The Wolf

Ch. 46: The Traitor

~Nico~

Almost two years later

"You never listen, do you?" Uncle Joe seethes. His fingers are tangled in my black hair as he pulls me toward the back door.

"I-I'm sorry, I won't do it again!" I plead.

He pulls the door open with one hand, the other knotted against my head. "No, no more of your magic and monster bullshit. I've had enough. You can spend the night outside and repent for what you've done."

I fly into the snow piled up on the ground. The shadows reflected on the snow are a navy blue that licks at the sliver of golden light escaping from the house. The door slams shut behind me. I pull myself off the ground and growl low. Even after a year of being back, the treatment is no different.

I didn't even do anything wrong. All I did was read the magic tome that I received from Luca before I discovered that he was a traitor. But Uncle Joe hates anything to do with the supernatural, even seeing the book was enough to set him off again. I wipe away the blood at the corner of my mouth.

I walk around to the front of the house and down the street towards town. I've finally graduated from high school this year and got a small job at a book store, but besides that, it's been pretty uneventful-- If you call a summer full of summer school and delusions uneventful.

"So, where are we going tonight?" A voice questions besides me.

My jaw clenches up at the sound of her voice. She's not real Nico, don't get all worked up. It's impossible for her to be here and in Alex's body. I glare at the beautiful girl dressed in a black dress. My hallucinations haven't stopped yet, but I've managed to compress them into one thing. That thing being my own personal Nyx. Lucky me.

"Who knows," I say through gritted teeth, shrugging my shoulders.

Snow drifts down from the clouds above without a sound. I'm wearing a thin hoodie and skinny jeans with a pair of converse to cover my feet. It's not like I'll get cold, but I will feel the dampness from the snow.

The streets are devoid of people. The occasional car will pass by, but besides that, I'm left alone in the solitary snowy world. The street lights provide me with enough light to guide my way along with the help of my enhanced vision from being a werewolf.

"Oh, that's the park that you and Kat used to hang out at, right?" Nyx runs ahead and peers into the dark little lot.

"Yep. That was a long time ago." I stand at the entrance of the park and look in at the swings covered in snow. "We used to sit here and chat for hours because neither of us wanted to go home." I dust the thick layer of white powder covering the seat and sit down wearily.

"It's too bad we could never hang out here," Alex says.

I look up at him. My throat clenches shut as our eyes meet. I know he's not real. I know he's just a figment of my imagination. But he looks just like the last time I saw him. I wish it was really him. I avoid looking at him and start swinging back and forth slowly.

Alex steps closer. I swear I could almost hear the sound of his footsteps crunching in the snow. "You're just going to ignore me, huh? That's pretty cold."

I take a shaky breath and pump my legs faster. Please go away. Please. I reach high into the air and let go of the chains, jumping from the small seat and landing on my back in the snow. All the oxygen in my lungs is chased away by the impact. I lay there dazed, staring up into the shifting, cloudy night while snowflakes land on my face.