Chapter 0742

Nina

"If you want to take my pack and my wife, you'll have to fucking kill me."

Tyler and I stood in the window, watching the scene on the lawn unfolding below us. Matt and Enzo were both circling one another, their stances lowered as though they were preparing for a fight.

"Are they about to fight?" Tyler asked, glancing over at me warily. "Why?"

"I don't know." I was already setting down my mug of cocoa and storming over to the door. "But I'm about to stop them."

Without another moment of hesitation, Tyler and I flew down the corridor, down the stairs and out onto the back lawn. We were just sprinting around the corner of the building, calling out to Matt and Enzo just as they were about to fight.

"Enzo! Matt!" I cried out, stopping a few yards from them. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Nina," Matt breathed, his eyes still locked on Enzo. "I don't know what's gotten into him. You have to tell him that I'm not "

"You shut up," Enzo growled. Spittle flew out of his mouth as he spoke, his voice hardly more than a growl. His eyes were glowing; he was about to shift.

"Enzo," I said as I tentatively took a few steps forward, holding out my palms in a placating gesture. "You're not acting like yourself. Why don't we all just calm down and talk about whatever is going on?"

But Enzo didn't listen. Suddenly, I felt Tyler's hand on the back of my shirt, pulling me back just in time before Enzo shifted into his wolf form. Matt cursed under his breath and shifted, too—once again just in time.

Because Enzo lunged at him.

They tangled mid-air, falling to the ground in a snarling and slashing heap. Enzo was brutal, trying with all of his power to... Kill Matt. Matt was putting up a good fight, but I knew it would be no use if Enzo tired him out.

"No!" I screamed over the sudden din of growls and claws flying. "Stop fighting!"

By now, the commotion had attracted attention. I heard the back door to the mansion fling open, and a moment later, my father, my mother, Lori and Jessica, and even Daphne and Luke came bolting outside.noveldrama

"What in the hells is going on here?!" my father boomed, looking wildly back and forth between the vicious fight unfolding in front of us and me and Tyler, who were the first at the scene.

"I-I don't know," I said frantically, tears streaming down my cheeks. "We heard shouting, and—"

"I think Enzo's gone off his rocker," Tyler chimed in. "He was saying stuff about Matt trying to take Nina and the pack from him."

My father cursed under his breath. Despite my mother tugging at his sleeve and telling him to stay back, he wrenched free from her grip and stormed up to the two battling werewolves.

"Enough!" he boomed in that commanding voice of his.

But it was no use. Either Matt and Enzo didn't hear him over the noise of their battle, or they were ignoring him. In fact, the battle only intensified. Enzo got a hold on Matt's haunch and ripped at him with his teeth, whipping him so hard that he sent him flying and skidding across the lawn.

Matt growled, skidding on his feet. His teeth, dripping with a combination of blood and saliva, were bared like razor-sharp blades.

Enzo snarled again and charged, this time slamming into Matt's side. Matt went flying once more; he wasn't fighting back, though, not really. He was just trying to survive. Behind me, Daphne shrieked and shifted into her bird form, fluttering and squawking around the two of them.

And still, it was no use. They hardly noticed her, even nearly coming closer to nipping her wings.

"I have to go to them," I breathed, finally managing to pull myself away from Tyler. "He's going to kill Matt!" Before Tyler or anyone else could stop me, I began running forward. Up ahead, I saw Enzo pin Matt down to the ground, his teeth snapping at Matt's throat. He really was trying to kill him. But why?

"Nina!" My father called out, reaching for me. I darted past him as fast as I could, using my own wolf's strength to lend me some additional speed.

The growls and yelps flew through the air like daggers. Matt's chest heaved as he tried and failed to push Enzo away, to keep him from biting down into his throat.

Finally, with one last final scream, I leaped forward and landed on top of Matt. Right into the flurry of Enzo's snapping jaws.

"Stop!" I shrieked, holding out my hand.

Time seemed to stop. I think my friends and my parents were screaming in the background, but I didn't hear them anymore. My entire universe became nothing but fangs and blood and matted fur.

I closed my eyes as Enzo's fangs came closer to me, my hand trembling as I held it out to stop him. Matt shuddered and sputtered beneath me, and I felt warm blood trickle onto my arm. He was already severely injured. Maybe I would die soon, too.

But then... Nothing happened. Slowly and tentatively, I cracked my eyes open to see the world coming back into focus.

Enzo had frozen, his teeth still bared and his upper lip trembling. His eyes, still glowing, were fixed on me now rather than Matt. Behind him, I first saw my father, followed by my mother and then the others. I heard their voices, but not really; it was all rather muffled.

"Stop, Enzo," I whispered. "You'll kill him."

Finally, Enzo pulled back and shifted back into his human form. Beneath me, Matt shifted as well; now a bloody, barely-breathing heap on the ground. I heard his rib cage rattle as he struggled to draw in air.

"So it's true," Enzo murmured, wiping the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Is what true, Enzo?" I whispered.

But it was too late. Enzo was gone in a flash, taking off into the woods at an inhuman speed. The next thing I knew, strong hands were pulling me up off of the ground and my father's face came into view.

"Are you hurt?" he boomed. "Nina, are you alright?"

I nodded numbly. "I'm fine. Just... I need to go to him."

"Nina, no

Before my father could finish, I wrenched myself away from him and tore off into the woods after Enzo. The sounds of the others calling after me faded into the sounds of the forest as small branches whipped at my skin. Dry leaves and pine needles crunched under my feet as Enzo's scent on the wind carried me closer to him.

"Enzo!" I called out. "Enzo, where are you?!"

There was no answer, but soon, his scent grew stronger. I picked up my pace, continuing to call out his name as I leaped over fallen trees and rocks.

Finally, I found him; but he was no longer conscious. Instead, he, like Matt, was a motionless heap on the ground in the middle of a clearing.

The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!