113 - Falling Apart

113 - Falling Apart


Nel

Before I have the time to question him about his choice of never telling me the truth or anything else, a pair of brawny arms pulls me into a squeezing, breathtaking hug. He holds me there, caressing my back, trying to comb my tousled hair with his fingers.



“Damn, you look bad. What happened, princess? You got me so worried when you left without a word. Is this how friends act? Come on, let’s leave. Let’s go to ‘Le papillon’. We could both use a hot drink and a proper talk,” he says and pulls me back towards his car.



I follow him, posing no resistance. After the storm of information I just received, I need any tiny bit of comfort, wherever it may come from.



“I know everything, Greg,” I tell him, while he’s driving to our favorite cafe.



“I deducted that much from your state…” he answers, but doesn’t talk further.



This silence is killing me, but what did I expect? An apology? An explanation? Maybe even an accusation that I never cared enough to ask more? Just anything, but he gives me nothing. Only the deafening void and the city noise from outside.



When the car arrives in front of our favorite cafe, he parks and comes to my door, pulling me in for another bone-crushing hug, as if he can hardly believe I am here with him. Damn, I love this fool. Whatever his reasons, I can’t stay angry with him. I need to let it out of me, anyway, so as soon as I get warm and comfortable, I open my mouth and talk nonstop till I’ve told him everything that crosses my mind; about the voice in my head, my nightmares, my decision to leave Eastport, how we reached here, about the cabin, my guilt, how I found out about him and Will, and lastly, about my introduction to Claudia.



“Wow! Someone’s had a busy time since we last met!”



“I know, right? What do I do, Greg? Up to now, the voice has saved my butt way too many times, and for this, I thought it was my mum. But the nightmare in Whitemountain shook me. What is it supposed to mean? I’m sure there’s more than meets the eye, but I don’t get it.”



“What if it never was your mother’s voice in the first place, Nel? You do recognize it could easily be Claudia’ since you’re biologically connected. It’s quite apparent now that she’s been trying to get you to come to her.”



I must admit that he’s probably right. There’s nothing more than my gut feeling to support my theory, and my intuition hasn’t always proved the most infallible beacon to follow. At this moment, the red velvet muffins accompanying my cup of coffee appear the most appealing and intriguing items in sight.



“Why did you never tell me?” I ask what suddenly crosses my mind, thankful for the diversion.



Greg gulps his mouthful, surprised, struggling not to spit it all out on the cozy table of the cafeteria. A fierce wave of cough proves this about the last thing he expected to hear at this point.



“Don’t you change the subject, miss…” he says, but then sees my strict expression and answers nonetheless.

“It was never the right time to discuss my rejection issues. There were always more pressing matters at hand than my broken heart and ego. It all went down much before we met, anyway. I was long over it when you showed up. Or so I convinced myself.”

“How did it happen?”

“Not much drama to mention. It was shortly after I found Josh. I came to Southville following my parents’ will after their passing. He took me in immediately when he saw the letter my mother had left me. I don’t even know what it said. As if she knew this would happen eventually, she had prepared everything. Her will, her letters to me, and some closed envelopes for me to bring to other people. The first one I found was Josh, and I’m very thankful for that. It was my last year of high school and I had my final exams ahead of me. Just a young guy with a heavy brain and a lot of dreams. I won’t complain. They both did all they could to provide for me, both materially and sentimentally. Then, after the exams were done, and I got my acceptance from the university, Josh sent me to the Black Moon to deliver a report. I think it was during William’s early days as Alpha. He identified the connection way before I did, but I didn’t fit in the job description for his mate, so he simply grabbed the papers off my hands and dragged me into an empty room where he swiftly rejected me and asked me to never show up in front of him again.”

Something is bothering me in his narrative. Greg reached adulthood some years before me. This means about fifteen years after Josh left the pack with my dad. What on earth would he send a report to William for? I make a mental note to ask him on the first chance and return my attention to Greg. It’s hard to believe he was hiding so much heartache under this laid-back attitude of his. I feel awful for never asking more.

“So when you first started going to the Golden Moon more often, when you drunkenly confessed Matt looked like the dream guy for you, it was because…”

“He kinda resembles William only in a darker tone, doesn’t he?” he adds, interrupting me, while I nod absentmindedly.

One more weird fact added to my already troubled mind.

“Okay, enough with my love life drama. I need more details about your trip. How on earth did you reach here? Linda seriously flipped when you disappeared.”

“Well… yeah, that’s a bit too complicated for now, Greg.”


“What do you mean?” he asks, and no matter how much I love him, I don’t dare share all the things Claudia disclosed with him, nor the doubt this has instilled in me.



At that very moment, the door of the cafe opens, and seconds later, I’m almost swept off my feet by a blonde tornado that falls straight into my arms.



“Don’t. Ever. Do that again… ever… Understand, miss? I almost died with apprehension when we couldn’t get your news. How on earth did you manage to stay out of Mother’s radar? You’ve become too good, damn it.”



I take a look at my childhood best friend. There’s no sign of dark energy around her to show she may be pretending. How I wish I could be more like her, full of clean light!



“Hey, hey there… Don’t get lost on me. I can feel your negative thoughts getting wild,” she says, understanding my bad mood already.



“It’s good to see you, too, Irena,” I tell her, trying my best to smile at her.



“Look at me, Eleanor.”



I do as she says. Her power is pure and warm, and growing. I can tell she’s ready to take over if need be. It’s funny how in the time span of a few months I’ve gone from being totally clueless about magic to effectively understanding it. She rhythmically taps my back to get my attention and I turn my glance back to her.

“I can’t say I know how to solve this problem. Still, I promise we’ll find a way out together. Okay? We got no time to settle our past issues, but we will when it’s all over. We’ll both be here and okay. Do you trust me?”



She hugs me again, and Greg follows her lead. Oh, how I want to trust both of them. I crave something stable to hold on to. Before it all falls apart and madness takes me…



Nick



For some reason, it comes as no surprise when I open my eyes and she’s not there. Maybe it was foolish of me to act on an impulse here. I should have stuck with my initial decision to turn to my wolf and stay somewhere nearby to guard her. Now she’s gone and I don’t have the slightest idea where to. All her stuff seems to be here. She must have left in a hurry. This woman will be the death of me. I remember in our first steps she was constantly afraid I’d have regrets about what was going on between us. How the tables have turned… I’m the one experiencing this fear now.



With a deep sigh, I get up and head to the shower. I must get ready to endure a day I don’t look forward to. No one will like the single-sided bond. The real question is how they will express it. Strangely enough, the one I have the biggest apprehension about is the closest person I’ve ever had to a brother. Matt has accepted a lot from me. He’s even taken up all my responsibilities while I was hunting my mate down around the entire country. But I can’t fathom how he may react to my disappearance and my decision to not mark her back.




I don’t think he’d take it that far, but he’s for sure the sole person who could challenge me for Alpha and win. Not that I’d fight him… I’d only be too happy to oblige and hand the position over to him. I’ve practically begged him to divide the post’s power in two and allow him to pick up half of it, but to no avail. He’s too traditional for this.



Upon my arrival in the territory, my aura must be emanating loud and clear because not a single living soul comes close to me. I can tell with my side vision that they are shocked to see me, but they don’t even dare to glance my way. It would be a lie to say that I’ve missed my office here, still this is where I head with no further ado.



“Who the… Nick?”



Matt’s perplexed shout quickly gives its place to a numb silence. He and Marco exchange an awkward glimpse with each other, not knowing what to make out of my casual attire and sudden appearance. Marco then turns to me with an expectant expression, as if asking me where his niece is. Linda is also here in my office. She’s the least surprised, but she’s certainly the most furious one.



“Nice to see you too, everyone. Linda, please don’t fry me. It wasn’t my plan, as you may guess.”



“Where is she?” she says, voicing the others’ question too.



“I don’t have the slightest idea. She left before I woke up.” I answer, trying not to let my worry show in my statement.



“What do you mean you don’t have the slightest idea, Nick? You should at least be able to pinpoint a vague position through your bond.”



Linda quirks her brow at me, as if daring me to update my best friend and Beta about my recent achievements. And that’s what I intend to do, only I don’t know how to break it down to him.



“The bond is not complete, Matt. That’s why I don’t feel her whereabouts… I guess…”



His eyes go open wide, and his hand comes to massage the center of his forehead as if a sudden headache is drilling its way through his head.



“Tell me you don’t mean…”



“Yes, Matt. I didn’t mark her back. It wasn’t the right time.”



“And about when will the right time be, Nick? I’m sure I don’t have to inform you that since you reappear after weeks of absence with a mark on your neck, the pack will look for its Luna, right? You must have formed some excuse in your mind to tell them. Because if you plan to explain the wrong timing to them, then don’t count on my support for that.”



Before our little chat can go even more wrong, the door opens again and Bob bursts in. He’s about to open his mouth when he realizes my presence and gasps with uncertainty. His eyes move frantically from one to the other.

“What is it, Bob? You didn’t expect me to be here, right? Well, it’s still my office, you know. Now enlighten us about what got you as white as a sheet of paper.”

He takes a deep breath. My being here confuses as much as it relaxes him.

“Miss Nel, Alpha…”

Now that’s a way to catch all our attention…

“What about her?”

We practically ask all together.

“She just did something. Something you’re not gonna like, I’m afraid. She kinda hijacked a car belonging to one of our pack members, a scientist working for GoldenChem, and coerced him to take her to the Black Moon territory…”