Between Two Worlds

Chapter 15 Unexpected

Neve

The last three weeks have crawled by. I have not heard a peep from Jake since he left. At first, my wolf pined for him, and I was a weakling sending him a few casual snapchats. They were all left unread. Now both my wolf and I were just plain pissed off at Jake completely ghosting us. He was a class A douchebag!

Anita wasn’t doing much better than me. She was completely lost without Samuel by her side. At least Samuel kept in constant contact with her. He wasn’t a complete asshat like his alpha.

In a desperate attempt to keep myself busy I have thrown myself into researching my parents with mixed results. I discovered that the glowing crystal I keep seeing in my dreams is a real object called The Cristallo. It is located in the Winter Realm and is believed to be a magical object that mysteriously amplified fae magic. This was very exciting to me as it confirmed two things: 1) My father was indeed a fairy and 2) they were definitely in the Winter Realm.

This breakthrough would have been something to celebrate and help me further with my research except for a suspicious roadblock. Every single book in the Academy’s library that contained information that could possibly help me find answers mysteriously had those pages ripped out. I could not find any information that identified the fae royal family, the significant packs in the Winter Realm, and even just information on the fae in general. It was all gone! Someone was definitely trying to cover something up. But who would do that? And why?

Anita, Fleur and I were sprawled out on our towels, sunbathing after having a swim in the ocean. It was a scorching hot day and the water had been divine. Despite the amazing weather, and being with my two favourite people in the entire world, I couldn’t shake this melancholic feeling.

Anita lets out a sigh of longing as she read a text from Samuel.

“That’s it!” cries Fleur in frustration. “You both are driving me insane with your pathetic sad-sack routines. We have to do something FUN! We just graduated, we should be enjoying ourselves before university starts.”

Fleur looks at Anita and me expectantly, but neither of us is particularly inspired by her pep talk.

“argh!” She growls at us. “Come on, guys! Neve, it is your birthday in two days. We need to do something to mark this occasion.”

“I don’t know, Fleur,” I respond wearily. “I am not in the mood to celebrate.”

“Nope, I refuse to accept that,” she sits up crossing her hands across her chest. “I am going to plan the day for us, and you have no choice but to have fun… both of you!” She eyes Anita and I one after the other, daring us to try and argue with her.

***

Neve

I was rudely awoken at 8 am by Fleur jumping onto my bed.

“Happy birthday eve, Neve!” she rhymed in a singsong voice.

“No,” I groan. “Five more minutes!” I look at her pleadingly.

“Nup!” she declares with a devilish grin, jumping off the bed and stripping the covers off me.

I groan, flopping around on my bed like a fish out of water in frustration.

Anita, who is leaning on my door frame, chuckles. “It is pointless trying to protest. She won't take no for an answer.”

“Fine,” I grumble, staggering to my bathroom with my eyes still fused shut with sleep.

Forty-five minutes later, I had chosen an emerald green maxi skirt with white oriental lilies printed all over it and a white linen knotted crop shirt. I walked into the kitchen to see Fleur, Anita and my aunt sitting around the kitchen bench drinking coffee.

“There’s the birthday girl!” Beams my Aunt Angie. “Good morning, sweetie.”

“Morning Aunt Angie,” I replied sitting down and helping myself to the coffee pot.

Fleur was beaming from ear to ear.

“What is the plan for today Fleur?”

“It’s a surprise,” she responded, wagging her eyebrows up and down, trying to appear mysterious. I roll my eyes at her as she laughs at my lack of enthusiasm. “Before we get going though, here!”

She presented me with an envelope. I went to open it but she shrieked ”Stop!” so loudly that we all jumped. “Sorry,” she apologised quickly. “Don’t open this until your actual birthday, ok?”

I nodded. “I’ll just go pop this into my room.”

“Don’t open it!” Fleur called out after me.

“I won't, I promise.”

As I came downstairs, Fleur and Anita were standing at the front door putting on their shoes.

“Come on slowpoke, it is time to go.”

*

I have to admit, even though I did not want to do anything, the day had been really great. Fleur had driven us to the nearby human town, Belford. We had brunch in a cute little French café before Fleur bustled us off to a luxurious day spa where we had mani-pedis and facials. It was truly divine. I was a little concerned about how we were going to pay for all this pampering, but Fleur brushed me off informing me that Aunt Angie and Uncle Jonty were footing the bill as my birthday treat. How sweet was that?

Next up we went shopping in a little clothing boutique. There were so many gorgeous outfits, but I showed restraint and just bought myself a cute white sundress and gold gladiator sandals.

“So what now?” I asked Fleur as we stepped out of the boutique.

“Well, we have time for some lunch before our hair appointment?” she suggested.

“Nooooo!” Anita clutched her stomach. “I am still full from brunch!”

“That’s what happens when you eat your meal and finish off everyone else's,” Fleur taunts her.

“I’m pretty full, too,” I admit.

“How about I call the salon to see if they can fit us in earlier?” Fleur asks, pulling out her phone. Thankfully the salon agreed, and we headed off down the main street, our arms linked.

It was about 4 pm by the time we were finished in the hair salon.

“This was a really great day,” I sighed. “Thank you, Fleur.”

“yes, it was exactly what I needed to take my mind off Samuel,” Anita agreed.

“The day is not over yet,” grinned Fleur.

“What now?” I asked eagerly, I couldn’t hide my excitement. The day was so much better than I was expecting that now I didn’t want it to end. I hadn’t thought about Jake or my dead-end research all day, although now I had thought of Jake my wolf let out a lonely whimper. I ignored her, I did not want to fall down that rabbit hole with her

“Don’t get too excited,” laughed Fleur. “Angie and Jonty have organised an outdoor slumber party at your place with popcorn, ice-cream sundaes and our favourite films on a big screen.”

“That sounds absolutely perfect!” I replied.

***

Neve

I woke up with a start, not sure where I was. I looked around me and realised the girls and I had fallen asleep in the backyard watching films. Aunt Angie or Uncle Jonty must have covered us up with blankets. I quietly hunted through our makeshift pillow fort trying to locate my phone. It was nearly midnight, almost time for my first shift! I carefully extricated myself from the mass of pillows, and slowly headed towards the rainforest. It was common for wolves in the Sangue Luna Pack to experience their first shift in the sand dunes, but for some reason, I felt the urge to be amongst the trees. Moving further into the rainforest I felt a sense of calmness overcome me. My wolf senses were heightened- I could hear the insects calling to one another, and in the distance, I could hear the trickle of the estuary leading to the beach. It was nice being amongst the trees, I was a little nervous about my first shift as I knew the first is always meant to be the most painful.

I started to feel a tingling sensation all over my body and a rush of energy and power-filled me as my wolf came forward and took charge. I felt my bones start to c***k painfully, I closed my eyes and let my wolf take full control, hoping the pain would be over swiftly. Moments later, I realised it was over. Huh, that was quicker than I expected. I started to run through the rainforest weaving between the trees effortlessly, leaping over fallen logs. The air was damp and warm, but with a sweetness to it, the slight breeze tickled as it moved my fur.

As I leapt from the top of a small rock ledge, I noticed my paws for the first time. They were white. That cannot be right, the fur of your werewolf reflected that of your human form’s hair. I ran in the direction of the estuary I heard earlier, I needed to see my wolf. I padded slowly to the edge of the water and hesitantly leaned over to see my reflection. I gasped and my wolf shook her mane before peering into the water again- instead of a brown-haired wolf peering back at me, there was a white-furred majestic wolf returning my gaze. I was mesmerised by her beauty, curious as to how such a wolf resided within me. My wolf purred in satisfaction at being adored, when suddenly her hazel eyes began to glow purple.