Chapter 47

Kayla

I caught the helmet Nicholas tossed me, fumbling with it for a moment. He tugged his own helmet on with ease and climbed on the bike before I had a chance to make sense of the invitation.

“Are you getting on, or do you need a formal invitation?” he asked, his voice muffled by the visor.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and put my helmet on, adjusting the strap beneath my chin before climbing on behind him. Lately, the act of getting on the back of a motorcycle was becoming less daunting, although it still had a way of making my heart race a little.

“Don’t let go,” he called over his shoulder.

“You’re not going to throw me off, are you?”

“Only if you’re not holding on tight enough.”

Before I could respond, he kicked the bike into gear. My breath caught as the bike lurched forward, the garage door rolling up and spilling us out into the open air. Nicholas wasted no time hitting the throttle, the wind already whipping against my exposed skin before we even reached the end of the long driveway and pulled out onto the main road.

As we made our way down the winding roads, the world turned into a blur around us, trees and houses melting together into formless streaks of color as Nicholas pushed the bike faster. My arms instinctively tightened around his waist, my heart hammering wildly in my chest.

This bike was fast. Really fast. Or maybe Nicholas was just being reckless.

“Nicholas, slow down!” I shouted over the roar of the engine and the wind.

But my words were swallowed up by the rushing air, and just as I was about to yell at him again, something caught my eye. I turned, and my jaw dropped.

A young buck was racing through the woods alongside the road, its powerful legs keeping pace with the bike. Its antlers caught the golden light filtering through the trees, and even from where I was, I could see faint droplets of dew coating the soft velvet.

I blinked, my eyes widening at the sight. “Nicholas, look! The deer!” I shouted, pointing.

Nicholas, however, had already seen it. I thought I heard a wild laugh escape his lips as he kicked the bike faster, as if egging the deer on for a race.

The deer weaved through the trees effortlessly, never losing pace with us. For a brief moment, it felt like it was playing with us, reveling in the excitement of the chase. And despite my earlier fear, the exhilaration of it all began to flood through me.

Without thinking, I loosened my grip on Nicholas, stretching my arms out to either side.

The wind whipped through my hair, the world rushing past in a blur, and for the first time in what felt like forever, I felt free. Completely, utterly free. A laugh bubbled up from deep inside of me, spilling out into a wild yell of joy.

“This is insane!” I shouted, my voice carrying into the open air.

Nicholas didn’t respond—he probably couldn’t even hear me—but I could feel the subtle shift in his posture, the gentle sway of the bike back and forth across the asphalt, as if he was letting me have this moment.

I could die like this, I thought to myself, my cheeks aching from my wide grin. If I died then, at least I would be happy. Free. Wild.

I didn’t know how long we rode like that, my arms stretched out in the wind. Eventually, the deer veered away from the road and disappeared back into the woods, but it felt like a lifetime had been compressed into that single, fleeting instant.

Grinning, I wrapped my arms back around Nicholas’s firm torso and giggled. “That was amazing!” I cried out.

I think he heard me that time, because he reached down and gave my hand a brief squeeze with his own. My cheeks flushed deeply at the contact, and for a little while, I forgot all about everything that had ever happened or would ever happen outside that moment.

With a contented sigh, I rested my head on his sturdy back and watched the trees rush by.

We rode like that for some time, just weaving down the empty roads. Towering pine trees flanked us on either side, their tall peaks stretching toward the fading sunlight. The forest around us started to grow darker, the air colder, but I didn’t mind.

At least, I didn’t mind until reality came crashing back out of nowhere.

The engine started sputtering.

Nicholas cursed as the steady hum of the motorcycle’s engine began to falter. Before I knew it, we were slowing down. The painful chugging of the bike became clearer as the rushing wind died down.

“What’s happening?” I asked, leaning forward over his shoulder.

“Looks like the engine’s giving out,” Nicholas called over his shoulder through gritted teeth. When the motorcycle shuddered and began to smoke, even I knew it was time to call it quits. Thankfully, Nicholas was able to guide it safely to the side of the road. But the sputtering grew louder until the engine coughed one final time and went silent.

We came to a slow stop near the edge of the dense forest, the faint sound of birdsong the only noise breaking through the sudden quiet. Nicholas swung off the bike with a muttered curse, yanking off his helmet and running a hand through his already messy hair.

I climbed off a little more carefully, my legs still somewhat shaky from the ride. The air was cooler now, the sun sinking lower on the horizon. I pulled off my helmet, clutching it to my chest as I watched Nicholas inspect the smoking engine.

“God dammit. This can’t be happening,” he muttered, crouching down and poking at the bike’s innards.

“What’s wrong with it?”

“What’s not wrong with it?” he growled. He straightened up, his expression grim. “I need a specific tool to fix this, and it’s back at the garage. We’re over forty miles from home and nowhere near a town.”

I bit my lip, glancing up at the sky. The sun was dipping below the treetops now, painting the clouds in shades of orange and pink. And, as if on cue, a single snowflake drifted down and landed on my nose before melting instantly.

Turning, I saw the source of the snowflakes: a large, dark, ominous cloud on the horizon. Already, gusts of icy wind were ruffling the tops of the pines, causing the tall trees to sway. We were about to be hit with a freak blizzard out of nowhere, and it wasn’t even Christmastime yet.

“Looks like snow,” I said, pointing.

Nicholas followed my finger and cursed again when he saw it. I bit my lip, turning around and looking up at him. “What should we do?” Already, I was beginning to shiver a little; the chill from the ride had settled into my bones, and I wasn’t wearing the right clothes for potential hours stuck out in the snow.

“Don’t worry. I’ll call someone.” With a huff, Nicholas patted his pockets, cursed some more, then checked the luggage compartment and let out an even longer colorful string of words. “You bring your phone?” he asked, glancing up at me.

My heart sank as I slowly shook my head, recalling all too well leaving it on the bedside table this morning.

There was a brief, uncomfortable silence as the reality of our situation sank in. Here we were, forty miles away from home in the middle of nowhere, with night coming and a blizzard on the horizon.

This was great. Just fantastic.

“I guess we should start walking,” Nicholas said, his amber eyes darkening just like the sun fading in the sky.