Chapter 84: The Spy
Nina
The party went even better than I expected. As it turned out, Jason and his team had a lot of the same interests as Enzo and his team, and a bit of friendly competition started between the two groups of boys. Eventually, the dinner ended and the drinking games started. Several heated rounds of beer pong eventually turned into horseshoes outside, followed by charades in the living room, and various other games.
By the end of the night, everyone had a blast and my party was a success. Jason and his team took up residence on the couches and the floor of the living room while Enzo’s team eventually retired to their rooms, but I felt too energized to sleep just yet
It seemed that Enzo felt the same way, because when I walked out onto the upper balcony, I saw him sitting by the lake by himself under the moonlight with a glowing joint in his hand. He must have felt me looking, because he looked up suddenly and gestured for me to come.
I hesitated for a moment, biting my lip as I considered staying in my room or going out to see him, but the alcohol in my body made me feel brave. I grabbed my sweater and slipped my shoes back on before quietly heading down the stairs that were attached to the back of the lodge, the ones that connected the upper balcony to the ground. It was chilly out, but the breeze felt nice on my skin, and the alcohol that was still in my system made me feel warmer.
“That was quite the party,” Enzo said, holding the lit joint out for me as I approached. “I can’t believe we just had a party with a member of the Crescents. Did you mean for that to happen?”
I shook my head and took the joint, taking a long drag and holding it for a few seconds before letting it out again, watching as the fragrant smoke rose into the air “Not really. I just wanted to help them.”
“Well, either way, I think we may have made an unlikely friend,” Enzo replied. “This could come in useful if the Crescents ever decide to break their promise to solve issues peacefully.”
I thought back to the shifter we saw in the road, the one that had obviously been stalking us since we got here, and wondered if it really was a Crescent. If it was, did that mean anything truly sinister? Or was it just keeping an eye on us? What if the Crescents were just as wary of the Fullmoons as the Fullmoons were of them?
I sat beside Enzo, staring out over the edge of the lake. The water looked pitch black aside from the bright reflection of the moon on its surface way out in the center, illuminating the gentle ripples that spiraled outward from the soft breeze. The sound of the crickets combined with the sound of the trees rustling made for a soothing atmosphere, a nice change from all of the noise of the party earlier.
“I have an idea,” Enzo suddenly said, standing. I watched in shock as he pulled his shirt off, then kicked off his shoes and unbuttoned his pants. “What are you doing?” I asked, stifling laughter and averting my eyes. “You never told me that a little weed turns you into a stripper.”
“Oh, hush” he said, turning to face me. His muscles appeared even more chiseled in the moonlight “You’ve seen it all before.” His words made me blush.
“Well, yeah, but isn’t it a little cold?” I asked, taking another drag of the joint Without answering, Enzo merely grinned and jumped into the water with a splash. I jumped up from the rock where I sat and stood on the shore, staring at the spot where he jumped in with wide eyes as he stayed under for several long moments, so long, in fact, that I started to get a little worried.
“Enzo?” I said shakily as I stepped closer to the edge. Had he hurt himself under the water? I imagined his foot getting tangled in the reeds below the surface, keeping him from coming up for air, and I started to panic.
Suddenly, just as I was ripping off my jacket and kicking off my shoes with the intent to dive in after him, he burst out of the water with a gasp and, with a mischievous grin, grabbed me and pulled me into the water.
“Hey!” I shouted as I came back up for air, sputtering. “You asshole! I was worried about you! You’re lucky I didn’t have my phone in my pocket.”
As retaliation, I splashed Enzo in the face as hard as I could, watching with satisfaction as he sputtered and pushed his soaked hair out of his eyes.
“Worth it,” he said, grinning and swimming away from me. I couldn’t help but laugh, but it was still cold, so I clawed my way out of the pond. I stared down at myself as my clothes dripped onto the ground, then decided that splashing him wasn’t enough so I walked over to the pile of his clothes and held them over the water.
“No, I’m sorry!” Enzo said, trying to desperately grab the clothes out of my hand as I yanked them out of his reach. “Please, those are my only clothes to get home tomorrow!”
An evil grin took over my face as I held the clothes over the water, tempted to let Enzo feel the pain of having his own clothes soaked with cold lake water.
All of a sudden, the sound of a twig snapping underfoot alerted us. We jerked our heads up. I spin around, expecting that one of the guys from either hockey team was coming to see what we were doing, but as Enzo jumped up in front of me and began to snarl, I knew it was something else.
I felt a knot form in my throat, my heart pounding as I saw what Enzo was looking at. Yellow eyes were staring at us from the shadows. A massive brown paw stepped out from between the trees, followed by a head and a body…
It was the shifter that had been stalking us! Suddenly, and without warning, the shifter leaped forward but it wasn’t headed for Enzo. It was headed for me. It somehow dodged Enzo and leaped onto me, throwing me to the ground with so much force that the wind got knocked out of me. I gasped for air and groaned, struggling to breathe as I pushed against it with all my might, its sharp teeth gnashing for my throat.
It was going to kill me before Enzo could shift. A tear escaped my eye and rolled down my cheek as I struggled against the wolf, its jaws getting closer to my neck…
But then, it was no longer a wolf. Just as suddenly as it leaped out of the woods with the intent to murder me, it became human again beneath my touch … Just as it had with Justin on the night that we discovered that he was a rogue. This wolf wasn’t just a rogue, though.
It was a fully-fledged werewolf, albeit smaller and not as strong as Kor Ronan. It couldn’t be Justin, then. As it shifted back to its human form, I immediately recognized the familiar head of blonde hair. It was Lisa.
