Chapter 179: Through the Fog
Enzo
I knew I shouldn’t have hidden so close to Selena. She saw me instantly when she walked out of the witch’s hut, and her eyes fixed on me in the darkness like a hawk.
“Enzo?” she called out, frowning. “Is that you?”
There was no way that I could have gotten away at that point; even if I did get away, she would have only strengthened her security around my father assuming he was still alive – and I would never be able to find him if I didn’t play into her little game. So, with a quiet sigh, I stood and came out from behind the bushes.
“Hello, Selena,” I said. “Didn’t think you’d see me again, huh?”
Selena’s eyes were wide, but a smile spread across her face in an almost childlike way. “You came back for me?” she asked, twirling a bit of hair around her finger. From behind her, the witch peered out of her hut at me with a confused expression on her face. I made sure to burn her face into my memory so I could find her later when I needed her to lift Nina’s curse.
“Of course I did,” I said. “I made a promise, didn’t I?” “I… I thought you left to go be with her,” she replied, her voice low and almost bitter. “I was so mad at you.”
Of course I left Selena to be with Nina. I would never want to be with Selena; she was batshit crazy. But I couldn’t let her know that. I needed her to think that I was madly in love with her so that I could find my father and tell the Alpha King about Nina.
“Selena,” I lied, walking up to her and cupping her cheek with my hand, “I love you. Didn’t I tell you that already? I only left because I was worried about my friends.”
Selena shut her eyes for a moment and leaned her cheek into my hand with a sigh. “Oh, Enzo…” she said in a sing- song voice. “I’m so glad you came back. We can get married now… But my daddy…”
“What about him?” I asked, prying for more information.
“Well… He’s very mad at you. He thinks that you ran away from me because you didn’t want to get married to me.”
“Maybe I can talk to him, then,” I said, wrapping my arm around Selena’s waist and pulling her closer, resisting her scent. “Can you bring me to him?”
Selena nodded vehemently. “Of course I can bring you to him. He’ll be so happy! Come on- let’s go. But first…” She paused, biting her lower lip.as she looked up at me. I knew what she wanted from me. She wanted proof that I “loved” her. Proof that I really came back for her and for no other reason.
I had no choice.
I kissed her.
Only for a moment. It was a brief, deep kiss. She tried to lean in further, but I pulled away and shook my head, silently reminding her about what I had said before the last time she tried to seduce me: that I was waiting for marriage. After I kissed her, a slow smile spread across Selena’s lips. But there was something else behind it: something cunning. Somehow, I knew that I had to tread carefully around this princess.
When we returned to the mansion, Selena, much to my surprise, marched confidently up to the front gates.
“P-Princess?” the surprised guard said. “Is that you? How did you get out here so late?”
“I was only going for a walk,” Selena lied, holding my hand. “Didn’t you see me walk past you earlier? I even said hello!” The guard furrowed his brow. I could. tell from the slight swirling in his pupils that Selena was dazing him, and it worked. Without another word, the guard nodded and opened the gate, letting us in without so much as questioning why I was there. The more time I spent with Selena, the more I came to realize that she had quite a few abilities, and all of them were strong. She dazed that guard like it was nothing. I would have to keep my wits about me.
We walked right in through the front doors. The inside of the mansion was comfortably warm after being out in the cold all night, I had to admit. A servant came and took my jacket and Selena’s cloak, and then Selena led me down a hallway that was lined with shining suits of armor like something out of a fairy tale. At the end of the hallway, she pushed a set of doors open
And a weight lifted off of my shoulders as I saw not only the Alpha King sitting by the fireplace, but someone else.
My father.
“Selena, what are you doing up so-” the Alpha King began, but his voice faltered when he saw me and his eyes widened. “Enzo?”
My father looked up then from his book, his own eyes widening. Without a word, he dropped his book and stood. I stormed over to him and pulled him in for a hug.
“Son, I was so worried about you,” he said, pulling away and holding me by both arms. “Where have you been?”
I furrowed my brow. “Dad- Don’t you
Suddenly, Selena cleared her throat. No more words would come out of my mouth; no matter how hard I tried to get the words out, to ask my father why he seemed so confused, nothing could come.
“You must be tired,” my father said, patting me firmly on the shoulder with a clueless smile.
“Daddy, Enzo decided that he does want to marry me,” Selena said. I looked over to see her grinning at me with that same cunningness from before, but still nothing would come out of my mouth. She must have used some sort of spell on me to keep me from speaking, or at least from saying anything about Nina or the school. What was going on here?
“Well, I’m glad to hear it,” the Alpha King said, folding his arms across his chest and looking me up and down before looking at Selena. “Do you trust him, dear?”
Selena nodded excitedly. “Yes, Daddy, She Salu. I KITOW Tre wOTT
leave again.”
The Alpha King smiled warmly. For a King, he almost seemed like a fool, being wrapped around his daughter’s finger like that. “Well, then I’ll allow it,” he said. “Tomorrow morning, let’s all gather for breakfast so we can discuss what’s next. Right, Enzo?”
Suddenly, I felt my throat open again – but I knew better than to say anything out of turn, because Selena would surely only hex me again to keep me from talking.
“Say yes, sir,” my father whispered, patting me on the shoulder again. “Uh… Yes, sir,” I said, bowing slightly to the King as my mind raced.
“Good.” The Alpha King nodded. “Now
… Off to bed, with both of you.”
Before I could say another word, Selena suddenly grabbed my hand and whisked me away. I was too dazed to resist, my mind filled with a million questions. Why was he so clueless? What was she doing to him? What was she going to do to me? Was she controlling the Alpha King, too? And, even more importantly, what would she do to Nina if I returned to Mountainview?
But none of those questions would be answered…
Because as soon as we were alone and out of sight, Selena suddenly whirled around to face me with that cunning look on her face. With a grin, she reached up and touched my with her thumb. Everything went foggy, and then black.
