Chapter 203: Safety Net
Nina
Matt, Lori, Jessica and I all planned out how we were going to separate “Eli” and “Sadie” so we could try to break the spell on Enzo. We had to be tactful about it, because if this really was Enzo and Selena, then Selena could easily leave with Enzo again and we would have no way of finding them.
Finally, after a long time spent brainstorming and failing at how to go about this, Matt finally spoke up with one last idea.
“Hey!” he said, suddenly sitting up straight in his chair as though a string shed to the ten of his head ” I just remembered that there’s
supposed to be a party at one of the frat houses tomorrow night. I’m sure the new students 1 sorry, Enzo and Selena will be there. If we can somehow manage to separate them at the party, then maybe Nina could have her chance to talk to Enzo privately and try to make him remember.”
Matt’s idea made me smile a bit. “A party could be a good distraction,” I said. “People will be drinking, and there will be a lot going on. It could be easy to separate them in the chaos.
Of course, there would still be the matter of how to go about it; but there was no real way to plan things out beforehand, as we had no way of knowing exactly how the party would go. All we knew for now was that we would stick together until Matt, Lori and Jessica managed to separate Enzo and Selena, and then I would take Enzo somewhere private and try to talk to him.
For now, the plan seemed doable.
I only hoped that it would work, because if it didn’t and Selena found out our plan… Then she would likely take Enzo away again. And she would take him away for good this time.
It wasn’t even mid-afternoon before the dean sent out a campus-wide text calling everyone to the auditorium for
an announcement.
As we all made our way there, I knew already what the dean was going to say: that the Fullmoons had left us here, without any real protection, to run off and disappear when people needed them the most. With Richard gone and Enzo currently unfit to take charge, Lewis seemed to have allowed this newfound power to go to his head. Part of me even wondered if he really was working with the Crescents, just like Myra suggested.
But none of that mattered right now. I was confident that our plan would work. And when it did, with Enzo’s help we would be able to distribute the antidote to our neighboring towns. After that, I was confident that we would be able to go to the Alpha King together as a team, where I would present myself to him as his missing daughter. With the Alpha King on our side after that, we were certain to stop the Crescents from wreaking more havoc. But for now, we just needed to focus on making Enzo remember everything.
Lori, Jessica and I sat in the back of the auditorium while the rest of the students got settled. Finally, the dean came out on the stage and called for everyone’s attention.
“Thank
you all for coming,” she said, looking around at the students with concern on her face. “I’ve called you here today to let you know that the Fullmoons will no longer be living on our campus. They have decided to return home.”
The students began to murmur worriedly around us. My friends and I just looked at each other with frowns before looking back up at the dean.
“I know you’re all scared,” the dean said, “but trust me when I say that our home is safe. You don’t have anything to worry about. The Crescents are dwindling in numbers as we speak, and it seems that their leaders have decided to retreat for now. Of course, there are still many rogues roaming the countryside, as I’m sure you’re all aware… But I believe that with a strict curfew and a ban on outside travel, we can be safe here and Mountainview can slowly return to normal.”
“A curfew?” I whispered, looking over at Lori and Jessica. Was the dean. serious? A curfew was really meant to protect us from the rogues?
Jessica simply squeezed my leg. “Don’t forget about the antidote,” she whispered. “I guess, as the New Peacekeepers, we will be handling this ourselves.”
Jessica was right. At the very least, the antidote was finished; we just needed to test it and get it ready before another rogue outbreak began. Not only that, but we needed to get the Alpha King’s help as well.
When the assembly ended, my friends and I began walking back to our dorm. I didn’t see Enzo or Selena anywhere at the assembly or on the way home, which was a bit concerning and made me wonder if they had decided to return to the werewolf realm after all.
My anxiety kept me glued to my window for the remainder of the evening. I kept my eyes glued to the parking lot in fear of them truly being gone… But finally, long after the sun had gone down, I heard the distant rumbling of a motorcycle through my open window. I bolted up from my desk and ran over to look out, a sense of relief washing over me as I saw the two of them pulling into a spot. Selena hopped off of the motorcycle and pulled her helmet off. Enzo got off behind her and followed her to his dorm.
Even though he looked nothing like himself, I knew that Enzo was in there. I could see it in the way he walked, the way that he fluidly kicked out his kickstand on his bike and tucked his helmet under his arm. Enzo was here; I was sure of it. I just had to coax him. out.
Selena. thankfully. didn’t see me as I continued to stare through the window, unable to tear my eyes away from Enzo. I didn’t want to look away for even one second, because the longer I looked at him, the more I could see his true appearance… And part of me wanted to burn his image into my mind out of the fear of the two of them leaving in the morning. If I never saw him again in the flesh, then I wanted to at least be able to see him when I closed my eyes; that was all I could hope for at this point.,
I watched, blinking back tears, as the two of them walked up to Enzo’s dorm building. Selena swung the door open and strutted in; Enzo went to follow her, but just before he disappeared inside, he stopped in the doorway with his hand on the door and froze.
I felt my heart catch in my throat as he slowly looked over his shoulder… And his eyes locked with mine.
Even from this distance, I knew that he saw me. And his gaze was so, so sad.
Enzo was in there somewhere, begging to be let out. I just needed to free him.
