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    Chapter 0663


    Nina


    The kitchen was filled with the aroma of spices and the sound of sizzling as my mother and I cooked dinner together. Tyler and Enzo had retired to the other room to y a video game on the TV, and every so often the sounds of their excited voices floated through. Normally, Enzo would have cooked with me, but it was nice to have some alone time with my mom after everything that had happened.


    And I think she needed it, too.


    At one point, as we chopped vegetables and stirred pots of aromatic tomato sauce, Tyler and Enzo let out a loud cheer in the other room.


    "I told you!" Tyler eximed, drowning out Enzo''sughter. "You owe me a dor!"


    "Alright, alright," Enzo replied. "I take back what I said. You''re actually pretty good at this game."


    My mother and I exchanged nces, rolling our eyes yfully. "You know, Nina," she said as she chopped a carrot in half, "when I was back in college, my friends and I used to spend almost every evening together after sses."


    As my mother spoke, her voice was filled with nostalgia. I shot her a curious nce as I stirred the pasta as it boiled in the pot.All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org.


    "You did?" I asked. "You mean the Peacekeepers?


    She nodded, a small smile ying on her lips. "Yes," she said. "We weren''t always just watching over Mountainview and trying to bridge the gap between humans and werewolves, you know. We were friends, too. We''d go out dancing, hike in the nearby woods, throw parties..."


    Her eyes seemed to look past the kitchen, lost in memories. I listened, captivated by this glimpse into her youth, a time when the lines between duty and friendship were blurred.


    My mom rarely ever talked about her past; growing up, she had always said that there was no use in reminiscing, which was why I had had to hear about the Peacekeepers through Tiffany. Buttely, something had changed in her-and I was bent on getting every little story out of her that I could.


    "Tell me more," I said, turning to face her. "Did you ever have any crazy parties?"


    She scoffed. "Of course we did," she said with augh. "I remember there was this one party, back when Tiffany and I shared an apartment..."


    She lowered her voice to a conspiratorial tone then. "Richard jumped out of the second-story window, scared the hell out of the neighbors. They thought he''d gotten hurt, but of course hended on his feet, what with his... abilities and all. You should''ve seen the way he ran from the cops!"


    My eyes widened in surprise, not at the story involving Richard-which was hrious in its own right-but rather at the mention of Tiffany. "Wait, back up," I said. "You were roommates with Tiffany? Since when?"


    My mother''s smile faded then, reced by a look of deep regret. "Yes, we did," she said softly.


    "I didn''t know you were that close."


    She nodded. "Tiffany and I were the closest of friends, actually," she replied. "We loved each other like sisters." Tears glistened in her eyes. "I still regret every day that I let that friendship fall apart. And now, it''s toote."


    A wave of sadness washed over me, and without thinking, I reached out to squeeze her hand. In that moment, I felt a real connection to my mother, a bridge spanning across time and misunderstandings, linking our lives in ways I hadn''t realized before. Even though wecked a true bloodline to one another, our lives were life mirror images.


    And there was one thing in particr we had inmon: a love for a sweet woman who didn''t deserve what she


    got in the end.


    Over the next few days, with my mother and Tyler staying, the house was filled withughter and the constant buzz of conversation.