Free Web NovelChapter 72: Fancy New Collar
"The necklace..." Nicole peered down and examined the delicate diamonds adorning my neck, inadvertently giving me an impressive view of her sizable cleavage. All I could say was that Kaine was a lucky bastard. If I was a hotblooded male werewolf, I would never take my eyes off her.
My own assets were not half as impressive as hers. Thankfully, Blaise and Damon didn’t seem to mind.
"You mean this isn’t just regular jewelry?" Nicole asked curiously, and I focused my attention back on her and not her chest. "I simply thought Damon might have wanted to give you something nice for a change."
I snorted, even as I tilted my neck to give Nicole easier access. "That’s ridiculous. That bastard merely replaced one collar with another fancier, shinier, more expensive one."
Nicole tutted like a disapproving mum when she heard me calling Damon a bastard as she continued to observe. "It might look like lace, but I see the strands are made up of some kind of expensive... silver? Does your skin feel any burning or itching?"
She touched the diamonds gingerly with a single finger, but then she suddenly drew back with a wince.
"Nicole? What happened?" I asked, startled, grabbing her hand.
"I’m fine, this will heal," Nicole said as she showed me her finger. On it was a tiny red mark, as though someone had taken a lighted cigarette bud and pressed it on her finger. But said mark was in the shape of a diamond, leaving me with no doubt what caused it. "I’m more surprised that you aren’t facing any side effects, with it being so close to your skin."
"Is it because I’m a human?" If the strands were made of silver, it would make sense why Nicole was burned. But then I recalled that diamonds were minerals; how could they burn a werewolf like Nicole? Besides, I wasn’t immune to silver, albeit it affected me a lot less than an average werewolf.
Could the diamonds be laced with silver? Difficult, but not impossible, or maybe they contained silver as a component...
Before I could continue to ruminate on the possibilities, Nicole interrupted my thoughts.
"Possibly! But I have the easiest explanation― magic!" She said it cheerfully, waving her hands around excitedly.
I stared blankly back at her. Nicole’s hands slowly came back down, disappointed by my lukewarm response.
"Magic," I repeated before I let out a scoff. "There’s no such thing!"
"You’re living in a world full of supernatural creatures and you think there’s no such thing as magic?" Nicole asked incredulously. "Harper, you have to open your mind to the possibilities!"
I spluttered. "I mean, I know you people are technically magical creatures, but you guys can’t do actual magic, can you? After all, you’re using science to cure people, not some magic spells."
I would personally be terrified if Nicole waved a magic wand and cured me.
"I’ve never heard of a supernatural creature that can actually do magic!" I continued.
And for a good reason. If there was any creature that could do magic, the wider supernatural community could probably have hunted them down to oblivion, either to maintain the status quo or seek to enslave them to do their bidding. Stories of witches and warlocks remained stories, and if they existed, they had to be in deep hiding.
Werewolves didn’t have the ability to use magic because the Moon Goddess would not grant her children such burdensome gifts. They were as good as curses.
"Well..." Nicole pouted, as though she wanted to say more, but then she shook her head, murmuring to herself. "No, no, I can’t say this."
My ears perked up. "Say what?" I asked. Was there some secret she couldn’t tell me?
Nicole blinked. "What? Oh, I mean to say, that even if werewolves can’t use magic, it doesn’t mean they can’t use magical objects. If Damon himself claimed that he couldn’t undo this, then there must be an enchantment on this object― something that recognizes you as the rightful owner of the necklace!"
I paused. I sensed that she wasn’t telling me everything, but at least Nicole’s words made sense this time around. Was this why Damon said that he couldn’t remove my necklace, even if he wanted to?
Nicole sighed wistfully. "I wish Kaine would get me something so beautiful." She seemed to have stars in her eyes as she pointed at the necklace. "It’s romantic, don’t you think so? To have something meant for you?" freēwēbηovel.c૦m
Damon had said that the necklace was meant for his future Luna. It was wasted on me. I tugged at it absentmindedly, but of course, the fragile thread held firm, mocking my efforts.
"...No I don’t think so, if I could take it off and give it to you, I would. How did Damon get his hands on something like this anyway?" I said dryly, trying to ignore the way my heart beat faster.
Then, my face paled.
"Did he raid another pack, or steal this from a witch?" I asked.
As I spoke, I realized that was a possibility. Damon had raided Stormclaw and burnt it to the ground; what was stopping him from doing the same to another pack or coven and helping himself to their valuables?
Suddenly, I needed this stupid necklace — this stupid collar — off me as soon as possible.
"Nicole, do you know how to remove this?" I all but clawed at my neck in desperation, my fingers catching on the small diamonds as I tried to break the delicate strands of enchanted silver holding my neck captive.
It didn’t budge, but I continued to pull, wincing as I felt the strands dig into the other side of my neck.
Nicole pursed her lips. "Your guess is as good as mine. I’ve never seen a necklace like it― oh please stop tugging on it, you might hurt yourself instead!" she said worriedly, reaching out to pull my hands away.
I growled irritably as I tried to move my arm away. I knew that Nicole cared about me, but this was my personal business!
To my horror, my errant arm accidentally smacked her right in the stomach, sending Nicole flying straight into her cabinet of medical texts. Her books fell from their shelves, hitting her prone body while she wheezed in pain on the floor.
I stared at my own arm. What the fuck did I just do?
