Chapter 373
Nina
Enzo jabbed the needle into Selena's thigh and pushed the plunger down, injecting her with the bright blue serum. There was a brief moment of realization before the agony began.
Selena started to scream in agony, and so clid I. It felt as though my entire body was being burned from the inside. Surely, within a few moments I would be dead from the pain. The two of us writhed on the floor, until I eventually felt Enzo's arms wrap around me and he pulled me up into his lap.
It felt like an eternity, but the pain eventually stopped. Selena almost instantly scrambled to her feet, ranting and raving about how Enzo's poison didn't work on her.
But I knew that it did.
"You okay?" Enzo's voice echoed in my head. I nodded slowly and subtly; I didn't feel any different. I could still feel a flicker of my wolf inside of me. If I still had my wolf, then did Selena still have hers?
She raised her hand, tears streaming down her cheeks, and tried to cast a spell on us. But it didn't work. No matter how hard she tried, it didn't work.
*W-What did you do to me?!" she screamed, trying over and over again to cast the spell. "What did you do?!"
Enzo let out a low chuckle. At the same time, I felt the weight on my body lift; whatever spell Selena had been using before to keep us pinned to the floor dissipated now that she didn't have her powers, and Enzo stood and helped me up along with him.
*Feel any different?" Enzo asked Selena.
Selena began to scream even louder. She instantly fell to the ground and began pounding her fists and kicking her legs, almost like a child throwing a tantrum. "Where's my wolf?!" she shrieked, her voice shrill and grating." What did you do?!"
Enzo turned to look at me, and I nodded. Selena was human; there was no doubt about it. Somehow, the antidote was capable of curing regular werewolves, not just rogues. I was impressed and shocked by Enzo's quick thinking. I never would have considered using the antidote against Selena; I always thought that it was just useful against rogues. When we infused the sprinklers with the antidote, it didn't turn Enzo into a human, but I realized now that it must have needed to be injected - and probably with a higher dose-to work on full-blown werewolves.
Suddenly, Enzo grabbed me around the waist, pulling me close, and kissed me deeply. Selena's screams faded away, and as we kissed I felt the taste of salty tears on my tongue. I was crying, not from sadness, but from happiness.
*See?" Enzo said when we pulled away. "I told you to trust me."
I stifled a laugh. "You're always right."
Thanks to Enzo's quick thinking, we had stopped Selena without anyone having to die. And maybe someday, if she ever changed for the better, I could turn her back into a werewolf with my Claiming ability. But for now, we needed to take her to my father.
"Let's take her to the Alpha King," I said over Selena's screams and cries. "He'll know what to do with her."
Enzo scooped Selena up off of the ground, kicking and screaming, and slung her over his shoulder like a sack of flour. He then marched over to the banquet hall doors and flung them open.
In the entryway, quite a few dazed guards stood around looking utterly confused. They all watched in awe as Enzo marched past them with Selena over his shoulder.
"P-Princess?" one of the guards said. But he wasn't looking at Selena; he was looking at me.
"Where is my father?" I asked. The guard pointed to a heavy set of wooden doors, and Enzo and I walked over to them.
"Help me!" Selena screamed at the guards. "I command it! I'm the real princess!"
But the guards didn't do anything; maybe they were too confused from being dazed earlier, or maybe they didn't recognize Selena now that she was a human. Either way, it didn't matter, because Enzo flung the doors open with his free hand and we marched inside to see my father, the Alpha King, sitting on his throne.
The throne room was lit by an elaborate chandelier that hung from the ceiling, as well as candles lining the carpet that led up to the throne. The Alpha King had his head in his hand, and looked up and gave both of us a confused look as we approached. Enzo marched up to him with me in tow and threw the screaming and crying Selena down at his feet.
Without a word, the Alpha King slowly looked down at Selena. He then looked back up at Enzo and I, and his eyes lingered on me for several long moments. It was now that I realized something: he didn't look well.
In the candlelight, I could see dark circles under his eyes. His face was pale and gaunt, and as he looked at me, I realized that his eyes were cloudy and void of emotion. He didn't say a word.
"D-Dad?" I whispered, stepping forward. Selena was still curled up on the floor, mumbling to herself about being human. I stepped over her and approached my father, then kneeled at his feet. "It's me, dad. Your missing daughter. Nina.*
My father just stared back at me. I waited for a long time, but he said nothing, and only blinked stupidly at me. Finally, I glanced over my shoulder at Enzo, who looked just as perplexed.
*Sir," Enzo said, "don't you recognize your missing daughter? The lost twin?"
But the Alpha King said nothing. I stood slowly as I realized that something was wrong here; Selena was a human now. Her powers were gone, and therefore the spell that she put on the Alpha King should have dissipated by now. Was it simply taking a while to wear off? Surely my father would recognize me at any moment...
And yet, he only continued to stare.
I started to get a bad feeling about all of this. I backed away to stand with Enzo, who wrapped his arm tightly around me.
*Maybe we should leave," he whispered, making my heart sink. I didn't want to leave. I thought that I would come in here and be reunited with my father, but he was only staring silently, unblinkingly, like a zombie.
Suddenly, Selena began to sit up. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand pathetically. "M-Mother?" she whimpered.
I looked up at Enzo. Mother? Our mother was dead. Unless...
Enzo and I seemed to come to that realization at the same time. The Luna. Frank had talked about her earlier, about how things had gotten bad since she married my father. What if she was behind all of this, and Selena wasn't working alone?This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.
And then, all of a sudden, a white shoe stepped out from behind the large throne. A white dress followed, and out stepped a pale woman with equally white hair and bright red eyes, like an albino. She stood in front of us with a smirk on her face; she was stunningly beautiful and ethereal, and yet somehow terrifying at the same time.
*Hello, Nina," she said.