?


    Practice was just about finishing up, and the hockey team was running through one final mock scrimmage before I let them go for the day.


    I was leaning against the pir next to the rink, wearing my in clothes today, I didn''t want to be on the ice today in case there was an emergency call from Nina, which Tim understood.


    But right now, instead of coaching, I was zoning out. My hand kept drifting to my phone to check on a call from Nina, but there was none. She should havended by now, it was only a few hours by ne back to Mountainview. In fact, she should have been in the supernatural realm by now.


    I figured, though, that maybe she was just caught up with family. She was going to stay with her parents and brother, after all; maybe they were in a frenzy because she told them about the fortune teller, or maybe they were just sharing a family meal and she hadn''t had a chance to look at her phone yet.


    However, it didn''t fully ease the anxiety inside of me. My wife was in another realm entirely, literally worlds away from me, and I hadn''t heard from her. For all I knew, something horrible was going down right now, and I had no way of knowing unless she called me.


    Just as I was about to give in and call her, M suddenly appeared out of nowhere. She had a determined look in her eyes, her dark hair pulled back into a tight bun.


    "Enzo, there you are," she said, her voice urgent. "Do you have a moment? I could really use your help with something.


    I pocketed my phone, temporarily setting aside my worries about Nina. "Sure, M. What do you need?" M motioned toward a nearby room filled with heavy medical equipment. "I''m preparing for the uing physical exams, and I need to move some of this equipment around. It''s too heavy for me to handle on my own."


    I took a nce back at the hockey team, who were still engaged in their scrimmage. "I don''t know if I should just walk away," I said, gesturing over my shoulder toward them with my thumb. "Practice isn''t over for another twenty minutes."


    "Please?" M asked, almost begging. "It won''t take long. I promise. Ten minutes, max."


    I sighed, but obliged. The team could handle themselves for ten minutes.


    I followed M into the room, and she flicked on the light. "Here it is," M said, pointing to the mess of new equipment, some of it in boxes. "I just need to get everything arranged for the exams."


    "Alright," I said, pushing up my sleeves. "Not a problem."


    Without hesitation, I began to move the medical equipment per M''s orders. I spent the next ten minutes opening boxes, pushingrge pieces of equipment around, and plugging things in.


    Just as I thought I was finishing up, though, it seemed like M had more ns for me. "Can I ask you for another favor?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.


    I opened my mouth, about to say that I needed to get back to the team, but closed it again. M''s eyes were pleading, her hands sped in front of her, and who was I to refuse? She clearly needed my help, and even though it went beyond my job description, I wanted to help.


    "What is it?" I asked.


    She grinned, looking satisfied, then gestured to the new treadmill that I had just put into ce. "Do you think you could run on the treadmill for, say, five minutes? I need to calibrate the machine, and it would be good practice if I could test your abilities."


    I wiped sweat from my brow, my mind still preupied with thoughts of Nina. "Oh, um... M, I''m waiting on a


    call from someone. I''m not sure if


    "Just five minutes," M interrupted, holding up one hand to indicate the time. "Pretty please? It would mean a lot."


    Reluctantly, I agreed, setting aside my phone and following M to the treadmill. I stepped onto the machine, feeling a pang of guilt for not being avable if Nina might need me.


    M adjusted the settings and started the treadmill. "Just go as fast as you can for five minutes," she instructed.


    I began to run. In a way, it was helpful for clearing my head. I cranked the speed up on the treadmill and began to sprint, not even breaking a sweat. Back at home, I could run far faster and further than this; but today, I didn''t bother putting in one hundred percent. Maybe eighty percent at the most.


    After a few minutes, M motioned for me to stop, a confused look in her eyes. I reduced the speed, then hopped off the machine as it came to a stop. "Good?" I asked.


    She scoffed. "Good? Enzo, you''re like a running machine."


    Iughed and feigned being out of breath, not wanting to give her cause for concern, seeing as how I was very much distinctly not human. "Well, it''s a bit different when it''s only five minutes," I said.


    I was just about to walk past her, however, when she stopped me again-this time with her hand on my arm." Wait, just one more thing," she said. "I need to test your heart rate after you run. Can you take your shirt off?"


    I hesitated, feeling a twinge of difort. "My shirt? Is that necessary?"


    But M''s tone was reassuring. "It''s all standard procedure, Enzo, and it won''t take long. Just a quick test."


    I sighed, deciding to go along with it to get the whole thing over with. I removed my shirt and handed it to M, who took it with a professional demeanor.


    As she attached the medical device to my chest and her hands touched my skin, I couldn''t help but feel a rush of warmth spreading through me. Her fingers grazed my muscles, and I tensed involuntarily. My wolf bristled in response, recoiling from the touch of another woman who wasn''t Nina.


    M noticed and stepped back, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. "I''m sorry if that made you ufortable, Enzo. It''s just for the test."


    I nodded, trying to regain myposure. "It''s alright. Let''s just get this done."


    M continued with the test, her fingers moving deftly over the equipment. I watched her work, curiosity gnawingContent is property of N?velDrama.Org.


    at me.


    When she was finished, M removed the device and returned my shirt.


    "Here you go," she said, holding my shirt out to me. "That wasn''t so bad, right?"


    I shrugged as I pulled my shirt back on over my head. Truthfully, I felt oddly exposed in front of her, but I wasn''t about to let her know that. "Not at all," I replied, keeping my tone neutral.


    M said nothing more, so I took that as my cue to leave. I was just brushing past her, however, when I saw the way her eyes were scanning the tablet in her hands, her brow furrowed. "Hm. Interesting...


    I paused, unable to ignore the puzzled look on her face. "What is it?" I asked.


    Now, she was the one who shrugged. "Oh, nothing. It''s just strange..


    "Strange how?"


    She was silent for a moment, tapping on her tablet screen, before she turned it around so I could see. "Your results," she said, her voice lilting ever so slightly. "They''re very... fascinating. Are you sure you''re a human, Enzo?"