Chapter 273
Chapter 273: The Strangers
Nina
The next morning, I somehow managed to get up early with Enzo to go to training despite the fact that I had been up studying so late the night before. After getting dressed and eating breakfast, we headed across campus to the athletic fields. A light snow had fallen once again and blanketed the field in a thin layer of white powder, but lately the recruits had been in much better spirits now that they had learned how to channel their wolves. In fact, when Enzo and I walked up to the recruits, a few of them were running around in their wolf forms and playing in the snow. I stifled a laugh as I watched them frantically look up and shift back, as though it was against the rules to be in their wolf forms.
“You guys can actually stay in your wolf forms,” Enzo said to the group as we approached. “You’re gonna be in your wolf forms for some agility training today.”
The recruits erupted into a chorus of excited cheers. It made me laugh to see how happy everyone was to be werewolves; it also made me wonder how many people would actually take the antidote once all of the fighting was over, if any of them even did. I couldn’t help but wonder, however, if it was irresponsible to create so many new werewolves so quickly. In a way, we were doing something very similar to the Crescents by turning more people into werewolves; although at least this was voluntary.
Enzo began his training session. He was much more empathetic and easy-going now, although he was still firm and commanding. I enjoyed watching him like that, however. Seeing him act as an Alpha turned me on, and as I watched him work with the recruits and saw the beads of sweat from running back and forth beginning to drip down the back of his muscular neck, I started to fantasize about him.
Lately, the sex between us had been almost nonstop. It felt as though every free moment we had alone together, we were spending it hooking up. And it was only getting better, too. As I sat and watched him, I remembered how he had dominated me first thing that morning, before the sun even rose. Just© NôvelDrama.Org - All rights reserved.
thinking about it made me wet, and I decided then and there that I was going to drag him off to the locker rooms after training later.
“Earth to Nina.”
A familiar voice came from behind me, breaking me out of my lustful fantasy. I felt my cheeks go red as I looked up to see Luke standing there, and hoped that he just thought that my red face was from the cold.
“Hey, Luke,” I said, clearing my throat and trying to quell the tingling in my panties. “Need something?”
“Did you not hear me just now?” Luke asked. I shook my head, and he sighed. “There’s a group of strangers that just came into town. They’re werewolves, but I don’t think they’re Crescents. And they keep saying that they know you.”
I raised my eyebrows and stood from the bench where I was sitting.
“Where are they?” I asked. “You didn’t let them in, did you?”
Luke shook his head. “Nope. They’re waiting at the town entrance. They don’t seem to be up to anything, but I think that you and Enzo should come and see if you actually know them, or if they’re lying.”
I nodded and waved Enzo over. He looked up from his training, said something to the recruits, and then jogged over to meet us. When I explained the situation to him, he gave me a skeptical look but still told the recruits to take a break while we were gone and followed Luke and I to the entrance of town, where these strangers were waiting.
When we reached the entrance of town, however, I realized that these weren’t strangers at all.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Enzo said, walking briskly up to the old rival hockey captain and shaking his hand firmly. I came up behind him, grinning, and gave our old friend a tight hug.
“You do know these guys?” Luke asked, to which I nodded.
“This is Jason,” I said. “We all met when Enzo and Jason’s team played a hockey game a few towns over a while back.”
Luke looked at Jason and his team suspiciously, but Jason just ran a hand through his hair and laughed nervously.
“I hope we didn’t freak you guys out by showing up here unannounced,” he said. “But we had to come. I mean, with the Crescents doing what they’re doing…”
“I thought you were a Crescent,” Enzo said. “You’re not a spy, right?”
Jason laughed again and shook his head. “Not a spy. I left the Crescents completely and formed my own pack. Actually, a lot of people left the Crescents when they started turning people into rogues against their will. And when we heard that you guys developed an antidote that’s really been helping people, we knew that we had to come and join in the fight.”
My eyes widened at this. Enzo and I shot each other a look. Luke still looked entirely skeptical, and just folded his arms across his chest and looked at Jason warily.
“I mean, if you’ll have us,” Jason said. “We’d like to help. But if you guys don’t trust us, I get it. We were Crescents at one point, after all.”
“Just give us a moment,” Luke suddenly chimed in. He grabbed both Enzo and I by our sleeves with an unprecedented amount of strength for a skinny guy who was actually an undead skeleton in disguise, and pulled us a little ways away.
Once we were further away, Luke looked at both of us with concern written across his face. “You two really trust these guys?” he asked, lowering his voice. “They used to be Crescents.”
“So?” I asked. “You tried to throttle me the first time I met you. Or did you forget?”
Luke’s face went red and he fell silent.
“Luke is right, though,” Enzo said. “We should be wary of any outsiders right now. But… We did form a strong bond with them before, and we could use the help. Plus, if they know how the Crescents are operating, it could be extremely useful.”
I nodded at this, and threw a glance at Jason and the others over my shoulder. Jason gave me a friendly wave.
“Let’s do it,” I said.
When we returned to Jason and the others, we told them that we would gladly let them join our little army; under one condition.
“Tell us anything you know about the Crescents,” I said. “And swear you won’t omit anything. We’re putting our trust in you here.”
Jason nodded. “Gladly,” he said.
…
A little while later, all of us were walking back to the athletic fields together. Jason and his hockey team joined our little army, and gave us a lot of crucial information along with it.
“So, Lewis joined the Crescents?” Enzo asked, speaking angrily through his teeth. “That little weasel.”
Jason nodded. “But he’s not respected. And even though he and a few of his followers joined the Crescents, there are way more ex-Crescents who left because they don’t agree with everything that’s going on. And a lot of those people are headed here, to join forces with you guys.” Jason stopped then, and looked directly at me with intense sincerity. “You’re famous, Nina,” he said. “Word has spread that you’re the one who created the antidote that’s saving people. You have a lot of allies; all you need to do is give the order, and you have an entire army at your command.”
I swallowed and looked up at Enzo. I was no commander… Enzo was, though.
And between Enzo’s Alpha command and my antidote, maybe we really could take down the Crescents.