enzo’s arrival brought a wave of relief over all three of us. “Enzo, are you okay?” I asked, rushing over to him.

He nodded, running a hand through his disheveled hair. “Yeah, I’m alright,” he said. “Those other guys ran when I threw the first punch. And your father’s guards seemed to get things under control.”

“I guess the party’s over then, huh?” Lori asked. “God, it’s all my fault. I’m so sorry, guys. I should have just stayed home.”

I put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Lori, this isn’t your fault,” I assured her gently. “It’s the Luna’s fault for leading everyone to believe that humans are evil and dangerous.”

Lori let out a sigh, her shoulders slumping with a mixture of relief and sadness. “I guess you’re right,” she conceded. “But… damn. I guess I thought it would be over now that the Luna and her weird army of rogues are dead. I guess not, though.”

Her words made all of us glance at each other, and I could tell that we were all thinking the same thing. Those werewolves who had begun to panic weren’t only racist, nor were they just pretentious or cruel. No, it was much more nuanced than that. They were… Afraid.

I guess I didn’t realize the extent of the fear that the Luna had instilled in them. It seemed as though they really did seem to believe that humans were on their way to infiltrate the werewolf realm and cause chaos and destruction, even though the majority of humans had no idea that the werewolf realm existed.

Enzo spoke up, finally breaking the silence and pulling all of us back to the present. “So, what do we do now?” he asked.

Lori bit her lip, her brows furrowing in thought. “I don’t think I should stay here,” she said, her voice filled with uncertainty.

Matt and Jessica nodded in agreement. “Yeah, it’s not safe for Lori to be here,” Jessica added. “And I’m staying with her.”

Enzo looked at me, and I could see the concern in his eyes. “I’ll find someone to open a portal,” he suggested. “It’s the safest option for everyone.”

Lori glanced at me, her eyes filled with gratitude. “Nina, thank you for everything,” she said, her voice wavering with emotion. “I’m so sorry about tonight. Really.”

I smiled at her, trying to ease her worries. “It’s not your fault, Lori. Let’s just get you home where it’s safe for now.”

But then, just as we were discussing the plan, the bedroom door swung open once more, and my parents rushed in, their faces frantic with worry. My father wasted no time and immediately began to open a portal to send Lori, Matt, and Jessica back to the human realm. Within moments, the swirling purple and blue vortex was standing in the center of my bedroom, and my eyes were wide as I stared at it.

“You three need to go home,” my father ordered, his voice urgent. “Nina and Enzo, you’re staying here.”

They didn’t need any more convincing. It was clear judging from my father’s frantic expression that there was no room to argue and no time to waste. Lori hugged me tightly, tears in her eyes, before stepping through the portal with Matt and Jessica close behind.

As the portal closed behind them, my father turned his stern gaze towards Enzo and me. He looked disappointed and angry, and I felt my stomach drop a little bit just from looking at him.

“Dad, listen, I—” I began, but he just cut me off with a wave of his hand.

“No, you listen,” he said, his voice booming. “I gave you the benefit of the doubt. I wanted to make you happy, Nina, so I allowed your friends to visit. But you were careless. It’s as if you don’t even give a shit about the consequences your actions have here.”

My eyes widened as my father spoke. His voice was a low growl, and his face was red with anger. I had never seen him this furious.

“But dad,” I insisted, “we had our reasons for inviting them here. Our pack—”

My father scoffed, cutting me off again. “There is no pack,” he growled. “You’re just children. Children who don’t seem to understand the gravity of your actions. You think you’re heroes? You think you can change an entire realm just by holding hands and singing kumbaya?”

“Aldric,” my mother chimed in, taking a step forward, “there’s no need to be so harsh.”

“Oh, but there is,” my father spit back at her, his eyes flashing with fury. “Nina, Enzo, you two need to learn. Hells, I can’t even trust you back in Mountainview! I never know what sort of trouble you’ll get yourself into!”

“Dad, what are you saying?” I asked softly, my voice trembling.

My father’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve got eyes on you and your little friends at all times,” he said. “You thought you were just going to galavant around Mountainview, try to bring down evil all by yourselves? You’re just kids!”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I took a step back, exchanging a glance with Enzo. He looked just as hurt and betrayed as I felt.

“You’re… You’re spying on me?” I exclaimed, my voice filled with disbelief and hurt.

“Yes, I am,” my father confirmed. “I need to keep an eye on you, Nina, to make sure you don’t put yourself in danger and get yourself killed. You are my one and only heir, and you cannot be trusted to take care of yourself.”

His words cut deep, like a knife that was twisting in my gut. I needed to get out. I needed to think; I needed to process all of this. To think that my father had been spying on me all this time, that he had so little trust in me that he felt it necessary to watch everything I did, follow me everywhere I went?

Hot tears began to prick at the backs of my eyes. Without another word, I picked up my skirt and rushed out of the room before the sobs started to come.