NIRVANA “Is that what you want?” “Yes. I will tell Luka to bring your things here.” “No. I don’t like someone touching my things, but I can go back and pack them, and then I need help carrying them into the car.” “All right.” “Can I avail one of your living rooms or entertainment room?” “To paint?” “No. I want to watch movies.” His smile was from ear to ear. “You can use one of the rooms as your studio. I’ll call someone to clean it up so you can put your things in there.” I sighed deeply. “I’m sorry.” “For what?” “For the troubles.” “I want you to feel at home. Let’s go and watch movies.” “I’m watching a sappy romantic movie. Would you join me?” “Whatever you want.” He opened the door to the entertainment room. “Choose what movie you want to watch. I’ll go make us some popcorn.” “Do you have sodas?” “I’ll bring some.” “Thanks.” I grabbed the remote and scrolled down some movies on the monitor. I chose a biopic movie and paused it when it started rolling. “What are w
KNIGHT “Shit.” I caught my breath, and she chuckled at the interruption. We pulled apart when the vibration continued. I still wanted to make out with Nirvana, but the call seemed important. I shifted in my seat uncomfortably with the bulge on my groin. “Aren’t you going to answer that? Could be important.” “This better be.” I fished out my phone from my pocket and checked the caller ID. “Shit.” I answered quickly. “Hey. Glad you call.” “Is this a bad time? Where are you?” “It’s fine. I’m at home with Nirvana.” I turned to her and mouthed who I was talking to on the other line. “I need to talk to you. It’s important. It can’t wait.” “Of course. When do we meet?” She must have found something about the curse. “How about now?” “Wait. You’re here?” Until the portal appeared before the white screen. “Now I’m here.” Zarah walked in. “Oh, my God.” Nirvana’s hand was on her chest, staring at the portal before it disappeared. She got up to meet Zarah, and they kissed each other’s
KNIGHT “Don’t look at me like that. I just didn’t find the man I wanted to pop my cherry to,” she said sarcastically. “Well, I don’t care whether you’re a virgin or not as long as you want and are willing to sleep with me.” “Enough with sex talk,” Zarah said impatiently. “You have to decide now, and this is a one-way ticket, Nirvana, or you lose the gift.” “I changed my mind. I don’t want it anymore.” I took a deep breath to calm myself. “Nirvana, this is a gift—a special kind of gift.” Nirvana glared at me. “You call it special and a gift when I have to stay a virgin? And seeing people’s future is scary. I may be able to save lives, but this is not the gift I want. This is a curse. It doesn’t matter if I stay a virgin. At least I don’t have to know if or how someone will die. I don’t want this. Unless you don’t wanna sleep with me.” “Nirvana, it’s not a question if I want to sleep with you. I want to build a family with you, but I want you to make a wise decision.” “So what?
KNIGHT “Shit. This is getting more complicated.” “Don’t let her go out there by herself.” “Is there something you’re not telling me?” Zarah drew a sigh again. A worry was deep in her eyes. “Whenever I heard about young women with gifts, I became overprotective of them. Many years ago, I met this beautiful young woman. Just like Nirvana and Shadow, she didn’t wanna be a part of it if it ended up sacrificing the people they cared about. Shadow came to me for help, but she would not leave Califf. I know Nirvana would do the same thing. She would not sacrifice her relationship with you. Since you touched her mark, there have been rumors about a powerful ancient warlock searching for a young witch.” I felt like someone had just thrown a bucket of ice at me. A thrill of pure fear crawled under my skin. “You’re kidding, right?” “I have a feeling he is looking for Nirvana.” “But she’s not yet a witch.” “Yes, but the blood of a witch and ancient werewolf are running in her veins. Be ca
NIRVANA Unbelievable. Since I turned eighteen, I have been independent. The last thing I wanted was to be controlled or dictated by some ancient practices. And we shouldn’t be discussing my choices anymore. I hated it that we had to argue about it. I couldn’t believe we had to discuss my body, my choices, and my virginity when, from the very beginning, I didn’t want to be a part of this dangerous world. I didn’t want anything to do with the gift or to be a werewolf anymore. I wanted to live a normal life, to be with my family and the people I cared about, and to be with someone who accepted me and loved me for who I was. But not like this, where my choices were taken away from me. “I need some air.” I could be disrespectful if I wanted to. Don’t get me wrong, I had a huge respect for Knight and Zarah, but I felt like I could explode in anger any moment I heard an argument about my life decision. I walked out of the room, trying to process what Zarah had learned. I was still s
NIRVANA “You’re not okay, Axell.” I finally saw the blank look in his eyes, as if he wasn’t there— as if he had lost himself in deep sorrow. “You should get yourself checked.” “I said I’m fine!” he yelled, startling me. “Okay.” I raised my hand. “I have to go. Go home, but I’m not coming with you.” “You will gonna regret this, Vana. You should have not left.” “Please, leave—” A high-pitched scream erupted from my throat, echoing around me. My hand flew to my mouth as I watched Axell fly, thrown away like a dead animal. With my heart in my throat and my feet rooted to the ground, I stared at someone who just appeared a few feet away from me. I wanted to run as fast as I could, but my knees wobbled, my chin trembled, and my body shivered. “He’s useless now. Nirvana, the daughter of Sophie, the descendant of Katzius. Do you know me?” His voice was echoey, as if we were in a theater. The man stopped just a yard away from where I stood. He was a black man, tall, in his fifties, bu
KNIGHT It had been four fucking hours. Nirvana had received a prophylactic drug, and she should have improved, at least woke up, but she remained the same. “Maybe you should go home and get some rest.” Kailin and McKaye arrived earlier. “I’ll stay with her, I promise.” “No.” I shook my head stubbornly as I watched Nirvana lying unconscious in bed. She had oxygen through her nose, and although her breathing had improved, her heart rate remained low. “I won’t leave her again. I won’t let her out of my sight ever again.” “You need to nap, cuz. You have to trust me if I say I’ll always be with her.” “Stop it, Kailin. I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying by her side.” “I know you’re blaming yourself for what happened, but your property is safe.” “None of this should happen if I’m more very careful. Suppose she’s bitten by a wolf. At least we know how to treat her. I just let her walk out of the door. Who else should be blamed if not me?” My chest was in constant pain, and it was hard
NIRVANA I woke up to the beeping sound. I felt disoriented and so freaking exhausted, like I just climbed a mountain. Then I realized the room seemed familiar with a white ceiling, while the walls and scent alone were nauseating. When I was in high school, I got food poisoning, and I ended up in the hospital for two days. It all felt the same over again. The only difference was that my tummy didn’t hurt, but my shoulder did. It is excruciatingly painful. Then my gaze landed on the man I’d been longing to hug. He looked sad and exhausted, as did my best friend, hugging him behind his back. “Why are you hugging him?” Their reaction was comical. They froze, eyes wide as they stared at me with mouths hanging open. “Sweetheart,” Knight said breathlessly as he let Kailin’s arms go, rose from the chair, and hugged me tightly. He showered my face with kisses. “You scared the fuck out of me.” “Ouch, ouch.” I hissed in pain. “What’s wrong?” “My shoulder. It hurts.” I wanted to scream.