Leon approaches swiftly, and Nina, catching sight of him, stands up and rushes into his arms.
'Dad!' she exclaims, and he enfolds her in a protective embrace. 'My baby girl, I was so worried,' he murmurs.
Nina gazes at May, examining the whiplash on Gianna's back. Disentangling herself from Leon, Nina addresses her. We can sense the mixture of emotions between them.
'May,' Nina says, their gazes meeting in an emotional silence.
They suddenly embrace for the first time since they were small children.
‘I thought you hated me?’ May says.
'Although you've been a horrible sister to me all my life, I'm glad you're here,' Nina responds with a smile, bridging the gap between them. She then turns her attention to Gianna, studying the wounds on her back.
'I can feel it's already healing,' Gianna says reassuringly, grateful her werewolf healing has kicked in.
'Thankfully,' Nina sighs in relief. 'I'm so sorry; it was my fault you had to go through that,' Nina says, her voice regretful.
'No, it wasn't your fault,' Gianna insists, turning to face Nina and enveloping her tightly.
‘Are you okay?’ I ask Gianna.
'I will be now that Moss and his rogues are dead,' she replies, forcing a brave smile.
Curious about her past, I question, 'How long have you been captive here?'
'Over a year... I think so, anyway. The rogues would never tell me what day or month it was,' she reveals.
'What pack did they take you from?' I probe further.
'I was never in a pack. I lived in an orphanage, and they kicked me out once I turned sixteen. I spent two years living on the streets until a man approached me one night, sniffing the air. He smiled, said, 'Wolf,' and took me away to join them. He promised I'd be looked after and be part of their pack, but when I arrived here, I knew it was a group of rogues. I tried to escape many times. I didn't want to be there. I was better off on the streets than here. They forced me to be a chosen mate for one of the rogues,' she recounts, revealing her troubled past.
Empathy wells up within me as I lock eyes with Gianna, contemplating the harsh life she's endured.
'Gianna, we would love you to join our pack, a real pack where you'll have freedom and friendships,' I offer.
'You would want me to come with you?' she asks in surprise.
'Yes, we would,' I affirm
Nina looks at Gianna, nodding with a warm smile.
Encouraged, Gianna nods in return. 'If it's not too much trouble, I would love to come with you all,' she says, gratitude shining as she accepts the offer of joining a genuine pack.
‘Well, Gianna,’ May smiles, ‘we must introduce ourselves. I’m Nina’s younger sister, May, and this is our father, Leon, and our future Alpha, Magnus.’
‘I’m so happy to meet you all,’ Gianna smiles, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.
Nina jolts, her gaze fixed on May, her expression perplexed, as if she is just remembering something. ‘Um, May, how did you summon a storm, fireballs, and fog?’ Nina asks her, confused.
May grins. ‘Well, you see, we came across a witch who led us here. She gave Magnus and me a stick, making it light up like a torch. When we were in trouble, the wand illuminated more, and I had the sudden urge to say a spell out loud from the book of spells and hexes Magnus showed us. Then I realized they weren’t just sticks but wands. So, I shouted a spell, and it worked,’ May cheerfully explains.
‘But only witches can use wands, so how is this possible?’ Leon asks, his brow furrowed in puzzlement.
I take the wand from my pocket, twirl it around, and point at a shrub. ‘Inferno Flamo,’ I say, and we watch as absolutely nothing happens.
I pass the wand to Gianna. ‘Inferno Flamo?’ she says, more as a question, but again, nothing happens.
‘Why does it only work for May?’ I ask with a perplexed frown.
‘Let me try,’ Nina says curiously. She takes the wand from Gianna. ‘Inferno Flamo,’ she says, and a gigantic ball of flame appears, flying fiercely through the air over a mountain. We hear the impact in the distance, causing a plume of smoke to rise in the sky.
Everyone is frozen in place, stunned, as we all turn to stare at Nina.
‘Umm, oops, a daisy?’ she cringes, a sheepish smile on her face.
‘Oops, a daisy?’ May says incredulously. ‘You just summoned a ball of flame the size of a house and made it fly a kilometre away! And all you can say is, Oops, a daisy?’
‘Well, gee, May, ever think I might be just as shocked as you all are with what I did? What do you expect me to say?’ Nina argues, her eyes wide with surprise as she glances back at the tower of smoke.
‘I just want to know why you girls can use wands. This is not normal for a wolf to wield magic,’ Leon says with concern.
‘Maybe it’s just temporary?’ I suggest, uncertain about the inexplicable magic.
Leon gives us all a stern and serious look. ‘It will take us days to get back to Shadow Crest. This is very dangerous. We mustn’t mention this magic to anyone in the pack other than Alpha Ryker and our Luna, Astrid. Got it?’ he says, instilling the seriousness of the situation into us.
We all nod in agreement, understanding the importance of secrecy, and enter the cave to leave, our minds buzzing with questions and uncertainty about the magical abilities.
‘Keep to the right,’ I instruct everyone as we reach the point where two separate tunnels branch off. Nina and May flick the ends of their wands, creating a blue flame. Our shadows flicker along the cave walls.
After an hour of navigating the labyrinth of tunnels, we finally emerge into the moonlit woods from the exit. The wands continue to illuminate the path ahead.
Nina and May yawn.
‘Let’s make a fire and sleep here for the rest of the night. We are all exhausted,’ Leon suggests.
The girls sit next to Leon, and I gather sticks, carefully bundling them together. I arrange the bundle intricately on the ground, ready to set them ablaze.
‘Inferno Flamo,’ Nina exclaims, pointing her wand at the sticks.
A flame the size of my hand shoots from the wand, igniting the sticks instantly.
Leon and I exchange a perplexed look, unsure of how to process the new magical abilities displayed by his daughters.
I sit beside Nina before the fire as she warms her hands, her head leaning on my shoulder. I feel her shivering from the cold, and I drape my arm over her shoulder, offering her the warmth of my body.
Once we've all warmed up, we find spots on the ground and sleep. As I wake, I sense something warm covering me. Opening my eyes, I see Nina asleep with her hand and head on my chest. My hand caresses the skin along her arm until she stirs. Her eyes flutter open, and we exchange smiles as we sit up.
‘We better wake the others so we can get moving,’ I suggest.
Nina nods and rouses Gianna and May while I wake Leon.
‘I’m so thirsty,’ Gianna groans, stretching her arms out.
‘We have bottles of water and snacks in the car. You're welcome to help yourself too,’ I tell her.
‘How far away is the car?’ she asks.
‘About an hour’s walk,’ I reply.
‘Okay,’ she smiles, and we prepare to resume our journey.